Photographic Equipment...

[Looker]

Wow..they run and jump fast and high, don't they.
You used a 250mm, F 5.3, 1/400sec..was that a zoom?

[Looker]

(Torurot @ Aug. 19 2008,20:46) Next time your out looking can you find a price for the Alpha700 kit?

http://www.digitalrev.com/en/sony-4-165-category.html

I just found out that digital review has a shop in Kowloon - TST. Prices seem to be about 5-8% higher than in Mong Kok area since have dozens of shops packed in a relatively small area and turnover is very high in Mong Kok since both tourists and locals go to buy. Just for your reference.
If you drop by HK give me a buzz

[donnnnnny]

i used my 70-300 nikkor zoom crappy lens but ok for snaps. it was shot at 1/250sec and f5.4 froma moving car cheers donnnnny

[donnnnnny]

Ok i am now the proud owner of an AP_S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 g ed dx cost around $800 aus dollars and i feel it is a very versatile and quality lens. just what i needed'
cheers the flash

[donnnnnny]

rxpharm. mate i have take a couple of shots for you to compare the  shake  on my Nikon with your  Sony minolta. the lens i used was the nikkor 18-200 with vr  vibration reduction. cheers donnnnnnny

18mm 1/1.3 sec exposure and f1/16 both pics same

[donnnnnny]

second shot looks a bit noisey but that can be corrected on computer with iphoto

[Looker]

donnnnny is our in-house photographic expert.
Ok..a question for you. While thinking over about how to spend my $$$ for a digicam, I've come across the site of a photographer whom I like his works very much.

The kind of photography style I was having in mind is something similar to this. Since RXpharm rightly said it all depends what you want to do before selecting a camera..well..this is +/- what I want to do:
http://www.stephenlangphotography.co.../bio/index.php
As I can do it with brushes and paint..I want to do it with a camera as well.
Stephen Lang uses NIKON plus some SIGMA lenses, included the "famous" 10-20mm zoom.
I guess there are a lot of photoshop effects in there..
Any clue guys?
Thanks

[donnnnnny]

I can't answer your question looker,on what to buy.
Steven lang's  web sight is  very nice. a bit  of a word smith in his descriptions, and i guess thats just his style.   He takes  very nice photos with his Nikon, just as a professional should>What's the difference between a professional and a keen amateur??The  pros get paid. As for photo shop in the work, i would say sure he uses photo shop, and thats just part of the art of digital photography right?
I guess what i'm trying to say is, if you have an artistic eye(which you have)then you   can use  pretty well any DSLR on the market and get brilliant results.
 You guys  know i love my Nikon, Rxpharm and Dieter love there Minolta, Sony, Snick i believe is a Canon nut and monkey man  has a Nikon and a Canon.
I now have 5  lens to  compliment my NIKON D80 body. 18-55 dx zoom and 70-300 f1:4.5   zoom (for sale)lol .   The  previous 2  were the kit lens's  i bought when i was green and new.The 18-55  is a great little lens especially indoors or in restricted space.
SInce buying the kid  to get started i  have realised  to a degree the kind of  photos i want to take.SO i bought a Macro  AF MACRO NIKOR 60mm  1:2.8 lovely lens. Next  was a  nikor AF 50mm 1:1.4 d indoor  lens(portrait  beauty).   FInally i have bought  the AF-S Nikor 18-200 zoom which i believe will make the 70-3000 redundant.I have  Nikon Speedlight 800 flash unit  a  nikon remote release  for tripod work and of course i have a tripod..I have some a1 and polorizing filters, and thats it i  think?? oh ya a Lowepro back pac bag to sling it all in , a cleaning kit and of course memory cards.
I read internet  downloads ,i look at web sights and i go out and practice alot.I am getting  a  good understanding of Light and how to shoot in the conditions available.The  beauty of it is   that you can delete the  crap  at no extra cost.
LOOKER,  once you do decide which camera to buy,   and i'm sure you have done  far more research than i did. you will be happy with what ever camera you buy.
AS for Steven lang  i'm sure there are heaps of  photo shop extras there, but hey! isnt that part of the art  now? we used to use filters and the like to enhance photos, now we can do it on the computer
cheers donnnnnny  the flash
ps  the only reason i  buy all NIkon  gear  is  just personal preference.
I am still learning everyday.
SHOPPING LIST
Ring flash unit for macro shots
and maybe later a nice telephoto for long distance stuff.
long way of a Nikon D3 or D700

[Looker]

donnnnnny always delivers
Yes, I was more interested in trying to guess about the lenses Steven may have used in in fact. For sure the 10-20 SIGMA as I saw it on the SIGMA websites
The bodies, well, more or less they are all there..pixel plus pixel minus, one button more one button less..100 $ more or less..really hard to decide.
I think it comes down to personal preferences as you rightly said. You feel happy with a Nikon rather than an Olympus or a a Canon, and that's fine.
I'm a bit dry in computer ability, so will have to learn this damn Photoshop

[rxpharm]

donnnnnny has given good advice, as posted several times, the camera brands, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus can all produce very good photos. Each company makes high end expensive lenses, but most of the time you won't notice the difference unless the photo is taken with the aperture wide open. Once the lenses is "stopped" down there is not a whole lot of difference in the image quality.

Looker, you are on the right track, joining a photography club and getting the chance to try out different makes of cameras. As for photo editing programs, you don't have to get Photoshop - it just happens to be one of the most powerful programs around. There is also Corel Paintshop Pro - easier to use than Photoshop, and does all the essential things.

donnnnnny, I'll post a few more low light examples and a few of some from my special lenses. Right now I have a Sony 18-250 mm F3.5-6.3 one of the new generation super zooms, with very good image quality for this zoom range. Since I got this lens it's on my 5D 85% of the time. I also have the Minolta 18-70 mm F3.5-5.6 and 75-300 mm F4.5-5.6 kit zoom lenses. These were packaged with my 5D and are of average image quality wide open and good stopped down. My special lenses are the Minolta 50 mm F1.7 prime lens very good for low light and portrait work, and the unique Minolta 500 mm F8 autofocus reflex (mirror) lens. This is the only autofocus mirror lens available, compact and hand holdable.

Ok, here we go with some photos. This is a low light shot with my kit lens.

The Arabic bakers were shot at f4.0, 1/20 sec, ISO 800 at 20 mm.

[rxpharm]

Next is a photo of plaque on the archway of the lowlight photo I posted before. Shot at F5.6, 1/5 sec, ISO 800 at 70 mm

[rxpharm]

Now this is detail of the hand holding the swords that make up the archway. Shot at F3.5, 1/3 sec, ISO 800, 18 mm.

[rxpharm]

Here are a few from my 500 mm mirror lens - F8, 1/500 sec, ISO 800

[rxpharm]

Another one from the same boat race, but later in the day with less sun. F8, 1/160 sec, ISO 800 500 mm. Remember with the "crop factor" this is equivalent to 750 mm hand held.

[rxpharm]

Finally a shot of the moon, almost full. F8, 1/250 sec, ISO 400, 500 mm. This one was on a tripod and has been cropped 50%