Nikon D5xxx Owners Thread

phil8139 said:
The tamron is an ok lens, shot lots of basketball with it and it was ok, bit slow to focus but the better I got, the more it disheartened me. As a starter lens, I would recommend it without doubt, I'll try to link up some pics from it for you (y)
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Thanks, look forward to seeing them. As the D5000 has quiet a small body does the 70-300 weigh it down at the front? I'm looking at either this lens or the Nikkor 55-200.

Also do any of you owners use a hand strap instead of a neck one, just wondering what ones you use if you do?
 
Pezza4u said:
Thanks, look forward to seeing them. As the D5000 has quiet a small body does the 70-300 weigh it down at the front? I'm looking at either this lens or the Nikkor 55-200.

Also do any of you owners use a hand strap instead of a neck one, just wondering what ones you use if you do?
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Its not actually that bad - it feels quite well balanced to me. :)
 
phil8139 said:
Hi Martin, it's the cable one, didn't know there was an infared one, :(
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I cant remember where it was but I did read some posts where they were discussing the difference between cable and IR battery grips for the D5000.
 
morsing said:
Is it best to just leave the Active D-lighting on auto? Or off? Or something else? Does it ever interfere in a negative way with your photos?
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Morsing, hi, I first had the 'active-D lighting' on, then auto, but to my eye, pictures always looked flat. So I turned it off, I find pictures look much more lively . . . I like the contrast of light and dark, a personal opinion of course.

CJS
 
Pezza4u said:
As the D5000 has quiet a small body does the 70-300 weigh it down at the front? I'm looking at either this lens or the Nikkor 55-200.
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I tried a 70-300 VR on a D90 recently - impression..? a BIG lens..:shake:

the 55-200 VR is indeed lighter - goto Currys and have a "feel".....:LOL:

I have a Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4.5 on my D5000
bit "front-heavy" but then the Hahnel grip gives a nice balance
 
I think Rich was referring to the Tamron 70-300.....this weighs 435g as opposed to the Nikon 70-300VR which is indeed a fairly chubby at 725g. I use one on my D5000 (the Nikon) and dont really have an issue with balance...yes, its heavy but not so much as to make it unbalanced; afterall you are supporting the lens with one hand anyway and not holding the camera with both...
Incedentally the Siggy weighs 455g.
Neil
 
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neilos100 said:
I think Rich was referring to the Tamron 70-300.....this weighs 435g as opposed to the Nikon 70-300VR which is indeed a fairly chubby at 725g. I use one on my D5000 (the Nikon) and dont really have an issue with balance...yes, its heavy but not so much as to make it unbalanced; afterall you are supporting the lens with one hand anyway and not holding the camera with both...
Incedentally the Siggy weighs 455g.
Neil
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Yes I was referring to the Tamron but after doing more reading today I'm swaying towards the Nikon 55-200. The Tamron gets mixed reviews and it's alot of money to spend on a lens that I might not like. Yes I might not get on with the 55-200 but being a Nikon it will hold it's value better.

I wonder what makes the Nikon 70-300 so much heavier compared to the other two...does it have metal case and the others plastic?
 
The 70-300VR physically has a lot more glass in it and as its also for FX lenses the elements are larger than those in the 55-200 which can only be used on a DX camera. the 55-200 has 15 elements and the 70-300VR has 17. Also the 55 barrel is pretty much entirely made of plastic including the mount, whereas the 70-300 has a lot more metal in it. The 70-300 is definitely a better made lens.....I've had both and while the 55-200 is a good lens, the 70-300 definitely puts it in the shade.

Neil
 
I have a 3rd party battery grip for my d5000, the extra battery and a much better balance to the camera made the extra £40 worth it.
 
bopins said:
I have a 3rd party battery grip for my d5000, the extra battery and a much better balance to the camera made the extra £40 worth it.
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Start doing this to a D5000 = weight and cost???? . . . pushing towards, 'why not' a D90 in the first place . . . :shrug: I've rarely run out of battery in a session, but its a simple matter of having a spare in the bag, a much simpler and elegant solution.

I see the specters of 'must have' and 'why' looming . . . and learn to hold/support the f***ing thing properly in the first place :thinking:

CJS
 
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CJS said:
Start doing this to a D5000 = weight and cost???? . . . pushing towards, 'why not' a D90 in the first place . . . :shrug: I've rarely run out of battery in a session, but its a simple matter of having a spare in the bag, a much simpler and elegant solution.

I see the specters of 'must have' and 'why' looming . . . :thinking:

CJS
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Agreed; I have two spare batteries and I still dont really get this 'balance' issue. For me there is no difference between using the 18-70 or the 70-300 apart from the overall weight of the camera/lens as a whole....as I said in an earlier post one hand is always under the lens anyway so the camera feels fine to me with either lens on.....I'm sure pro sports togs dont worry about balance when they are using a whacking great 400mm....you see them hand holding these and never seems to be an issue for them. A lens weighing 750g is peanuts compared to one weighing 4.5kg!
 
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In the world of angling there are . . . 'tackle tarts', always got the latest and greatest, the fish dont care and certainly dont catch more or better fish, . . . 'look at me, see what I have got' :wave: . . .

It seems in the world of the tog there is a similar phenomena . . . 'photo floozy' . . . :whistle: :LOL:

CJS
 
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Hi Dean.......

You have definitely made the right choice of camera......D5000 is a great piece of equipment.
As to the SDHC card, I would recommend you get a couple of 8gb or three or four 4gb cards instead of the one big one.....just incase anything goes wrong with the card(rare). But try to get some Class 6 cards.....the data transfer is then much quicker from camera to card; there are more but well worth the extra outlay. Good luck!

neil
 
neilos100 said:
Hi Dean.......

You have definitely made the right choice of camera......D5000 is a great piece of equipment.
As to the SDHC card, I would recommend you get a couple of 8gb or three or four 4gb cards instead of the one big one.....just incase anything goes wrong with the card(rare). But try to get some Class 6 cards.....the data transfer is then much quicker from camera to card; there are more but well worth the extra outlay. Good luck!

neil
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Whats the benefit of faster data transfer? I was under the impression that DSLR's buffer images, instead of processing them while the tog is shooting. Or do i have my info mixed up? Thanks!
 
Just been out trying to snap some of those Perseid meteorites....do you think I can get one of the buggers?? Can I hell!!! Every time I see one the camera is pointing in the wrong flipping direction! Oh and the battery in my remote is dead too!

Neil
 
As far as I know, they do buffer the images......but they still need to be sent to the card and if the card cant keep up then you wont be able able to shoot. Now I am open to correction here....but as I said above I have been using a 30 second exposure (cos I cant use 'bulb' with a dead remote) and it was taking a good 10-15 seconds for the card to receive the data (little green light tells you data is moving to the card).During this time you cannot take another shot. With a lower Class card that time would be much longer and would therefore increase the time that the camera cannot take a picture.

Neil
 
neilos100 said:
As far as I know, they do buffer the images......but they still need to be sent to the card and if the card cant keep up then you wont be able able to shoot. Now I am open to correction here....but as I said above I have been using a 30 second exposure (cos I cant use 'bulb' with a dead remote) and it was taking a good 10-15 seconds for the card to receive the data (little green light tells you data is moving to the card).During this time you cannot take another shot. With a lower Class card that time would be much longer and would therefore increase the time that the camera cannot take a picture.

Neil
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Makes sense, ill update cards when i update camera.

Back luck with the meteors, but at least you can spot them, its was too cloudy where i am, its pointless even looking!
 
I've convinced myself that I need a D5000 and will sell my D40.

Anyone any idea if Nikon will bring back the cashback scheme?
 
I got my Sandisk Extreme 8gb card yesterday, with the camera set to RAW + Jpeg I can get around 350 photos so another one will be ordered soon! How many of you shoot in both formats though as the RAW files are very large?

I had been using an SD (not SDHC) card and compared to the new card that was slow, especially when transferring to the computer.

I am really enjoying the camera though and love the built-in help system, it is very useful for a noob like me. I think I will need to buy that book that was recommended earlier on in this thread and make myself read it. Aperture and shutter speed I think I'm getting to grips with but it's things like metering and the D lighting I'm not sure when to or how to use. I do still need to read through the Nikon site, which may help me some more.

neilos100 said:
Incedentally this seller http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-NIKON-NIK...es_CameraLensesFilters_JN&hash=item2c56731878
who is sellling the 55-200 for £115 is where i bought my D5000 from......it is US stock but have no complaints about their service. I just wonder how often these things do actually break in the first year or two....chances are you will never need to use the warranty anyway I guess.

Neil
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I take it you've seen my other posts about the 55-200 off ebay? The same lens from Jessops is £230, which I'm not prepared to pay. I think I'm gonna take a chance on a grey import lens and probably go with Wolu, I think that's the seller. They seem to get alot of good reviews from what I've found so far and UK based.
 
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Pezza4u said:
I got my Sandisk Extreme 8gb card yesterday, with the camera set to RAW + Jpeg I can get around 350 photos so another one will be ordered soon! How many of you shoot in both formats though as the RAW files are very large?

I had been using an SD (not SDHC) card and compared to the new card that was slow, especially when transferring to the computer.

I am really enjoying the camera though and love the built-in help system, it is very useful for a noob like me. I think I will need to buy that book that was recommended earlier on in this thread and make myself read it. Aperture and shutter speed I think I'm getting to grips with but it's things like metering and the D lighting I'm not sure when to or how to use. I do still need to read through the Nikon site, which may help me some more.



I take it you've seen my other posts about the 55-200 off ebay? The same lens from Jessops is £230, which I'm not prepared to pay. I think I'm gonna take a chance on a grey import lens and probably go with Wolu, I think that's the seller. They seem to get alot of good reviews from what I've found so far and UK based.
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Well, my camera is a grey import and my D40x before that was too......i had that for four years before I sold it with the the kit 18-55 and the 55-200. Nothing went wrong with any of it. The way I look at it is they are all made in the same factory in Thailand or wherever so you aren't buying an inferior product. I'm sure only a VERY tiny proportion of modern equipment goes wrong within the first two years so you would have to be very unlucky indeed. Yes, there is a risk but at this level of photography i reckon its one worth taking. For a pro tog?? Not worth risking it but for me its fine.

Neil
 
shot with nikon d5000 iso high 1 ? is that about 6400 ?

of shooting stars !

4887254603_5e240d1fd3_b.jpg
 
Hehe...did better than me last night!!
Looks like you caught a couple of planes too.....
 
Strange you should post this today as I had to take my 55-200mm kit lens back today as the autofocus stopped working, so they have ordered me another and loaned me another lens.

This lens is only 2 weeks old and already its gone tits up. I know they are not great lenses but they should last longer than a couple of weeks. Which brings me on to another topic connected with this.

I am thinking of replacing the kit lenses but not until around christmas time. I used to buy Sigma lenses when I had Nikon film cameras back in the 70's & 80's, but some people are also using Tamron or Tampon lenses as we called them because you know where you can stick 'em - i.e. they were crap in our opinion.

Has anyone used any Sigma lenses with their D5000 and if so did they out perform the Nikon kit lenses.

EDIT: Don't refer me to ebay as I wont touch it with a barge pole.
 
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Martin,

Unlucky with the 55-200...guess it shows it does happen!
As to the independant brands; not used Sigma for ages, but my previous lens was a Tamron 18-270 VR....nice enough but so slow to focus in anything other than bright light. Got rid and bought the two lenses you see on the left. As far as i am concerned I will be sticking to Nikon now, maybe with the exception of a UWA and that possibly will be the Siggy 10-20mm. Other than that its Nikon all the way for me now......sure its more expensive than Tamron or Sigma but my camera was designed by Nikon for Nikon lenses.

Neil
 
Thanks Neil, I can see your point and I would love to buy Nikon lenses, but when you have a very limited budget it is difficult to buy expensive Nikon lenses. For me to replace my 2 'kit-lenses' would take me well into next year, still I may look around for 2nd hand lenses, you can get some bargains out there.
 
AFC said:
Thanks Neil, I can see your point and I would love to buy Nikon lenses, but when you have a very limited budget it is difficult to buy expensive Nikon lenses. For me to replace my 2 'kit-lenses' would take me well into next year, still I may look around for 2nd hand lenses, you can get some bargains out there.
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Both of mine were second-hand from your favourite online auction site :)
 
Neil, have you tried 'back button focusing' with your 5000 yet?
 
AFC said:
Has anyone used any Sigma lenses with their D5000 and if so did they out perform the Nikon kit lenses.
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Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4.5 DC Macro HSM
not OS
bought here for £165
love it ......72mm filters though
.
little pp other than resize and sharpen. Plan to crop etc as I have been told
.
showphoto.php
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Cheers John, looks a nice clear sharp and bright shot. Seems like a good quality lens.
 
Hi folks, ive had a d5000 for about 2 months now and im using the 18-55mm kit lens and bought the 55-200mm lens and getting some good results.

ive been after filters but im unsure what i need to buy. what size do i need to buy? whats the difference between UV and Polarised? this is probably a total noob question but im stumped with it.
 
Hi Martin (AFC)....

No, not tried back button focussing yet...I do like the idea of it though but as the girlfriend uses the camera as well I'm not sure she'd get on with too well. Might give it a go and see how she does.

HI Martin(funkedup)
If I remember correctly the thread size on both your lenses is 52mm. Now the two filters you name do two very different things, I'll start with the UV.
UV filter is now on a modern DSLR not necessary. In days of old when using film cameras it got rid of any slight haziness, particularly in landscape shots. Nowadays, the sensor in you camera has a UV filter on it already. The ONLY reason to buy a UV filter now is to protect the front element of the lens....however a low quality one will impact on the image quality of the photo. Personally I dont bother with one...for lens protection I use my lens hood...and if that isnt on the lens then the cap is.
Polarising filter; This filter is used for giving a bit more saturation to landscape shots and is great for making the sky really blue and the clouds stand out. It also cuts 'glare' and a lot of light reflection from glass or water, allowing you to see through it rather than see the reflection off the surface. They allow light from only one plane to enter the camera and the type you need is a 'circular polariser' or C-PL for short. Get the best quality one you possibly can, I use a Hoya HD, but any of the Hoya multi-coated will be fine. This is not a filter to leave on your lens all the time as it does reduce the amount of light entering the camera and thus will have an effect on exposure.

Hop this helps,

Neil
 
Hi Martin

Polarizing filters (aka "polarizers") are perhaps the most important of any filter for landscape photography. They work by reducing the amount of reflected light that passes to your camera's sensor. Similar to polarizing sunglasses, polarizers will make skies appear deeper blue, will reduce glare and reflections off of water and other surfaces, and will reduce the contrast between land and sky.


UV filters are primarily used to protect the front element of a camera lens since they are clear and do not noticably affect the image. The problem with UV light is that it is not visible to the human eye, but is often uniformly distributed on a hazy day; UV therefore adversely affects the camera's exposure by reducing contrast. Fortunately, digital camera sensors are nowhere near as sensitive to UV light as film, therefore UV filtration is no longer necessary.

However, UV filters have the potential to decrease image quality by increasing lens flare, adding a slight color tint or reducing contrast. Multicoated UV filters can dramatically reduce the chance of flare, and keeping your filter very clean minimizes any reduction in image quality (although even invisible micro abrasions will affect sharpness/contrast). High quality UV filters will not introduce any visible color cast.
 
Hi Neal, have set my camera to back button focusing, well pleased.

What I wanted to ask you is, the command dial wheel on the back of the camera used to change the f/stop when you rotated it left and changed the shutter speed when rotated right, now I cant remember what it has to be set on ( P,A,S,M etc) to be able to do this.

Thanks in advance.
 
HI Martin,

Its one of either M,A,S or P only obviously on M can you do both....moving the command dial changes the shutter speed and then to change the aperture you hold down the +/- exposure comp button near the shutter release and then turn the command dial.
I dont know how it would work changing exposure one way and speed the other way...not sure how you'd get adjustments up and down for both ie 4 functions on a two way wheel.


Neil
 
Ok, just set back button.....can see I'll be sticking with it. Love the way it doesn't lock exposure till the shutter is released. Oh and the girlfriend is fine with it!

Neil
 
I actually had it set that I could change f/stop and shutter speed and I didn't need to hold any buttons down. I remember looking through the viewfinder and setting the f/stop by going < and then changing s/speed by going >. I cant remember if I have read it somewhere or got it from the net, but its bugging me because I cant find it now...LOL
 
neilos100 said:
Ok, just set back button.....can see I'll be sticking with it. Love the way it doesn't lock exposure till the shutter is released. Oh and the girlfriend is fine with it!

Neil
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I like the way it only focus' when I decide I want to focus.
 
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