Happy! Happy! My New Tool (Toy) is Here.

[Gdad]

:woohoo: Well FedEx made me a happy camper today by being so kind as to drop off my newest aquisition- a Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8vr direct from Beach Camera. I purchased the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 II HSM a few weeks ago and was just not happy with it- so I sent it back and got this instead and right now I am very glad I did.

Here are a few pictures of the new baby. ;)

http://scl.smugmug.com/photos/288618440_nqKMG-O.jpg

http://scl.smugmug.com/photos/288618503_z34DV-O.jpg

[Code]

Wow nice! How does your wallet feel? ;) :rolleyes:

Look forward to seeing some shots with it!

[YEKCIM]

Congratulations, Jeff. I'm happy for ya. I know the second time around is gonna be SWEET.

Waiting on those Fantasmic! pix...

E

[Gdad]

Wow nice! How does your wallet feel? ;) :rolleyes:

Look forward to seeing some shots with it!

Ha- Yes my wallet feels lighter for sure. :rolleyes:

[Gdad]

Congratulations, Jeff. I'm happy for ya. I know the second time around is gonna be SWEET.

Waiting on those Fantasmic! pix...

E

Thanks Ed- May be doing Fantasmic tomorrow night. :yay: Actually MrsG's idea- and Lauren wants to ride the TOT. :scared1: She's tall enough now. :rolleyes1

[Gdad]

A few from earlier tonight with the new lens- the kids in the pool. I was a little nervous with all the water guns out there.

http://scl.smugmug.com/photos/288618602_zfmf8-O.jpg

http://scl.smugmug.com/photos/288618529_SZYDa-O.jpg

http://scl.smugmug.com/photos/288618390_v7zSy-O.jpg

100% Crop from the last one- no sharpening.

http://scl.smugmug.com/photos/288618578_RXSjq-O.jpg

[YEKCIM]

Good Grief! You should nickname that lens "Gillette" or something. It *is* razor sharp!

~Ed

[NostalgicDad]

Ummm, I believe I would call those awesome shots. That last one is incredible and should make you forget all about your light wallet!

I believe that's the 488RC2 ballhead (maybe 486RC2?) in the first shot. How would you say that's holding up to the load with the current setup?

[fitzperry]

We have those water cannons--they have a pretty long range. I hope 200mm is enough to keep that baby dry. ;)

That is razor sharp, and nice bokeh too.

[Gdad]

Ummm, I believe I would call those awesome shots. That last one is incredible and should make you forget all about your light wallet!

I believe that's the 488RC2 ballhead (maybe 486RC2?) in the first shot. How would you say that's holding up to the load with the current setup?

Thanks Danny- It is the 486RC2 and it seems to hold up just fine. I calibrated the lens on it- so I set it up at a 45 degree angle toward a focus chart on the floor and it held the position easily without migrating down. The tripod collar on the lens is positioned very well though as it seems in almost perfect balance on the ballhead.

[Gdad]

We have those water cannons--they have a pretty long range. I hope 200mm is enough to keep that baby dry. ;)

That is razor sharp, and nice bokeh too.

Thanks Jen- trust me I kept my distance (and threatened them too!)

[LMarge]

Okay, I need to replace my keyboard - it's now covered in drool!;) That last shot stopped me in my tracks - the water droplet hanging from her eyelash is just too much! That is one sweeeetttt piece of equipment! Enjoy - and please share the results with us!!:thumbsup2

[LMarge]

Gdad,
you mentioned that you "calibrated" your lens? What exactly does that involve and do you need to do it for every lens? I'm relatively new to the dslr thing and didn't know what that was all about!:confused3
Thanks!

[TheGoofster]

OK, I'm confused. How did you manage to take a picture of your camera, without using your camera? :confused3

[Gdad]

Okay, I need to replace my keyboard - it's now covered in drool!;) That last shot stopped me in my tracks - the water droplet hanging from her eyelash is just too much! That is one sweeeetttt piece of equipment! Enjoy - and please share the results with us!!:thumbsup2

LOL- Thanks Marge-

Gdad,
you mentioned that you "calibrated" your lens? What exactly does that involve and do you need to do it for every lens? I'm relatively new to the dslr thing and didn't know what that was all about!:confused3
Thanks!

The D300 will let you calibrate the auto-focus and save the settings for each lens. You take a picture of a focus chart with the lens wide open- and evaluate if the lens is front or back focusing- the focus point should be in the middle of your depth of field. You can assign a value from -20 (which pulls the focus in toward the camera) to +20 (which pushes it out.) This lens needed a +2. The Sigma 70-200 which I returned I had set to a +20 and it was still front focusing as you can see HERE (http://www.capturelifeinaction.com/photos/285056812_WDS7L-X3.jpg).

[Gdad]

OK, I'm confused. How did you manage to take a picture of your camera, without using your camera? :confused3

I used my daughters camera. ;)

[LMarge]

The D300 will let you calibrate the auto-focus and save the settings for each lens. You take a picture of a focus chart with the lens wide open- and evaluate if the lens is front or back focusing- the focus point should be in the middle of your depth of field. You can assign a value from -20 (which pulls the focus in toward the camera) to +20 (which pushes it out.) This lens needed a +2. The Sigma 70-200 which I returned I had set to a +20 and it was still front focusing as you can see HERE (http://www.capturelifeinaction.com/photos/285056812_WDS7L-X3.jpg).

WOW! That is so cool that you can correct for the lens in your camera body. Humm, I'm sure my Xti doesn't allow for that - but is there a way to know if your lens is off and can you adjust for it manually? I sometimes look at shots and think "gosh, it looked spot on in the view finder, but the print is off" -- then again, it could just be user error/motion. I think I need to start lifting weights to build up some arm control!!!LOL Thanks for teaching me something new today!!:)

[Code]

Wow that is some amazing sharpness on the 100% crop!

[Gdad]

Thanks again all- Here are a few from this morning with it.

http://scl.smugmug.com/photos/288804283_Z52UJ-O.jpg

http://scl.smugmug.com/photos/288813396_4ka9a-O.jpg

http://scl.smugmug.com/photos/288813415_HoEks-O.jpg

http://scl.smugmug.com/photos/288804416_GwWdX-O.jpg

[AlienBrain]

OK that lens is unreal! Those pictures are superb. I want one! I want one! But you know, it takes a good photographer to get good shots also ... great job.

[handicap18]

Jeff, those are stunning. That lens is certainly in a class by itself (ok may with a few other wallet drainers, but not many).

That 100% crop is out of this world. That is seriously sharp. Very impressive!

[Mr._The_King]

Excellen,Excellent,Excellent shots:worship: As always. That lens is incredible but I have to agree with AlienBrain The lens is only half of the story. Either way I'm happy for you (and for those of us who get to see the results) it looks like a fantastic lens. Thanks for sharing:)

[fitzperry]

The D300 will let you calibrate the auto-focus and save the settings for each lens. You take a picture of a focus chart with the lens wide open- and evaluate if the lens is front or back focusing- the focus point should be in the middle of your depth of field. You can assign a value from -20 (which pulls the focus in toward the camera) to +20 (which pushes it out.) This lens needed a +2. The Sigma 70-200 which I returned I had set to a +20 and it was still front focusing as you can see HERE (http://www.capturelifeinaction.com/photos/285056812_WDS7L-X3.jpg).

This is something I've missed and I can't seem to find it in the manual. Can you point me in the right direction?

[DVC Eric]

nice camera

[Gdad]

This is something I've missed and I can't seem to find it in the manual. Can you point me in the right direction?

Sure Jen- to be honest I am not sure if it is in the manual- at least a decent description of how to do it. I read it online somewhere- but nonetheless- here are the basics. I downloaded the actual chart I used HERE (http://focustestchart.com/chart.html).

My setup was fairly straight forward- I taped the chart to the floor and mounted the camera on the tripod so it could focus as needed from about a 45 degree angle. The camera needs to be wide open to minimize the depth of field. I also bounced a flash to be sure the chart was well illuminated. I started the process moving the CF card back and forth from the camera to the computer looking at the results- but to be honest the D300 has such a nice LCD it works just as good viewing it in camera- just zoom in and check it out. Take a test shot and see how it looks- the cooresponding numbers in fron and behind the -0- line should be about the same point in focus. So if the 6 in fron is clear but the 6 in back is fuzzy then it is front focusing- it will need a +X adjustment.

Hit the Menu Button- select the Setup Menu- the 2nd to last item is "AF fine tune"- You will need to turn this feature ON. Then you will see it identifies what lens is attached to the camera and number it X/12- the first time will be 1/12. You go into 'Saved Value" and move it maybe 4 or 5 and save it- then take another test shot. Getting it perfect is kind of guesstimating and hit and miss. Once you get the hang of it it was taking maybe 10 minutes per lens. A nice feature that really seems to hone in the focusing.

Good luck- let me know how it goes.

[Gdad]

Thanks again all-

[LMarge]

Gdad,
I love the last one of your daughter -I just sat here and went "ooohhh" - what a capture! I hope you have that one sitting on your desk! :thumbsup2 It's got to be very heartwarming knowing she's growing up sharing the same love of photography as you. My dd and ds "get it" a little bit - they love to look at the photos, but aren't to interested in taking them yet! All things in time, right!!!;)
Blessings~

[fitzperry]

Sure Jen- to be honest I am not sure if it is in the manual- at least a decent description of how to do it. I read it online somewhere- but nonetheless- here are the basics. I downloaded the actual chart I used HERE (http://focustestchart.com/chart.html).

My setup was fairly straight forward- I taped the chart to the floor and mounted the camera on the tripod so it could focus as needed from about a 45 degree angle. The camera needs to be wide open to minimize the depth of field. I also bounced a flash to be sure the chart was well illuminated. I started the process moving the CF card back and forth from the camera to the computer looking at the results- but to be honest the D300 has such a nice LCD it works just as good viewing it in camera- just zoom in and check it out. Take a test shot and see how it looks- the cooresponding numbers in fron and behind the -0- line should be about the same point in focus. So if the 6 in fron is clear but the 6 in back is fuzzy then it is front focusing- it will need a +X adjustment.

Hit the Menu Button- select the Setup Menu- the 2nd to last item is "AF fine tune"- You will need to turn this feature ON. Then you will see it identifies what lens is attached to the camera and number it X/12- the first time will be 1/12. You go into 'Saved Value" and move it maybe 4 or 5 and save it- then take another test shot. Getting it perfect is kind of guesstimating and hit and miss. Once you get the hang of it it was taking maybe 10 minutes per lens. A nice feature that really seems to hone in the focusing.

Good luck- let me know how it goes.

Thanks so much Jeff! I will give it a try and let you know what happens. I've read so much about this camera and its features, but I'd never seen anything about this one. This thing is mind-boggling, but I'm having a great time with it.

[Pea-n-Me]

Wow http://www.disneyworldtrivia.com/forums/images/smilies/coolpics.gif Really awesome!

[jann1033]

wow, really great shots, looks like a fantastic investment.

[DisneySuiteFreak]

WOW! That's awesome! I'm drooling now...
Hey GDad, I was wondering if you had to calibrate your Sigma 30mm 1.4? I want to get this lens, but I've read some bad reviews regarding front focusing issues w/ that lens. Any issues with it at all?