[Po1aris]

i was gonna order one from bhphoto! but i needed a kit right away since i needed to clean before i put my 70-200 on sale =( i miss that ugly huge white thing. anyway, i've asked the people at ritz camera about which kind i should buy, and of course they said the one in their store is just fine..

*sigh, i really dislike ritz camera =( i wish there was a local-friendly camera store or a bhphoto near where i live

[Born: 1985]

^ Yeah I've been in Ritz a few times too, the store isn't too friendly and the ones I've seen are always cluttered, the only thing is they're convenient and found at almost every shopping center. O__O

I think I will get the one from B&H, there are 8 reviews total and they all seem quite positive about the product.

[Azndinky]

[font="Trebuchet MS"]The picture was taken using the kit lens from a Nikon D60. Comments and/or critiques appreciated.

http://f.imagehost.org/0393/DSC_0090a.jpg

very clear picture, but it could be just me but looking at the picture I couldn't focus on the subject at all, seem a lil distraction because of the leaves and the lil chicken fence around it? kinda a distractions away from the duck

[JoniL]

Thank you
I used my Leica M8.2 to take that picture, but it can be taken with pretty much any camera, even point and shoots, as long as you have a sturdy tripod.
And yeah I was scared poopless -- my dad said I was foolish and I think I was -- not doing that again without a friend
Nikon D40 is a good camera but manual focusing with it would be a pain in the butt since the viewfinder is very tiny.
If manual focus is what you want, you might want to look at manual film cameras, like Nikon FM2 -- manual film cameras sell for very cheap prices used on eBay.

Hi there, . I've been a fan of yours that's just been lurking around.
I'm new to the DSLR, copletely. You mentioned that the picture you took at Mt. Soledad can be taken with any camera. I'm mainly interested in taking photos at night and that photo you took was just so perfect. Would I need a certain len or as long as I have a strong steady tripod to capture the stars and clouds like you did?

Anyone could answer. Just need to know some information before making my first purchase.

[erure]

^Yes, any camera can be used as long as you have a sturdy tripod and the camera needs to be able to do long exposures.

[sp4078]

Haha, the first two are taken with kit lens, and the last two are with the 50 mm. These pictures (with 50 mm) show the DOF alot better a hur hur hur

img]http://farm4.static...._06b0a4bd60.jpg[/img] [img]http://farm4.static...._13fa3f07c0.jpg[/img
[img]http://farm4.static...._2caba6057d.jpg[/img

I can't afford the 1.4 man! I got my 1.8 for...$80 on Amazon? I'm really happy with it, although the ULTRA shallow DOF and prime lens part is a bit of a hassle sometimes (maybe I'm just not used to it yet). The photos produced are alot crisper (in the parts that are actually focused) and it performs alot better in low light than the kit.

~Cool, I like the last portrait a lot, pretty eyes, nice composition there. And It's crisply clear. I'll definitely get this in summer. The price is good enough for me.

Thanks a lot for the pictures.

[awdark]

Huhuhuu critique please~ Shooting with a Canon XSi (450 D) with kit lens and the 1.8 50 mm.

[img]http://farm4.static...._af0694c537.jpg[/]

[img]http://farm4.static...._53300f7b02.jpg[/]

[img]http://farm4.static...._37410eecaa.jpg[/]
[img]http://farm4.static...._976d243a4d.jpg[/]

I always sigh when I see pictures taken at night that aren't blurry. The only way I could get close to getting that would be to use a tripod.
Normally when I take a picture at night or just darker overall the probability of motion blurred picture is far too high for me to really want to bother. What iso did you shoot it at? I don't see any noise which makes me think it was shot at something normal like 400-800...

[erure]

I always sigh when I see pictures taken at night that aren't blurry. The only way I could get close to getting that would be to use a tripod.
Normally when I take a picture at night or just darker overall the probability of motion blurred picture is far too high for me to really want to bother. What iso did you shoot it at? I don't see any noise which makes me think it was shot at something normal like 400-800...

Really? Both those shots seem completely doable for anyone since it's really bright...


I took this at f/11 and 1/15 sec and still it came out pretty decent.

[bubydub]

~Cool, I like the last portrait a lot, pretty eyes, nice composition there. And It's crisply clear. I'll definitely get this in summer. The price is good enough for me.

Thanks a lot for the pictures.

No prob! : ) Last portrait was kinda...accidental LOL. I was testing the lens out to see how far they would "zoom" in on my face, and it just so happened to be a good photo ahahhaha~

I always sigh when I see pictures taken at night that aren't blurry. The only way I could get close to getting that would be to use a tripod.
Normally when I take a picture at night or just darker overall the probability of motion blurred picture is far too high for me to really want to bother. What iso did you shoot it at? I don't see any noise which makes me think it was shot at something normal like 400-800...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bubydub/sets/72157614897294656/ Here's the set~ You can check all the stats for the photos there~ But for those two photos....

Exposure: 0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off
~
Exposure: 0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 44 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

So yeah, ISO speed 1600...surprisingly, it wasn't as grainy as I thought it would have been. This was taken at a night market, so the little stands were lit up quite well, which was a huge plus.

Notice the lights hanging off the strings behind the stands~~


Taken right under one of those lights~
None of the night market (or China photos) are photoshopped at all (no time to edit 3 k photos ; A ; ) But I think they came out alright, even without editing. I set it to my saturated setting; saturation bumped up two spots, contrast up one spot, and sharpness up two spots.

[semi-fly]

very clear picture, but it could be just me but looking at the picture I couldn't focus on the subject at all, seem a lil distraction because of the leaves and the lil chicken fence around it? kinda a distractions away from the duck

Any particular way I can improve my "technique" of shooting? I couldn't get any closer to the subject nor could I squat down without getting the fencing in the shot. Kind of like this one (though I was hoping for a better shot):

[awdark]

Guess I will consider that encouragement to try some more in the future!

As for the above, you could try to focus through the fencing, can't guarantee it will look all that nice, but I took this picture through my bunny's cage... I was actually a bit surprised when I saw the results it was like wooo x-ray vision! xD

[Po1aris]

RAWR.

[Azndinky]

Any particular way I can improve my "technique" of shooting? I couldn't get any closer to the subject nor could I squat down without getting the fencing in the shot. Kind of like this one (though I was hoping for a better shot):

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/6541/dsc0094a.jpg

did you use auto focus? seem like the camera is picking up whatever's closet, playing with manual mode you can discover some amazing stuffs I tell ya oh and the picture above there's a stump in front of the picture that could be cut out while taking shot or with Photoshop like what Awdark did


@awdark that's kewl Photoshop effect with out PS

[zgnoud]

Any particular way I can improve my "technique" of shooting? I couldn't get any closer to the subject nor could I squat down without getting the fencing in the shot. Kind of like this one (though I was hoping for a better shot):

You know if you can get really close to the fence, shift your autofocus to "single point" or "dynamic area" you can choose exactly which point to focus on... alternative switch over to manual focus like Azndinky mentioned, that way you can really throw the fence out of focus, and get the effect awdark posted above - great shot by the way
This also works well with glass, just get your lens super close to the glass/mirror, throw the focus off the glass/mirror, into the subject and shoot (without using any flash). It'll look like you were standing face to face with the animal/subject - really useful when taking pictures at the zoo.

[erure]

This also works well with glass, just get your lens super close to the glass/mirror, throw the focus off the glass/mirror, into the subject and shoot (without using any flash). It'll look like you were standing face to face with the animal/subject - really useful when taking pictures at the zoo.

Case in point. Heh

[semi-fly]

Well I'm still learning, so I don't really expect to be all that good yet. I'll take what's been said and apply it when I get the chance.

[latina]

I have a Nikon D40 and I'm planning to buy a prime lens.
Does anybody have shots using Nikon AF 50mm f1.8D?
Thanks

[xradiostatic]

I have a Nikon D40 and I'm planning to buy a prime lens.
Does anybody have shots using Nikon AF 50mm f1.8D?
Thanks

i'm not sure if you knew, but if you get the nikon af 50mm, you won't be able to use autofocus on the d40. the d40 doesn't have a focus motor inside the camera, so you'd only be able to use the 50mm with manual focus.

if you don't mind the manual focus, i think the 50mm is a great lens for the low price. i keep it on my camera most of the time. because of the crop factor, it might be too long since it'll basically turn into 75mm on a dslr, but it's still great. :]

nikon is supposed to be coming out with a af-s 35mm f/1.8 which will be perfect for the d40 (the 35mm will be basically be like 50mm for a non full frame dslr if i'm not mistaken). i read it'll be going for about $200. i'm not sure when it'll go for sale though. (you can read a little bit about it here http://www.dpreview.com/news/0902/09020901nikon35mm1p8.asp)

hope that wasn't confusing or anything. XD

here's some shots i've taken with the 50mm:

[omegach]

i hear the 35DX is supposed to be available in the US on march 12th

[awdark]

^Fish are surprisingly difficult to get pictures of!

Usually my tank is too dark and even with a high ISO they tend to blur away! T_T
Unlike most other pets, fish are stupid and swim off, they run into plants and even when they aren't trying to move, they continue to float and when you think its finally framed nicely, another mentally limited fish floats in your way... And there's always your reflection, reflection from glass, and that algae on the glass starts to show up clearly...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/awdark/IMG_0099.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/awdark/rIMG_0150.jpg

O.o how many shots do you guys have on your camera so far? I noticed the pictures above were sub 100 (bought camera with ~1000 shots on it and I reset it) and just went past 9040... but I probably only have about 500 I am willing to share XD