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Nick, it sounds to me like maybe you aren't so happy about your switch over to nikon?


Before I switched over, I was using the 1ds2 & m3 as my cameras. The ds2 had a sweet AF and I didn't have problems with any of the outside points achieving what I wanted. The m3 made my life hell...and because it had so much better iso abilities than the ds2, I used it more. So, since switching over, I've been so much happier with my AF capabilities even at the outside points...I have no complaints with any of my lenses. That's just me though.
I sure do like the results you got from that 105!


Dean, great shots!

Permagrin wrote in post #10216295
Nick, it sounds to me like maybe you aren't so happy about your switch over to nikon?


Before I switched over, I was using the 1ds2 & m3 as my cameras. The ds2 had a sweet AF and I didn't have problems with any of the outside points achieving what I wanted. The m3 made my life hell...and because it had so much better iso abilities than the ds2, I used it more. So, since switching over, I've been so much happier with my AF capabilities even at the outside points...I have no complaints with any of my lenses. That's just me though.
I sure do like the results you got from that 105!

Didn't mean to come off that way. I am certainly not unhappy with the switch. I'll find out for sure this weekend at the wedding! Kinda nervous a little since it'll be my first with Nikon gear! I've had a month to get acclimated with Nikon gear and I think I am "there" now.

Since my D700 seems to do better with the outer AF point, that's going to be my primary camera. The D3 will probably have the 70-200VRII glued on to it b/c that's a lens that doesn't have the outer AF issue.

I don't mind getting lenses calibrated. I am certainly used to that having had Canon lenses!

Just want my gear to be in tip top shape as to leave no doubt about things.

I am excited about the switch. It's been fun so far. Let's see if my gear can walk the walk this weekend!!!

I'll be really interested in seeing your results!

Permagrin wrote in post #10216431
I'll be really interested in seeing your results!

I'll need all the luck I can get!

Also, as far as the outer AF point "issue" is concerned, I guess I shouldn't be all that concerned since in most realistic shooting distances, the DOF will probably be big enough to offset things.

nicksan wrote in post #10216426
Didn't mean to come off that way. I am certainly not unhappy with the switch. I'll find out for sure this weekend at the wedding! Kinda nervous a little since it'll be my first with Nikon gear! I've had a month to get acclimated with Nikon gear and I think I am "there" now.

Since my D700 seems to do better with the outer AF point, that's going to be my primary camera. The D3 will probably have the 70-200VRII glued on to it b/c that's a lens that doesn't have the outer AF issue.

I don't mind getting lenses calibrated. I am certainly used to that having had Canon lenses!

Just want my gear to be in tip top shape as to leave no doubt about things.

I am excited about the switch. It's been fun so far. Let's see if my gear can walk the walk this weekend!!!

You got a D700 too? When did that happen? Sorry if I missed that. Call me crazy but I honestly think the D700 is a better camera than the D3. Just my opinion though.

I just got back stateside from 3 weeks in Italy. Check it out if youre interested https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=876198

nicksan wrote in post #10216506
I'll need all the luck I can get!

Also, as far as the outer AF point "issue" is concerned, I guess I shouldn't be all that concerned since in most realistic shooting distances, the DOF will probably be big enough to offset things.

You know...I was just going to say something along those lines. I used all 51 points extensively on my trip and I never noticed a problem with outer points in real-world usage.

AdamLewis wrote in post #10217153
You got a D700 too? When did that happen? Sorry if I missed that. Call me crazy but I honestly think the D700 is a better camera than the D3. Just my opinion though.

I just got back stateside from 3 weeks in Italy. Check it out if youre interested https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=876198

Yeah, I need 2 bodies so decided to get the D700. Wasn't going to get the grip but found a great deal on the grip, battery, charger, etc. so I got the grip, which I don't regret. It's easy to disconnect the grip when I want to go portable. Feels nice.

Ah, Italy. I was there 10 years ago with a Nikon 2MP P&S that ate through batteries like there was no tomorrow! I need to go back!

Fantastic pics BTW. I checked out your thread. Real nice!

AdamLewis wrote in post #10217157
You know...I was just going to say something along those lines. I use all 51 points extensively on my trip and I never noticed a problem with outer points in real-world usage.

Yeah, that's what I am thinking. I've been testing against boxes, and line of text. Not really real world, although before I sent the 14-24 to Nikon, there was clearly something wrong with it.

Hoping for the best Saturday...popping my cherry with Nikon gear!

A question for those of you who have the SB-900 or similar and trigger it via remote. (PW, Cybersyncs, etc)

Do you disable the sleep mode on the SB-900? I've noticed that when the SB-900 is in sleep mode, when I trigger the flash, it will fire off, but there's a delay where it has to wake up, so sometimes I get a dark pic or part of the frame is dark, etc. Subsequent shots are fine.

I may use my SB-900's in this fashion this weekend and was wondering what the typical setup was in terms of sleep mode, etc...

Or perhaps just remember to do a test fire via the transmitter before taking a shot. I always seem to forget to do this and end up with a blank frame.

that sleep mode drove me nuts. I thought sync speed was below 1/160 and some photo have half curtain
I use it for macro and 300sec works best on what I'm doing.

on another note:
to those who own 70-300 vr
do you notice that your viewfinder gets darker? I double check with my 24-70 and sigma 180 macro. it seems like a stop difference on 70-300vr. don't know if this is normal. just got it yesterday and been pretty crappy weather so no real test yet. indoors, it doesn't seem to affect the shot.

darksike wrote in post #10217683
that sleep mode drove me nuts. I thought sync speed was below 1/160 and some photo have half curtain
I use it for macro and 300sec works best on what I'm doing.

on another note:
to those who own 70-300 vr
do you notice that your viewfinder gets darker? I double check with my 24-70 and sigma 180 macro. it seems like a stop difference on 70-300vr. don't know if this is normal. just got it yesterday and been pretty crappy weather so no real test yet. indoors, it doesn't seem to affect the shot.

The lens isnt letting in as much light so I would imagine it will be darker than some comparable lenses...

Interesting findings regarding the 85 1.4D. I guess this is more like a rant.

My 85 1.4D requires a maxed out AF Fine Tune value to make it nice and sharp. The lens have been very temperamental for me.

I was so puzzled by it, I ordered a new one, and guess what? It behaves the same way. Needless to say I was even more puzzled!

After doing some research online, I read that some of these older style lenses may have trouble focusing in tungsten lighting. I thought "yeah right". So I had to test it out myself.

So I first shoot inside my room, which has tungsten lighting. This is where I also usually test my lenses out. So the 85 1.4 has an AF Fine Tune value of 20, which is the max, and the lens is nice and sharp.

I go into my laundry room which has CF bulbs. I shoot and things are way off. Keep in mind the AF Fine Tune is still at 20. I turn off AF fine tune, and guess what? It's nice and sharp! So I bring it back to my room with the AF fine tune turned off, and things are soft. I turn it back on and it's nice and sharp.

Doh!!!

Just can't deal with this. Say good bye to the 85 1.4!

I guess I am a prime candidate for an AF-S version of this lens. I tested out the 105VR and it doesn't exhibit this behavior at all. Neither do any of my other AF-S lenses for that matter.

nicksan wrote in post #10218521
Interesting findings regarding the 85 1.4D. I guess this is more like a rant.

My 85 1.4D requires a maxed out AF Fine Tune value to make it nice and sharp. The lens have been very temperamental for me.

I was so puzzled by it, I ordered a new one, and guess what? It behaves the same way. Needless to say I was even more puzzled!

After doing some research online, I read that some of these older style lenses may have trouble focusing in tungsten lighting. I thought "yeah right". So I had to test it out myself.

So I first shoot inside my room, which has tungsten lighting. This is where I also usually test my lenses out. So the 85 1.4 has an AF Fine Tune value of 20, which is the max, and the lens is nice and sharp.

I go into my laundry room which has CF bulbs. I shoot and things are way off. Keep in mind the AF Fine Tune is still at 20. I turn off AF fine tune, and guess what? It's nice and sharp! So I bring it back to my room with the AF fine tune turned off, and things are soft. I turn it back on and it's nice and sharp.

Doh!!!

Just can't deal with this. Say good bye to the 85 1.4!

I guess I am a prime candidate for an AF-S version of this lens. I tested out the 105VR and it doesn't exhibit this behavior at all. Neither do any of my other AF-S lenses for that matter.

That behavior has me scratching my head thinking 'WTF is going on here?'

Just thought Id share this little story with you guys though Im sure a Canon would hold up just as well.

While I was in Italy shooting, I noticed a lot of really big spots on the sensor of the D3. Having no real tools to clean it with, I decided Id just try blowing on it myself. I popped up the mirror and blew a couple times and I could see that a couple of the really big spots had left. I tried it again and I accidentally spit all over the sensor. I thought it was all over then because, like I said, I had no real cleaning supplies. So, going out on a limb, I took my finger and a microfiber cloth, exhaled on the sensor, and then wiped it off. I did that about 5 more times and then sensor is now as clean as the first day it came from the box!

Just goes to show that that camera really is more a tool than some kind of one-off, incredibly fragile piece of scientific equipment.

ok now... my friend is going to singapore next week... I might be able to fast forward my march to the dark side. if he finds a good deal for my D700 there next week... then I will be joining the dark side before the 1st week of june hehe I am pretty excited. I hope he gets it for around US$2,000.... with free MB-D10

nicksan wrote in post #10218521
Interesting findings regarding the 85 1.4D. I guess this is more like a rant.

My 85 1.4D requires a maxed out AF Fine Tune value to make it nice and sharp. The lens have been very temperamental for me.

I was so puzzled by it, I ordered a new one, and guess what? It behaves the same way. Needless to say I was even more puzzled!

After doing some research online, I read that some of these older style lenses may have trouble focusing in tungsten lighting. I thought "yeah right". So I had to test it out myself.

So I first shoot inside my room, which has tungsten lighting. This is where I also usually test my lenses out. So the 85 1.4 has an AF Fine Tune value of 20, which is the max, and the lens is nice and sharp.

I go into my laundry room which has CF bulbs. I shoot and things are way off. Keep in mind the AF Fine Tune is still at 20. I turn off AF fine tune, and guess what? It's nice and sharp! So I bring it back to my room with the AF fine tune turned off, and things are soft. I turn it back on and it's nice and sharp.

Doh!!!

Just can't deal with this. Say good bye to the 85 1.4!

I guess I am a prime candidate for an AF-S version of this lens. I tested out the 105VR and it doesn't exhibit this behavior at all. Neither do any of my other AF-S lenses for that matter.

That's wierd. I never had any issues with my 85 in any lighting. The camera still ceases to amaze me in the world of AF accuracy and what not.
I'm interested in trying the Sigma when it comes out.

AdamLewis wrote in post #10219227
Just thought Id share this little story with you guys though Im sure a Canon would hold up just as well.

While I was in Italy shooting, I noticed a lot of really big spots on the sensor of the D3. Having no real tools to clean it with, I decided Id just try blowing on it myself. I popped up the mirror and blew a couple times and I could see that a couple of the really big spots had left. I tried it again and I accidentally spit all over the sensor. I thought it was all over then because, like I said, I had no real cleaning supplies. So, going out on a limb, I took my finger and a microfiber cloth, exhaled on the sensor, and then wiped it off. I did that about 5 more times and then sensor is now as clean as the first day it came from the box!

Just goes to show that that camera really is more a tool than some kind of one-off, incredibly fragile piece of scientific equipment.

That took a nice, big, brass pair!! Pretty cool though!