NAS cured ?

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Geoffc

Senior Member
Over the years I've always managed to convince myself and my wife that I NEED this or that for my photography and my bank balance has reflected this. Well today is my birthday and I said that I didn't want anything because I couldn't think of anything that I actually wanted/needed. I just couldn't see the point in spending a chunk of cash on something that I would tinker with for a few days and then spend the rest of the time in the bag. Please bear in mind that I reserve the right to reverse this decision, even by the end of today so this is only a current and potentially fleeting state of mind. Anyway here is my current logic:


  • I have a D800 body which is perfect for landscape which is where I would like to put some effort in. I'm not sure that I could get anything more appropriate as I'm not after the E version. This is my FX body and given that I don't shoot sport or lots of ultra low light it meets all my FX needs. Basically a D4/s holds not interest for me for a host of reasons including size and cost. I would need income from it to justify the cost and that's not happening anytime soon. Please don't hold me to this statement as I'm sure I'll have a different set of justifications in 6 months.


  • We've just got a second D7100 as backup to replace the two D300s. In reality this is my second camera, so I have DX covered as well as Nikon can at the moment.


  • I have the 70-200 VRII plus a teleconverter. Whilst long lenses are nice I can't honestly say I have a regular requirement for anything longer or more exotic than I have. I rarely attach the TC as it is.


  • I have the 24-120 F4 as my general FX lens. It does a very good job. Some may think that the 24-70 would be an upgrade, but I made a conscious decision to go this route instead and every time I revisit it, I end up happy where I am. Having noth would be silly and the 24-120 is more useful to me.


  • I have the 16-35F4. Again I chose this over the 14-24 for a number of reasons. It better meets my needs (Filter friendly, more range) and it's also quite useful on a DX body.


  • I have the 50mm 1.8G. Nice but it gets little use.


  • I've got flash and wireless stuff so that's sorted for now.

So you see my predicament. I keep thinking the 85mm 1.8G would be good but I'm not convinced I would use it a lot as I don't do many portraits. A Nikon 105 or Tamron 90mm macro would be nice, but we already have the old Tamron in our house and it's rare that we both need to use it. A fisheye, well my wife has the 10.5mm so I can't justify that. Tripods/monopods/ bags - covered. I toyed with getting a dedicated camcorder for my holidays but I don't think it would get that much use.

Having advance warning of this situation, I told my wife a few weeks ago that she would be better off using any spare funds getting herself a 70-200 2.8 for my birthday. At least I got to open the gold box and do the AF fine tuning (Play with it) so it was a bit like a present for me :rolleyes:

I think the other thing that caused me to think about what I need was seeing some photos from a guy on Flickr. He takes lots of landscape shots in the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake district where we spend weekends in our static caravan. The images are all very good at a technical level (Pin sharp, good colour and exposure etc) and I do like a lot of the subject matter. More often than not he is using the same gear as mine. Therefore I would be better off perfecting my technique (I know what to do but I should be more disciplined and apply it) and get up early to get those sunrises rather than trying to buy an answer to the problem.

Right I'm off to the shops :D
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I'm very much with you at the moment, Geoff, but I'm very much on the fence about birds and what's needed. I'm finding the D800 in DX solution to be lacking for me. 4 fps just doesn't cut it for birds in flight, and the D7100 solution, while cheaper, will frustrate me from the other end as the buffer fills too quickly should I need to do a 3 second circle with the hawk or eagle flying by. So while the D4s is going to be tough to justify financially, it may make the most sense, particularly if I sell the D800.

Otherwise, I'm totally with you in making the most of what I have and working on refining the craft and not the equipment.
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
BackdoorHippie said:
I'm very much with you at the moment, Geoff, but I'm very much on the fence about birds and what's needed. I'm finding the D800 in DX solution to be lacking for me. 4 fps just doesn't cut it for birds in flight, and the D7100 solution, while cheaper, will frustrate me from the other end as the buffer fills too quickly should I need to do a 3 second circle with the hawk or eagle flying by. So while the D4s is going to be tough to justify financially, it may make the most sense, particularly if I sell the D800.

Otherwise, I'm totally with you in making the most of what I have and working on refining the craft and not the equipment.
Click to expand...

Jake the D4 has three crops modes - 5:4 (4096 x 3280 - 13.4MP), 1.2x (4096 x 2720 - 11.1MP) and 1.5x DX mode (3200 x 2128 - 6.8MP). Does the 6.8mp DX crop mode not bother you more than the FPS? That's almost in the same league as my original D70 but with some high ISO and FPS performance!!! What would be the effect on a 500mm lens going from 16mp to 6.8mp in terms of effective focal length? Have you considered just using jpg on a D7100 to get the FPS? I know it's not a perfect solution, but I don't think Nikon has one unless you can afford to marry the D4s to an 800mm lens. Now that would be a serious case of NAS :eek: The fps point is why I posted about doing minimal jpg processing on camera the other week. I reckon a D300s would be a better option for birding than a D4. I'll PM you my bank details so you can send the $15000 I just saved you :D
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
Scott Murray said:
Geoff I just put 2 and 2 together as I too would like a panorama head ;)
Click to expand...

However, sticking to my original point, it's extremely rare that I feel the urge to take a panorama shot. Also, a 5 or six shot stitch from my D800 creates a 1-2GB TIFF. It almost kills my PC.
 
Scott Murray

Scott Murray

Senior Member
Geoffc said:
However, sticking to my original point, it's extremely rare that I feel the urge to take a panorama shot. Also, a 5 or six shot stitch from my D800 creates a 1-2GB TIFF. It almost kills my PC.
Click to expand...
Yeah tell me about it, I have done at most 21 images (macro focus stacked) but would never of thought about that if I didn't have the latest iMac with all the trimmings.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Geoff-

The 24mp D4s will get me 10.4MP's in DX mode, like my D600, but I get your point. There's no way I can justify it simply for those reasons, but as a replacement for the D800 I believe that the 24mp's makes more sense as an everyday, all around shooter as well. I'm seriously considering a 300mm f/2,8 w/ a TC eventually as well, as I'm seeing chinks in the armor of the 150-50mm Sigma with the better sensors. But it's all playing around in my head and nothing that's practical at the moment. I need to get outside and do some serious (re)evaluation of the Sigma lens, but it's been too nasty, and I want to take extreme cold out of the equation. With everything else, I'm not making any moves prior to the end of the year anyway. That's lots of time for thinking.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Dave_W said:
I don't think I'll be nearing the "cured" stage until I'm packing the 500mm f/4G. An event that may happen very soon...ish.
Click to expand...

That's a nice chunk of glass, Dave. I'd love that, but I think the 300mm f/2.8 with a TC is more practical for me. Maybe I just do that instead of the D4s and pick up a D7100?

And you're right, there is no "cured".
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
BackdoorHippie said:
That's a nice chunk of glass, Dave. I'd love that, but I think the 300mm f/2.8 with a TC is more practical for me. Maybe I just do that instead of the D4s and pick up a D7100?

And you're right, there is no "cured".
Click to expand...

I've considered that combo but the issues with the TC has me bouncing back and forth. Nevertheless, I think you're right, it would be more practical and a tiny bit cheaper.

Edit - removed vignetting
 
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Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Geoff, if you want a great but not too expensive portrait lens, I'd strongly suggest the 105 2.5 Ais. It's one of Nikon's super portrait lens. And it's sharp, very sharp.
 
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