Hello from Ireland

Hi all, just a quick hello. My name is Brian and I have a confession. I don't own a Nikon YET. But my birthday (40 ooolldd) is in March and after a long time deciding on a body I've chosen the D7000, a 16-85mm zoom and I'm deciding between a 35mm 1.8 and a 40mm micro for street shooting and close-up photography.

I'm a noobie photographer but I have definitely found something I love other than music.

At the moment I'm using a Fuji X10 which I love and it never leaves my side.

I hope you'll still welcome me as a candidate Nikon user

Here's some of my shots so far.
Flickr: BrianDunlea's Photostream

That's it!
Cheers,
Brian.

I don't drink Bushmills. Does that disqualify me from being a friend?

Welcome to Nikonites. We're glad to have ya here!

You have any questions, just ask. If you're lucky, I'll NOT be the one that answers it!

(I never let facts get in the way of a good story!)

G'day Brian,
you'll love the D7000 - a lot to learn but it's worth every penny. I have the 1.8 35mm and it's very good for "street" use, I also bought an "old" AIS 55mm 2.8 macro lens ... lovely bit of glass, anyway have fun and enjoy your new "toy".
Peter

Hey Carolina and Peter, thanks for the warm welcome, much appreciated. And Carolina, go for Jameson or Powers, they're distilled 15 minutes down the road from me. I don't drink (much) so you can drink what you like Friends it is.

Thanks for the info Peter, Looking forward to the challenge. The X10 can run in manual so that's where I started getting my head around shutter speed, ISO, and aperture. I'm learning as much as I can and it's rewarding me tenfold. The 1.8 seems to be a very popular lens and I might be better off with that as a starting point.

Or else a 20mm or 24 to give me a roughly 35mm POV. We'll see. Anyhow, I'm sure I'll have thousands of questions for you guys in a month when I get my D7K.

Thanks for the warm welcome,

Brian.

Hello Brian, welcome to Nikonites! Hope you find the site enjoyable.

Hello Brian...I just made you a contact...some fantastic snaps in your photostream. The guitar is nice. I like the concept of maglite lighting...

I am soon gonna buy a refurbed D5000...I'm taking the cheap route a D7000 would be nice but the D5000 is plenty powerful...

Welcome to Nikonites, Brian. Nice choice of camera you'll be getting. Don't waste your money on the 40 macro. Stick to the 35 1.8. You will use and enjoy it so much more.
Like the others say...if you have questions in the meantime, just ask. Pete (Carolina) will answer them for you.

Wellcome, that's a good choice.
Just a thought, a micro lens of 40mm will mean a closer working distance. If that is ok for flowers and some bugs, it can be a problem for other pics.

See you are near Cork, Jameson is not a bad choice but Bushmills rules.

Hey guys thank you all for the kind messages. And Contarama great shots. Lot's of quality there. And Mestre Bushmills is too far north. Our water down south is the best

The 40mm micro lens must the most contrary that Nikon have because every second person I ask says something different.

It should be a good street lens being just longer than a normal lens. It's supposed to have better image quality compared to the 35mm f/1.8. And if I want to get close up it'll be a good learning tool. I'm just wondering why every second person seems to think there's something wrong with the 40mm? Does it smell funny? haha sorry.

Just a thought on the 40mm, I did try the 60mm micro and for me it was to close to use for macro photography, so I decided for a longer focal distance but that's me

Thanks Mestre. I've been thinking and posting, and wrecking heads enough I think.

I'm going to get the d7k and 16-85, get used to them and through the zoom find out exactly which prime, if any I need. At the moment the 28mm and 40mm are my top picks but I guess the easiest way to find out is to experiment with the zoom. I have been doing that with the X10 but there's on harm in confirming before I spend the money.

Thanks to everyone for the great welcome and advice. I'll be posting with great fervour after I have made my purchase.

Talk soon,

Brian.

briandunlea said:

Thanks to everyone for the great welcome and advice. I'll be posting with great fervour after I have made my purchase.

Click to expand...

ALWAYS REMEMBER!!!!!

Starve a cold and feed a fervour!

Welcome Brian. I love some of your shots in the photo stream. You have a great eye. I have a d7000 and hope to get that kind of eye as well !

Thanks very much Carz4ever. You should the few thousand other shots I took How are you finding the D7000? Is it more fun than you can shake a stick at?

Looks like its going to be . I'm not much of a winter person. Ive been using it a ton indoors shooting my 8week old grandson and so far it been stellar. I can't wait to get outside with some mother nature !