Best DSLR for my *special* needs ???

Based on my experience with the D40, you'll definitely want a camera with an anti-dust system. It's not life-changing, but it's nice to not have to take off the lens and use a hand-blower all the time.

Also, I'll contract my first response this thread because what I've learned here. The D60 might be something worth looking at because of the features it has over the D40 (more ISO selection and anti-dust, for a few things), but a D80, D300 or the forthcoming D90 is probably a better idea because you'll have a wider selection of lenses with full feature-sets. There will probably be some good deals on the D80 if you can wait until after the D90 comes out.

btw. are there any decent SIGMA lenses as substitute for Canon lenses?
( I get a bit lost when looking at the SIGMA catalogue, can't make out what's for Canon cameras, and what's for Nikon )
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Generally, Sigma makes all of their lenses available with mounts for all the major brands.
 
nomix said:
But the 28/2.8 is better, afaik.

It's not fast, that's true though. If you're just after a compact prime to get into 'prime mode', though, it's excellent.
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The 2.8 has better edge sharpness, but the 1.8 has better center sharpness. Between the faster aperture and the better focusing system, I consider the 1.8 to be worth the extra $. YMMV, as usual - I find that most 2.8 primes are outperformed by newer 2.8 zooms.

But, yes, if you just want a normal-on-crop prime to get a feel for them, the 28/2.8 is a cheap way to do it. Personally, I think an updated 35/2 from Canon would be great, but one doesn't seem to be forthcoming.
 
I'll probably wait until september, because that's when I'll have the money,
and I expect some new cameras to hit the market, so I hope that'll drop the prices
of the cameras like 40D and 5D.

btw. I forgot to mention that here in Serbia the only seriously present camera makers are Canon and Nikon,
Canon being the most popular by far. The rest, like Pentax, Olympus, Sony etc. are considered rara, exotic,
and I probably would have to order lenses from abroad. ( or through this broad I know who's in USA ;))
 
Interesting. Serbia is a nice country, remember going back to my hotel after a night drinking, and saw a seriously drunk guy walking out of a club with a D3 and 70-200VR, that was sort of l-o-l. :)
 
LOL! I think I know who that guy is, let me check :D
 
nomix said:
Put a 50/1.2 or 85/1.2 on a crop camera, and it will be plenty shallow. Not as shallow as on FF, but still shallow enough for most needs.

And the 5D with 50/1.4, though. It's actually rather cheapish, and the quality of the files will be supreme, the 50/1.4 is legendary for beging cheap and great (as opposed to the 50/1.8 which is cheap, but not as great..), and I believe it will easily resolve the 5D, at least stopped down, and wide open it's still rather nice. Stopped down to f/2, it's a little sharper ofc.

(I must admit, next year, I'm thinking of getting exactly that, a 5D and 50/1.4 for some shallow DOF work and so on, stop stealing my secret ideas! :D)
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I dont think Nikon makes f/1.2 lenses, at least not affordable. Thing is though, i've seen some photos both on old 35mm films and digital fullframe and there is just something special about the DOF you can achieve with them, the way the subject is isolated from the background and foreground.

I'm not sure if you know what i mean, but here are a few samples that kind of illustrate the depth in images i'm talking about.

This is taken by a friend of mine on a nikon film camera and shows i think what i mean by depth in the photo

226569605_f9178e0ca2.jpg


And here are a few taken by another icelandic dude on a 1Ds mkIII

dof_ex1.jpg


dof_ex2.jpg


dof_ex3.jpg


There is probably some technical reason for this "look", be it some relationship between focal lenght, aperture and distance, but all i know is i've not been able to recreate this "look" on my 1.5x crop DSLR.
 
I use film regularly (Olympus OM-2 with primes), I know exactly what you mean. :)

The reason it happens is that DOF relates to three things: Focus distance, aperture and focal length.

A 50/1.2 is a 50/1.2 whichever camera you use. But if you change one of the factors, you get different DOF.

As a 50/1.2 is a "75mm" on 1.5x APS-C, you will stand longer away from your subject to frame the same subject, and that means you get more DOF, as closer focus distance means less DOF.

Simple as that. :)
 
Interesting. Serbia is a nice country, remember going back to my hotel after a night drinking, and saw a seriously drunk guy walking out of a club with a D3 and 70-200VR, that was sort of l-o-l.
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Good thing it had VR :lol:
 
Problem with VR lenses is that they won't stabilize you.
 
BerserkerCatSplat said:
Nikon's 50mm f/1.2 AIS is still currently in production, and is a very nice lens. :D
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But it wont meter on D70/D90 will it? Dont AI-S lenses only meter on D200/D300/D700/D3? Manual focus is fine, but i want to be able to meter with the camera.

I'm not buying another 50mm lens anyway, my money is planned for D90 and either Nikkor 35mm f/2 or Sigma 30mm f/1.4 and then later a 70-200 + TC's.
 
No, no metering on Dxx cameras - but then, I'd use it on a film camera that was intended for MF, not digital. I'd only use it on digital with a true focusing screen.
 
Very shallow DOF at f/1.2, so should be handy with a splitscreen, yeah.
 
It's in your viewfinder, it's what the images is drawn on so you see it through the viewfinder. With a splitscreen, there will be a circle with two parts, that will move from side to side when you focus, and it will end up being the same on both side when the image is in focus.
 
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