[Farktographer]

Lok – I agree, I love wide-angle for star shots. I was hoping I could get enough light using the f/1.4 to capture a good star shot without much trailing though. It’s still useable in some instances, but I’ll be trying out my new 10mm on starlight next time I go hiking.

orionid – Seriously, how long did it take until you were this comfortable with camera gear? I couldn’t imagine taking my stuff apart yet – I’d be scared to crap that I’d lose pieces and break it. Then again, for $35…. Point is, I wouldn’t even know where to *start* for that sort of thing! I’m always jealous of your projects, haha.

[Farktographer]

There was nothing wrong with it. I just found it to be too slow to focus compared to my other lenses. Even my Nikkor 10.5 fisheye now has the SWM focus motor. So whenever I use a lens with standard focusing I find it to be maddeningly slow.

I guess it’s a case of you can’t miss what you don’t have. My only experiences are the kit lens, and my 50mm, but that one is a ’68 build so it’s manual focus only. I played with a new 12-24 Nikkor for about an hour, and I remember it focusing fast, but I assumed part of that was due to the smaller range it had to play with.

[Farktographer]

My glass collection; an overview:
Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 (kit lens, damn good for what it is)

I sold my 18-105. Hated it. Way too slow focus motor. The IQ was good but I couldn’t get over that lumbering focus motor. My lightning fast Sigma 17-50 has me spoiled I guess.

…huh. I’ve never had an issue with my focus motor. It’s pretty quick.

[Farktographer]

I shot this one with the 50mm. What issues are you having with stars? I used more ISO than I should have for this shot, so the noise is a bit high. I think I’d rather have a 35mm though to get more of the sky in most applications – I had to walk back pretty far to get the tree in the image.

Floating Dot of Water by Farktographer1, on Flickr

[Farktographer]

Might look into getting some software and just resize it yourself before you upload. Do free accounts have the option of sharing “original” size if they’re small enough? But same as lok – I don’t really see any pixelation. Is there a reason why you uploaded it as such a small image? Is that the size you’re shooting?

[Farktographer]

A definite difference, thanks for posting these. The Tamron does seem to be make the subject stand out more with the bokeh, and the lower aperture would be great for low light. Another downside to living in the UK is that all camera gear is more expensive – the Tamron is $100 more new, $200 more used comparing the amazon .com vs. .co.uk sites.

What’s your glass collection looking like now? I remember a discussion after your graduation, but don’t know if you’ve picked up anything since that you like?

[Farktographer]

It’d still be nice to have a 35mm and 90mm prime laying around for fun. When I get the money coming in, that could be more of an option 😛

Plama – do you see a big quality difference between your 90mm and the kit lens at a similar focal length? I’m just curious how much of a difference it might make. Maybe sharpness or chromatic aberration?

[Farktographer]

U-man already made me laugh out loud with his first entry. This is going to be an awesome theme.

[Farktographer]

…this one’s a little better with the 50mm:

Blowing Bubbles by Farktographer1, on Flickr

[Farktographer]

Bummer. Were you still an invited guest? You could just sort of follow the pro around and try to pick up on some tricks…

[Farktographer]

Admittedly, I don’t know much about portraiture, but what I have heard is that quite a few people prefer mild telephoto glass to 50mm primes for portraits because of the differences in distortion. In my own experience, I can only say that I prefer the portraits taken on my Tamron 90mm f/2.8 to those taken on my Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D. I can’t say, however, that I particularly *dislike* the shots with my 50mm. I just like the 90 more. Take this advice with as large a grain salt as you so desire.

I was considering the Tamron 90mm, but I already get pretty good portrait shots when I want that style using the longer side of my kit 18-105mm. Do you see a big difference between the two (you also have the D7000, so I know I can take your advice)? Using the 50mm, I’ve only taken portraits of my girlfriend and some other close friends, but really love what I get with it. If I start getting paid for my photos, then I’m sure a the 90mm will come into play, too.

Taken with the kit lens at 85mm, f/8.0 to get her sharp and fully in focus:
Amsterdam 2011 118 by Farktographer1, on Flickr

Taken with the 50mm, f/2 I think in this one:

Soft Dance by Farktographer1, on Flickr

I never noticed it before, but I seem to like taking photos where the subject has a lot of room to play. Learned something new about myself, haha. The thing I’ll learn with portraits is that the buyers will all want different things, so I’m sure a 90mm fixed and 35mm fixed will come into play later to give me high quality photos and more room to play.

/edit to say: Damn, now that I look at that second photo, I really sucked at taking portraits 6 months ago. Should have had a fill-flash, adjusted white balance, focused closer on the subject…. Then again, at that time I had only had my camera for 6 months, so…learning curve? 🙄

[Farktographer]

Okay, update – I went ahead and got the gorillapod with the ball head for my low-ground shots that need longer exposures. For the lighting, I decided to cut back a lot to save up, so I got:
– Manfrotto umbrella adapter (http://tinyurl.com/6ruyh7c) that can be used on light stands and tripods, this way I don’t have to buy a dedicated light stand yet. None of my lighting ideas need really tall lighting at the moment anyways.
– YN-560 flash (thanks for the recommendation, zinc.
– Flash trigger with 2 receivers for my (now) 2 flashes
– 43″ diffusing umbrella
– 5-in-1 reflector
– Roscoe Strobist collection; figured I could have some fun with gels
Overall, the lighting setup was dirt cheap compared to what else I was looking for, and seems like everything will work fine. I probably won’t even be using the umbrella except for special occasions, but I already have other things in mind for the Manfrotto adapter to come in handy for. I also got a couple of cheap extension tubes for macro work. With the money I had left (that I had been planning to buy more pro-style gear), I decided my big splurge for 2012 was to buy a Sigma 10-20mm F4. It’s used, but good condition, and a lot cheaper than retail price. Should be getting a lot of use from that with architecture and landscape shots. Looks like it was a good Christmas 😉

[Farktographer]

Hah, random. I thought maybe you were just that dedicated to the hardware section, in prep. for that wedding coming up 😉

[Farktographer]

Holy crap, rav – you backtracked 2 years into posts and uncovered this. Do you have too much spare time at the moment?

Also – Orionid, you scare me sometimes. Scary in a good way.

[Farktographer]

A question late in the game: how specific does “bacon” need to be? I know we’re allowing still-alive bacon, but does pork knuckle get close enough? I know it’s probably bending the definition way too far, but I didn’t know if any pork product was allowed for this.

[Author]

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