First Week with a D-30 (big post)

[Pekka]

Some photos from the first week with my new D-30 (uncropped, resized, U-SPro sharpened, some levels done if needed). Hope you like these:

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_0405_00002.jpg

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_0469_00001.jpg

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_0359_00001.jpg

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_0549_00001.jpg

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_0662_00001.jpg

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_0997_00001.jpg

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_1236_00001.jpg

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_1374_00001.jpg

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_1542.jpg

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_1623_00001.jpg

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_1669_00001.jpg

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_1693_00001.jpg

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_1728_00001.jpg

http://studio-on-the.net/photography/D30/small/CRW_1781_00001.jpg

[Matthias]

re Pekka,
nice Pictures the D30 great cams, no question.

The 2. is the best one !! funny !

If you like animal picture have a look at these

http://www.achatzi.kreativ-foto.com/90ISZ.html

Pekka, i think these Forum is a bit sleepy...nothink going on here...whats the reason ?? bad markting ?

Matthias
Canon 90IS

[Pekka]

Thanks Matthias,

More like no marketing at all...
It's the quality of the posts, not how many there are :)

[Eric F.]

Pekka,

I enjoyed your posts from your first week with the D-30.

My favorites are the Jaguar and the singer. The depth of field seems to be more dramatic with the D-30. Or is it the composition?

What changes or advantages are you seeing in the finished product between the G1 and the D-30?

Thanks again for this site. I have been inspired several times.

In response to the marketing; I think that quality is better than quantity. Maybe a invitation to those who you feel are quality contirbutors in other forums would be beneficial.

[pondria]

The master finally got the great tool.
Are you using RAW mode ?

[Andrei]

The last two are fantastic. Very good DoF. What lens did you use ?

By the way, could you explain the following thing:

The Canon lens is marked like EF 22-55mm f/4-5.6 USM.

But reading description I found "When used on this APS SLR, the effective angle of view is equivalent to that of a 28-69mm on a 35mm camera. " I'm a bit confused, what is 22-55 and what is 28-69.

What is 28-135 in term of 35 mm camera ?

[Pekka]

Eric F. wrote:
I enjoyed your posts from your first week with the D-30.
Thanks!!

My favorites are the Jaguar and the singer. The depth of field seems to be more dramatic with the D-30. Or is it the composition?
One of the main reasons I got interested in D-30 was the "real" DoF. If you see http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/lens/ef/data/ef_70~200_28l_usm_dof.html you can see how extreme you can get (with the lens I shot the singer and Jaguar with). With the 50mm f/1.4 lens it gets even shallower (the clock image, the tree) which creates an unreal touch I like. But you have to keep the orientation of the DoF plane in mind all times, otherwise you end up with blur in all the wrong places.

I think G1 f2.0 is something like f8 on D-30.

What changes or advantages are you seeing in the finished product between the G1 and the D-30?
D-30 lets you meter more accurately and faster (because the viewfinder realtime meter) and you see the focus clearly, you can zoom smoothly, shutter delay is very short and it gives ISO 100 images with no apparent noise, and you can do very smooth images up ISO 400. All this means that you get "good" photos easier and can concentrate on other things. In many cases having a 1.4 lens and good ISO 400 makes shots possible which would be impossible with a G1. Same goes with tele 70-200mm (112-320mm on D-30). You can pick a person from a crowd with it with aperture 2.8.

In a word, G1 needs more time to get it right (trial/error/retry kind of work) where D-30 needs only 1 to 3 shots to get a perfect one. Many shots D-30 can do are impossible with G1.

Night shots are easier with G1, as shooting with it was essentially shooting a wide-angle shots (7-21mm) with big DoF. A D-30 using longer focal lenghts with longer and heavier tubes makes it very sensitive to wind and ground rumble - the Manfrotto I use is too light for it in fully extended position. Also, you need longer exposures as f needs to be about 8-22. Nevertheless, I got better with practice, and could get very sharp shots at night with D-30.

Thanks again for this site. I have been inspired several times.
Nice!!

In response to the marketing; I think that quality is better than quantity. Maybe a invitation to those who you feel are quality contirbutors in other forums would be beneficial.
I think that's a good idea.

Pekka

[Pekka]

Andrei wrote:
The last two are fantastic. Very good DoF. What lens did you use ?70-200 f/2.8L

By the way, could you explain the following thing:

The Canon lens is marked like EF 22-55mm f/4-5.6 USM.

But reading description I found "When used on this APS SLR, the effective angle of view is equivalent to that of a 28-69mm on a 35mm camera. " I'm a bit confused, what is 22-55 and what is 28-69.

What is 28-135 in term of 35 mm camera ?

28-135 in 35mm camera.
45-216 in D-30 (from 28mm x 1.6 to 135mm x 1.6)

D-30 CCD is smaller than 35mm film, so essentially this means that the image from the lens is CROPPED in camera by the difference of 35mm/CCD size (1.6). This is in specifications expressed in more understandable format: focal lenght ratio is 1.6x. So, when you shoot with a 100mm lens, you see only a smaller part of it's picture, which resembles what you get with a 160mm lens.

The importance of understanding the 1.6x focal lenght ratio of D-30 as a crop is essential:

- A lens which goes soft on edges does not go so soft in D-30 because the edges are cropped.
- A lens with slight vignetting might not show any vignetting at all on D-30.
- The perspective a 200mm tele in D-30 gives does not change to the perspective of 320mm tele in a 35mm camera.
- It means in fisheye "effect" is more subtle
- The aperture is not affected at all. 2.8 200mm becomes 2.8 320mm. This is a very good thing!

To go really wide in D-30 your only chance is 14mm (22mm in D-30). This needs more money. But in tele zooms its different, you get more mm for less money: a 100-400L IS becomes 160-640L IS - if you would really need to buy a 600mm canon L lens you'd have to pay 11 000 Euros! And that lens would not even have the IS feature....

Hope this helps,

Pekka

[Pekka]

pondria wrote:
The master finally got the great tool.
Are you using RAW mode ?
Thanks Pondria,

Yes, I use RAW (Yarc + TWAIN converter).

[pondria]

We have seen this Q&A many times. But I'm asking as I still don't know the definite answer. How is the AF ? Probably, you also had concerns about the AF performance before buying the D30. Now, you have tried it for a week, you can tell us from your own experience. Thanks !

[Andrei]

Pekka, thank you very much. This is more than helpful. As usual :)

I've almost decided to order D30 + 28-135 + 50F1.8L. I can't wait until my G1 returned from service (it's still with me and I still believe in miracle)


Pekka, have you already considered purchase of Sigma ultra-wide (17-35 or something like this). I've looked through dpreview and saw, that there is no stable opinion on this account. What do you think ?

[John - NJ]

Andrei:

Don't be so quick to give up on the G1. The camera has a lot of potential. Granted, it takes some effort to achieve some shots, but overall it's a great camera for the price. Since I had a lot of experience with SLR's, I knew the G1 had limitations when I bought it. I traded those limitations for it's smaller size and quality output.

Before I spend thousands of dollars on a big digital SLR camera, I want to feel pretty sure that it will do what I need and want for a very long time. In effect, I should not have to buy another camera. The D30 is not that camera. The Nikon "D1" cameras come closer, but they're still not where I want to be.

I would get the G1 fixed and wait at least another year before spending all that money on a D30 ($4,000+ with lenses). You know it won't be long before the D40, 50 and 60 are out. :)

If you're very impatient, you can buy a regular SLR with a long lense for under $1,000 and get the same great DOF shots that Pekka posted. Stick with the brand you like. Canon seems to have good products and their prices are within reach. Nikon's products are better, IMHO, but you pay a lot for them.

Good luck with your decision.

[Andrei]

Hi, John !

I like(d :) ) my G1. And of course I don't want to make decision in rush. I'm researching D30 field. And what interesting, I'm learning lenses for D30, rather than D30 itself :) I've had no deal with SLR for many years. But I remeber my delight about it. That's why I'm looking at D30. But the prices .... I'm not sure, that I need complete line of lenses, I'm not professional and not make money with my pictures.

Thank you.

[Marloon]

yay for the d30!!!!! :D

just looking at posts that were made when i was in grade 7 and wasnt in love with photography yet

[ahendarman]

Holy batman zombie thread !!!!

[davecole650]

What's up with the resurrected D30 thread's?

[Super-Nicko]

yeah i mean i actually wanna see em now... bet when viewed on the net they rock like a 5d2 :)