Tell us about your camera(s)

what are you shooting with?

here's what i currently use...

- nikon d50 most of the time. (stock lens)
- fuji finepix f601z for on the bike or any time i don't want the big dslr.
- my iphone camera.

you?

Olympus Camedia C750 - 10x optical zoom - 3 generations old and pixel limited, but Oh, that lens.

On the bike (shirt pocket) - Fuji Finepix Z3 - more pixels, less lens, but always handy.

My most recent acquisition is a Canon 40D:



I am pleased with and impressed by this camera. I've got six lenses that I use. I was out of the SLR business for a decade and I'm finally just getting back into the swing of things. I shot a Rebel XT for almost two years. That was also a really nice camera that gave me some great photos. I just sold it and sort of regret having done so.

I also carry around a Canon S80



At the time I bought this camera it had two main selling points: a large LCD screen and a lens that was 28mm (equivalent) wide angle. It can be auto, semi-auto, or fully manual. Downsides include no ability to shoot RAW, the telephoto is a bit soft, and it's too small and elegant to be handled on the bike with gloves.

I've got my eye on one of these



This is a great little workhorse. One of its main selling points is the ability to shoot RAW. The powerful zoom goes down only to 35mm equivalent. Like the S80 and other P&S cameras, the sensor is tiny and produces a great deal of noise at ISO 200 and up (or so I'm told).

I'm sort of waiting/hoping/praying that Canon will produce a camera like the G9 with an APS-C sensor like the 20/30/40Ds, XTs, etc.

So I sit and wait. . . .

Just got a Nikon D300, a fabulous camera. Have D200 and D70 as backups.



Main lens is a AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED
Sometimes use AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm 1:4 G ED in tight spots
Enjoy playing with the AF Fisheye Nikkor 10.5mm 1:2.8 G ED

I have a bunch of old Nikons no longer in use: F, FTN, F2, F3, F5, S, S2, S3, SP, etc. Sheesh: I may be a hoarder or collector.

Sony DSC-H1, 12x lens, and a mere 5.1 megapixels. I love this camera.

I shoot with my imagination (or try to, anyway! )

As to what I use to capture those images....

currently a Nikon D80 that I traded up to from a D70, for which I have several lens, 3 zoom and one 90mm fixed focal length macro. Originally I upgraded for the added mega pixels as I like to do larger prints at times, but discovered that I liked the features and layout better and those have become the really important features for me now.
Also currently use a Sony Cyber-shot W100 since it had a manual mode, though the f-stops range is pretty limited, but it does have a viewfinder, as I find the view screens hard to see in bright light. That pretty much goes everywhere with me now, I'm more likely to remember my P&S than my cell phone!

Before that I had the 6.1 W80. First Digital was one of the Olympus Ultra-wide, the C750, and even with its limited megapixel rating, was the one I used for what I still consider one of my best photos, and one that made it into the Picture of The Week series on this web site. For years before that I was a diehard film buff, having done years of B&W developing, I was late coming into the digital revolution.

Like Tom I've also been looking at the Cannon C9 due to its having RAW support. In the past 6 months I've gone almost exclusively to shooting in RAW and the idea of having a P&S that can do that is very appealing. As much as I like RAW format, I am finding that there is both an up and down side to shooting in that mode, but that may be best saved for another thread.

RM

Nikon Coolpix 5400 for digital, which is great for instant gratification pictures. But I really enjoy using my Leica M6 for the pictures I want to last, and for B&W when the 'artsy' mood hits:

bmwdean said:

Just got a Nikon D300, a fabulous camera. Have D200 and D70 as backups.

Main lens is a AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED
Sometimes use AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm 1:4 G ED in tight spots
Enjoy playing with the AF Fisheye Nikkor 10.5mm 1:2.8 G ED

Click to expand...

Nicely done Dean!
I also just got a D300 to replace my D200. But still, my favorite cameras are the Fuji S5 and my beloved Fuji S3. (I still use my Fuji S2 on occasions)
I also have a 12-24 and the 17-55 among many other lenses. But best of all, I have a 400 MM 2.8 which breaks my back constantly.

Gil

Nikon D70...my wide angle 12-24 is my favorite lens! I also use a Panasonic PV-GS150 3CCD video camera on a RAM mount.

Love my D200, which is considerably higher in quality than the D100 I keep for motorcycle trips. Also have the F5, but have to admit it's been several years since I shot any film. Then there are the little ones, like a digital Elph my wife carries, my Coolpix P2 that's often in the tankbag, and some older film cameras in the basement, like my old Argus C3.

My digital SLR is a Nikon D50, using the 18-70 Zoom, 18-200-VR zoom and a 200-500 Tamron super telephoto. For point and shoot, I use a Cannon Powershot S50. When shooting film I still use my 20+ year old Nikon FE.

Canon Powershot SD900 "Digital Elph".

It's 10 megapixel (which is great), has a nice solid titanium shell, and it's small enough that I actually carry it with me. It's mostly a "point and shoot" camera, but I'm finding it has some extra features and it takes some really nice photos. I also like the large LCD it has.

All my my photo assignments have been done with this camera.

jdmetzger said:

Canon Powershot SD900 "Digital Elph".

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josh, by the look of it, that has a full manual mode, am i correct??

i have a couple year old canon A80, i like it's fold out screen and it's manual mode, but it's a bit bulky for "on the fly" riding pics and it's falling apart totally.

i'd love a small point and shoot with full manual capability. if not i'm gonna go with a new pocket sized point and shoot and a entry level slr for when i like to "screw around" (mostly just long exposure stuff).

bmwdean said:

Just got a Nikon D300, a fabulous camera. Have D200 and D70 as backups.

Main lens is a AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED
Sometimes use AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm 1:4 G ED in tight spots
Enjoy playing with the AF Fisheye Nikkor 10.5mm 1:2.8 G ED

Click to expand...

Is the 18-200mm with VM? If so, how do you like it?

I was hot for this one a few months ago, but I let the guys talk me out of it.

grossjohann said:

Is the 18-200mm with VM? If so, how do you like it?

I was hot for this one a few months ago, but I let the guys talk me out of it.

Click to expand...

VR works better than I was expecting. I can take sharp handheld photos in dim light with this lens unlike my non-VR lenses.

You made a mistake Should have stayed "hot" for the D300!

VR lenses (or IS on the Canon side) are amazingÔÇöa friend refers to them as "life changing." Generally, these lenses buy you about three stops in hand-holdability. If you previously could hand-hold a 200mm lens at no lower than 1/250th, with image stabilization, you can do it at 1/30.

My number of motion-blurred pictures has gone from 25% down to fewer than 3% since starting to use these lenses.

(Although nothing beats a tripod. . . .)

bmwdean said:

VR works better than I was expecting. I can take sharp handheld photos in dim light with this lens unlike my non-VR lenses.

You made a mistake Should have stayed "hot" for the D300!

Click to expand...

SNC1923 said:

VR lenses (or IS on the Canon side) are amazingÔÇöa friend refers to them as "life changing." Generally, these lenses buy you about three stops in hand-holdability. If you previously could hand-hold a 200mm lens at no lower than 1/250th, with image stabilization, you can do it at 1/30.

My number of motion-blurred pictures has gone from 25% down to fewer than 3% since starting to use these lenses.

(Although nothing beats a tripod. . . .)

Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm still well served by D70. It may be a little out-dated, but itÔÇÖs in great condition.

The 18-200mm VR lens on the other hand

well paired with the 12-24mm by-the-way.

BubbaZanetti said:

josh, by the look of it, that has a full manual mode, am i correct??

i have a couple year old canon A80, i like it's fold out screen and it's manual mode, but it's a bit bulky for "on the fly" riding pics and it's falling apart totally.

i'd love a small point and shoot with full manual capability. if not i'm gonna go with a new pocket sized point and shoot and a entry level slr for when i like to "screw around" (mostly just long exposure stuff).

Click to expand...

It does have a manual mode. To be honest, I skipped the instructions and actually only found it two weeks ago when I was doing the closeup photo assignment.

You can do color accents, color swaps, adjust your exposure (+-2), set your lighting for white balance, several color options (vivids, sepia, custom colors) as well as choosing ISO, focal length (close, normal, infinite). I'm sure it doesn't have all the features of the larger cameras, but I'm finding it does a real nice job.

Size was really an issue when it came to purchasing a new camera. I had an A-series, previously (3.3mp). I figured it was useless to get a big camera with a ton of settings if I wasn't ever going to carry it around with me.

bmwdean said:

VR works better than I was expecting. I can take sharp handheld photos in dim light with this lens unlike my non-VR lenses.

You made a mistake Should have stayed "hot" for the D300!

Click to expand...

I'll second the VR lens, I have the 70-300 VR and have had very good luck with it. The one down side is that it is noticeably heavier, esp. on a long day of walking. So if I know I'll be shooting bright daylight hours and walking I'll opt out for the lighter Non-VR 70-300 lens. The VR doesn't seem to effect battery life on my Nikon either, which is nice.

Here is a crop of a shot I took last fall up on skyline. I was around 35 or so feet up the hill from the milkweed pods I was shooting, I didn't even see these two guys till I got home and was editing the photographs. I was pleased with the clarity even with the cropping. this was hand held with the Nikor 70-300 VR. This pretty much sold me on the lens. Esp. when one considers that zoom lens are generally not as sharp as fixed-focal length lenses.



RM

Cameras

DSLR D80 Walking around lense is 18-200 VR Wow what a lense
Tamron 200-400
Tamron Doubler
newest pickup is Nikon 105 MM Macro still learning on that one
SB 600 Speedlight TTL even zooms with the camera
Have the kit lense from my former DSLR D70 a Nikon 18-70. A very nice light weight lense

Point and shoot is a Canon SD1000 7.1 megapixel 3 times optical

Latest lusting is a really nice tripod and ball head. Researching that one now. Why are there so many great toys to be had?

The nut that holds the grips however is still the most important tool!