Even More Fun Pictures with Nikon

[TRSmith]

Thanks Jorgen. As for Autumn, it's my absolute favorite season. It took me awhile to realize it since we are, in a way, trained from birth that Summer is where it's at. Driven home by years of school-age summer vacations I guess. But now that I'm (ahem) more mature, I find the Fall to be almost perfect.

But hell, at this point, I'm just glad to be on the right side of the grass, rain or shine.

 

[viablex1]

Re: Early signs of Fall

A couple from a short walk around the property with the 200. Kind of a cheater macro. At least here in this part of the country, the season has begun to change. Summer is such a short season!

like the first one..

 

[viablex1]

 

[Cindy Flood]

There is a thread in the "Images to Share!" forum, for IR photography from all cameras. Please check it out and post there, too-- if you are interested in IR.

Corian, I like you seasonal photos. Your last from the Church series is beautiful.

Leica77, Your series from Manilla is excellent (as usual). The buffet/Last Supper is especially nice.

 

[Leica 77]

Even More Fun Pictures with Nikon. Many thanks for your positive comments, Cindy Flood and Corlan F.! My findings in the Philippines indicate that many people indeed deeply care about their historic and cultural heritage -- both tangible and non-tangible. A number of historic sites are relatively well preserved and so lovely to visit. The European and American influence continues to add distinct characters, especially to the Filipino architecture. All the best, Leica 77

Karkar, Cebu

Cebu Provincial Government Building

 

[Corlan F.]

Some sample works on inside light from the same church series...

(all pretty much direct jpeg from print files)







There's an historical irony about the stained glasses: as mentioned earlier the very reason these small older roman churches in the area were fortified in the first place (mainly 16th-17th c.) was for protection against passing invaders and rogue batallions from up north, especially dutch troops. In the 20th century the same, somehow secluded area became a nest of choice for secondary residences and/or retirement properties for... Dutch people, who rapidly counted as a significant part of the local populaion. And when time came to rehabilitate some of the churches, they took a large part in it and even brought over some flemish artists... hence the signatures on several restored windows
(perharps not clearly visible though on the reduced compressed forum-friendly files).

 

[Cindy Flood]

Leica77- I enjoyed more beautiful pictures from the Philippines.
Corian- Lovely Churches and I certainly enjoy the history that you add.

Today our little town hosted the annual Wisconsin Street Rod Association competition. It is a big, two day event. It was a beautiful day, but the sun was cruel and I had to shoot in the worst possible part of the day. Thank goodness the S5 can pull it back some. All shot with Fuji S5 and Mamiya 120 f/4 macro (most at f/4).

 

[viablex1]

wow love that lens!!!

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

From a visit to the golf course today. Playing golf is very healthy... for the eyes as well

D80 with 70-300mm ED @ 240mm and f/7.1

 

[Corlan F.]

Hi Cindy- another proof of the uncanny performance of the S5 in direct sun conditions. Combined with the soft, superbly color contrasted Mamiya the results are ideed hot. :thumbup:

Jorgen- these hats definitely provide an impressive light & UV protection. Nice outfits, and nice capture as always (on a sidenote i might be wrong but from your work i generally prefer the fujis over the D80 especially for color)

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Jorgen- these hats definitely provide an impressive light & UV protection. Nice outfits, and nice capture as always (on a sidenote i might be wrong but from your work i generally prefer the fujis over the D80 especially for color)

Thank you, Corlan. The colours of the Fuji is far superior to those of the D80, and when it comes to dynamic range, they are worlds apart. I also have problems getting along with the ergonomics of the Nikon. Not that it's particularly bad, but they are simply not as fluent as on the pro bodies.

The D80 has been a temporary solution for me for more than a year now, but there are many dilemmas to sort out when replacing it. I need more resolution, better ergonomics, preferably video and colours that I can live with. Fuji seems to have stopped their DSLR development, so a D300s seemed to be the obvious choice, but I'm not too happy with what I've seen from the D300, and from a resolution point of view, it doesn't really offer much improvement over the D80.

Pentax K7 was very tempting, not least due to size, ergonomics and lenses, but that would mean starting from scratch, since I have no lenses that can be mounted on that camera. The A850 is another alternative, but again, I have no lenses, and the Zeiss ones are expensive and HUGE.

One camera that so far has impressed me a lot, also with regards to colour, is the new Canon 7D, although I need to see more people shots, and preferably some RAW files. I happen to have some really nice Zuiko OM lenses that can be used on Canon, and even some of the Nikkors would be usable. When it comes to resolution and video, the 7D is simply unbeatable within its class.

The next few months will show, but I might end up with the Fujis for portraits and the Canon for most other things if it delivers as promised. A D700X with video would change all this, but nobody knows if or when that will happen, and I doubt that it will be under $4,000. Another thing is that a high resolution crop camera has a lot of advantages for telephoto use anyway, and the 7D with the highest pixel count on one of the smallest sensors has an edge there anyway.

 

[Corlan F.]

Do you really need video ?
( i surely don't, that's why i'm always wondering if it's not just a hype if you're not already educated in video... which you might be, of course )

Re the 7D, are the color results much different than the 5DmkII ?

As far as high pixel count is concerned, here again i'm a bit doubtful about when it's needed. Huge prints sure, but for having tried a D3X vs. D3/D700, if your trade is in books, magazines and brochures the latter are more than enough. Doing studio products packshots for full pages ads/brochures and 1m+ prints for trade shows, this is really not something bothering me, neither the clients. At all.

Art prints ? Well i know of an art photographer who recently switched back from D3X and 5DSMkII to her good ol' 1DS and D700. She's happy as hell. Her photos are better. Overall, this kind of discussion reminds me of another discussion seen someplace else in this forum: except for some specific needs, is the gear by itself the real limitation when you take the time to master its inner secrets?
That's a real question.

One of my answers would be that what Jorgen gets from the S5 -or previously from the S3- is simply great photography. Or to stay in this Nikon thread, what -for example- Tim gets from an older pro body is quite good, too. And a lot of other contributors here, too.

Being relatively a newcomer in digital photography cameras (not photography nor processing nor printing though) for not simply liking it in the first place, i stil assume i don't get the last word from my gear. Which was not the case until quite recently when digital downsides were too much of a limitation.

Well on the other hand, i guess if cost was not a concern i'd get a full M9 package when it's available. But is it needed for what i do today ? Probably not. And that's a comfortable thought.

 

[Cindy Flood]

Very interesting, Jorgen. I thought that you were considering the Sony A850 (from your comments on the Sony forum). What are your thoughts on that body?
I just sold my D700 and am going to be looking for a higher resolution body to go along with the Fuji (which I will keep). Right now I'm rounding out my collection of Mamiya lenses. Fortunately, they can be adapted for Canon/Nikon/Sony.

Corian, Thank you for your interest in my car photos.
I made my adjustments in the Lab space so that I was only adjusting the luminosity. I probably would have backed off the saturation, too, but the subject seemed to demand those wild colors. They were really wild colors and the Fuji captured them.

Viablex, The 120 macro is a huge piece of glass, but is all I had hoped for. Next on my list to try is that 35.

 

[ddk]

Jorgen,

I don't know how important video is for you right now but if your concern is mainly resolution, your cheapest (around $1000 for low mileage copies) and in many ways best option, can be a Kodak SLR/n. This way you get to keep your F mount lenses, downside is higher iso with this camera, 160-200 if you want clean images, otherwise, imo it still has better color and tone than any Nikon (haven't tried D3x?) out there today and the files are sharper than the D3/D700's, its also a fantastic studio camera for your product work.

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Jorgen,

I don't know how important video is for you right now but if your concern is mainly resolution, your cheapest (around $1000 for low mileage copies) and in many ways best option, can be a Kodak SLR/n. This way you get to keep your F mount lenses, downside is higher iso with this camera, 160-200 if you want clean images, otherwise, imo it still has better color and tone than any Nikon (haven't tried D3x?) out there today and the files are sharper than the D3/D700's, its also a fantastic studio camera for your product work.

I hear what you're saying, David, but I haven't seen a single one here in Thailand, and what happens if it breaks down?

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Do you really need video ?
( i surely don't, that's why i'm always wondering if it's not just a hype if you're not already educated in video... which you might be, of course )

An increasing part of what I do is published on web as well as on paper. Video is a way to add attraction to the web part, and stay ahead of the competition for another couple of months. Apart from that, I enjoy doing video. My father is a retired TV director, so I guess it's something that was planted in me from the outset

Re the 7D, are the color results much different than the 5DmkII ?

From what I've seen so far: yes, I think so, but I need to see much more samples first.

As far as high pixel count is concerned, here again i'm a bit doubtful about when it's needed.

Product posters and banners. I already struggle a bit with those. In addition, I do some stock photography, and in that business, more resolution simply means more money.

One of my answers would be that what Jorgen gets from the S5 -or previously from the S3- is simply great photography. Or to stay in this Nikon thread, what -for example- Tim gets from an older pro body is quite good, too. And a lot of other contributors here, too.

If I could just fool around and take the photos I want for my own pleasure, I would by a bunch of Fuji S5 and live happily ever after. But I do photography, graphic design and editorial work for a living, mostly for industrial enterprises. Clients with an engineering background couldn't care less about skin tones if they can't recognise every little detail of their great constructions.

Being relatively a newcomer in digital photography cameras (not photography nor processing nor printing though) for not simply liking it in the first place, i stil assume i don't get the last word from my gear. Which was not the case until quite recently when digital downsides were too much of a limitation.

Well on the other hand, i guess if cost was not a concern i'd get a full M9 package when it's available. But is it needed for what i do today ? Probably not. And that's a comfortable thought.

If I could afford it, I would like an M9 to replace my Fujis as well, but I can't

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Very interesting, Jorgen. I thought that you were considering the Sony A850 (from your comments on the Sony forum). What are your thoughts on that body?
I just sold my D700 and am going to be looking for a higher resolution body to go along with the Fuji (which I will keep). Right now I'm rounding out my collection of Mamiya lenses. Fortunately, they can be adapted for Canon/Nikon/Sony.

Cindy,
Yes, I would love to have an A850, but from the outset, I would need lenses that cost two or three times as much as the body, plus a backup body. Too much money right now. With the Canon, I can start out with a "normal" zoom, plus my Zuikos and Nikkors. I will borrow a 50D in a couple of weeks though, to see if the Zuikos are up to the pixel density.

I've obviously also considered the D700, but apart from the low-light advantage, which I love, it's still only 12MP.

The most realistic alternative to the Canon at the moment, is the K7. A start pack consisting of two bodies, the Tamron 17-50, the Pentax 50-135 and a macro would be very reasonable.

 

[ddk]

I hear what you're saying, David, but I haven't seen a single one here in Thailand, and what happens if it breaks down?

Its really an e-bay purchase but you can also call some of their local agents in HK or Singapore, they might have something.

Over here they're serviced by some of the old Kodak vendors, its probably the same over there. This guy posts regularly on dpr's Kodak forum as a Kodak supplier and live in HK, he's in a better position to answer your questions than me.

David Lam, [email protected].

The way I see it, at the prices that they're going for, they're almost disposable. You can always resell a broken one on ebay for a few hundred less than what you pay for a good working one and buy another one. FYI, mine is over 4 years old and no problems ever.

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Its really an e-bay purchase but you can also call some of their local agents in HK or Singapore, they might have something.

Over here they're serviced by some of the old Kodak vendors, its probably the same over there. This guy posts regularly on dpr's Kodak forum as a Kodak supplier and live in HK, he's in a better position to answer your questions than me.

David Lam, [email protected].

The way I see it, at the prices that they're going for, they're almost disposable. You can always resell a broken one on ebay for a few hundred less than what you pay for a good working one and buy another one. FYI, mine is over 4 years old and no problems ever.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

 

[Arne Hvaring]

Some recent shots with the D3.