Day Four

I was going to get some packages and one of the employees had this nice classic Vette...  I think its the sexy curves, but this Vette makes this otherwise low key color look good.

Next, I was heading out to Anamosa and saw this interesting little farm on a hill... the green patch that just stood out so vividly from the field.

I am working on some High ISO tests for those out there who like test shots.  I am not too fond of them but I am sometimes interested in seeing the results.

Clark Park, Day Three

Well I decided to hit up Clark Park after work.  Took a few shots that I will share with you.  I went with the intent to get some abstract photos.  Let me know what you think!

First, can you guess what this is from?  (All images are click-able for large size)

Now on to the park.

 Normally I don't like using 100% crops to prove a camera or lens' worth, but since this is such a cheap lens, I thought some people would be interested in the resolving power.

Day Two comes to a close

One last shot for the day, its nothing special.  However it IS special if you knew this was taken at ISO 5000! Yes, five thousand!

Never have I dreamed of even attempting this before.  This is untouched, no noise reduction... just converted to jpeg.

Day Two

It's not too eventful today.  Here are a couple shots.... plus lunch.  I told you I am not exciting!

Now for lunch! Pretty light lunch, just about 500 calories.  Yes that includes my sweet treat ;)

Ciabatta Roll and a boneless chicken breast, dab of light mayo, and chipotle seasoning.  Since the spices can boost your metabolism for up to an hour, you actually come out with a lower calorie count.  Okay enough food talk.

Here is the same picture cropped down to approx. 100%  Look at the detail and clarity!  This is a special camera, and I am only using a cheap-o lens!  Also, who says 12.1 megapixels can't resolve enough detail!

And for a sweet ending, a rice treat.

  

Again with a tight crop.  You can see all the tiny details.  The color and clarity is just amazing.

Join me later tonight, I should have some more to share!

First shots and impressions

Well I have had some time to play with my new toy.  Seriously oozes perfection.  The in-body motor is actually way quieter than I thought it would be.  Coming from Pentax this surprised me.

Honestly, this camera is just about perfect. The ergonomics are supreme and the camera handles so easily.  The viewfinder is massive and so bright.  The D300s I had was very good but this just blows it away.

Okay, so by now some of you probably have wondered why Nikon?  Why the D700?  I mean its not the cheapest on the block.  You have the Sony A850 at $1999.. what about the Canon 5D MKII?  Its around the same price as the D700, maybe a little more expensive.  So why Nikon?

Well lets compare them.

1. Sony A850
The ultimate studio machine.  From everything I have seen and heard, this is the FF camera you want for full on studio work.  It out resolves the D700 and 5D with a 24.6 megapixel sensor!  Its low ISO performance and dynamic range trumps both the D700 and 5D.  Its only hold back is the high ISO, which is slightly behind the 5D but falls short of the D700 quickly.  No doubt due to the massive amount of pixels in the sensor.  The AF system is decent.

2.  Canon 5D MkII
The Jack of All Trades.   The 5D falls almost perfectly between the A850 and the D700.  It can't resolve like the A850 and its high ISO performance is not quite as good as the D700.  The dynamic range is somewhere between the D700 and the A850.  Its quite the middle road and the only thing holding it back is the archaic AF system.  The meager nine point AF system barely covers any of the frame and its sloooow.

3.  Nikon D700
High ISO Monster.  This camera has less than half the pixels as the Sony A850 and much less than the 5D MkII.  However because of the smaller pixel count the pixels are much bigger and collect massive amounts of light and detail.  The dynamic range is among the best, its not quite as good as the Sony at low ISO, but its very good, some people still say its the best.  The AF system is superior to the other two.  51 AF points with insane speed and accuracy, seriously its so good!

Now, all that being said.  This is a very loose interpretation of my research and hands on experience, its my own subjective opinion.  All of those cameras listed are excellent camera and all of them will give you excellent results.  However, if you could pair your individual needs with one of these systems you could really push the limits of your ability.  For instance, I shoot the vast majority of my shots with available light and low light.  I simply do not like flash.  I also do sports, so I needed a very fast AF system.  My style of photography is best suited to exploit the strengths of the D700.  I bet someone who did a lot of studio work with lighting and flashes could exploit the power of the A850 to unimaginable levels.

So thats why I went with the D700.  Its low light performance is just amazing, based on their legendary D3 camera.  The AF system is proven and is very accurate and fast.

Okay...okay.  You don't want to hear about all this junk anymore.  On to the first few samples.  (Clickable for larger images)

Okay, so there you go, Day one.  The camera is just amazing and the detail and dynamic range its capable of makes my jaw drop.  APS-C cameras tend to fall behind in this respect, although they are getting very good as of late.

For anyone interested, here is a small sample of my derby photos I took with my D300s.

It's Here! I'm still working so I'll have to update later.

UPDATE!  Here she is!  Straight from Amazon.com.  I buy most of my stuff from Amazon, they have a great return policy and usually have the lowest price.

Sorry for the bad photos, they are from the iPhone.  More later tonight!  Stick around!

D700 arrives today!

Today is the day! My D700 arrives! It's like being a kid on Christmas morning. The wait is killing me. I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Once it's here ill post a few photos of it and then with it. As well as go through a couple other features.

Body Before Glass? A D700 Challenge

Have you ever heard photographers tell you that you need to buy good glass before getting a better body?  Well I certainly have.  Over the last 10 years of getting into photography I have shot Canon, Pentax, Sony, and Nikon.  All have been DSLRs.  All of them have been APS-C (Cropped 1.5x) sensors.  Which if you don't know means that all your lenses require a 1.5x conversion to them.  So for instance a 50mm lens on an APS-C Sensor is actually a 74-75mm.

 Before I go much farther, I am going to assume from here that you know basic knowledge of photography.  The terms and acronyms will be thrown around a lot as I go.  I will try my best to put everything in basic terms so everyone can understand, but I may not always.

Over the course of these years shooting these different brands, I had decided to stick with the APS-C format, thinking that no matter what happens I will be okay, and never need what a Full Frame camera offers (Full Frame is a sensor the size of a traditional frame of film 35mm).  Which is higher dynamic range, shallow depth of field, low light performance, and to some extent a truly wide angle.  Another very nice thing, is that there is no more 1.5x conversion on your lenses!  That means that 50mm is really a 50mm!  This can, to some people be a disadvantage, because the 1.5x crop factor does give you some extra reach with telephoto lenses.  In my case, this isn't something I really care about.

Well.. its been a while and I have finally found out what I really like to do with my photography.  I love low light/available light, I love the shallow depth of field, and something I never got to experience was the high dynamic range.  So its decided right?  Its just easy to go out and get a Full Frame camera?

Yes, and no.  Full Frame is still very expensive to buy into. The avg. cost of a Full Frame DSLR is the $1999 through $5999.  So yes you can just go buy one, but you need money!

Now most people are going to tell you... don't get a better/bigger body.  Learn what you have before you buy more bodies.  Glass lasts a lifetime bodies wear out.  Well to be fair, they are right.  Before you do a lot of spending you really need to work on photography and get good with what you have.  Buying a $5000 dollar camera body wont make you a better photographer.  That however doesn't mean you can't learn and grow with a $5000 dollar camera body.  I mean, really?  Is it that important to have expensive glass on an expensive body.  This is where my challenge comes in.

What if you really wanted to get a Full Frame camera but the body will be eating up your budget, allowing you to purchase only one lens?  Specifically the cheapest new lens you can get from Nikon the 50mm 1.8D (Avg. price is $119-$135)?  Why can't someone buy a body they want to hold on to for a few years and build a lens collection around that?  Many photographers might laugh or ridicule you for that choice... but I think there is nothing wrong with it.  In fact starting this way, even with an expensive body could help you hone your photographic skills.

So here I am, I about to take delivery of a Nikon D700 DSLR.  Nikon's "affordable" full frame camera.  It comes in around $2400 dollars as of current prices but originally launched at $2800.  Today, most used D700s still run you around $1900-$2200... most being around that $2000 mark.  Its a body I have coveted for quite some time and since I just made the switch from Pentax... I am without any older glass for this body.  I am limiting myself to the Nikkor 50mm 1.8D prime lens.  The cheapest lens Nikon makes.

My challenge (if you're still with me) is to use this set up for three months.  Thats right, about the time someone could recoup from spending such a initial investment on a modest income.  So for three months I am going to post at LEAST one photo per day.  At the end of this three months I will evaluate my photos and see what I am lacking or what I feel would benefit the most to my kit.  Then I will select another cheap lens from Nikon's stable and run with that in the same fashion as my original challenge.  This whole project will run the course of a year, with each quarter bringing one new lens into the mix.

Now, I am no professional photographer.  I cannot guarantee that every photo I take will be good, hell I won't even guarantee that they will be mediocre.  What you will get is a day to day photo set of my life.  Which I will admit is not that interesting!  However, it will prove that a one lens one body challenge can be done, and you can make things interesting.  If anything, maybe this will inspire you to try your own experiment.  These photos will range from street, landscape, sports, and portraiture.

I encourage you to follow along, or even join in me in a one body one lens challenge.  You don't have to have the same gear as I do.  I would love to see people posting along with me as the year goes on, and maybe we can look back at everything we did during the year.  It sounds like fun to me!