Hello from Canada

Hi everyone,

My name is Ben and I'm new to the forum. I've been lurking around for a while and I decided it was time to join in for good.

My interest in photography started in the '80s at the age of 13 when I received my first (and only!) camera - a Nikkormat FT3 - which I still own and cherish. I have a graphics designer college dedree and work background, although I've stopped working in that field for quite a while now. I learned the basics of darkroom and film developing in college and, thankfully, I can find my way in Photoshop - which I guess is good thing since I still haven't made the transition to digital yet! (besides owning a compact CoolpixL5). Which brings me here since I am now looking for my first digital reflex (P90? P7000? Other?). I mainly want to shoot portraits and concerts/events like shows at music festivals (outdoors) and in clubs/bars (indoors w/ poor lighting), also shoot landscapes and architecture when I travel.

I realize the learning curve is very steep, so I'll be relying on you guys quite a lot. I hope not to bother you too much with all my silly questions. FYI, I do know what ISO, shutter speed and apperture refer to - I'm just not sure yet how these terms translate to the digital world.

Looking forward to reading you all,
Ben

Oh, and yes... I'm a YES fan (Into The Lens)

Welcome Ben! If I were starting out at this point I would get a D7000, longer learning curve than the D3100, 3200 and 5100, but you can grow into it.

Welcome Ben,

I'll second Rick's suggestion for the D7000. My main reason is that with that camera you'll be able to use the lenses you already have. It will meter these AI and AIS lenses . Some of these have special character to them and they work well with digital. Great that you can handle Photoshop. It's now the digital darkroom.

Have fun with you Nikons!

Welcome Ben Canada is pretty big where you from?

Welcome aboard, Ben. You have questions?...we have the answers....hopefully! Enjoy your stay with us, and have fun.

My suggestions (I have 3 suggestions) for a DSLR for what you want to do: D7000, D300, D90.

Thanks to all of you for your warm welcome. BTW' I'm from Montreal. Right now it's between the D90 and the D7000. I'm not sure the D90 has a high enough ISO for darker setings like live indoor shows, I'm I right to assume this?

Marcel, are you saying my NIKKOR 50mm lense (the one that came with my 197? Nikkormat) would fit on a DX camera? There are so many types of lenses to choose from, it's very confusing. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to all those terminologies (AI? AIS? AF? AF-S?...) Wouldn't a 50mm lense translate to a 75mm on a camera with a DX sensor?

This is what my Nikkormat looks like with the 50mm.



Thanks for your help.
Ben

Hi Ben. You're from my old home town.

And yes, that 50mm 1.8 would certainly fit on a DX camera. I had the same lens on my D200. It took great shots. It will fit on any DX Nikon camera. Now....having said that, as long as your camera has a built in focusing motor, such as the D90, D200, D7000, etc., it will AF (Auto Focus) for you. If the lens says AF-S, that's Nikon's way of saying the lens has the built in focus motor.

Camera Lenses Explained | NIKKOR Lens Technology for Nikon Camera

Into The Lens said:

Thanks to all of you for your warm welcome. BTW' I'm from Montreal. Right now it's between the D90 and the D7000. I'm not sure the D90 has a high enough ISO for darker setings like live indoor shows, I'm I right to assume this?

Marcel, are you saying my NIKKOR 50mm lense (the one that came with my 197? Nikkormat) would fit on a DX camera? There are so many types of lenses to choose from, it's very confusing. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to all those terminologies (AI? AIS? AF? AF-S?...) Wouldn't a 50mm lense translate to a 75mm on a camera with a DX sensor?

This is what my Nikkormat looks like with the 50mm.
Thanks for your help.
Ben

Click to expand...

Hi Ben, I'm not so sure about your particular 50 since it seems to have a tab for the aperture. But I know that I've bought quite a few manual focus lenses and the D7000 will meter with them as where the D90 won't.

The D7000 also has better low noise at higher iso so it will produce a better result in low light.

It is a little more expensive, but if you can afford it, this is the one I'd go for.

I'm in Sherbrooke by the way, so we're almost neighbors,

Hey! That's great. One ex-Montrealer and a new neighbor. What more to ask for?!

Thanks for the link Jack. It's in my bookmarks now!

I guess the best thing to do will be to bring my 50mm to the store so I can try it on the D7000 or any other camera. It doesn't matter if it works or not with my new reflex. I'll probably get a kit that comes with an 18-105mm to start with and invest in good lenses depending on the actual usage I'll be doing.

Have a good weekend and thanks again for your help. It's much appreciated.
Ben

Oh... I found this. This is the exact same lens I have, a Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI. (circa 1979)

Nikkor Lens Technology

I'm not sure if it will help to determine or not of the compatibility with the D7000.

Also, would this 50mm Nikkor lens translate to an approx. 75mm lens once put on a DX camera, with the 1.5 ratio of the DX sensor?

If so, are there adapters that mount between lenses and the camera that keep the focal lenght to 50mm equivalent of a full frame?

From what I've been reading here (Camera Lens Explained | DX & FX Format Lenses from Nikon - it's a little bit confusing and contradictory?), I understand that a DX lens will fit on a LX cameras (« On an FX-format camera with a DX lens mounted, the camera will automatically engage its built-in DX crop mode, thus recording an image only from the center section of the sensor. ») and LX lenses will also fit on DF camera but with a 1.5 ratio cropped image.

In other words, what I'm trying to figure out is... will a picture taken on a DX camera equiped with a 50mm DX lens be cropped the same way as a picture taken on an FX camera equiped with a 50mm FX lens? Will both pictures be cropped the same?

Sorry for making this more complicated than it probably is? lol !

Into The Lens said:

Oh... I found this. This is the exact same lens I have, a Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI. (circa 1979)

Nikkor Lens Technology

I'm not sure if it will help to determine or not of the compatibility with the D7000.

Also, would this 50mm Nikkor lens translate to an approx. 75mm lens once put on a DX camera, with the 1.5 ratio of the DX sensor?

If so, are there adapters that mount between lenses and the camera that keep the focal lenght to 50mm equivalent of a full frame?

From what I've been reading here (Camera Lens Explained | DX & FX Format Lenses from Nikon - it's a little bit confusing and contradictory?), I understand that a DX lens will fit on a LX cameras (« On an FX-format camera with a DX lens mounted, the camera will automatically engage its built-in DX crop mode, thus recording an image only from the center section of the sensor. ») and LX lenses will also fit on DF camera but with a 1.5 ratio cropped image.

In other words, what I'm trying to figure out is... will a picture taken on a DX camera equiped with a 50mm DX lens be cropped the same way as a picture taken on an FX camera equiped with a 50mm FX lens? Will both pictures be cropped the same?

Sorry for making this more complicated than it probably is? lol !

Click to expand...

First, if your lens is AI, it should work fine on the D7000.

Now for the crop factor explanation, there are no adapters that will reduce the focal length of any lens. The fact is simple. The sensor of the "cropped DX" is smaller than the FX full sensor. The distance from the lens to the sensor plane is the same for both but the sensor is smaller. It's exactly like if you were enlarging a 35mm negative and cropping it to get a smaller image. The image you would get with a 75mm on a FX would be the same one as you'd get from a 50mm on Dx if you stand at the same place and your subject hasn't moved.

Hope this helps.

Multiply your lens...for example, a 50mm...by 1.5. That will give you the equivalent of a full frame lens. So....50mm x 1.5 = 75mm. 105mm x 1.5 = 157.5mm. 60mm x 1.5 = 90mm. ...and so on.

Thanks Marcel,

In other words, a 35mm DX lens on a DX DSLR will acheive the same result as a full frame DSLR equiped with a 50mm lens? A 35mm FX lens on an FX DSLR will cover a wider angle than a 35mm DX lens on a DX DSLR.



I really need to understand this from the start.

fotojack said:

Multiply your lens...for example, a 50mm...by 1.5. That will give you the equivalent of a full frame lens. So....50mm x 1.5 = 75mm. 105mm x 1.5 = 157.5mm. 60mm x 1.5 = 90mm. ...and so on.

Click to expand...

Yep! Okay, I got it now. Thanks. So now with a DX, I'll have to say to myself « going to shoot this, so I'll need my 35mm lens instead of my 50mm lens ! »... lol !! Maybe I shoud stick to FX DSLRs instead and get a D700 just to avoid the confusion.

I've read a lot of people are having auto-focus issue with their D7000. I also talked to a friend who had recently bought a D7000 that had these AF issues as well (most of his photos were out of focus/blurry when viewed at 100% in photoshop) and so he exchanged his D7000 for a D90 which solved his problem. Is there something I'm missing here? Are those issues related to user errors or defective units? If they are user errors, would the D7000 be a little too much to handle for someone new to DSLRs like me? I know this models has a lot of cool features but in the end I want to be able to take good pictures. Headaches and out of focus pictures aren't what I'm looking for.

Ben

Into The Lens said:

I've read a lot of people are having auto-focus issue with their D7000. I also talked to a friend who had recently bought a D7000 that had these AF issues as well (most of his photos were out of focus/blurry when viewed at 100% in photoshop) and so he exchanged his D7000 for a D90 which solved his problem. Is there something I'm missing here? Are those issues related to user errors or defective units? If they are user errors, would the D7000 be a little too much to handle for someone new to DSLRs like me? I know this models has a lot of cool features but in the end I want to be able to take good pictures. Headaches and out of focus pictures aren't what I'm looking for.

Ben

Click to expand...

Hi Ben, welcome. Well, the D7k is alot of camera, but not if you take your time to read the manual and get to know it. Sure, it may have some feature you may never use, but it certainly is not a camera that you would not be able to learn to use. Not sure what you mean when you say you want to be able to take "good pictures"!?? Any camera can take "good pictures" if used right. O the other hand, a D7k will not make you a better photographer. There will always be a learning curve with any camera, some bigger than others. I think your friend should have figured out what the issue was with his D7k first, instead of jsut trading it. It coudl have been user error or the unit or a bit of both. Anyhow, in regards to any issues with the D7k, i am sure that actual users here on the forum will fill you in. Good luck

Into The Lens said:

I've read a lot of people are having auto-focus issue with their D7000. I also talked to a friend who had recently bought a D7000 that had these AF issues as well (most of his photos were out of focus/blurry when viewed at 100% in photoshop) and so he exchanged his D7000 for a D90 which solved his problem. Is there something I'm missing here? Are those issues related to user errors or defective units? If they are user errors, would the D7000 be a little too much to handle for someone new to DSLRs like me? I know this models has a lot of cool features but in the end I want to be able to take good pictures. Headaches and out of focus pictures aren't what I'm looking for.

Ben

Click to expand...

I think the D7000 is less forgiving for camera motion and focus. If you are beginner, you might have better success rate with the D90. Get a pre-owned one, put your money on better lenses and when the time comes, get a better camera.

Thanks for your advice everyone. It looks like it's going to be a D90 with a good lens, probably the AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G IF ED.

Ben

Woops, misread the post, welcome to Nikonites, Ben! the D90 is a great camera, I have used one for over two years now. Takes excellent pictures and it is built like a tank.

If you need any help, please don't hesitate to ask! Happy to give you any advice, if I can.