I always thought the white/gray lens just looked cool, then I started shooting races, in the heat of the summer, no shade, black lens, all day, now I truly understand it isn't about the looks. Ever burn your hand on your lens? I have. Cooked the greese right out of one lens, it squeeks when focusing now.
You know... I, really am starting to believe that they [Nikon] are catching up to Canon! That's put them at 2nd palce.
What is said about the 2nd place; the first loser!
P.S. It does make me sad since I have never own any other SLR (Film or Digital) than Nikon.
I really can't think that way, that there is a first-place camera, etc. I eventually want three camera systems (very much IMHO):
Canon based system:
It is well known that Canon has the most extensive lineup of lenses and the best 3rd-party lens support of all the brands. I am underway in acquiring, within reason and bank-account, a good spread of lenses for my planned purposes.
While I currently have a Canon 1.6 crop camera, Canon full-frame bodies have a very smooth texture, which I would appreciate for portrait and sky work. The creamy-smoothness is hard to duplicate in software, and the FF chips produce it (smoothness) right out of the box. (Note that most of the lenses I have will also work on FF bodies.)
Nikon based system:
The D2X is what I consider the ultimate sports-shooters camera. A fast capture rate at full crop becomes super-fast in high-speed-crop mode. I would value the ability to see peripheral parts of the view in the viewfinder, while banging out 8 frames per second.
You also see a lot of birding and wildlife photographers using Nikon, because the long lenses are very well supported and extremely high quality. The slightly grainier look of the Nikon sensor is more conducive to nature and, I think, preserves edge structure better, which is extremely important with feathers and fur.
Konica-Minolta based system:
The 7D and 5D both have image stabilization built-in, so every lens benefits. For travel photography, this can mean a very small kit, which covers almost every circumstance. I really think 3 lenses would give me almost all that I could envision for travel and hiking.
17-35mm f/2.8/4
28-75mm f/2.8 G 70-200mm f/2.8 APO G
While I think they, Konica-Minolta, could do better on the short end (wide-angle), the long APO, and especially the APO "G" series lenses, are world-class, and some are a genuine value.
I realize that it's gonna take a while to build all these systems, and the money required is pretty severe, so my plans are going to change considerably and evolve as the companies change and evolve their products. I realize that this, the above, is just my opinion.
More than likely, I will stay with one brand. :cry More than likely, money will be the determinant factor.:cry :cry
The D2X is what I consider the ultimate sports-shooters camera. A fast capture rate at full crop becomes super-fast in high-speed-crop mode. I would value the ability to see peripheral parts of the view in the viewfinder, while banging out 8 frames per second.
You also see a lot of birding and wildlife photographers using Nikon, because the long lenses are very well supported and extremely high quality. The slightly grainier look of the Nikon sensor is more conducive to nature and, I think, preserves edge structure better, which is extremely important with feathers and fur.
--chop--
ziggy53
owning both a D2X and a D2H and shooting sports I have to say that the D2X at this point does not live up to the D2H in action situations. Having to jump trough 5 hoops to get in and out of crop mode kills crop mode for me. As such for me the D2X does not have a usable frame rate as high as the D2H. Also I have yet to get the D2X to do focus tracking correctly, the D2H never had a problem with it. I can't seem to get the idea of using part of the view finder through my head ether, playing with it I got plenty of missing body parts. Also the in camera noise reduction on long exposure shots takes so long that you miss MANY shots if you are using it. I have not done a comparison to see how the frames would be without it. I tried to shoot some fireworks on newyears and only got a few frames because it was taking 10+ sec for the noise reduction to run. Bottom line, I love my D2X, but the D2H is not for sale.
I really can't think that way, that there is a first-place camera, etc. I eventually want three camera systems (very much IMHO):
Canon based system:
...
Nikon based system:
...
Konica-Minolta based system:
The 7D and 5D both have image stabilization built-in, so every lens benefits. For travel photography, this can mean a very small kit, which covers almost every circumstance. I really think 3 lenses would give me almost all that I could envision for travel and hiking.
17-35mm f/2.8/4
28-75mm f/2.8 G 70-200mm f/2.8 APO G
While I think they, Konica-Minolta, could do better on the short end (wide-angle), the long APO, and especially the APO "G" series lenses, are world-class, and some are a genuine value.
I realize that it's gonna take a while to build all these systems, and the money required is pretty severe, so my plans are going to change considerably and evolve as the companies change and evolve their products. I realize that this, the above, is just my opinion.
More than likely, I will stay with one brand. :cry More than likely, money will be the determinant factor.:cry :cry
I can still dream.
ziggy53
If you are looking for a small travel kit and already have system #2 for birding or whatever, then just buy an 18-200 VR2 lens. It covers the whole range you're talking about covering with three, and the quality is said to be excellent (surprisingly for such a range). And every (1) lens benefits from image stabilization. : Plus I've found that traveling in some countries means that conditions are not ideal for opening up the camera, not to mention the shots you miss while changing lenses. It's the perfect travel lens, perhaps paired with a small/lightweight 50/1.8.
This one is affectionally called "the Beast" in another forum. It's not just the size; at over 2 lbs, it's the weight too! It's also a really phenomenal lens that I'm considering for my next purchase.
Comments
James.
http://www.jamesjweg.com
I really can't think that way, that there is a first-place camera, etc. I eventually want three camera systems (very much IMHO):
Canon based system:
It is well known that Canon has the most extensive lineup of lenses and the best 3rd-party lens support of all the brands. I am underway in acquiring, within reason and bank-account, a good spread of lenses for my planned purposes.
Canon 50mm, f1.8
Pentax 50mm, f1.4 (w/mount adapter)
Sigma 18-50mm, f2.8
Canon 24-85mm, f3.5-4.5
Canon 70-200mm, f2.8
Tokina 80-200mm, f2.8
Tamron 75-300mm, f4-5.6
Vivitar 500mm, f6.3 (w/mount adapter)
While I currently have a Canon 1.6 crop camera, Canon full-frame bodies have a very smooth texture, which I would appreciate for portrait and sky work. The creamy-smoothness is hard to duplicate in software, and the FF chips produce it (smoothness) right out of the box. (Note that most of the lenses I have will also work on FF bodies.)
Nikon based system:
The D2X is what I consider the ultimate sports-shooters camera. A fast capture rate at full crop becomes super-fast in high-speed-crop mode. I would value the ability to see peripheral parts of the view in the viewfinder, while banging out 8 frames per second.
You also see a lot of birding and wildlife photographers using Nikon, because the long lenses are very well supported and extremely high quality. The slightly grainier look of the Nikon sensor is more conducive to nature and, I think, preserves edge structure better, which is extremely important with feathers and fur.
Konica-Minolta based system:
The 7D and 5D both have image stabilization built-in, so every lens benefits. For travel photography, this can mean a very small kit, which covers almost every circumstance. I really think 3 lenses would give me almost all that I could envision for travel and hiking.
17-35mm f/2.8/4
28-75mm f/2.8 G
70-200mm f/2.8 APO G
While I think they, Konica-Minolta, could do better on the short end (wide-angle), the long APO, and especially the APO "G" series lenses, are world-class, and some are a genuine value.
I realize that it's gonna take a while to build all these systems, and the money required is pretty severe, so my plans are going to change considerably and evolve as the companies change and evolve their products. I realize that this, the above, is just my opinion.
More than likely, I will stay with one brand. :cry More than likely, money will be the determinant factor.:cry :cry
I can still dream.
ziggy53
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
owning both a D2X and a D2H and shooting sports I have to say that the D2X at this point does not live up to the D2H in action situations. Having to jump trough 5 hoops to get in and out of crop mode kills crop mode for me. As such for me the D2X does not have a usable frame rate as high as the D2H. Also I have yet to get the D2X to do focus tracking correctly, the D2H never had a problem with it. I can't seem to get the idea of using part of the view finder through my head ether, playing with it I got plenty of missing body parts. Also the in camera noise reduction on long exposure shots takes so long that you miss MANY shots if you are using it. I have not done a comparison to see how the frames would be without it. I tried to shoot some fireworks on newyears and only got a few frames because it was taking 10+ sec for the noise reduction to run. Bottom line, I love my D2X, but the D2H is not for sale.
James.
http://www.jamesjweg.com
If you are looking for a small travel kit and already have system #2 for birding or whatever, then just buy an 18-200 VR2 lens. It covers the whole range you're talking about covering with three, and the quality is said to be excellent (surprisingly for such a range). And every (1) lens benefits from image stabilization.
http://cusac.smugmug.com
This one is affectionally called "the Beast" in another forum. It's not just the size; at over 2 lbs, it's the weight too! It's also a really phenomenal lens that I'm considering for my next purchase.
http://cusac.smugmug.com