The Photography Thread

[Ginger Tosser]

Bit of a dull day really, the beak wasn't that colourful though.

Had a brief play with the colours, but it made it look awful.

[Richard.John]

Gorgeous house in the background. I want to live there and eat the duck.

[MartyG]

My new lens has turned up, shame it's so grey miserable and rainy outside :/

However, I've taken a couple of quick shots with it and uploaded this one. So, can anyone lodge a guess as to what it is?



And I'm now 17 shots away from that magic 10,000 photo taken with the D50.

Edit: hmm seems I've already passed it, I must have reset my pic number when I first got the camera. Okay, I said I'd upload the 10,000 regardless, fortunately it's not too shabby

[Ginger Tosser]

Any one of these?

Nikon AF-S VR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED
Nikon AFS 80-200mm f/2.8
Nikon AF VR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

Well done on the landmark of 10k 1,324 till I get there.

[Fibber]

A spider in Macro... Never seen a green spider before... Does anyone know what this spider is called?

[MartyG]

Nice shot - it's some kind of jumping spider ( they have the two big eyes at the front like that usually ), but I couldn't tell you what species, never seen anything similar to it though, where was this taken?

[Fibber]

Wow. Impressed with your spidey knowledge. Yes, it did jump around while I was taking the shot. The photo was taken on the Gold Coast two months ago when I was on hols.

[MartyG]

There are tens of thousands of different spider species, so they're often very difficult to totally identify, even with the limited species we have in the UK, let alone down in Aus - however, it's possible it's one of these: http://www.geocities.com/brisbane_sp...ingSpiders.htm

Another from the new lens:



And another:

http://picasaweb.google.com/martypg/VariousStuff/photo#5070431109229741138

http://picasaweb.google.com/martypg/VariousStuff/photo#5070432367655158882

[Richard.John]

I hate spiders normally but that one looks almost comedy like because of how close the eyes are together.

Also, my sis is thinking about picking up an Olympus E-400. Has anyone used the camera or have any opinions about the brand and four thirds.

[MartyG]

I've had a number of Olympus compacts and never had an issue with them. The E400 is capable camera too. The only thing I'd be weary of is the range of lenses available. Not as bad as when they first launched with the 4/3 system, but no where near the Canon/Nikon range, especially at the budget end of the market.

[Alastair]

Come on then Marty, spill the beans, what lens is it?

I signed up for a Creative Photography class yesterday! Starts in early July, tbh I think I'll know most of the technical stuff they teach but it'll be a good way to get to meet like minded people and also it has a lot of assignments and homework to keep me snapping.

[MartyG]

Another from the lens. Sadly it's nothing as great as the Nikon AF-S VR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED, or any of the other nice lenses GT listed. It is in fact, a Nikon 70-300G AF, which cost me ?75 brand new and boxed.

It's a very light lens, so it's perfect for carrying with me along with my Sigma 17-70mm and 105mm macro in my kit bag.

I was toying with buying the VR version, but that was an additional ?250, and although I'd probably get slightly sharper pictures, this lens gives perfectly usable shots if you work it right. Clearly you're not going to get pin sharp pics out of it all the time, but at the price I reckon it's a bit of a bargain. What I really do like is the nice bokeh the lens produces.

[Alastair]

Bargain!

I have a question:
Why does setting the ISO higher increase the memory used for each shot? Try it yourself, up the ISO and look at the shots left indicator, mine drops by about ten each step!

Went out to the local graf spot at lunch time today as I was stuck in due to rain all day yesterday, walked round town with the L out, felt very conspicuous. Got me thinking about how much money I had in my hand were someone to mug me! The household insurance promise me they'll cover it all but I'd be gutted all the same.

[Ginger Tosser]

I did read why somewhere, but i can remember the reason.

I've insured elsewhere (Photoguard) as my home contents didn't give me any confidence with them. Think I paid about £200 for all my photo stuff last year. A lot, but a lot less than the replacement costs of all my kit.

[Richard.John]

I've had a number of Olympus compacts and never had an issue with them. The E400 is capable camera too. The only thing I'd be weary of is the range of lenses available. Not as bad as when they first launched with the 4/3 system, but no where near the Canon/Nikon range, especially at the budget end of the market.

That's what I said to her. Canon and Nikon rule the roost so I warned her that compared to the big boys it might be more difficult to find lenses and reviews/info, but I don't think she's an enthusiast, just someone who wants to upgrade from her P&S. Apparently she can get the body and double lens kit for 299 GBP which is a good deal, so it seems.