Any Photographers with DSLR's Around ?

[Seaworthy Lass]

WOW Jazzy! They are brilliant!

[carstenb]

JazzyO. I spent some time in Maun and the delta some years ago. I have a couple of thousand shots i took, unfortunately they are on silver hallide and I have gotten around to scanning them in yet. Those pics I took with a Nikon f-801. Today I shoot either my Nikon d200 or my d7000. Bo are great cameras. I've had 5 nikons and carried them all over the world, sailing, kayaking, skiing, trekking, across africa, e us, new zealand and europe. They have been left in minus 30 degrees and laid in the sun in plus 45 degrees. Never had one fail yet.

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

I use the camera in P mode almost exclusively

Shame, shame, shame.

I'm mostly manual but if I need to be lazy or the lighting changes quickly like when shooting sport, I will switch to aperture or shutter priority.

Without some measure of control you might as well use a p&s :-p

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by hoppy

Shame, shame, shame.

I'm mostly manual but if I need to be lazy or the lighting changes quickly like when shooting sport, I will switch to aperture or shutter priority.

Without some measure of control you might as well use a p&s :-p

P mode is not AUTO LOL, I just find it an easy starting point to play with the aperture/shutter speed combination I want. No shame in that .

[hoppy]

P is auto from the good old days the green square mode on Canon and the equivalent on Nikon is just a super lazy super auto mode.

"green square" is for iPhone shooters

[carstenb]

I'm with Lassie. My nikon is set in P mode. I find that if I have to grab it an shoot then I get best results in P (it is also set to ASA 400). below some of my photos that I have on my work pc.

If you like rafting up, you'll love the one below

[Pelagic]

Has anyone had tried the Nikon 1 V2? Thinking it would complement my D100 which is great, but bulky and heavy to always cart around. The V2 with adapter can use all my dSLR Nikon Lenses and seems fast and clear except in low light conditions.

Found a 2 small lens package deal in HK for under US$ 1k

Nikon 1 V2 Review | Compact Digital Cameras | CNET UK

[hoppy]

I've been drooling lately over images taken by cameras with the Phase One IQ180 digital back. OMG

Pixel peeping heaven <3

[s/v Jedi]

About camera modes:

We have found that we use three different starting points:

1. General: point at the center, focus, shoot single shot.

2. Landscape: look all around viewfinder or use zoom-levels on LCD in live view adjust composition and then take 3 exposures using exposure bracketing.

3. Action: Bird in flight or similar; fast shutter, continuous focussing with object tracking, continuous exposures as fast as possible.

We program these three points into the camera as Custom modes C1, C2 and C3.

C1: Aperture mode, center point spot focus, single exposure, auto-ISO with upper limit on 7D, no exposure compensation.

C2: Aperture mode, manual focus, multi-exposure, lowest ISO, -2,0,+2 exposure bracketing. We choose to either use live-view or "lift mirror" during exposure.

C3: Shutter priority mode 1/1,250th second, AI Servo focus, all focus points active, auto-ISO with upper limit set on 7D, no exposure compensation.

These three work pretty well for us. in C1 we choose the Aperture first for available light and the type of lens we have and next for type of exposure we want, i.e. depth of field.

In C2 I usually spent some time looking through every mm of the viewfinder until I agree with the framing and verify manual focus. I then take the bracketed exposures using a wired remote. The 5D2 is king in this mode.

C3 is like a machine gun. This is where we always use the 7D.

cheers,
Nick.

[s/v Jedi]

Here is a picture done with the C3 mode:

[JazzyO]

Originally Posted by carstenb

JazzyO. I spent some time in Maun and the delta some years ago. I have a couple of thousand shots i took, unfortunately they are on silver hallide and I have gotten around to scanning them in yet. Those pics I took with a Nikon f-801. Today I shoot either my Nikon d200 or my d7000. Bo are great cameras. I've had 5 nikons and carried them all over the world, sailing, kayaking, skiing, trekking, across africa, e us, new zealand and europe. They have been left in minus 30 degrees and laid in the sun in plus 45 degrees. Never had one fail yet.

Big fan of Nikon. I chose Canon 20 years ago because the AF lens programme was much, much, MUCH better than Nikon. These days, not much in it. I am a bit frustrated with Canon these days, the step-up Nikon has made in the sensors with the D800 is amazing. It's just unfortunate that to make a change is very very expensive (for me, over $20k) and I can't justify it as an amateur going on safari once every couple of years.


Onno

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by JazzyO

Big fan of Nikon. I chose Canon 20 years ago because the AF lens programme was much, much, MUCH better than Nikon. These days, not much in it. I am a bit frustrated with Canon these days, the step-up Nikon has made in the sensors with the D800 is amazing. It's just unfortunate that to make a change is very very expensive (for me, over $20k) and I can't justify it as an amateur going on safari once every couple of years.


Onno

As nice as the D800 is, the Canon 5D3 and 1Dx are candy too

Edit: and they say we can expect a 7D2 this year!!

[JazzyO]

Regarding camera modes, I shoot 95% in Aperture mode. Shutter mode for panning etc. Almost never use P, certainly never use any of the "picture" modes. Very occasionally use M.

I think photography is not about using modes, it is about controlling the ONLY 2 things that change exposure: shutter and aperture. So you use aperture when you want to control depth of field or need all the light you can get, you use shutter speed when you have enough light but want to control how blurry/sharp the photo becomes when you're shooting movement, and you only use M when the light meter has too little light to understand what is going on.

I use spotmetering when I want to control the exposure on my subject - I have learnt how to compensate and to recognise mid-tone greys (even if they are not grey). For instance - if I shoot a Sable Antelope (which has a black coat), I measure on its coat and underexpose by 1 1/2 stops. But usually multi-metering will be close, and since I shoot in RAW I can compensate after the shot has been taken anyway.

I learnt photography by using my dad's dad's old Voightlander, where I had to guess the distance for focus. My brother and I developed our own film and printed our photos in the school's dark room when I was 12. Great fun, too bad digital did away with that magic.


Onno

[JazzyO]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

As nice as the D800 is, the Canon 5D3 and 1Dx are candy too

Edit: and they say we can expect a 7D2 this year!!

True, but I saw what the sensor on the D800 did whilst on safari and it really made me want to switch.

Too bad the 7D2 is too late for my safari next week.


Onno

[carstenb]

Here are a couple of waterfall pics from New Zealand