The Photography Thread

[stevie vip 99]

Hi folks just after a bit of advice. I'm looking to upgrade my camara and just needed some help. At the moment i have a Nikon D40 and i'm thinking of upgrading to the Nikon D3100, is that a good option to go for?

Also will the lenses i have now for my D40 fit the D3100? I have a couple of lenses with auto focus so wanted to check that they'd still work fine?

Final question, as i'm upgrading i'd be looking to sell my D40 and wondered how much i should be looking to sell it for? I don't wanna rip anyone off with the wrong price. Also have a sigma lens 70-300mm that i'd like to get rid of too if anyone can help with a price.

Thanks in advance for any buying/selling advice. Steve

[Neon Ignition]

The pic with the flock of gulls needs some photoshopping to insert Henry Jones Sr chasing them with his brolly to bring down a Nazi plane

[Garf]

EB - that is a great selection of shots. Will go through them properly on flickr later, but the old guy with the boats and the dog on the boat are excellent. Great stuff..

Stevie - What are you hoping to get from the upgrade ? The D3100 will give you autofocus in video mode (assuming you have AF-S lenses), bigger screen, better high ISO handling, more MP and so on.

This is a good comparison

I had a D40, and went to a D90 as it was a better upgrade for me, but the D3100 is meant to be pretty good. It is a step up from the D40 simply because the technology has moved on since then

I sold my D40 with the kit lens on ebay and got ?220 for it - this was with approx 22000 shutter actuations, and was in pretty good condition. A mate sold his and it went for ?290...

No idea on a price for the lens I am afraid..

[stevie vip 99]

Just after a newer camera to be honest, price is an issue of course and the D3100 is probably the price i can afford. The D90 looks pretty good too

[MartyG]

New kit is always nice, but it's not likely to make your photography better

D40 bodies on their own sell for £130-180 depending on condition (getting quite old now) and the Sigma 70-300mm is unlikely to fetch more than £60, given you can get them new for £100.

The Nikon mount hasn't changed in years, so all the lenses that worked on the D40 will be fine on a D3100. Personally I'd be tempted to go for new glass over a new camera body (like the lovely Nikkor 35mm f1.8G or the Sigma 10-20mm) - I have a D40 I still use, it's still a perfectly serviceable camera - though I definitely understand Camera Acquisition Syndrome

[Anpanman]

Just after a newer camera to be honest, price is an issue of course and the D3100 is probably the price i can afford. The D90 looks pretty good too

D90 is a fine cam but has more or less been replaced by the D7000 - though it weighs in at a grand.

New kit is always nice, but it's not likely to make your photography better

True, I dropped 3k for my new lens and it doesn't turn you into a pro overnight, it's a whole new learning curve - fun though.

I have a D40 I still use, it's still a perfectly serviceable camera - though I definitely understand Camera Acquisition Syndrome

Aye, I use a Fuji S2Pro from 2003, it doesn't have the pixels of today's cameras but it has more EV range than a D3 so takes great tones. Just one camera and one lens - happy days.

[MartyG]

I have a S2 Pro and S3 Pro, I prefer the S3 without the dual battery issues. They're not the fastest of cameras, but like you say their dynamic range is fabulous; I'm always impressed with the skin tones from the S3 Pro with the Nikkor 50mm f1.8 attached, really nice handling camera too.

( These shots are with the S2 Pro: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=s2%2...86016086%40N00 )

( These from the S3 Pro: http://www.flickr.com/search/?s=int&...q=s3pro&m=text )

[Anpanman]

Nice shots MartyG, the Fuji's are still popular with landscape, portrait, wedding photographers & the like for the tones - particularly skin.

[spagmasterswift]

[MartyG]

Bit of a shame that second butterfly is behind the one on the right as it's starting to get a bit lost in the frame because of it - looks nice and sharp mind and it can be tricky to get the wings all in focus tip-to-tip

I'm going to have to admit ignorance and not know for sure what the second photo is of (I'm thinking otter but I thought they were darker coloured), so please enlighten me.

[spagmasterswift]

Otters

[MartyG]

Ah good job

Where were they taken? Did you try a shot with greater dof too? I would be interested to see a similar shot with all three in focus.

[spagmasterswift]

They were both taken at Tropical Wings butterfly/zoo in Essex. Its hard to get more than just the subject in focus when taken from some distance using a zoomed in Canon EF-S 55-250mm, at least for me it is... I do like the effect though.

[MartyG]

Yeah, you're going to get a shallower dof the longer you go; stopping right down might give you the shakes Shame, would have been interesting to compare.

The butterfly farm at Rutland Water near me shut down public access for some reason, don't think it was ever explained exactly why - used to like visiting there.

This shot was from there:

Right Back At Ya! by MartyPG13, on Flickr

[Taka]

Canon won't be exhibiting at Focus On Imaging this year according to Amateur Photographer.

Anybody planning on paying a visit to the show in 2 weeks? Will be looking to go on the Wednesday, far quieter and more relaxed.