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D3 goes to the beach ...

KurtKamka

Subscriber Member
First 60 degree since October, so quite a few people made their way to the Lake Michigan lakefront in Milwaukee. Here are a few snaps with a few utilizing Nikon's excellent AF system.

The first shot is with the zf100.

Kurt
 

gogopix

Subscriber
Well,
Kurt, you said you were switching camera systems to get away from manual focus, you buy a great AF system, then plunk a MF lens on it!:D

of course the images are great; like riding a bike-seems you can still focus a lens.:salute:

or are all but the first AF? What lens? they really look good.

But seriously, what about the AF lenses? Are they good?

these show a lot of promise.

regards
Victor
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
A couple more ...
Kurt Those babies are Kite Boarders....I have been shooting them in FL since November. You stuff is always great..now lets see you get the Kite and the boarder in the picture. I was up to my waste in the surf for 2 hours today ..trying. LOL Roger
 

PeterA

Well-known member
NIce clean crisp shots. I bought the D3 with the 100 and the 28 Zeiss - dont have an auto lens for it either. It is indeed an awesome camera and the Zeiss glass is very cool. I find the 100 to be quite stiff. The 28 is creamy smooth in operation and sharp as a tack.

Wondering what auto focus/ image stabilised lens I should get from Nikon..it has been 20 years I have used Nikon - the F4.
 

KurtKamka

Subscriber Member
Hi Victor,
I won't ever shoot without some sort of manual focus option. If anything, my time with the DMR and M8 has been very good in that it has taught me to be much more deliberate and discerning in my shooting.

I've slowly come to realize that everybody probably approaches shooting in different ways. None of them better than other ... but, each in a way that best reflects how the photographer sees the world. For me, I always seem to see composition and emotion first and then worry about how I'm going to capture them. Once I'm locked into what I see as interesting, I'm willing to move my feet to get the distance and angle I'm looking for ... so any zooms I have always seem to be sitting on the shelf and not on my bag.

What's been great about the D3 is that allows me to be so versatile in my approach and results. In the morning, goofing around with ZF50 at f2 I was able to grab the attached shot that reminds me a lot of the richness I am able to get with the M8. Later, I put on the Nikon 180/2.8 AF lens and was able to get the shots referenced above. You are right, just the first was AF with the Zeiss. The rest are AF. Although I'd love to have the very well regarded Nikon 200VR, the 180 isn't bad for a $700 lens.

Roger,
I think the water temperature is about 40-45 degrees right now ... with no wet suit, I'll skip the waist-deep surf for several months. But, now that you've thrown down the challenge, I'll see what I can do with get the kite and boarder in the same frame.

Peter,
The first was with the ZF100, the others with the 180/2.8AF. The Nikon 180 is not on par with the Leica 180/2, but it does do a nice job. I'd potentially like to add the 200VR or the 300/2.8 though, for that extra nudge in image quality.

The image below is with the ZF50 at f2.

Kurt
 

TRSmith

Subscriber Member
Kurt, this last shot of the girl is wonderful. I've looked at a few D3 samples around the interweb and this is maybe one of the few in which I was able to see a distinctive D3 "look". It might be reminiscent of the M8, but it can stand all on its own pretty nicely. Cool!
 

PeterA

Well-known member
Hi Victor,

Peter,
The first was with the ZF100, the others with the 180/2.8AF. The Nikon 180 is not on par with the Leica 180/2, but it does do a nice job. I'd potentially like to add the 200VR or the 300/2.8 though, for that extra nudge in image quality.

The image below is with the ZF50 at f2.

Kurt
Kurt

To my eye the difference between Canon and Nikon is at the margin cleaner file out of the camera and a slightly cooler standard temp. Ergonomics are better on D3 IHMO and high ISO capabilities are amazing. the camera is lighter and shoots faster a nice unit. If I could use my R glas on a Nikon I woudl be very very happy - sadly not possible. Nikon have to be given KUDOS for allowing pretty much any Nikon lens to work with their DSLR's.

I used the 300 2.8 on the weekend - not bad but at teh margin 'soft' compare to my Leica glass. With the 1.4X convertor - way too soft for practical purposes ...Will check out the newest range of teles as they become available.

I need an auto focus lens from Nikon that can hold its head up - preferably not a zoom..

Nice shot of teh young lady in the kitchen!

Pete
 

David K

Workshop Member
Kurt,
Great captures... really like the color on those beach shots and the shot of the young lady in the kitchen is priceless. I remember that look when my daughter was that age. Now that she's 17 all I get is the bored look or she's showing me her "grill" :)

Victor,
I seem to be in the minority here, or at least a dwindling majority, with only shooting AF with the D3. For AF, the DMR is my go to camera... partly because I have a much better lens selection available.

Roger,
Been following your leader and shooting some kiteboarders myself but I've yet to get wet. Getting both boarder and kite in the photo is no big deal if the wind cooperates and the kite gets close to the water. Let's try to do this together one day soon.
 

gogopix

Subscriber
Kurt, David
Having two daughters (now 27 and 33!) I remember them at those ages; I characterize as the "..Oh boy, Dad has a new TOY!.." look

:ROTFL:

So, Kurt on those shots, it was AF with the 180/2.8 Nikkor on D3?
 

rayyan

Well-known member
Ya...why buy a camera with the best af system and not use it?
I only use manual focus for macros..where af at close distances either does
not work or is totally unreliable.

the only other situation i manually focus ( rarely ) is after autofocus has done its bit and i want a slight tweak..remember af does not know want
you want it to lock focus on! you and it might be on different wavelengths.

Agree the pics are good and so is the lens. what f-stop on the zeiss zf-100?

Regards.


Well,
Kurt, you said you were switching camera systems to get away from manual focus, you buy a great AF system, then plunk a MF lens on it!:D

of course the images are great; like riding a bike-seems you can still focus a lens.:salute:

or are all but the first AF? What lens? they really look good.

But seriously, what about the AF lenses? Are they good?

these show a lot of promise.

regards
Victor
 

rayyan

Well-known member
peter, depending on your intended use and fl these choices are available to
you..i have all of these:

18-200.....excellent one lens solution for travel...distortion and not a low light lens. cannot stop motion with its aperture. nevertheless an excellent consumer quality lens. a dx lens that works on d3. var aperture

24-120 ..older vr. full frame lens. acceptable for what travel. var aperture

70-200/2.8 vr...excellent pro glass for full frame..rumors say it might be
superceded by a newer equivalent.

70-300 vr..new generation lens for full frame. cost does not do justice to its
performance. not a low light lens, but during daytime..wow! var aperture

105/2.8 vr micro..generally compared with the zf-100/2 makro. i have both.
zf does not go to 1:1, and I want my macros to do just that.

16-85 vr ( don't have )..newest consumer replacement for the 18-70.

Then there are the longer fls which i do not have.

Regards.


NIce clean crisp shots. I bought the D3 with the 100 and the 28 Zeiss - dont have an auto lens for it either. It is indeed an awesome camera and the Zeiss glass is very cool. I find the 100 to be quite stiff. The 28 is creamy smooth in operation and sharp as a tack.

Wondering what auto focus/ image stabilised lens I should get from Nikon..it has been 20 years I have used Nikon - the F4.
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
David/Kurt Illustration of getting the kite in the photo. First shot is D3 with 24-70. I am in the Ocean up to my waist. As the kite boarder approaches the beach ..they must raise the kite to effect a turn. The direction of the kite is determined by the wind..the kiteboarder has some but limited control of the angle. The woman in this photograph is a professional contract "boarder" ..she was the only boarder that could control her kite . The 2nd photograph was taken with the M8 and the 90mm..with only my ankles in the surf. I also obviously cropped this one . Most wind is from the NE or SE ..if I can get a E wind this becomes easier..but I haven t seen one this season. . This is a great test area for an I have used the M8 s , the R9/DMR and the D3 to shoot the kiteboarders. And you can see I have a little work to do to bring the color renderings closer together. Roger
 

woodyspedden

New member
Roger

I absolutely love the second shot. (actually really like the first as well )

Having the boarder looking like he is flying into the clouds is such a good composition.

Just great stuff

Woody
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
Nice shots, all.
And Kurt, that Kitchen shot is special. Much has been said about the 2/100 Macro, but I can see that the 2/50 Macro is also capable of doing something magic, wide open. Excellent sample. And excellent capture with the Rembrandt lighting from the diningroom :)
 

KurtKamka

Subscriber Member
Thanks Steen. It's a picture of my daughter. Sadly, she used to have the patience to spend hours allowing me to use her as an eye model on my sharpness tests. But as a pre-teen, she's become extremely bored with my relentless quest to document her growing up. So now, I'm left with faces of disapproval and mock disdain.

On the upside, it's material that I can use against her when boys come around in 5-10 years. LOL

Kurt
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
That's just what makes it genuine. Not a setup, nobody posing.
I know how it is, I have four youngsters around :)
 
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