Dave, Many thanks for the frankness and report!
-- Best regards, Bruce Thursday, September 18, 2008, 9:45:05 AM, you wrote: DS> 2008/9/18 Bruce Dayton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: >> Well, the camera certainly is not holding you back. There are some >> nice images in there. DS> Thanks Bruce. >> From your indications, you are using a Sigma, >> Voigtlander and Nikkor lenses. I would be curious to know your >> thoughts so far of the camera and lenses. DS> The lenses. So far I have: DS> Nikkor AF-D 35mm f2 DS> Nikkor AF-D 50mm f1.4 DS> Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 EX DG Macro DS> Voigtlander 125mm f2.5 Macro APO Lanthar DS> The Nikon 50 & 35mm are handy focal lengths & make for a relatively DS> compact lens/body combination. I've no experience with the FA 35mm f2, DS> so I can't compare, but the Nikkor is pretty soft @ f2 and distorts a DS> bit. but for what I use that lens for it's performance is acceptable. DS> Same with the 50, not as nice as the FA 50 f1.4, but usable. Stopped DS> down a bit, both lenses are fine. DS> I have for a long time steered away from Sigma due to previous bad DS> experiences. But I couldn't afford to start out buying both the new DS> body & the Nikon equivalent 24-70mm f2.8. This forced me to consider DS> the Sigma. I gave it a good workout in the store & was convinced that DS> i had a good copy. Sharp, nice contrast etc. So I got it & haven't DS> regretted that purchase. The only thing I wished was that it had the DS> flare resistance of my Pentax glass. I have to pay extra attention DS> when shooting near bright light sources. DS> The Voigtlander 125mm f2.5 Macro I also have in Pentax mount & was the DS> one lens I really wanted to have access to on the Nikon. As it's out DS> of production & highly sort after, when one came up on eBay & was DS> going for a reasonable price I pounced on it. I recommend to anyone, DS> if you can find a copy & it won't cost you your first born or both DS> kidneys, get it. It is beautifully sharp & the bokeh is delicious. I DS> love this lens. DS> The camera: DS> It's solid, well built, big & relativity heavy. However I have carried DS> it around all day without any ill effects :-) DS> It's nice to shoot looking through a decent VF again. On occasion I DS> have both the K20D & D700 with me when I'm out shooting & switching DS> from the D700 to the K20D, I really notice how small the K20D's VF DS> really is. The D700 UI is very nice. This is why I went with Nikon DS> over Canon. I just really like how Nikon's bodies handle & coming from DS> Pentax the re-learning curve isn't very steep. DS> AF is snappy & I haven't noticed the "Penatx 2 step" style of focusing DS> (ie quick & dirty, then a final adjustment). Either it doesn't do it, DS> or I'm not noticing it because the Nikon screw drive AF is lower DS> pitched & less obvious. DS> Metering is spot on in most situations. I'm finding it more accurate DS> than the K20D at any rate. DS> Live view implementation is much better than the K20D. So much so that DS> I actually use it (the macro of the Viola was focused using LV). You DS> can zoom in without the image quality falling apart almost instantly. DS> Also the virtual horizon in live view (and in the VF) is a neat DS> feature. When I shoot at night I can't always see the horizon so this DS> is a useful feature. DS> ISO & low noise performance live up to the hype & are my main reasons DS> for the purchase. With the K20D I always hesitated to shoot over ISO DS> 800, I would if I had no other choice, but preferred not to. With the DS> D700 I don't even think twice about going up to ISO 3200. Also as DS> mentioned previously for long exposure night shots, none of my Pentax DS> DSLR's have been able to come close to the low noise performance. DS> Buying the D700 wasn't easy or frivolous decision. I didn't really DS> want to do it, but I'm starting to find a direction to my photography DS> and it's low light & long exposures. Unfortunately the current Pentax DS> technology just isn't up to satisfying my requirements. I'm also not DS> convinced that Samsung have enough experience in sensor design yet to DS> produce what I'm after. I hope I am proven wrong, and that Hoya Pentax DS> will do something special soon. DS> Cheers, DS> Dave >> Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 9:14:55 AM, you wrote: >> >> DS> G'day All, >> >> DS> So I stated the other day that I bought a Nikon D700. I've had it now >> DS> for a few weeks & thought I'd share 10 of my better shots for those >> DS> who are so inclined to look. >> >> DS> If you can handle Flickr's slideshows: >> >> DS> <http://flickr.com/photos/disavage/sets/72157607344500355/show/> -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
