Introduction

Hello all, My name is Matt, I am from the Republic of China(Taiwan) but now I live in the Birth Place of Aviation, Ohio(I think its kind of ironic thees no major airports here even though aviation was born here). To start off, I am about 13 years old going on 14, and I just got into Photography this past summer. I may be a bit young but trust me, I am eager to learn. I currently own a D70S which is a hand-me-down from my dad, as well as my blackberry, and ipod nano. It is a really old camera. My dad bought it at around 2006 and 2007. My dad took care of it real well though, so when i saw it for the first time I thought it was a brand new camera. Anyways, the reason I got into photography was my love for aviation. and that means I go out and interact. I love planes and I know(mostly) everything about it(except for physics, its just too boring!). One of my favorite hobbies is to go out plane-spotting. But since I dont have a good camera(I didn't know of my Dad's D70S until last week when he brought it home) It was a really hard goal to achieve. So i pestered my parents about getting me a new camera for Christmas and a new lens to go with it for my birthday(which is about 2 weeks from Christmas). But since I have the D70S now(and it gets the job done real well), I started to pester my parents for a new lens. So to sum it up, basicly my interest in aviation led to other interests, and now I am eager to learn as much as I can about Nikon cameras, or just photo shooting in general. So that, is my paragraph of how I got into photography.

As of now, I am looking at the Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR
[h=1]Amazon.com: Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR: Camera & Photo[/h] I am using this lens for mostly planespotting and capturing special church activities and such. So any suggestions or comments?

Thnx, I really plan to learn alot from this forums, and it seems like it has a partnership with amazon, so thats a plus =]

Welcome to the forum Matt.

The nikon 55-300mm f4.5-5.6 is a good lens when used outdoor with good light (sunny). Indoor such as inside a church will be a little too dark and will often require you to use a flash.

Just start taking pictures with what you have for now and post them here so that other members can offer some suggestions.

Hi Matt! Welcome to Nikonites and to your new adventure in photography. There is an old thread here that is no longer active but may be a good source of information since you still have a D70s. D70/D70s Forum You will do quite well with the 55-300 lens for your aviation shots. That is a nice range. It depends on how close you want to get. What type of shots are you hoping to achieve? What lens are you using currently?

Although the D70 is an old camera, it still's a cracking camera, I've still got mine, even though I've upgraded to the D90, I can't bring myself to let the D70 go, I also have the 55-300 DX lens, and again, it's a very good lens, ideal for what you need it for .... lets see some of your photo's.

Hi and welcome

Thnx for the welcome guys, I forgot to mention I also used my uncle's D90, and It is really wonderful. my choices before my dad had given me his old D70s was either a Canon 550D or a D90. I was leaning more to the D90 though, and after a breif comparison, i decided canon was for rich people(since some lens cost more than the camera itself) Nikon is more affordable, and since my family all uses Nikon, I will stick with Nikon for a long time. After I got my Dad's D70s I have taken alot of pictures(just can't stop myself, and my friends from church called me annoying for taking too much pictures of them). Below is a picture I have taken today, in fact, right before I was typing this reply. So this would probably give you an idea of what pictures my camera is producing and such. Lens is a Nikkor AF f/3.3-4.5 35-70mm. Concerning about the aviation shots, I am usually pretty far away from the runway threshold, but the size of the plane makes up for that. My home airport is KCMH, or Port Columbus, where the spotting locations are pretty far but I think the 55-300 would get the job done. I am thinking of testing the 55-300 lens my friend at church has, but It is a Pentax lens so would it fit the Nikon f-mounts? My guess is that it cant but it never hurts to ask.
Below is a Chevy Corvette that my neighbor owns(he has 6 cars). Its not the best of shots but I cant get close enough to get a 5 star shot of fear my other neighbors will think im up to something. (I have weird imaginations)

Nice photo, sadly the Pentax lens won't fit onto your Nikon,

oh, thats not good, then ill need to borrow my friends whole camera for a few minutes then =] Btw forgot to ask, is the 55-300mm fast enough to capture a moving jet? I am pretty sure it does but doesnt hurt to ask(once again)

D70S said:

is the 55-300mm fast enough to capture a moving jet? I am pretty sure it does but doesnt hurt to ask(once again)

Click to expand...

As long as the light is good, it will be fine .... Pro' use fast f2.8 lenses because you have to get the photo on the day, never mind what the weather is doing, amateurs can just go back on a better day unless it's a one in a lifetime shot, the 55-300 has an aperture of f4.5-5.6

Well,At the boring Ohio there certainly wont be a once in a lifetime shot(unless a miracle happens and some rare plane comes by). But in the football season the Delta Skyteam 757-200 does come by(idk if they still do though) Thnx for the answer anyways. btw may I ask how fast is 4.5? cause my lens right now is 3.3, which is less than .5 seconds for a shot.

D70S said:

btw may I ask how fast is 4.5? cause my lens right now is 3.3, which is less than .5 seconds for a shot.

Click to expand...

Looking at the Exif data on the Corvette shot, you used an exposure of f8 @ 1/500, so if you would have used F4.5 instead, (which is 1 3/4 of a stop under f8), you would have got a shutter speed of around 1/1400 of a second,

whao i never knew that, but i thought my lens only go from f3.3 to 4.5?

D70S said:

whao i never knew that, but i thought my lens only go from f3.3 to 4.5?

Click to expand...

No, that's it's maximum aperture, f3.3 when used in the 35mm setting, and will go to f4.5 when zoomed into the 70mm setting, but it has a minimum f stop setting of f22,

thats kind of confusing, so to sum it up, the max and min f aperture changes at different zoom lvls?

Only the maximum aperture will alter as you zoom in, basically because at the higher 70mm end, you end up with less light getting to the sensor, but it will do this automatically without you having to do anything, expensive pro' lenses have a constant aperture of around f2.8, but there heavier and cost a lot more than the amateur based lenses, you need to learn what setting different apertures will do for the photo, but that's another subject ...

got alot to learn. thnx for all the info. too bad my dad doesnt have the manual anymore. is there an online copy? btw whats the difference between a D70 and a D70S?

Yes..... sure is

D70S said:

is there an online copy?

Click to expand...

Yes, go here

http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/dslr/D70S_en.pdf

D70S said:

btw whats the difference between a D70 and a D70S?

Click to expand...

The MC-DC1 wired remote capability. The D70s has a connector for this to plug into, the D70 doesn't
The D70s has a 2" color LCD, the D70 uses a 1.8" version.
Autofocus performance has been tweaked slighlty, though a free 2.0 firmware update for D70 users,
The menu system has been "modernized" to make it easier to read and understand, also available in the free 2.0 firmware update for D70 users).
The internal flash covers an area equal to an 18mm lens instead of 20mm.
The PICTBridge ability now allows you to change print size (also available in the free 2.0 firmware update for D70 users).
The D70s ships with an EN-EL3a battery, which has more capacity than the EN-EL3 battery that shipped with the D70. D70 users can simply purchase the new battery and charger if they want longer battery life, though.

thats nice info, no wonder my camera's not running out of power even if i havent charged it for days.

EDIT: question, Ive been playing around a little and i found when i set my camera on auto the picture looks fine but when i put it on aperture mode the picture seems darker(f3.3), why?