Suburbanmom
<font color=red>Oh, SNAP!<br><font color=peach>I'm
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2007
- Messages
- 1,328
Ill start off by saying that the D700 is an amazing machine and I am so blessed to have one. I was blown away the first weekend I used it. My older son went to state wrestling sectionals competition and my younger son participated in districts. This was 3 comprehensive days of wrestling and I shot over 1000 images all at ISO 4000 and found no need to do any noise editing at all. Maybe if there was a shot Id want to blow up bigger than 8x10, I might run it through Noiseware, but overall they were incredibly clear. I used my 70-200mm f/2.8 and noticed a slight vignette. On most of the shots, I cropped it a little closer and got rid of it, but generally it was not a bother. The buttons are very similar to the D300, so the learning curve in that regards was low. I know there is a lot more to learn and Im looking forward to it very much.
Now the sad part . I have not been able to use my portrait lens on it yet. I usually shoot portraits with the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8. At the end of the 2nd day of wrestling, I was walking back to the locker room to pick up my son, and hadnt zipped my bag closed all the way. The lens slipped through the opening and hit the tile floor with the loudest, most sickening thud I have ever heard. I felt punched in the gut.
Anyway, the autofocus still worked, and the glass looked unscathed but the focus ring would not turn at all. It was stuck at 45mm. The lens hood also cracked.
This was Saturday and I had a minor school sports shoot to do on Tuesday. I could shoot the game with the 70-200, but really needed the portrait lens for the player/parent ceremony at half time. I tried to find a replacement lens locally hoped for something used. The people at Dodd Camera were wonderful and appropriately sympathetic, but could find nothing closer than 4 hours away. A store near Cleveland had a demo version Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 for sale at $299. I thought that would get me through the next several weeks while Nikon repaired my broken lens. Fortunately, I was familiar with the Tamron because Ive seen some great shots here! It is definitely better than the similar Sigma version which I used to own. They could get it to me by Thursday. In the meantime, I strapped on my trusty 50mm f/1.8 (which had not seen action in well over a year) and shot the basketball game. I am not a big prime user and had to laugh as I used manual zoom to get close enough to the subject. The nifty fifty is SOOOOO much wider on a full-frame sensor!
I sent the broken lens to Nikon and heard back from them very quickly. They estimated about $300 to repair, which I thought was reasonable, considering how much it would be to replace the lens with a new one. I approved the repair and now it sits in the shop. They did not estimate when I would get it back, only that they work as quickly as possible.
This was an incredibly expensive lesson to learn about checking to make sure your bag is closed, but I can promise you, I will be extremely fastidious about it from now on. Ive done one portrait session with the D700 and the Tamron and am pleased, but I will be so glad to get my 24-70 back I miss it terribly.
Now the sad part . I have not been able to use my portrait lens on it yet. I usually shoot portraits with the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8. At the end of the 2nd day of wrestling, I was walking back to the locker room to pick up my son, and hadnt zipped my bag closed all the way. The lens slipped through the opening and hit the tile floor with the loudest, most sickening thud I have ever heard. I felt punched in the gut.
Anyway, the autofocus still worked, and the glass looked unscathed but the focus ring would not turn at all. It was stuck at 45mm. The lens hood also cracked.
This was Saturday and I had a minor school sports shoot to do on Tuesday. I could shoot the game with the 70-200, but really needed the portrait lens for the player/parent ceremony at half time. I tried to find a replacement lens locally hoped for something used. The people at Dodd Camera were wonderful and appropriately sympathetic, but could find nothing closer than 4 hours away. A store near Cleveland had a demo version Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 for sale at $299. I thought that would get me through the next several weeks while Nikon repaired my broken lens. Fortunately, I was familiar with the Tamron because Ive seen some great shots here! It is definitely better than the similar Sigma version which I used to own. They could get it to me by Thursday. In the meantime, I strapped on my trusty 50mm f/1.8 (which had not seen action in well over a year) and shot the basketball game. I am not a big prime user and had to laugh as I used manual zoom to get close enough to the subject. The nifty fifty is SOOOOO much wider on a full-frame sensor!
I sent the broken lens to Nikon and heard back from them very quickly. They estimated about $300 to repair, which I thought was reasonable, considering how much it would be to replace the lens with a new one. I approved the repair and now it sits in the shop. They did not estimate when I would get it back, only that they work as quickly as possible.
This was an incredibly expensive lesson to learn about checking to make sure your bag is closed, but I can promise you, I will be extremely fastidious about it from now on. Ive done one portrait session with the D700 and the Tamron and am pleased, but I will be so glad to get my 24-70 back I miss it terribly.
I LOVE IT!!!! Signature changed! 
I knew I could find it here. 
