I Did It Again!

[Finewest]

I went out and bought a Nikon D80 digital SLR camera with the 18-135mm zoom lens. NIKON BABY! I'M BACK! Love Nikons! Been using Nikons all my photography life and now I've got it back! Woo hoo! It's great to be home again! :hotpepper

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31%2BEXKSnkEL._AA280_.jpg

[Lou65]

Great machine Finewest....and I know you know how to use it....

Used to have a Minolta with 85-210 zoom and had lots of fun with it....you can lurk at the pool and get
candid up close and personal with friends...have some great shots/memories.

[Mark]

I've been drooling over the latest crop of DSLRs...
Congratulations! I know you'll be able to make it stand up and dance too! :)

Mark
P.S.
With that thread title I *had* to come look at this thread...
I'm *really* glad I didn't have to delete any of the photos in this thread!
:D

[Finewest]

...With that thread title I *had* to come look at this thread...
I'm *really* glad I didn't have to delete any of the photos in this thread!
:D

Not yet! Just wait! :22yikes:

[Finewest]

I went for a quick ride up and down the coast and stopped at the viewpoint to test the camera. Here's one of the pics. Nothing special, and it's a shame I can't share the full resolution here with you, but you can see the Nikon takes a nice pic full of vibrate color. Can't wait to really give it a go on like a sunset or such...

[dr1954]

Good for you Fred! New toys are always fun. I have seen your other photos and I am sure you will be sharing some great shots with us.

I use canon only because I like the layout of the controls. Nikon vs Canon lenses mean nothing to me because I use all Sigma. I have tried canon lenses and can not see the differance.

Just got back from shooting high school wrestling this morning and headed to boys basketball tonight!

[ST_Jim]

Great news, Fred! I've got the same setup, and took it to WeSTOC Redmond in my Tankbag (with a little bubble wrap just in case). Now I'm just trying to decide what lens to get next. I'm thinking of going wider, and am trying to make up my mind between a Sigma 10-20mm, a Tokina 12-24, or the genuine Nikon 12-24mm DX for twice the $$.

The 18-135 is pretty sharp, I just wish for VR sometimes.

Ruby Beach, Washington.
http://inlinethumb56.webshots.com/40887/2730019860059831262S600x600Q85.jpg


- Jim

[Viggo]

My daughter is enrolled in a photography class this term and she needed a 35mm film camera. So I dug into the back of my closet and pulled out my 35 year old Yashica for her to use. I hadn't even thought about that camera in years. My wife's Canon was right next to it so I pulled that out too. She may want to use them both since I have a 24mm wide angle for the Yashica but no zoom and the wife had a Vivitar zoom lens for the Canon.

Seems a shame these great cameras are just gathering dust in the closet.

Now if I only had some skills... Any pic I take that comes out above average is just blind luck.

[Finewest]

OK, here's some more pics from this fine Nikon digital SLR! Oh boy! I'm in love!

[ST1300 Alicia]

Hey Fred
I'm waiting for Sony to put their new 24.8 Mega pixel Full Size 35mm CMOS Sensor In a Cannon and then I will Upgrade.

[CRF]

Fred,
I really enjoy your pictures, especially the seagull - well the ST is great too -and I have had the bug to upgrade to a camera such as your D-80 and I was wondering if a unskilled photographer would benefit and be able to take good pictures without formal classes. I currently use a Sony cyber-shot that takes OK still pictures and is useless for anything moving-I love flat track races. I have seen action pictures taken with a D-80 that are breathtaking -WWII aircraft flying overhead against a perfect blue sky and the propeller is absolutely frozen in time - unbelievable. I know the quality of the picture is part camera,lens selection and part photographer, and I have no doubts about the camera. I have a 6K mile trip out west planned for early May on the ST. Do you think there are good enough auto settings to get a rookie by or should I just stick with what I have. Thanks in advance and congratulations on your purchase - Howard

[Finewest]

Fred,
I really enjoy your pictures, especially the seagull - well the ST is great too -and I have had the bug to upgrade to a camera such as your D-80 and I was wondering if a unskilled photographer would benefit and be able to take good pictures without formal classes. I currently use a Sony cyber-shot that takes OK still pictures and is useless for anything moving-I love flat track races. I have seen action pictures taken with a D-80 that are breathtaking -WWII aircraft flying overhead against a perfect blue sky and the propeller is absolutely frozen in time - unbelievable. I know the quality of the picture is part camera,lens selection and part photographer, and I have no doubts about the camera. I have a 6K mile trip out west planned for early May on the ST. Do you think there are good enough auto settings to get a rookie by or should I just stick with what I have. Thanks in advance and congratulations on your purchase - Howard

Hi Howard! All great questions! OK... here goes...

The Nikon D80 is, I believe, a intermediate to pro level camera, but! (always a but!) like all top end cameras it has a "point and shoot" setting. You can set the D80 to full automatic and it will take care of all the controls for you! Cool! Just "point and shoot"! So that shouldn't be a problem for you. And then when your ready to take full creative control over your camera you can tweak all the settings yourself.

As for traveling: it is a bigger camera then the smaller in the pocket digital jobs such as the one you own now. It does require a separate lens attached, instead of one built in. So it will be a bigger camera then the one you have now and when you want to expand the lenses you will even more so fill up precious storage space and weight on your bike. But if you want top notch pics it is worth it! Now that was said I do have to admit that I have been impressed with the current crop of digital "point and shoot" smaller pocket cameras. I bought one for my wife, a Nikon also, very small, pocket size and it takes great pictures! I am often tempted to just take that one along, but know that a picture opportunity will appear where I will want more creative control.

So in the end you will have to decide what is important to you and your skill level, not just in knowing how to use a camera, but even your own creative skills, which camera will work best for you. Keep in touch on your decision and feel free to ask all the questions you want! My favorite topic!

[Putt]

Fred,
What were you using before the Nikon?

Putt...

[Putt]

My daughter is enrolled in a photography class this term and she needed a 35mm film camera. So I dug into the back of my closet and pulled out my 35 year old Yashica for her to use. I hadn't even thought about that camera in years. My wife's Canon was right next to it so I pulled that out too. She may want to use them both since I have a 24mm wide angle for the Yashica but no zoom and the wife had a Vivitar zoom lens for the Canon.

Seems a shame these great cameras are just gathering dust in the closet.

Now if I only had some skills... Any pic I take that comes out above average is just blind luck.

I also have an older Canon, a FT-QL that I purchased in (gasp) 1968.. I have several lenses for that one, the std. 55mm, a 28, a 200, and a good
2X teleconverter.. alas, one of the shutter curtains is hanging up so my
Canon G6 has been getting the yeoman's share of the work. I do miss the
film for prints, but posting digital prints to the web is sooo much easier..

Putt...

[Putt]

Hey Fred
I'm waiting for Sony to put their new 24.8 Mega pixel Full Size 35mm CMOS Sensor In a Cannon and then I will Upgrade.

That would be nice... I would like a retro fit for a 35mm body.. Then I could
still use my 35mm lenses that are now gathering dust... :(

Putt..

[Rob__]

It's been too long since I've used an SLR. I have a Canon A1 in the closet I bought in '83.

[Finewest]

Fred,
What were you using before the Nikon?

Putt...

An Olympus C8080 digital camera.

http://a.img-dpreview.com/reviews/OlympusC8080WZ/Images/frontview-001.jpg

Really nice camera! ED zoom lens. Amazingly sharp and color saturated pics! 8 megpixels. Small, compact, easy to carry. Full manual control, or easy full auto. I just missed my Nikons so much! I've had the Nikon N8008s (love that camera!), N90s, N2020, etc. Been a Nikon fan for years. I stop using them because I got tired of carrying all that gear around... and switched to digital. But like I said; I missed the Nikon magic! So I went back! I now have the D80 body and one kit lens; the 18mm-135mm DX lens. It's OK, but I like to break that up to two lens. One reason is that I never liked a "one lens does it all" approach. Too much glass compromises the glass clarity. So I usually do two to three lens. For instance: one very wide like a 20mm, or a 24mm (35mm film version. The DX would be I guess the 12mm) for the grand landscape shots, a normal zoom like a 17mm-55mm digital DX, and a 55mm-200mm DX digital for telephoto. Now if I had the big big bucks! I would get all these in a f2.8 version! Heavy, but HOT! :cool:

[TearlessTom]

I too have been a loyal Nikon fan since the early 70's with my first 35mm being a Nikormat. I wish I stll had that camera. Since then I have been through the:


Nikormat
Nikon FM
Nikon FM2
Nikon FE
Nikon F3


My old eyes started to have trouble focusing so I had to switch to the auto focus of the:


Nikon F90S
Fuji S1
Fuji S2 both Nikon bodies I still have both.


Now I have a Nikon D200 I bought last year.

Canon started beating Nikon out a few years back but Nikon has closed the gap and is back with a vengence.

I use the 18-200 as an general all purpose lense, the 80-200 f2.8 for my sports, wildlife and some portrait work that I want a seriously short depth of field. You don't even want me to go through a list of lense..lol

I am glad you are back in the game!

Thomas

[Finewest]

Aaahhh... The Nikormat! The Camera of the Vietnam War! One tough mother!

[TearlessTom]

Aaahhh... The Nikormat! The Camera of the Vietnam War! One tough mother!

Yep that would be the one!

[ST_Jim]

You don't even want me to go through a list of lense..lol

ThomasBets? I would like a list!

And now with the new FX D3, I wonder how many DX lenses I want to accumulate. With a D80 and 18-135, I can see maybe the 12-24DX. But longer it makes a little more sense to go for full frame lenses.

I've thought about the 18-200 on the bike, but I'm afraid it might be a little soft for some of those landscape photos I like - and it still doesn't get me wide. Maybe the 70-300 VR. But I know I don't want to lug around a 70-200VR on the bike and worry about dropping it! 17-55 is supposed to be pretty good, but it is still DX. Decisions, decisions...;)

- Jim

PS: Fred - too bad a D80 doesn't have a fold out LCD and Live View!

http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/11097/2273525730059831262S600x600Q85.jpg

[Finewest]

Well, after living with (a few short days) and reading everything I can find about the Nikon D80 on the Net I am really falling in love with this camera! The true penta-prism view-finder is bright and big just like its film format brothers, the LCD on the rear is just about the best damn one I have ever seen or used on a digital camera! Big! Bright! and it is viewable from any degree. 2.5 inchs with over 100k pixels! Yummy!

Autofocus is just so snappy! I sometimes even wondered did it focus? It is so fast! Being a color freak I set the saturation to its optimum level and man of man! What candy! Woo hoo! I ordered recently a 55mm-200mm VR lens (VR for vibration reduction) and can't wait for that one as the reviews for it were outstanding! Hand held telephoto shots without a tripod! Whew! I'm going faint! Nikon continues to impress me with it's quality and inovation!

Now if I can just get somewhere to do some real serious photography! Maybe a overnighter to either the Salton Sea, or Joshua Tree is in order! Another excuse to ride! (as if I needed one! Woo hoo!)

[Gator]

To all of you that are into the photography/riding thing: When you are out on your bike, how much camera gear do you carry with you? If you are like me, you probably have the camera, 3 or more different lenses, etc. Do you stick all of this stuff into one of the side bags and if so how much room do you have left for the other necessities for your ride/trip?

One can get obsessed in this area too. I have tried the video camera mount to tape while riding to preserve the memories, but reviewing all the film and then trimming it down takes a lot of time to make a short video. Gives one something to do on the cold, rainy days.

Gator

Canon D30, 5 lenses, a bunch of other stuff to tote around.

[Lou65]

OK, here's some more pics from this fine Nikon digital SLR! Oh boy! I'm in love!

Oh My God! there is a Big Foot stalking Veronica!

[Shutterbug]

To all of you that are into the photography/riding thing: When you are out on your bike, how much camera gear do you carry with you? If you are like me, you probably have the camera, 3 or more different lenses, etc. Do you stick all of this stuff into one of the side bags and if so how much room do you have left for the other necessities for your ride/trip?

One can get obsessed in this area too. I have tried the video camera mount to tape while riding to preserve the memories, but reviewing all the film and then trimming it down takes a lot of time to make a short video. Gives one something to do on the cold, rainy days.

Gator

Canon D30, 5 lenses, a bunch of other stuff to tote around.

I have a backpack style of camera bag which fits in my top box or saddlebags, so I can carry everything I need and still have 2 compartments available for other stuff.

[Peter]

Fred

Welcome to the club although I am in the slightly smaller club......I bought a D50 2 years ago and I love it as well

Peter

[Bones]

I've got a closet full of film camera equipment, even after I gave a bunch of stuff to my brother-in-law. Camera bodies (Pentax and Konica) and lenses (Vivitar and Sigma) and flash units and cases. Holy cow, the stuff weighs a ton! And that Vivitar 85-205 zoom weighs two tons. I'll be in the market for a DSLR this year. I like my pocket digitals, especially the submersible Olympus 720SW, but I miss the image quality of SLR.

[JCorwin]

I'll be in the market for a DSLR this year. I like my pocket digitals, especially the submersible Olympus 720SW, but I miss the image quality of SLR.

I've got a Pentax K10d (http://www.pentaximaging.com/products/product_details/digital_camera--K10D/reqID--8793673/subsection--digital_slr) I picked up in January (after lottsa research!) I'm slowly learning how to use it (manual mode) but so far it rocks!

[Finewest]

That looks like a rocking camera! I had for a short time a Pentax 6 megapixel SLR and really liked it! So now we expect some good pics from ya! LOL!

[Mandel]

Hey Fred,

I recently bought that same lens for my Nikon D40x. That's the only lens I carry now.

Mandel

[ST_Jim]

I thought about a Pentax K10D, but they were dragging their feet in introducing new lenses, and not meeting demand for existing ones. So I bailed and went for a D80.

I still have an old Pentax Super Program, and 4 KA series lenses, which would work in manual focus mode on a K10D. Anyone interested?

- Jim :04biker: