Photography

mars · #1 04-04-2006, 21:43

First time ive actually read through this section and just about understand some of the chat, I like to do a bit of photography time to time but cant always be bothered carrying around a large camera.

I have a Nikon F55 with a AF zoom Nikkor 28 ~ 80mm f/3.3~5.6G & a zoom Nikkor 70~300 f/4~f/5.6G lenses, Now if i bought a D50 camera body would the lenses fit, i dont see why not.

Also what printer would anyone recommend.

syeatman · #2 04-04-2006, 21:59

Your lenses should be just fine on any Nikon DSLR. For me it is the single biggest advantage Nikon has over Canon - the F mount.

We can mount 30 year old lenses on our cameras and they will work - mostly, you may not get AF or metering but they will work manually. Canon have a really annoying habit of constantly modifying their lens mount meaning a lens you bought a year ago may not be good for the latest DSLR they have released.

Not sure about printers, was going to buy one a while back but never bothered. At the time the latest Canon and Epson were the top photo printers for a reasonable price.

steve@thaib · #3 05-04-2006, 05:06

I've never bothered with a printer really. I have an Epson C86 but it's nowhere near good enough for decent pictures. I can get the odd picture printed up as a one off either at a camera shop or a computer shop for a couple of quid.

steve@thaib · #4 05-04-2006, 05:07

Oh, and speaking of D50s, I saw an internet deal for £415 last week, which is staggeringly cheap. Will see if I can find the link.

steve@thaib · #5 05-04-2006, 05:09

Wow, that 415 is for a kit, not just the body.

http://www.ukcamerastore.co.uk/acatalog/Nikon_D50.html

Rex7777 · #6 05-04-2006, 05:26

One thing about the old 35mm lenses, other than the possible lack of autococus, is that the effective focal length will be greater on a Nikon digital, I think (at least that's the case with my D70). For example, a 50mm lens on a film SLR will be a "normal" lens. On a digital Nkon, it will be a slight telephoto lens.

Rex

syeatman · #7 05-04-2006, 14:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rex7777

One thing about the old 35mm lenses, other than the possible lack of autococus, is that the effective focal length will be greater on a Nikon digital, I think (at least that's the case with my D70). For example, a 50mm lens on a film SLR will be a "normal" lens. On a digital Nkon, it will be a slight telephoto lens.

I kind of agree with that. The sensors on most DSLR's are smaller than 35mm film, so you are effectively losing the outside area that you would normally get with film. This means that your "field of view" is equivalent to a longer lens. I think alot of people assume you physically get more focal length from the same lens, which when you think about it is impossible by just changing the sensor size.

syeatman · #8 05-04-2006, 14:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve@thaib

Wow, that 415 is for a kit, not just the body.

http://www.ukcamerastore.co.uk/acatalog/Nikon_D50.html

That's a great deal, had a look on the site to see if it is a grey import but nothing to suggest it is.

imagine what we'll be buying in 3-4 years time? reckon you'll have the same technology in the D50 price range that you currently need to spend 2k+ to get. With more mfr's dropping film the r&d on digital should ramp up further and maybe we'll even get some breakthroughs that we haven't even imagined yet.

Reminds me, I saw some uni students in US had designed a lens/camera that you could change the focus point after you had taken the pic!! how the fcuk do they do that..?

steve@thaib · #9 05-04-2006, 14:43

Nikon have done it haven't they? Dropped film and only do digital now. I'm not convinced that they will get much cheaper at the bottom end, but the new stuff coming through will be interesting for sure.

syeatman · #10 05-04-2006, 15:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve@thaib

Nikon have done it haven't they? Dropped film and only do digital now. I'm not convinced that they will get much cheaper at the bottom end, but the new stuff coming through will be interesting for sure.

Yeah, although they make the best film SLR's out there and with the new F6 have pretty much done as much as they can for the pro.

Well take a look at the D200, that is an awesome camera that has almost exactly the same abilities as the top of the line D2X for just over a grand which is fa for a top end DSLR. I bought my D70 for 900 quid 2 years ago, so that's quite a large improvement in a short time.

to be honest though, it's the rest of the bloody kit that really adds up, good tripod, loads of memory and obviously good lenses are a small fortune!

erik1 · #11 05-04-2006, 17:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve@thaib

Oh, and speaking of D50s, I saw an internet deal for £415 last week, which is staggeringly cheap. Will see if I can find the link.

335 is the going rate at the moment. the plastic lenses that came with the f55 I would not use on the d series as the results will be disappointing. just buy yourself a nice dx series lens in addition and use you old lenses for the shots where color and sharpness are not needed to be 100% accurate (they will work though)

erik1 · #12 05-04-2006, 17:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by syeatman

I kind of agree with that. The sensors on most DSLR's are smaller than 35mm film, so you are effectively losing the outside area that you would normally get with film. This means that your "field of view" is equivalent to a longer lens. I think alot of people assume you physically get more focal length from the same lens, which when you think about it is impossible by just changing the sensor size.

The thing is that you will have with a 500 mm a virtual 750mm lens but with the depth of field of a 500 mm. and that is the main reason why we still want full frame sensors and no crop factor.

steve@thaib · #13 05-04-2006, 18:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by erik1

335 is the going rate at the moment. the plastic lenses that came with the f55 I would not use on the d series as the results will be disappointing. just buy yourself a nice dx series lens in addition and use you old lenses for the shots where color and sharpness are not needed to be 100% accurate (they will work though)

I ended up with a D70 for £599 with a kit lens, and added a 70/300 lens which I got for £99. I'm just amazed at such a low preice for a D50, which is a lovely camera. I paid almost £300 for a compact digi cam a few years ago.

erik1 · #14 06-04-2006, 00:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve@thaib

I ended up with a D70 for £599 with a kit lens, and added a 70/300 lens which I got for £99. I'm just amazed at such a low preice for a D50, which is a lovely camera. I paid almost £300 for a compact digi cam a few years ago.

In the end the kit lens works fine. just can be better with the dx series

mars · #15 12-04-2006, 05:10

Thanks for the link steve I was looking at Jessops and they want £398 just for the body and £459 for the kit.

Im going to Wolverhampton on Thursday so I'll have a look around a couple of shops to have a look at a few things.

Im also looking for a nice small digi to carry around in my pocket.

steve@thaib · #16 12-04-2006, 05:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by mars

Thanks for the link steve I was looking at Jessops and they want £398 just for the body and £459 for the kit.

Im going to Wolverhampton on Thursday so I'll have a look around a couple of shops to have a look at a few things.

Im also looking for a nice small digi to carry around in my pocket.

I have a real issue with Jessops, would not buy a ream of paper from them. There is a Wildings opposite Jessops and they price-match them on everything, so I never lose out there.

I've also kept my little Samsung digi, gotta have one for the pocket.