What should I buy?

[Captain_Rightfoot]

That's an odd title I know. The thing is I'm going to Singapore and HK at the end of April and I can feel myself adding to my camera collection.

At the moment I have a d80 with a 18-70 1:3.5-4.5G ED and an older 70-300. I reckon I've got 3 options..

1. Get a nice Nikon flash so I can use bounce for indoor "flashing" :)
2. Get an extreme wide angle for landscape. something around 14mm. Maybe the AF 14mm f/2.8D ED?
3. Upgrade to a D90. This is probably a cheap option if I sold the D80. I'm struggling to see much point though...

Thoughts?

[dmdigital]

If you're happy with the D80 then maybe some better glass.

For the flash look at even getting an old SB800 if you can, the SB900 is really designed for the new cameras but I'd go for either over the lower model speedlights.

For wide on the DX you really do need the 14mm. Maybe the new Sima 10-20mm f/2.8 (or its older model). The two really nice lenses are the Nikkor 14-24 and the 24-70 f/2.8's Once you get a 24-70 on the camera, you'll understand, my 24-70 is my primary lens. Mind you each of these weigh a lot more than a D80 body.

I had a play with a friends D90 last weekend :) I still want a D700 though!

[Chucaro]

D700 and a Nikkor 600mm f/4G EDVR :D

[Will Schouten]

1. Get a nice Nikon flash so I can use bounce for indoor "flashing" :)
2. Get an extreme wide angle for landscape. something around 14mm. Maybe the AF 14mm f/2.8D ED?
3. Upgrade to a D90. This is probably a cheap option if I sold the D80. I'm struggling to see much point though...

Thoughts?

Hi CR,

First of all, consider what you would need/want most. If you using your camera more for family type photo's, a flash would go along way.

For the price of a fixed 14mm 2.8 you could buy a 12-24 and SB-800 (now replaced by the SB-900, might still be some 800's around new in stores).

Also, if your buying overseas, keep in mind that camera bodies (not 100% sure about flashes) have regional specific warranties, whereas lenses have international warranties even if bought in Australia.

FYI retail prices in AUS (recently revised/increased) -
- 14mm f2.8D ED $2,799
- 12-24mm f4G IF ED $1,999
- 14-24mm f2.8G ED $2,949
- SB-400 Speedlight $249
- SB-600 Speedlight $499
- SB-900 Speedlight $999

Hope this helps!

[Disco]

The thing is I'm going to Singapore and HK at the end of April and I can feel myself adding to my camera collection.

Thoughts?

One thing to be very careful of in both Singapore and HK is "Gray" equipment. This is genuine equipment that is parallel imported from another sales territory. Nikon and Maxwell do NOT service gray gear as a general rule.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

I've been thinking about this. I've read that the D700 is a cracking camera, but I'm struggling to see the value for me. I love nice cameras (I paid a similar amount for a d100).

I just think I would get greater benefit from a good flash or that wide angle lense.

My question is, if I buy the wide lense, and then upgrade to a d700 at some point will it still work for me?

I was thinking I would buy the equipment in Australia BTW before I leave.

Another question for the buffs. I noticed that the cannon competitor to the D700 had twice the reslolution. As someone who has only owned Nikon this seems like quite a compelling argument.

[Chucaro]

It all depends for what purpose you are going to use the camera.
For nature alone the Canon is a very capable camera.
If you are going to use the camera in possible severe climatic conditions, nothing beats the Nikon sealed body.
I am a Nikon man, I like the color produced by the Nikon sensor among other feautures for my application which is nature photography.
The D700 is an awesome camera, as good as the D3.
Have a look THIS (http://www.jimreedphoto.com/gallery.html?gallery=Nikon) site, for sure you are going to enjoy the images of storms taken with a D700
Regarding the lens, all depends which lens are you going to purchase. The D700 is a full frame.
Cheers

[Captain_Rightfoot]

I know this may seem odd, but we ended up getting a Panasonic Lx3 (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmclx3/). The reason is that I think it's good enough that we won't have to carry our SLR on our trip with us. This will be a load off my back!

It has a really nice Leica lens. The image quality is excellent for a compact. The only downer is you don't get a big zoom on it but I guess you can't have that and a 24mm f2.0 wide. :)

I decided not to upgrade the Nikon as it's still reasonably current. I'll wait until next year get one of the full size CCD cameras. That will mean I'll have to buy all new lenses :(

[Captain_Rightfoot]

If anyone is interested here are a number of test shots I took. Despite similar pixel count it doesn't have the clarity of the Nikon SLR, but it's still very close. If you really zoom in on the railing shots you can see a little bleed that isn't there in the Nikon images. But maybe I'm being a bit harsh.

Test Shots (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TQZcxHveQ_9iWnVItwLyWQ?feat=directlink)

For those interested this camera is the twin to the Leica D-Lux 4. They have identical specs and are both made in the same factory by Panasonic. The Leica is twice the price.

Generally opinion seems to be that this camera and the Cannon G10 are the two best compacts available. They are both similar in price. The cannon is larger and much uglier. :o It has a better zoom, but the lense probably isn't as clear and is not as fast. There is talk that it doesn't perform all that well at even moderate ISO.

[dullbird]

nice

Doesn't do a bad job........and it has taken the pics of the flowers very well..
Whats it like in low light?

[Captain_Rightfoot]

nice

Doesn't do a bad job........and it has taken the pics of the flowers very well..
Whats it like in low light?

Those flower photos were the first photos I took with the camera. I'm sure I'll be able to do better with it.

I have uploaded some new photos into the gallery from this morning. we were playing with the dynamic b&w mode at very low shutter speeds. Click on the photo and then click more info and you'll see some at speeds down to 1/10th.

With it's fast lens and image stabilisation this camera rocks at slow handheld stuff.

[Chucaro]

Very good @ ISO 800 :BigThumb:

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Very good @ ISO 800 :BigThumb:

Sorry, but the red flowers were taken with my D80 at iso 800 for comparison. Click on the more info link and it has the camera manufacturer. You can also download the original to see all the gory detail.

I have to agree they are impressive images. I really like the D80 and think it's a great camera.

However I like the full frame cameras with big resolution. I don't think that mega res is generally that useful, but I think I'd enjoy it for big landscapes.

Does anyone know with these big res cameras, if you tell them to shoot at lower res does it compromise the results in any way other than just resolution?

[Chucaro]

Sorry, but the red flowers were taken with my D80 at iso 800 for comparison. Click on the more info link and it has the camera manufacturer. You can also download the original to see all the gory detail.

I have to agree they are impressive images. I really like the D80 and think it's a great camera.

However I like the full frame cameras with big resolution. I don't think that mega res is generally that useful, but I think I'd enjoy it for big landscapes.

Does anyone know with these big res cameras, if you tell them to shoot at lower res does it compromise the results in any way other than just resolution?

There is something wrong then, this is the info on the image :confused:
Apr 11, 2009
2520×3776 pixels – 2894KB
Filename: P1000091.JPG
Camera: Panasonic
Model: DMC-LX3
ISO: 800
Exposure: 1/40 sec
Aperture: 4.0
Focal Length: 5.1mm
Flash Used: No
Latitude: n/a
Longitude: n/a

[Captain_Rightfoot]

There is something wrong then, this is the info on the image :confused:
Apr 11, 2009
2520×3776 pixels – 2894KB
Filename: P1000091.JPG
Camera: Panasonic
Model: DMC-LX3
ISO: 800
Exposure: 1/40 sec
Aperture: 4.0
Focal Length: 5.1mm
Flash Used: No
Latitude: n/a
Longitude: n/a

Sorry! I missed that one. It's quite grainy close in but it suits the photo. :)