A Couple of Noob Questions

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Braidsta

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Evening all,

Recently got a D3000 and have had a brilliant time with it. I do have a few questions but waited till now to just ask them all at once and not bombard the forum!

1. What happens if an ND filter covers the trees etc that are prominent in the skyline? Do they still come out ok?

2. Is there a notable difference between a proper Nikon ultrawide lens and a cheaper alternative?

3. Does anybody need to zoom when using ultrawide lenses for the "in your face" effect or does everyone get stuck in close to the subject? (I've read prime lenses are cheaper and wondered if there are prime ultrawides so I can save money :D)

4. When buying a backup battery, best to stick with the Nikon brand or is generic ok?


Many thanks to anyone with answers! I'm thoroughly enjoying learning it all myself from the net but can't seem to find the answers to these ones:(

cheers all
 
1) Not a clue :D

2) I keep reading here you get what you pay for with glass, so I imagine there is a difference - how much depends on just how much cheaper. And of course if it's something you'll use very ocassionally for nothing important saving money on it makes more sense than if you'll use it daily.

3) Clueless again :D

4) Search and you'll find several lively discussions on own vs 3rd party batteries (and just about everything else for that matter), it's personal preference - that said I'd not go with a super cheap one you find on ebay for £4.99! *Personally* I've got some energizers coming off ebay as they're £18 each as opposed to £40 or so each for the own brands, I've seen someone unknown make ones at under a tenner but I wanted a decent brand. 7dayshop? ones seem to be popular though.
 
Do you mean a graduated ND or Grad ND, with a ND it covers all the pic to give you a slower shutter speed so as to blur water etc.
With a grad ND,you use it to darken light Sky's so they don't blow out
you really need a straightish skyline or if trees cover all the tree to get a natural shot and yes ,it will come out OK.

Nikon branded lenses with ED in the title are usually better built and have a better chance of a good image quality . there are some other brands like Sigma that are OK ,make sure they have EX glass though ( Like the ED glass )

It is usually better to save a bit more for a better lens than buy a cheapo .

You don't need a zoom, it just makes life that much easier.

Hahnal batterys are OK and save a few quid,but be VERY carefull when buying on the internet as there are some duff copys on E-Bay and they can ruin you're pride and joy.:thumbs:
 
Braidsta said:
Evening all,

Recently got a D3000 and have had a brilliant time with it. I do have a few questions but waited till now to just ask them all at once and not bombard the forum!

1. What happens if an ND filter covers the trees etc that are prominent in the skyline? Do they still come out ok?
Click to expand...

I think you're talking about an ND Grad. The trees go dark too. Check out HDR technique to get around that, taking two pictures at different exposure levels and merging them in post procesing.

2. Is there a notable difference between a proper Nikon ultrawide lens and a cheaper alternative?
Click to expand...

Yes, there's a difference. Depends where you look and how critical your are, what type of final output etc. Whether it's worth the extra or not is a matter of opinion.

3. Does anybody need to zoom when using ultrawide lenses for the "in your face" effect or does everyone get stuck in close to the subject? (I've read prime lenses are cheaper and wondered if there are prime ultrawides so I can save money :D)
Click to expand...

For the 'in your face' look you need to get stuck in close, with a wide angle - zoom or prime. Primes are generally not any cheaper, and sometimes more expensive as they usually run to lower f/numbers.

4. When buying a backup battery, best to stick with the Nikon brand or is generic ok?
Click to expand...

Third party generics are usually fine.

Many thanks to anyone with answers! I'm thoroughly enjoying learning it all myself from the net but can't seem to find the answers to these ones:(

cheers all
Click to expand...

Welcome to TP :)
 
littlemonster said:
4) Search and you'll find several lively discussions on own vs 3rd party batteries (and just about everything else for that matter), it's personal preference - that said I'd not go with a super cheap one you find on ebay for £4.99! *Personally* I've got some energizers coming off ebay as they're £18 each as opposed to £40 or so each for the own brands, I've seen someone unknown make ones at under a tenner but I wanted a decent brand. 7dayshop? ones seem to be popular though.
Click to expand...

i have a d5000 so not sure on how different the batteries are but i got a 3rd party battery from ebay for around £5 delivered.
 
wow thanks people that's great!

Just want to point out that this is the ONLY forum for any subject I've seen where people aren't flamed for asking questions. Most forums are 99% nobheads whose only skill is rudely directing folk to the search feature (and no, they never read the question first, and spend FAR too much time doing this when they should be out using their "expertise" in the field). Well pleased to find this isn't just another den of c*nts.

Props to TalkPhotography!!!!:thumbs:
 
just one more thing...

I've seen a genuine NIKON remote - seems to have one big button (I'm guessing shutter release lol) and also cheaper (£6 ish) generic ones with several buttons.

Anyone have experience in these ones with more buttons? I'm no skin flint but wondered if these extra buttons are actually a good thing.

Not sure what I'm asking for really - just opinions from people in the know!

cheers

John
 
Braidsta said:
just one more thing...

I've seen a genuine NIKON remote - seems to have one big button (I'm guessing shutter release lol) and also cheaper (£6 ish) generic ones with several buttons.

Anyone have experience in these ones with more buttons? I'm no skin flint but wondered if these extra buttons are actually a good thing.

Not sure what I'm asking for really - just opinions from people in the know!

cheers

John
Click to expand...

I have a 3rd party remote shutter release and it's been fantastic......if you look after your stuff, you'll be fine, it's usually only the build quality that's better/different! :thumbs:

That said, if there isn't much of a price difference, then go for the genuine Nikon one! ;)
 
andiphoto said:
i have a d5000 so not sure on how different the batteries are but i got a 3rd party battery from ebay for around £5 delivered.
Click to expand...

I guess it's personal preference again, I'd worry about the cheap batteries leaking or something, that said play prices are £13 for yours vs £18 for mine (for energizer) so there is a difference there anyway.
 
ah wicked cheers - sorry probably means nothing but the play ones are 7.4v... My Authentic out-the-box NIKON battery is 7.2... still safe? Don't want to fry my camera, equally don't want to beat it to a million pieces when the battery dies unexpectedly.


lol I'm so paranoid, just this is THE most expensive hobby I've got into. After much thought I've decided to stick to NIKON for lenses but to save a few quid here and there would be wicked.
 
ONE MORE! Promise lol.

Can my 18-55mm kit lens focus to infinite? I can't see the little symbol for it :(

cheers!
 
Braidsta said:
...
Can my 18-55mm kit lens focus to infinite? I can't see the little symbol for it :( ...
Click to expand...
It's a pretty big symbol here and a lens that couldn't focus to infinity wouldn't sell. Go outside and shoot a horzon or two to check out your lens.
 
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/1855.htm
thats my lens mate. I do have the infinity symbol but not as a mark to line up against, just on the info on the underside.

but hold up, think I misunderstood what infinity means. I thought focus to infinite meant everything would be in focus - sky, landscape, close objects etc.

Still trying to get my head round it and I've just read something that makes me think infinity means you focus furthest away you can, and anything nearer will be out of focus.


I can not believe I can't understand this! what is infinity?

:bonk::bonk::bonk::bonk:
 
Errrrm...

Infinity means something goes on forever and never ends, much like the universe (well some people say but that's a whole other issue) and certain maths equations.

On a camera it basically means if the horizon is 300,000,000 miles away it still can - in theory - focus. Whether it actually is infinity or just longer than can be tested I don't know!

I think how much is in focus is to do with your f numbers (depth of focus) and I have no clue about that side of things so will shut up :D
 
lol yeah I started to read bits on it tonight and it dispelled much of what I thought i understood about controlling the depth of field with the aperture (I thought 5.6 shallow, 22 everything - kinda). Thing is, far as I can tell I'm happy with the photos I've taken, so maybe I'm getting into serious bad habits lol!

Ended up switching the laptop off and going out to photograph!:thumbs:

The infinity thing I think I've sussed but only time and pics will tell.

cheers for the help!
 
In this context, infinity is the distance at which light rays are effectively parallel. When you focus on infinity, everything at that distance and beyond will be sharp.

Infinity is quite close with wide angles, can be no more than a couple of dozen or so meters. With a super tele, it can be a hundred meters or more.
 
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