Thursday, September 21, 2006

My babies! - Nikon stuff - part 1

Oh man I love my cameras! Future wife please forgive me in advance haha. I have been using digital slr interchangeable lens cameras for the past 3 years. Sarting with Minolta. But then I went to nikon and life was never the same. There are so many things to buy! (not that I need them all...It took me a year to find out what I need). After some buying and selling, here is my final (i dare not confrim this...) perhaps i should say... current. Equipment collection that I'm sure i will use, and that is a joy to handle. I gaffer tape up all my stuff so that it doesnt get hurt(scratched), and it looks ugly and less tempting to steal (hopefully).

Ill be sharing how I feel about each piece of equipment along the way in this blog:) Why did i not choose canon... mmm no real reason, since both are about equal, i chose nikon because my first nikon (d70) just felt nicer and more intuitive than the canon alternative.

CAMERAS I OWN
Nikon D200 - In terms of high end "pro" cameras, I have used the d1h, the d2h, and the d200. I'm sticking with the d200 for a long while (I hope!!) because...

  • The d200 is smaller than any other pro body (I wont carry a brick for nothing) with almost all the features and performance for 1/3 the price of the top end d2x
  • More modern (better LCD -magnificent!, histogram showing all colors as opposed to just green, Lithium-ion batts, great white balance, 10 megapixels, and small things like "optimized quality" JPEGs where size varys according to the complexity of the scene)
  • Fast focusing
  • Built in flash which can be useful!
  • Bulit like a rock, not D1h rock but i think same quality as the d2h which i sold bothe the d1h and the d2h are just too big to carry.
  • Has a vertical grip which is nice for sports/portraits
  • Has 5 frame per second and less shutter lag than the d80 (main reason i like the d200 over the d80... what you see is what you get. As opposed to "almost" what you get. In sports it makes a difference but not in any other type of shot.. yes mountains will not move within the 30milisecond difference of the d200 and the d80's shutter lag i.e. time between press button and photo-taken)
Nikon D50 - I have used the d70, d70s, d50 as well as the d80 for the "small body" cameras. The d50 is the one i stick with because...

  • Tiny size - well not tiny but very carryable (is there such a word?)
  • SD cards go straight to my laptop when i want pics
  • Great high ISO performance - use iso1600 without fear at all!
  • Small files (its only 6megapix and jpegs can be small)
  • no need to post process, the jpegs out of the camera are nice
  • uses my nikon lenses
  • cheap!! compared to the d80 (which i would use if $$$ were not an issue) got mine for 675sgd (sep 2006) 2nd hand but in mint condition
  • feels dense yet cute:)
  • just a joy to use (size) and as a backup to the d200 in critical situations
  • decent 2 inch LCD (not as nice as d200/d80 but very much good enough)
  • smallish viewfinder (where you look in) not as nice as d200/d80...but i use the magnifier eyepiece so its ok
I use the d200 when people are paying me for large prints (10mp is plenty big for just about anything... but in fact even 4mp is alot if you use a good lens), and for sports cos its faster (just about instant in every way). I use the d50 for anything else, friends, family, vacation, snapshots, any place where the camera is at risk, the d50 will go:)

posted by Coach Jonathan Wong @ 9/21/2006 11:06:00 PM Comments: 0