oshb5
Senior Member
Hi All
Iv had my Nikon quite a few years and have not joined any such forum until now. But a few things have lead me to wanting to join so I can glean some minds for info that I feel I need to know from what Iv heard or seen places on the net..
Right to start if I put what the equipment I have and go from there. D70 with stock lens from new Nikon 105 F4 VR, Nikon 80-200 F2.8 ED(New), Tamron SP AF 70-300 F/4-5.6 Di VC USD (New) SB-80dx Speedlight and a Older type ring flash with a actual tube rather than LEDs . And have used them in and for all my hobby's over the last 22 years which have included the odd studio shoot, Birding, Nature, Air-shows mainly Warbird photography also R/C Flying models and finally Astronomy for a short period,
I will now try and give my experience level starting from my late teens. I had a good well paid full time job But a lot of my weekend and some nights all those years ago was taken up with photography. Where I used to do weddings and event photography. (and I will blow my own trumpet and add I was pretty good at it and good with the guests which was the biggest hurdle out of the way) with the odd studio shoot thrown in for good measure . And my main camera was a Mamiya 645 set up with various film backs and a Metz 60 CT1 Flash unit. The money was good so a Cannon Eos1 was bought as a backup for the wedding shoots because back then I was still using film I used a Pro lab to do all the processing The lab used to collect some 18-24 rolls of film after a good weekend of 2 - 3 weddings that required a final album of 50 12x10 prints that said I only used 12-120 and 24-35mm (But no 35mm if I could help it)As back in the film age you paid for the hits and misses a like so it could get expensive when the negs and proofs where delivered back on the van on the Wednesday. I also had the third bedroom in my old house set up as a nice darkrooms with full running water b/w and colour processing available but I never did any important processing and left that to the pro lab. However I liked doing all the experimental darkroom stuff with the dodging and burning when using the enlarger or having it tilted over giving it strange views as well as chemical colourization of b/w prints but was all just for exhibition and hobby use so after a few years I could not justify the outlay. Plus the wife wanted the extra bedroom LOL. So was all either boxed up or sold off and a new little girls bedroom rose from the ashes of my darkroom so to speak. The wedding photography was doing well so well I was on the brink of changing over. In that I mean I was going to pack in work and do the photography full time. ""But"" im afraid it never happened ( A missed move which I have regretted all my life) because what with my full time job the photography club and the weddings with all the work needed doing with the meetings before and after the wedding then the actual weddings itself plus sorting all the proofs then the sorting out of the wedding album my own marriage was suffering. (One Year I did 40 weddings. The Money was nice but not when you dont get the benefit of it.) I tried to explain the load would drop if I did the change but she was not supportive and so after many arguments and the things that happens behind closed doors And the odd not behind closed door argument the inevitable happened and we split and finally got divorced.
The after effect was implosive in that I had to stay at my full time job and work more hours to be able to afford to just live and start again so to speak So the photography suffered and as soon as I had honoured all my booked weddings I just took very few on in-fact they fell so dramatically to just 4 in the first year after and they was close friends. So I then could no longer justify the kit I was using I mean my Metz flash sold for £200 on its own and then the 645 kit. Now I had always wanted a Nikon so decided to sell the now 5 year old Eos kit and move to a Nikon DSLR I know I was going to have to go down in quality and features with my first buy which at the time was a D70. I would have love to have got the D90 new but as I had said it was by now only hobby photos I was taking so again I could not justify the outlay and when all done and said. My D70 has been a super camera from day one and has been many thousands of miles all over the world and taken many amazing photos and can still produce a great shot but it is outdated I know and there are better cameras out there that will give better quality of photo by pixels I mean and the ability to shoot more frames per second. Just to mention two of the important gains of a new camera. And yet I doubt there actual quality of the body itself will be any better even may be possibly worse I wouldn't like to bet on the new body being in as great condition as my D70 is now after all the photos, miles bangs, dinks drops and general use over these past many years. By this time I had remarried and had a daughter who was growing fast she became interested in horses and riding so she joined riding a school and learned to ride and did well and eventually did some compertitions It was then that I knew I needed a longer faster lens so bought. the 80-200 f2,8 and it was a expensive but well super buy and worth every penny I gave for it. That was around 7 years ago since then my health has changed for the worse I can no longer do as I used and can only walk a few meters now. So I decided I needed something I could do that did not mean walking any distances or carrying loads of gear. So I remembered the days when I used to go birding and our local club had hides not at all far from car spaces. I also found that a few of the larger RSPB and Wildlife conservation areas hired disabled scooters which is great as mine is to large for the car so something I can do even with my health restraints. So a few months ago I dusted off my birding equipment that I had stored nice and safe and restarted my watching and photographing. Anyway I attended the Birdfair a few weeks ago with the intent of getting a 300mm lens I looked at the 3 which I was interested in these being the Nikon, Sigma and the Tamron 70-300 Now the Tamron was not the cheapest but I think its offerings was I thought the best of the 3 so I went ahead and bought that.
The other thing I like to do is some close up work. Iv got a kit of a small light booth from Maplin's and I use it with various sorts of media.. I would like to get back into B/W film photography and sort out an enlarger and have a go at processing and doing the dodging and burning once again. Iv tried it via software but its nothing like the real thing counting the seconds in your head and holding your hands this and that way and fanning over a area with a feather to soften the edges . That was so relaxing ,, But I can dream..:encouragement:
Also I wanted to ask about IR photography because if I get a new body I might have the D70 IR altered. I never got round to using a few rolls of Xray/IR film I had back then in the aluminium canisters but thought id like to try it in via DSLR photography.
So now we are up to date and know to the reason im here most possible in to much detail LOL
Right my D70 has 6.1meg as photo quality which is good but not by today's standards. However not a reason to spend hundreds on another body as for just a hobbyist photos they still give me what I need, However the speed on constant shooting is very slow I recently got a heron in view that struck at a fish. Got it spun it round in its beak and swallowed it head first. All in 3 nearly 4 frames The guy next to me got at least 16 possibly more but 16 that I saw. when he was reviewing them. So im severely lacking in speed (It was with the F2.8 at 200mm) The battery was full it was just so painfully slow. The focusing is fine still super quick. When I was 50 I was lucky enough to be given two tickets to the F1 at Silverstone and we was in the stands just as the pit lane exits onto the main track but unfortunately that was a day when should I say the weather was bad I mean they looked more like power boat racing as they had huge plumes of water coming from their rear so if the weather had been good the slow speed would have shown up ten around 98 years ago but It did not or should I say I did not get the chance Anyway Iv come to the conclusion I think I ought to update to a body with A better constant shooting and B More Mega pixels for my bucks But be still on the footing of it only being used as a hobbyist camera so dont want to go overboard on the price. That said iv just saved all my birthday money and Xmas money from the last two years Its in a safe place which no one other than me and my daughter know about (The daughter as a matter of planning for the "in-case" if you get what I mean and without me having to talk about a morbid sssituation on here that is?)
Now to what I have read or heard or should I say ""think"" I have read or overheard. Some of the newer cameras will not work some of the older Nikon lenses in that "work" I mean will not operate the auto focus for one? Is this so and if so which body's do what and with which lens please ?
So in short as well as this being an introduction, it is also a plea of a little help to try and find a new/used Nikon Body. Now I had better stop rambling on and on or might be booted before I get any of the help I seek LOL. Anyway many thanks for you time and the bending of your ears
Best regards OS
Iv had my Nikon quite a few years and have not joined any such forum until now. But a few things have lead me to wanting to join so I can glean some minds for info that I feel I need to know from what Iv heard or seen places on the net..
Right to start if I put what the equipment I have and go from there. D70 with stock lens from new Nikon 105 F4 VR, Nikon 80-200 F2.8 ED(New), Tamron SP AF 70-300 F/4-5.6 Di VC USD (New) SB-80dx Speedlight and a Older type ring flash with a actual tube rather than LEDs . And have used them in and for all my hobby's over the last 22 years which have included the odd studio shoot, Birding, Nature, Air-shows mainly Warbird photography also R/C Flying models and finally Astronomy for a short period,
I will now try and give my experience level starting from my late teens. I had a good well paid full time job But a lot of my weekend and some nights all those years ago was taken up with photography. Where I used to do weddings and event photography. (and I will blow my own trumpet and add I was pretty good at it and good with the guests which was the biggest hurdle out of the way) with the odd studio shoot thrown in for good measure . And my main camera was a Mamiya 645 set up with various film backs and a Metz 60 CT1 Flash unit. The money was good so a Cannon Eos1 was bought as a backup for the wedding shoots because back then I was still using film I used a Pro lab to do all the processing The lab used to collect some 18-24 rolls of film after a good weekend of 2 - 3 weddings that required a final album of 50 12x10 prints that said I only used 12-120 and 24-35mm (But no 35mm if I could help it)As back in the film age you paid for the hits and misses a like so it could get expensive when the negs and proofs where delivered back on the van on the Wednesday. I also had the third bedroom in my old house set up as a nice darkrooms with full running water b/w and colour processing available but I never did any important processing and left that to the pro lab. However I liked doing all the experimental darkroom stuff with the dodging and burning when using the enlarger or having it tilted over giving it strange views as well as chemical colourization of b/w prints but was all just for exhibition and hobby use so after a few years I could not justify the outlay. Plus the wife wanted the extra bedroom LOL. So was all either boxed up or sold off and a new little girls bedroom rose from the ashes of my darkroom so to speak. The wedding photography was doing well so well I was on the brink of changing over. In that I mean I was going to pack in work and do the photography full time. ""But"" im afraid it never happened ( A missed move which I have regretted all my life) because what with my full time job the photography club and the weddings with all the work needed doing with the meetings before and after the wedding then the actual weddings itself plus sorting all the proofs then the sorting out of the wedding album my own marriage was suffering. (One Year I did 40 weddings. The Money was nice but not when you dont get the benefit of it.) I tried to explain the load would drop if I did the change but she was not supportive and so after many arguments and the things that happens behind closed doors And the odd not behind closed door argument the inevitable happened and we split and finally got divorced.
The after effect was implosive in that I had to stay at my full time job and work more hours to be able to afford to just live and start again so to speak So the photography suffered and as soon as I had honoured all my booked weddings I just took very few on in-fact they fell so dramatically to just 4 in the first year after and they was close friends. So I then could no longer justify the kit I was using I mean my Metz flash sold for £200 on its own and then the 645 kit. Now I had always wanted a Nikon so decided to sell the now 5 year old Eos kit and move to a Nikon DSLR I know I was going to have to go down in quality and features with my first buy which at the time was a D70. I would have love to have got the D90 new but as I had said it was by now only hobby photos I was taking so again I could not justify the outlay and when all done and said. My D70 has been a super camera from day one and has been many thousands of miles all over the world and taken many amazing photos and can still produce a great shot but it is outdated I know and there are better cameras out there that will give better quality of photo by pixels I mean and the ability to shoot more frames per second. Just to mention two of the important gains of a new camera. And yet I doubt there actual quality of the body itself will be any better even may be possibly worse I wouldn't like to bet on the new body being in as great condition as my D70 is now after all the photos, miles bangs, dinks drops and general use over these past many years. By this time I had remarried and had a daughter who was growing fast she became interested in horses and riding so she joined riding a school and learned to ride and did well and eventually did some compertitions It was then that I knew I needed a longer faster lens so bought. the 80-200 f2,8 and it was a expensive but well super buy and worth every penny I gave for it. That was around 7 years ago since then my health has changed for the worse I can no longer do as I used and can only walk a few meters now. So I decided I needed something I could do that did not mean walking any distances or carrying loads of gear. So I remembered the days when I used to go birding and our local club had hides not at all far from car spaces. I also found that a few of the larger RSPB and Wildlife conservation areas hired disabled scooters which is great as mine is to large for the car so something I can do even with my health restraints. So a few months ago I dusted off my birding equipment that I had stored nice and safe and restarted my watching and photographing. Anyway I attended the Birdfair a few weeks ago with the intent of getting a 300mm lens I looked at the 3 which I was interested in these being the Nikon, Sigma and the Tamron 70-300 Now the Tamron was not the cheapest but I think its offerings was I thought the best of the 3 so I went ahead and bought that.
The other thing I like to do is some close up work. Iv got a kit of a small light booth from Maplin's and I use it with various sorts of media.. I would like to get back into B/W film photography and sort out an enlarger and have a go at processing and doing the dodging and burning once again. Iv tried it via software but its nothing like the real thing counting the seconds in your head and holding your hands this and that way and fanning over a area with a feather to soften the edges . That was so relaxing ,, But I can dream..:encouragement:
Also I wanted to ask about IR photography because if I get a new body I might have the D70 IR altered. I never got round to using a few rolls of Xray/IR film I had back then in the aluminium canisters but thought id like to try it in via DSLR photography.
So now we are up to date and know to the reason im here most possible in to much detail LOL
Right my D70 has 6.1meg as photo quality which is good but not by today's standards. However not a reason to spend hundreds on another body as for just a hobbyist photos they still give me what I need, However the speed on constant shooting is very slow I recently got a heron in view that struck at a fish. Got it spun it round in its beak and swallowed it head first. All in 3 nearly 4 frames The guy next to me got at least 16 possibly more but 16 that I saw. when he was reviewing them. So im severely lacking in speed (It was with the F2.8 at 200mm) The battery was full it was just so painfully slow. The focusing is fine still super quick. When I was 50 I was lucky enough to be given two tickets to the F1 at Silverstone and we was in the stands just as the pit lane exits onto the main track but unfortunately that was a day when should I say the weather was bad I mean they looked more like power boat racing as they had huge plumes of water coming from their rear so if the weather had been good the slow speed would have shown up ten around 98 years ago but It did not or should I say I did not get the chance Anyway Iv come to the conclusion I think I ought to update to a body with A better constant shooting and B More Mega pixels for my bucks But be still on the footing of it only being used as a hobbyist camera so dont want to go overboard on the price. That said iv just saved all my birthday money and Xmas money from the last two years Its in a safe place which no one other than me and my daughter know about (The daughter as a matter of planning for the "in-case" if you get what I mean and without me having to talk about a morbid sssituation on here that is?)
Now to what I have read or heard or should I say ""think"" I have read or overheard. Some of the newer cameras will not work some of the older Nikon lenses in that "work" I mean will not operate the auto focus for one? Is this so and if so which body's do what and with which lens please ?
So in short as well as this being an introduction, it is also a plea of a little help to try and find a new/used Nikon Body. Now I had better stop rambling on and on or might be booted before I get any of the help I seek LOL. Anyway many thanks for you time and the bending of your ears
Best regards OS
