One From The South Downs

[danza]

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/danza1/JackJill01FF.jpg

I shot ~40 frames today, many of which were pretty soft (This was the best). It's really beginning to get to me atm just how soft some of the pics are that my D100 is producing (maybe it's my 18-70 letting me down). I keep seeing lots of nice 20D's pop up on t'bay for good prices and I'm becoming tempted to ditch the Nikon for one. Either that or I stick with the D100 and buy a Nikkor f2.8 80-200mm around Christmas. Not sure yet though...

C&C welcome.

[matty]

thats quite nice!

question for you:
what are you focusing on? I found that if i framed my shot and took it with the sky focused it would be soft, you need to use hyperfocal focusing....i cant describe that, so i will find a link for it instead

[matty]

here you go, an article on it

http://www.vividlight.com/articles/3513.htm

[danza]

Thanks for the reply!

I've briefly read about hyperfocal focusing, but never really tried to implement it. I think I ought to give it a go though. Cheers for the link!

/goes off to read...

[WetSparks]

?, are you sharpening the images whilst PPing.

Hope you don't mind. Copy of your shot with 70% USM @ 1.7 radius. Might have overcooked that a little bit, but as I'm only working on the downloaded bitmap image! I also did a polarise job on the sky to bring out a bit of detail.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/500/south_downs_copy.jpg

[Arkady]

Nothing wrong with a D100 - we got very good results from the ones we used for surveillance-school down at Her*ford...
What software are you using? Try switching off the auto-sharpening in-camera and do it all post-production... May find that works a bit better.

[danza]

Arkady-Too late. I sold my soul to Canon just 2 days ago.

I bought the D100 as a stop-gap really (it was really cheap and I needed a quick fix). My initial plan was to get a 20D/30D early next year and start off simple, working my way up through the lower end of the L range gradually, but the D100 came along so cheap I thought I may as well go for it.

I was almost at the point where I was going to keep the Nikon, but one thing was putting me off. Lens quality in the ~£300 area. It seems to me that Canon has all these bases well covered, whereas Nikkor lenses seem more £££ for something similar i.e. there's not much Nikon does that competes with the lower end L series stuff. Don't get me wrong, Nikkor lenses are top drawer, but the real good ones cost uber money!

FYI the offending Canon is a low mile 20D that cost me 400 notes all-in. My power to resist was, well, zero.

[WetSparks]

So, now that you've come over to the dark side :eek: what lens have you got to play with.

[danza]

18-55:(

I'm gunning for a 70-200 f4 L as soon as is viable, then I'll consider the 17-85 IS. At some point I'll probably acquire a 50mm f1.8 too. I'd like a macro set up, but that'll be ages away.

[WetSparks]

I know theres a lot of knocking of the kit lens, but I've had some cracking shots out of it. Just don't let it get too near to the wide end and keep the f's in the middle :)

I also started with a 75 - 300 USM, that was a mistake as I couldn't hold the dam thing still. Odd really as I upped to a 100 - 400L and am perfectly happy hand holding it :thinking:

The 17 - 85 IS USM makes a nice walk around lens, in my opinion, that's the one that lives on my camera these day's, but I'm now hankering after a little something for landscape work, maybe a Sigma 10 - 20 ;)

[Marcel]

A lovely shot danza.
I did read in this months (or was it last months) Photography Monthly (I think), one of the guest landscape photographers basically poo-poohed hyperfocal focusing :shrug:
I've never personally tried it myself though.