When to Go Digital? - For Real

[NashVegas]

My first foray into digital was the spark that re-ignited my interest in photography, specifically, on my limited budget I was so unhappy with the lack of control in my first digital camera it sent me scrambling to eBay for an old manual.

Previously I'd owned an ST801 but it had toasted ages, ages ago. When I went looking for digital, the only thing I knew I wanted was an option for manual. The HP 618 I bought supposedly had that, but when I took it out, I realized that digital(manual) = pain in the ass.

Still, as a point & shooter, it's fine:



I also discovered you could do some funky accidental things with indoor lighting:




My fondest dream is that Fujica - or anyone - would produce a digital SLR that will accept the old screw-mount lenses, OR someone would make a digital back I could strap on to my current axe.

There's simply no way I'm giving up my EBC lenses

[Philostopher]

1. I know the feeling about the lenses.

It's hard to beat Mamiya and Nikkor/Nikon lenses, especially since I've worked with them for a long time now, and I feel like I know all the quirks.

I may never be as adept with the digital as I am with the SLRs I have -- oddly, I seem to have a harder time getting predictable results out of the digital than I do my old Nikon SLRs. It's probably me -- I have the slightest hint of the Luddite floating around in my brain, I think -- but though I've managed to do some interesting stuff with the digital, I haven't found foolproof ways of reliably recreating some of the goofy stuff I do with the SLR.

In part, it's because the digital is more limited, I guess -- the aperture setting only goes so far down, and you can only set the film speed so high, where I can get a wider aperture out of my Nikon and I can buy film all the way up to 1600 speed at the camera store up the street.

There are SLR-style digital cameras, of course, but I don't think digital technology that behaves approximately like analog film is affordable for most hobbyists yet. If I were a pro, of course, I could justify spending a thousand bucks on a camera, but I ain't a pro.

I suppose eventually the price will come down on them. I was able to get a circular polarizing filter for our Olympus Camedia 5060, and I understand there are some lens options (there's an extended zoom add-on and a wider-angle lens, I believe) but that won't solve the problem of the ASA only going up to 400 and the aperture not going much below 4.0. I still can't play the 'depth of field' games with it I can with my Nikon SLR, though I have gotten some halfway decent shots in very bright situations.

[FloridaPat]

2. I just got my first digital camera - a Nikon D70. Got a pretty good

deal on Ebay. I love it. I've waited years for the digital industry to give me what my SLR could do at a price I could afford. I have a Nikon SLR, so I can use all the same lenses on the new one. It's great not worrying about what the film color is going to do. It inhances picture colors shot in the close-up mode. So my pictures of flowers are stunning. I will post some later since I am sneaking on the internet at work.

I am trying to go professional. Had enough of watching jobs go overseas.

[electricmonk]

10. I just ordered one of those

Should be here in a couple days. I can't wait. I've been drooling over that camera since it was released earlier this year. Took me this long to save up for it though. Every time I got close to having enough something would come up and set me back a few hundred again.

I'm with you on the going pro deal too. I have 3 portrait jobs and a wedding booked within the next 2 weeks. After the first of the year I'm going ahead and getting a business license and stuff so I can really start marketing myself. Not quitting my regular job just yet since at least I have insurance there plus I work nights so I can still book photo sessions during the day.

[immoderate]

11. How does the D70 work with older AI lenses?

I've got Nikkor Lenses from 18mm to 500mm. I got a Nikon 5700 digital, and I don't like it.

Does the D70 have an external flash synch? I have an old studio flash I'd like to mess with.

What about shutter lag?

--IMM

[electricmonk]

12. From dpreview.com

Shutter lag

The D70 proved to be an extremely fast camera, Nikon has clearly taken large steps to ensure that in use this camera feels and responds just like a film SLR, and they've achieved that. Startup delay is nonexistent with the camera ready to shoot at the instant the power switch is turned to On. Shutter release lag simply isn't there, the camera responds to your slightest input and the shutter just opens when you depress the button, as you would expect.

Thanks to newly a designed buffering system, extremely fast image processing and blistering Compact Flash interface (with the right CF cards) storage times are so short to be of almost no consequence. The D70 literally wipes the floor with the competition for continuous shooting capability, indeed you'll need to spend significantly more to find a digital SLR which is any faster. Kudos Nikon, the D70 sets a new benchmark at its price point.

Lens compatability

DX Nikkor : All functions supported
• Type G or D AF Nikkor : All functions supported
• Micro Nikkor 85 mm F2.8D : All functions supported except autofocus and some exposure modes
• Other AF Nikkor*2 : All functions supported except 3D color matrix metering, i-TTL balanced fill-fl ash for digital SLR
• AI-P Nikkor : All functions supported except 3D color matrix metering, i-TTL balanced fill-flash for digital SLR, and autofocus
• Non-CPU : Can be used in exposure mode M, but exposure meter does not function; electronic range finder can be used if maximum aperture is f/5.6 or faster
*1 IX Nikkor lenses can not be used
*2 Excluding lenses for F3AF

D70 review
---------------------
No external flash sync but you can buy one for 17 bucks. Right now I'm using a bounce flash aimed at the ceiling to trigger the slave on my studio unit which is the same thing I had to do with my older N60 film camera. Eventually I plan on buying a Pocket Wizard radio slave.

[RushIsRot]

3. I have a Sony CD-1000 and I love it!

I mostly share photos by email. I seldom print physical copies. My 2.1 mega pixel camera does a great job for me and I can store more than 200 images on a single 3" CD. I like the 10x zoom. Basically, I have a whole gadget bag rolled up into one easily carried package.

[Zynx]

4. I just got an Olympus 580 and it is the best camera I have ever had.

Top notch.

[SiouxJ]

5. I've got the Cannon Digital Rebel

the nice thing about it is I already had a bunch of lenses for my old film version of the Rebel and they fit the digital camera. Also most of the controls are the same so it was easy to learn. I love this camera!

The only drawback is it's heavy. I use it mainly at home though (shooting photos of merchandise for my distribution business) so weight is not a factor most of the time. When I do take it out with me, it's worth the extra weight as I'm usually very pleased with the results.

It's great for action shots:






This is my dog Natasha showing off

It takes great timed exposures too. I really have very few complaints with this camera - except the weight of it.

I have not used my old film cameras since I got this thing. So far it seems to do everything they could do and more. My last digital camera was not as advanced, so I found myself going back to film occasionally.

[Touchdown]

6. I got this one last June.

I like it a lot!



If I can ever find a way to post them on one of these internets, I'll show some off.

[Touchdown]

7. Some pics from my Coolpix

[idiosyncratic]

8. I finally sold off my film cameras to get the Olympus 5060

I got a great deal on eBay. The camera came with four XD cards, so I can take lots of pictures.

I love not having any more expense. No film to buy or develop. On my recent Thanksgiving week drive to Idaho and back -- more than 2000 miles -- I took hundreds of pictures. None of them are gallery-worthy, but it was fun, and I love playing with all the settings this camera offers.




This was taken early one cold, cold, cold morning as the sun was coming up on the Sierras. Mt. Whitney is to the left.

[Philostopher]

9. It's a good solid piece of equipment.

But of course, I'm partial -- that's what we finally decided on, after a couple of months of comparing, pricing and dithering. I'm very happy with it, though -- we started out with a D-360 that my mother bought us for a gift several years ago and finally upgraded this year. The newer camera has much the same control set -- that was one of the deciding factors, to be honest.

[Coastie for Truth]

13. Got started with a Coolpix 5700

When consumer digitals hit 4-5 Meg (about the same as one hour photolab 4 by 6's and 5 by 7's) at a price competitive with entry level SLR's, I made the jump from my N8008 to a Coolpix 5700.

Interchangeable lenses were not an issue with an 8:1 zoom lens.

Very happy with the Cpix 5700.

Just pop the little CF card into the adpater and fire up Adobe photoshop, and I am in my virtual photolab.

Love it.