My Precious...

[GroundLoop]

Just got my new Nikon D80 tonight. I can't wait to start shooting with it. Just waiting for the battery to finish charging. This is my first DSLR so I am slowly building my system. I currently have the following:

Nikon D80
Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor
Nikon SB-600 Flash
Sandisk 2GB Extreme III SD Card

I am looking or a good case for my new system though. Any suggestions? I eventually plan on getting the 18-200mm VR, 50mm f/1.4, and the 105mm f/2.8.

Thoughts on this system?

Thanks,
Hickman

 

[Buschmaster]

I am so jealous.

I want a DSLR to an unbelievable extreme. I have so much fun taking pictures with the SLR, but due to manual focus and the cost of film and developing, it's so hard to do it!

Glad you were able to take the plunge. Enjoy it!

 

[shieldyoureyes]

Congrats on the new camera! I have only had my D50 for a couple months and I'm so tempted to upgrade after handling a D80! As for that 50mm, you could get the 50mm f/1.8 and save a few hundred dollars. You can get them new and shipped for about $100. I must say, it is one amazing lens!

 

[beavo451]

If you are feeling really adventurous, you could get a 50mm f/1.4 AI or AIS manual focus lens. Ahhhh... the build quality.... Unfortunatly, your D80 won't meter properly.

 

[Silentwave]

Congrats! I had the pleasure of holding the D80 last night (though sadly no battery, so no picture taking fun) and it seems to be quite a solid, fun camera to use. It'd make a fine light backup to the seasoned user, and a great camera for anyone else.

No space (or cash) for it in my kit now (D2Hs/D200/D70/D1) but if I had the money, i'd snap one up. My teacher is looking to get one shortly.

Incidentally, re: the above post, I had a 50/1.4 AIS that I used successfully on my F3 and even D70, but the D200 was really starting to show a lot of chromatic aberration with it so I sold it.

 

[GroundLoop]

In general, how does everyone feel about using UV or Clear filters on their DSLR? Should I be concerned about image degradation if I use a semi-cheap Hoya filter?

I really want to protect my investment, but I also want the best quality image possible? I flip-flop on this topic constantly.

Hickman

 

[Abstract]

I am so jealous.

I want a DSLR to an unbelievable extreme. I have so much fun taking pictures with the SLR, but due to manual focus and the cost of film and developing, it's so hard to do it!

Glad you were able to take the plunge. Enjoy it!

I thought you used a Pentax K100D? And unless money is a concern, there's no reason not to get a DSLR, especially because of "manual focus." I still don't know what your concern is.....


And UV filters aren't really necessary. I've stopped caring about it, really. UV filters won't protect your lens unless you're shooting in very dusty, dirty, windy conditions, or on a beach or something. Otherwise, any decent amount of force will break the UV filter anyway, damaging your lens.

 

[Buschmaster]

I thought you used a Pentax K100D? And unless money is a concern, there's no reason not to get a DSLR, especially because of "manual focus." I still don't know what your concern is.....

Money is a concern, I'm a college boy. I think I have to wait until this summer to get one.

You are correct that I'm huge into Pentax, though. I've used all of them except for the K10D. And I have to say that, for the money, I liked the *ist DL the best. It had all the things I wanted and I didn't figure in that image stabilization was worth all that extra money. I'm hoping that by the summer the price of the K-series comes down so I can get one of those, otherwise I may have to hit up ebay or another source to get an *ist DL, as I feel that camera is still a very solid camera for me.

I've also teetered on the idea of getting a film Pentax, but since developing and buying film is so expensive, I'd prefer to just stay away from it, and I know I'll take about 1000 pictures when I first get my camera, so digital is sounding very dandy.

 

[Abstract]

Ah, understood. I remember all your concerns before....you know....the ones that nobody seemed to understand. But if it's about money, then yes, definitely understood. I'm a uni student myself.

 

[Buschmaster]

Ah, understood. I remember all your concerns before....you know....the ones that nobody seemed to understand. But if it's about money, then yes, definitely understood. I'm a uni student myself.

Awesome, which school are you attending?

I'm a freshman at Mankato State University in Minnesota. http://www.mnsu.edu/

Sorry if I'm vague, it's a huge internal debate when I want to spend a large amount of money... You know? Maybe I can swing one for Christmas, it'd be about the biggest Christmas gift ever, but my dad was huge into photography, so we'll see...

Back to the topic at hand... How's the experimenting going so far? I hope to see a lot of examples soon!

 

[Silentwave]

In general, how does everyone feel about using UV or Clear filters on their DSLR? Should I be concerned about image degradation if I use a semi-cheap Hoya filter?

I really want to protect my investment, but I also want the best quality image possible? I flip-flop on this topic constantly.

Hickman

Just don't, if you're gonna use a filter, use a super duper multi-coated expensive one. That'll give you your best chance.

UV filters:

a) unless your lens and camera low-pass filter stop blocking UV, will have a minimal effect to reduce UV
b) will potentially degrade overall optical quality
c) will make you significantly more prone to flare and ghosting resulting in poor images and loss of contrast as well as the obvious flare effect.

Just use a lens hood for protection unless you're in an Iraqi sandstorm or some other extreme weather conditions.

The only exceptions I make are in the cases of matched items- the 45mm f/2.8P nikkor has a matched Nikon NC filter (netural color, multicoated) that fits under the screw on lens hood. the long telephotos also have filters, but they are internal and part of the optical design.

 

[sjl]

a) unless your lens and camera low-pass filter stop blocking UV, will have a minimal effect to reduce UV
b) will potentially degrade overall optical quality
c) will make you significantly more prone to flare and ghosting resulting in poor images and loss of contrast as well as the obvious flare effect.

All true. I have a number of shots that I took with the 50mm f/1.8 (I'm getting to be very fond of that lens ... I've taken more shots with it in the past week than with the 17-85mm) with the UV filter on. Flame shots (to harken back to an earlier thread of mine). There were lots of very obvious reflections. Out of curiousity, I took the filter off and looked at it under the light at home.

Yup - it was almost as good as a mirror when it came to bright light.

Then I tried the high quality Pro 1 Hoya 77mm filter I have on the 100-400mm. It still reflected, but nowhere near as much.

So I'd have to concur: a cheap UV filter can be worse than no filter at all. For some reason, the 50mm no longer has any filter on it ...

 

[GroundLoop]

So I'd have to concur: a cheap UV filter can be worse than no filter at all. For some reason, the 50mm no longer has any filter on it ...

Well, considering a high-quality filter costs about the same as the 50mm f/1.8, I think that you are making the right choice.



Hickman

 

[Mike Teezie]

The only one of my lenses that has a filter on it is my 70-200 f/2.8L IS. I do use lens hoods though.

I just mind my gear, and don't really worry about it that much.

Congrats on the D80. From what I've read, it's a fine piece of kit. I haven't had a chance to play with one yet, as all my buddies shoot Canon 5Ds - but I have played with a D200, and that was a bloody sweet camera. Enjoy it, and get to shooting!

 

[clintob]

My two cents:

1) No filters. If you're careful with your equipment, there's really no reason you should ever scratch a lens, and the image degradation you get from a cheap filter far outweighs its benefits.

2) Spend your money on glass. Lenses are WAY WAY more important than your camera body. Unless your body is a complete piece of junk, which it isn't, the lenses you use will make or break your images. Get the fastest lenses you can afford, cough up the money for one great piece of professional glass rather than two or three inferior lenses. You'll be much happier in the long run.

3) Photoshop is your friend. There used to be a notion Photoshopping your images is "cheating" somehow, but this is absolutely ridiculous. Photoshop is no different than a dark room. There's nothing you can do in Photoshop (excluding weird manipulations like 3d filters and crap like that) that you can't do in a dark room if you know how, so it's certainly not cheating. It's an entirely different skill set, and working in Photoshop correctly takes years of practice.

So don't both with filters... use Photoshop as your dark room and you can add all the filter effects you want there.

Enjoy the camera, and happy shooting.