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

[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 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.

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.

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! 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.

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

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?