Nikkor lenses

Hi,

I picked up the D70 kit w/ lens. Should I have forgone the lens and
purchased something different? I don't know if I like this lens very
much. Oh well.

I am also curious to know your opinions on fisheye lenses. How does the
Nikkor 16mm wide-angle fisheye compare to the 10.5mm DX fisheye for
digital SLR?

My disclaimer: I don't have a clue about photography, just started and
loving it!

Best,
Avery

"Avery" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

I picked up the D70 kit w/ lens. Should I have forgone the lens and
purchased something different? I don't know if I like this lens very
much. Oh well.

The first thing that happens when you buy a kit like this is you start
reading negative comments in news groups like this and reviews and other
stuff. Your friends tell you that the kit lens is 'cheap' and, sure enough,
pretty soon you don't know if you like the lens very much. Every lens has
its pluses and minuses. This particular lens has far more pluses than
minuses, but you wouldn't know it from the caterwauling you see around here.

It is a fine lens. It may well be considered a great classic in a few years.
After awhile you will realize that every camera, lens, and every other
accessory has its detractors that tear it down all the time. Screw 'em. You
will find that most of the critics are people who are mortally offended that
you did not buy their brand of camera or lens. Somehow it is not enough for
these people to know that their own equipment is good; they also have to
convince themselves that everything else is terrible.

Learn to use this lens before you even think about the fish-eye. Fish-eye
lenses are difficult to use properly and will give you terrible results
until you have learned more about photography. Besides, it is unlikely that
anyone here has used both fish-eye lenses that you are considering and
therefore able to give you a valid comparison. What you will get instead is
a load of "why are you using that Nikon crap," a bunch of 'reviews' from
people that have not seen either lens, and similarly unhelpful posts. The
only way to judge whether a lens is right for you is to try it out in the
kind of shooting that you regularly do and see how well it works for you.

C J Campbell wrote:
The first thing that happens when you buy a kit like this is you
start
reading negative comments in news groups like this and reviews and
other
stuff.

Boy howdy you are right on the money about the lens. I don't much about
Nikon, Nikkor, any of that. Until this week I was all about the point
and shoot stuff Sony puts out. My wife tells me to "get your own
camera" so I took that as gospel. ;-)

I collect fountain pens and have a little site that I'm trying to beef
up with some photos. To add to the lens that came with the D70 I also
picked up the Nikkor 105mm micro and must admit I really like it
without reading any pros or cons.

I'm waiting on a tripod and a literoom (on order) to really tap into
macro photography... I'll be coming back here for hints and tips as the
days pass. This D70 kit is amazing even though I am subject to user
opinions because I don't know any better. I'll get the hang of this
stuff yet.

Thanks for the suggestions on the fisheye, I'm hoping to catch a
photography class in my area but can't find any... Could you recommend
some "self teaching" literature? I am really starting at the very
beginning so don't hold back on Photography for Dummies recommendations
if you have any.

Thanks,
Avery

PS. If you're interested I started a forum for macro photography with
an emphasis on pictures of fountain pens... Please feel to drop in from
time to time and leave tips if you like. Thanks again!
http://www.ramblingsnail.net/forums/

On 2005-01-15, Avery wrote:

C J Campbell wrote:
The first thing that happens when you buy a kit like this is you
start
reading negative comments in news groups like this and reviews and
other
stuff.

Boy howdy you are right on the money about the lens. I don't much about
Nikon, Nikkor, any of that. Until this week I was all about the point
and shoot stuff Sony puts out. My wife tells me to "get your own
camera" so I took that as gospel. ;-)

Nikon is legendary for quality. It may or may not be the absolute best
in any given respect, but you'd have to be knowledgeable to tell the
difference. Having your own camera is your ticket to Photography on
your own terms (note capitalization: indicates potentially huge money
pit).

I collect fountain pens and have a little site that I'm trying to beef
up with some photos. To add to the lens that came with the D70 I also
picked up the Nikkor 105mm micro and must admit I really like it
without reading any pros or cons.

Ahhh... got your own money pit already? Excellent lens choice, I
suspect. With the crop factor, it would be the equivalent of a 157.5mm
on a Nikon film body. As you learn, you'll discover that focal length
is a handy but risky substitute term for *angle of view*. Might make it
your business to look into this immediately, it'll save you scratching
your head over what people say about focal lengths.

I'm waiting on a tripod and a literoom (on order) to really tap into
macro photography... I'll be coming back here for hints and tips as the
days pass. This D70 kit is amazing even though I am subject to user
opinions because I don't know any better. I'll get the hang of this
stuff yet.

Do not be subject to the opinions of others! Use them only as pointers
to be checked out! The only thing you can trust is what you yourself
understand, and this ain't rocket science. ;D Best teacher of
photography is the camera itself: Use it and learn from the results you
get by asking questions (read texts for answers first, etc).

Thanks for the suggestions on the fisheye, I'm hoping to catch a
photography class in my area but can't find any... Could you recommend
some "self teaching" literature? I am really starting at the very
beginning so don't hold back on Photography for Dummies recommendations
if you have any.

Don't do Photography for Dummies, even if that exists, because it won't
explain to you what you don't understand. A very useful approach is to
use your Google search engine to ask questions. There are a *lot* of
pages dedicated to answering all sorts of questions, and you can compare
answers given by different pages.

Once you have a handle on the material (you know approximately what the
issues are), you can start at whatever level you need (which will
probably change). And the most important thing you can do is learn the
terminology itself, including the definitions. That will help you to
discover what you don't know but need to know, and it will help you to
check for what you think you understand but don't.

There are a lot of answers out there, but you need to know what
the questions are before they make any sense.

Good luck and welcome to another happy money pit!

)

Will D.


Thanks,
Avery

PS. If you're interested I started a forum for macro photography with
an emphasis on pictures of fountain pens... Please feel to drop in from
time to time and leave tips if you like. Thanks again!
http://www.ramblingsnail.net/forums/

"Avery" wrote in message
oups.com...

Thanks for the suggestions on the fisheye, I'm hoping to catch a
photography class in my area but can't find any... Could you recommend
some "self teaching" literature?

How about "How to Photograph Your Life" by Nick Kelsh? Kelsh teaches by
showing examples of "right way" and "wrong way." The guy really can improve
your photography.

Beyond that, "Masterclass in Photography" by Michael and Julien Busselle. No
"Photography for Dummies," this book really is an excellent course in
photography. Every photographer should keep a copy in his collection. The
Busselles really are masters -- and they can teach you to be a master, too.

Of course, if you can find volumes from the classic Time/Life "Encyclopedia
of Photography" you have a real treasure. I have the whole set, but no, you
may not borrow it.

National Geographic Field Guides are also good reading.

I also strongly recommend Scott Kelby's "Photoshop CS for Digital
Photographers," even if you are not currently using Photoshop. The book
actually teaches you how to digitally process your photos, without wasting
500 mind-numbing pages describing how to re-name a file or open Photoshop by
clicking on the START menu.

Reading books and studying the works of great painters can really open your
eyes in photography. You begin to appreciate the problems of composition,
lighting, color, and time. Heck, even looking at Rein Nomm's photographs on
alt.binaries.photography can teach you a heck of a lot.

Also, if you get a chance, go to classes offered by the Nikon School of
Photography. They will, sooner or later, offer a class in your area.

On 15 Jan 2005 06:34:36 -0800, "Avery"
wrote:

Hi,

I picked up the D70 kit w/ lens. Should I have forgone the lens and
purchased something different? I don't know if I like this lens very
much. Oh well.

I've been into photography for nigh onto 50 years now. Yes, I'm
retired from my day job now:-))

I have the D-70 and the "kit" lens and like it very much.
I posted this link before but here is an example of a hand held shot
with the ASA bumped up to 400
http://www.rogerhalstead.com/DayLilly.htm
That stats are posted with the image.


I am also curious to know your opinions on fisheye lenses. How does the
Nikkor 16mm wide-angle fisheye compare to the 10.5mm DX fisheye for

I have the 12-24 so I really don't see a need for the 16. Now the
10.5 OTOH looks interesting even if it is only 1.5 mm shorter than
what I have now. That 1.5 mm makes a noticeable difference although
about the only time I use the really wide angle lenses is for
"specialty" shots, like inside an airplane or inside my shop.

Yes, I'd like these lenses to be about an f stop faster, but that
would make them heavier and much more expensive and that 12- 24 ain't
cheap to begin.

Which reminds me, I have one photo I shot at 12 mm from the NW corner
of our EAA Chapter (1093) hanger that shows the entire room with 3
planes and one very large model under construction. I need to put
that one up on the chapter page soon, but as it's currently 4:05 AM I
don't think it's going to be tonight. Artistic it's not, but
impressive it is. :-))

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

digital SLR?

My disclaimer: I don't have a clue about photography, just started and
loving it!

Best,
Avery

Will D. wrote:
On 2005-01-15, Avery wrote:

C J Campbell wrote:

The first thing that happens when you buy a kit like this is you

start

reading negative comments in news groups like this and reviews and

other

stuff.

Boy howdy you are right on the money about the lens. I don't much about
Nikon, Nikkor, any of that. Until this week I was all about the point
and shoot stuff Sony puts out. My wife tells me to "get your own
camera" so I took that as gospel. ;-)


Nikon is legendary for quality.

And they have some legendary dog lenses too.

Cameras like the F55/75 are bad jokes.

--
-- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
-- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm
-- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin
-- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 17:26:50 -0800, "C J Campbell"
wrote:


"Avery" wrote in message
roups.com...

Thanks for the suggestions on the fisheye, I'm hoping to catch a
photography class in my area but can't find any... Could you recommend
some "self teaching" literature?

How about "How to Photograph Your Life" by Nick Kelsh? Kelsh teaches by
showing examples of "right way" and "wrong way." The guy really can improve
your photography.

Beyond that, "Masterclass in Photography" by Michael and Julien Busselle. No
"Photography for Dummies," this book really is an excellent course in
photography. Every photographer should keep a copy in his collection. The
Busselles really are masters -- and they can teach you to be a master, too.

Of course, if you can find volumes from the classic Time/Life "Encyclopedia
of Photography" you have a real treasure. I have the whole set, but no, you
may not borrow it.

Good lord, I didn't think there were any of those still floating
around. (the big red books with the gold and black trim/lettering) I
had the full set, but I really don't know what became of them. They
may be packed away into some boxes down stairs from a move, but I
haven't seen them in years. That is one big set of books.
If I ever find them I'll have to get an allergy shot before opening
the box. As I recall they already were getting kinda pungent.


National Geographic Field Guides are also good reading.

I also strongly recommend Scott Kelby's "Photoshop CS for Digital
Photographers," even if you are not currently using Photoshop. The book
actually teaches you how to digitally process your photos, without wasting
500 mind-numbing pages describing how to re-name a file or open Photoshop by
clicking on the START menu.

A good book on the fundamentals of art might help. The rules of art
are the same for painting as they are for photography. Theme, form,
rythm, and repetition. Rule of thirds, converging lines, ... etc.

Gardners, "Art Through the Ages", although a bit dry in places as well
as being a large, expensive, college text book is a wealth of
information. It covers art from the pre historic, to Mesopotamian
to current day.


For our exams we viewed slides from this book. We were expected to
name the artist (where known), the era, the philosophy of the era and
the psychology behind the art and artist's style.

It was definitely not a "blow off" course. :-))

Reading books and studying the works of great painters can really open your
eyes in photography. You begin to appreciate the problems of composition,
lighting, color, and time. Heck, even looking at Rein Nomm's photographs on
alt.binaries.photography can teach you a heck of a lot.

Also, if you get a chance, go to classes offered by the Nikon School of
Photography. They will, sooner or later, offer a class in your area.

Check for a local photography club And/Or sign up for either
continuing education classes in photography, or even beginning college
classes. The college classes will most likely be "art classes" which
will take the student well beyond the operation of their camera to the
rules of composition.

When I took "Introduction to Photography" in B & W we were expected to
use 35 mm cameras in manual mode and do all of our own processing
including printing with no cropping allowed. All prints in the
introductory class had to be full frame.

At the begriming of class we were all constantly trying to find
subjects and scenes that fit the rules. By the end of the class we
were seeing them everywhere. :-))

Theme, form, rythm, and repetition are much easier to do/learn in B&W,
at least to begin, as the problem in color is the color. It often
over rides the basic tenets of composition, or over powers the image
making it more difficult.

Adult ed classes can vary widely from just introducing the newcomer to
their cameras to being heavily art oriented and even into
competitions. They may be highly diversified, or like some computer
clubs deal primarily with one type or make of camera. However you
will never know until you check them out.

And as CJ mentioned the binary news group, try a search of art and
binary news groups. Use caution as there is art and then there is art
which I don't really think needs explaining. But if it does, just
ask.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

"Avery" wrote in news:1105812036.916005.218350
@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

photography class in my area but can't find any... Could you recommend
some "self teaching" literature? I am really starting at the very


I've read every single photography book at every library I've lived near.
Some books are better than others, but you can get things from all of them.
Some of the info will be dated, but a lot of it is timeless.

Bob

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