And one of the blowing snow with the 55 3.5 Micro-Nikkor. Tried converting to B&W and adding grain in PSE. Not really satisfied with the conversion.

Samy

raboof wrote:
The About Us section on the blog has an image of a different lens, not Nikki. It's non-AI. I think we should use Nikki.
I,ll fix it when I get the chance. Do you or anyone else have a nice closeup of her?

saph wrote:
We all have our coping mechanisms Reagan. The way I deal with it is to hide inside and take a picture of the cat with the "new" lens

55 3.5 AI Micro-Nikkor. From the serial no. this is the K version, so must be AI'd.

Samy
Beautiful shot Samy.

georgms wrote:
Wow, nice to hear that Nikki's adventures will probably find a really great audience?! Well done, all, and especially John for mailing National Geographic.

Kevin, I'm with Leighton - shooting RAW is the way to go for tough subjects like this. This is especially true if the lighting is not controlled like in a studio.
Your image doesn't look "flat" on my monitor. It's rather a bit too contrasty - the blacks are a bit too deep at the left side and the light-reflex on the wood seems to be too bright.
Shooting subjects like the globe is really hard work - getting the contrast right and to avoid unwanted reflections is a very demanding task.

Jorge, the Paris-shot is fantastic! Good job on the scanner too.

Thanks for the imput everyone. I only shoot in RAW as I know that I will have to fix something in my shots and I love the fact that with RAW it's non-destructive editing (like when I use Premier to edit video).

I guess I stumbled onto picking a good subject to learn on. The globe is very shiny, the oceans are black, and the frame it sits in is brushed copper. If I get the chance today, I will post the original. The only real difference is the color correction if memory serves and I limited clipping of highlights and shadows.

Reagan wrote:
I am Ok right now I have my flannel pajamas on and sitting in front of the fireplace
The sun is coming up and clear skies.
Hopefully I can go outside and play but it's only supposed to get up to 71 today

Reagan
Move to San Diego, it will be 78 in escondido today. If I lived in Leighton's farm I would stay inside like the chickens.

leighton w wrote:
raboof wrote:
The About Us section on the blog has an image of a different lens, not Nikki. It's non-AI. I think we should use Nikki.
I,ll fix it when I get the chance. Do you or anyone else have a nice closeup of her?

I found one, Rolf had a nice close-up I used. Thanks for the suggestion Chuong!

rafaelcasd wrote:
Reagan wrote:
I am Ok right now I have my flannel pajamas on and sitting in front of the fireplace
The sun is coming up and clear skies.
Hopefully I can go outside and play but it's only supposed to get up to 71 today

Reagan
Move to San Diego, it will be 78 in escondido today. If I lived in Leighton's farm I would stay inside like the chickens.

You guys are making it REAL hard! It's 17 here now.

leighton w wrote:
pburke wrote:
great discussion of the MF glass - comes at the right time, since I am shopping for more glass right now. Having sold my DX gear, I lost some zoom range with the DX AF glass that went to ebay, and now I am down to primes and the 24-85mm AF lens that came with the D600 kit.

I've been looking at various zooms and the 180mm ED to fill the gap between 85mm and 300mm (yes, I have a 105mm, and I have a 135mm, but that leaves a gap from 135 to 300mm, plus I use my gear while hiking and skiing in the backcountry, so weight is an issue - I can't carry 5 lenses on those trips).

Soooo - 80-200mm f4.5 - how does it compare to the 180mm F2.8 ED MF lens? I don't care too much about the speed, just sharpness and contrast. And how do these two compare to the <shudders> 70-300mm AF lens? It fits my needs for weight and range, and a refurb can be found for a reasonable price.


Peter, the 80-200mm is every bit as sharp as the 180mm, IMO. It just doesn't have as pleasing bokeh. You probably know this, but make sure you get the one with the rectangle plate on the mount end.


Sorry this is late but I've been away for 3 days. What is the significance of the rectangular plate?

As far as I know that's the 4.5 lens which predates the f4 Ai-s lens of which I have a copy and both the bokeh and the sharpness are excellent.

Oosty wrote:

Sorry this is late but I've been away for 3 days. What is the significance of the rectangular plate?

As far as I know that's the 4.5 lens which predates the f4 Ai-s lens of which I have a copy and both the bokeh and the sharpness are excellent.
From what I understand, and someone correct me if I am wrong, the plate was designed to cut down on errant reflections inside the lens. I have one with the baffle, I love the lens. It is nearly as sharp as my primes!

kwoodard wrote:
Oosty wrote:

Sorry this is late but I've been away for 3 days. What is the significance of the rectangular plate?

As far as I know that's the 4.5 lens which predates the f4 Ai-s lens of which I have a copy and both the bokeh and the sharpness are excellent.
From what I understand, and someone correct me if I am wrong, the plate was designed to cut down on errant reflections inside the lens. I have one with the baffle, I love the lens. It is nearly as sharp as my primes!

You are right Kevin. Nikon also added multi-layered lens coatings which resulted in higher performance and IQ. It also had a more slender tube and weight reduction. Whether or not one can actually see the difference in images taken between the two is another thing.

The K85 was sent to MarkdV in Switzerland!

I still have the AiS 50/1.4, #5157281, which also needs to be CLA'd for fungus and and dry focus.
The glass has no scratches or blemishes and the body is 8-8+. If anyone here wants it for the cost of shipping let me know by PM.

I also have an Ai 24/2.8, #569223, that was CLA'd for fungus and dry focus ($95!) for sale here for $50. The fungus stained the coating inside the front element around the outside edge, but IQ is fine and otherwise the lens is in excellent shape.

cheers,
Steven

stevenvh wrote:
Nikki's other sister....
I have a K 85/1.8 (Ai'd) # 421152 that's available for the cost of shipping.
It's got fungus, dust and dry focus, also original hood and leather case, generic caps.
Cosmetically, I'd say an 8. No scratches or rubs on the glass.
It differs from the HC version mostly in appearance, it seems. It looks like an Ai lens:
http://www.destoutz.ch/lens_85mm_f1.8_423875.html

Also an Ai-S 50/1.4 in similar condition available. If anyone is interested, please PM me.

cheers,
Steven

It is a chilly 61 degrees here in Plant City at noon but the sun is shining and the sky is a beautiful blue. Never fear my northern friends. Spring is just around the corner
Here's a shot taken off of my balcony using the 35mm 1.4 at F8

leighton w wrote:
rafaelcasd wrote:
Reagan wrote:
I am Ok right now I have my flannel pajamas on and sitting in front of the fireplace
The sun is coming up and clear skies.
Hopefully I can go outside and play but it's only supposed to get up to 71 today

Reagan
Move to San Diego, it will be 78 in escondido today. If I lived in Leighton's farm I would stay inside like the chickens.

You guys are making it REAL hard! It's 17 here now.


I am with you Leighton. We picked up a few more inches of snow last night and it is a balmy 19 here now.

leighton w wrote:

You guys are making it REAL hard! It's 17 here now.

-7F this morning here, windchill off the charts. First day this yearI didn't ride my bicycle to work due to weather. But sunny, which is what I like about the climate here. Lived in Germany half my life, and weeks without sun were the norm in their wet winters. I prefer crisp cold and sunny.

I don't know how you deal with the heat and humidity all summer. That would keep me cooped up inside more than the cold does here. That, and you guys have flying cockroaches, fire ants...

Reagan wrote:
All I am saying is I don't know how you do it.Dealing with Winter and being cooped up inside for a few months with no sunshine. I go crazy if the sun doesn't come out after 2 days
Of course the summer heat and humidity doesn't bother me but Curtis thought it was really humid last October

Reagan

Even the Pelicans are cold and don't want to get wet
My D600 and trial version of LR4
Didn't realize shutter speed capped at 1/4000 instead of 1/8000


Reagan

Reagan wrote:
All I am saying is I don't know how you do it.Dealing with Winter and being cooped up inside for a few months with no sunshine. I go crazy if the sun doesn't come out after 2 days
Of course the summer heat and humidity doesn't bother me but Curtis thought it was really humid last October

Reagan

NightOwl Cat wrote:
I don't know how you deal with the heat and humidity all summer. That would keep me cooped up inside more than the cold does here. That, and you guys have flying cockroaches, fire ants...


You tell 'em Laura!

Reagan wrote:
Even the Pelicans are cold and don't want to get wet
My D600 and trial version of LR4
Didn't realize shutter speed capped at 1/4000 instead of 1/8000


Reagan

Love the first one... There is a spaz in every group.

Reagan wrote:
Even the Pelicans are cold and don't want to get wet
My D600 and trial version of LR4
Didn't realize shutter speed capped at 1/4000 instead of 1/8000


Reagan

It does top out at 1/4000, but you can shoot at a native ISO of 100 instead of the D700's 200, so it's basically the same exposure. The D600 can also go down to ISO 50 albeit at a little loss of IQ. But I've shot at ISO 50 and haven't noticed any loss of IQ.

BTW, I like the frigid looking Pelicans in the first shot.

You forgot sandfleas,misquitos,no see umms,hurricanes,sharks,jellyfish and tourists just to name a few more


Reagan