Nikon DSLR "Picture Of The Day"

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Originally Posted by aparmley

Some things have changed George . . . mostly though, many have remained the same. ;)

Haven't seen you on the boards, is travel to blame?

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Hey Parm... I see you have migrated over to the bright (viewfinder) side. I kind of took a break from the boards to spend more time shooting (both kinds), learning new techniques (both kinds), and starting a new job (one kind)...

Not a lot of travel, but that's about to change, starting with the trip to Japan last week. Tried to meet up with Norm (in Fujino) but didn't hear from him... oh well... four-thirds people...

As mentioned elsewhere I picked up a D80 today. Looks like a winner. Looks like you like yours. I'll give it a good run in Oregon and California for the next 2 weeks. Maybe post a few images as well.


I'll be back...;)

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Originally Posted by George Riehm

Thanks jcon. I tried the Nikkor 18-135, but the Sigma is just a sharper lens IMO. I was shooting the Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 quite a bit, but keep comming back to the 18-125 for convenience.

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You were the main reason I purchased the Sigma 18-125mm with my D50 and I was very pleased with it.

Been to Sedona recently? There might be a chance for me to visit it real soon if I get to travel to AZ to see my brother this summer. I remember the pics you had on your site from there were beautiful.

I love how sharp this lens is. Check this out:

f/6.3, 1/640 sec., ISO 200, 70 mm
Attachment 24963

And this is a 100% crop.
Attachment 24964

Granted, it isn't so sharp under less ideal conditions. But in the right place, this cheap lens is a wonder! :)

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Originally Posted by George Riehm

Hey Parm... I see you have migrated over to the bright (viewfinder) side. I kind of took a break from the boards to spend more time shooting (both kinds), learning new techniques (both kinds), and starting a new job (one kind)...

Not a lot of travel, but that's about to change, starting with the trip to Japan last week. Tried to meet up with Norm (in Fujino) but didn't hear from him... oh well... four-thirds people...

As mentioned elsewhere I picked up a D80 today. Looks like a winner. Looks like you like yours. I'll give it a good run in Oregon and California for the next 2 weeks. Maybe post a few images as well.


I'll be back...;)

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Best of luck to you in your many endeavors.

Anyone got any cream???

This was my first going-out-shooting day with my new D80. We spent the day at Disney's Animal Kingdom and I went shoot-happy; took over 400 pictures that day.

I thought this pictures turned out pretty neat. I haven't edit/cropped them since I am still learning. Haven't shot with a SLR in over 15 years.

I was going for the water shot in the background and trying to blur the front. I used the 'P' mode of the camera, hand-held and used the light available on a sunny day in Central Florida even thought tropical storm Barry had just gotten over us the day before.

The Oasis image was taken on a very bumpy ride on a moving truck and I snapped about 6-7 pictures and this is the one that impressed me the most even though I didn't get a good chance to stand to take it.

Your comments, positive or negative, will be greatly appreciated since I am a rookie at this.


Water Drop image EXIF
Exposure: 0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 80 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0/6 EV
ISO Speed: 200


Oasis image EXIF
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 22 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0/6 EV
ISO Speed: 200

pic 1 is great.

pic 2 looks a little desaturated and maybe a tad overexposed to me. from my experience, the d80 tends to overexpose outdoors a fraction so i have it dialled in at -0.3EV all the time.

i would also recommend for that sort of shot you change to "vivid" or "more vivid" mode. it increases saturation, colour etc. and you dont have any skin tones or reds to worry about so could have been a good option.

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Originally Posted by jcon

You were the main reason I purchased the Sigma 18-125mm with my D50 and I was very pleased with it.

Been to Sedona recently? There might be a chance for me to visit it real soon if I get to travel to AZ to see my brother this summer. I remember the pics you had on your site from there were beautiful.

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I haven't had a chance to get up to Sedona this year, but plan to frequent that town, Prescott, and Flagstaff, during the summer. All great places when the valley is at 115 F in July and August.:cool:

Not much of a photo, just a snappy of a new arrival. . .

http://parmley.smugmug.com/photos/160239835-L.jpg

For $250 Nikon added 2-3 stop VR, included a suede carrying pouch, included a lens hood. . . (My Canon EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM lens didn't even come with a pouch or a hood and it cost me $1k)... these are the small things that make me glad I'm switching. Ya, they don't help you make a photo or they don't improve then IQ of the lens, but these things do count.

There are a few big reasons why I decided on this lens. First reason - bang for my buck. I'm hoping this lens provides a lot of bang for the little buck I gave up for it. Second reason - This lens, because of the first reason, fits into my new approach to photography, "Have more fun and create better images than ever using affordable gear - i.e. I don't need pro gear." Well, thats all I have to say. . . sorry it was more than just a photo.

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Originally Posted by aparmley

Not much of a photo, just a snappy of a new arrival. . .

http://parmley.smugmug.com/photos/160239835-L.jpg

For $250 Nikon added 2-3 stop VR, included a suede carrying pouch, included a lens hood. . . (My Canon EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM lens didn't even come with a pouch or a hood and it cost me $1k)... these are the small things that make me glad I'm switching. Ya, they don't help you make a photo or they don't improve then IQ of the lens, but these things do count.

There are a few big reasons why I decided on this lens. First reason - bang for my buck. I'm hoping this lens provides a lot of bang for the little buck I gave up for it. Second reason - This lens, because of the first reason, fits into my new approach to photography, "Have more fun and create better images than ever using affordable gear - i.e. I don't need pro gear." Well, thats all I have to say. . . sorry it was more than just a photo.

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The photozone.de tests are pretty impressive, and this lens may well be in my collection in the very near future, as it seems to outperform a lot of pro-grade glass. Hey for $250 and they throw in VR... nice.

I will be very interested in your results... and this is the perfect place to post em'.