Softness in my D40X?

[zhaowei]

most third party macro lenses are excellent choices, some even better than first party ones. i won't really worry too much, just do the standard in shop tests, wide open, f/8, f/11, look at corner, look at center, etc. some reading up on how to do this will save you a lot of trouble in case you get a soft copy - but this is hardly ever a problem for macro lenses.

Yeah, I would definitely do a quick check on the lens when I do get it. I'm actually slightly torn between the Sigma 150mm and the Nikkor 105 because I think VR will very useful. :dunno:

how big? technically - unlimited. so long as whoever does it knows what he's doing. the current state of technology today is pretty impressive. so the question is, what sort of sizes are you looking at?

I do a bit of poster design in school and we usually print at A3 and above...

printing is a different ballgame from viewing on screen i think. of course, if you print big big and then you go in close close to look, then different story. have you looked at those really huge posters close up?

Hmmm I haven't actually seen them close-up... hehe. Are you saying that those pictures will look not as good when seen up close?

well taken 10mp can do A2 decently and more.

Hi psychobiologist, thanks for the reply! Just wondering, can the photos I've shown there considered "well taken" enough for A2 printing? I may want to use some pictures (but not the ones here la) for poster printing sometime so I'm a little concerned. :think:

They all look pretty good to me. If you want anything better you probably got to spend a whole lot more on exotic lenses.

Exotic lenses... Does that include those like the Zeiss Planar ZF T* 50mm f1/4? :sweatsm:

 

[lsisaxon]

Yeah, I would definitely do a quick check on the lens when I do get it. I'm actually slightly torn between the Sigma 150mm and the Nikkor 105 because I think VR will very useful. :dunno:



I do a bit of poster design in school and we usually print at A3 and above...



Hmmm I haven't actually seen them close-up... hehe. Are you saying that those pictures will look not as good when seen up close?



Hi psychobiologist, thanks for the reply! Just wondering, can the photos I've shown there considered "well taken" enough for A2 printing? I may want to use some pictures (but not the ones here la) for poster printing sometime so I'm a little concerned. :think:



Exotic lenses... Does that include those like the Zeiss Planar ZF T* 50mm f1/4? :sweatsm:

Yes.. I think the Micro 105 VR is useful.


Sometimes even when you print larger, it does not mean that you will need larger image size although it helps. Most of the time, you will see that images are usually limited by the optical resolution anyway, so once you go up to a certain sensor resolution, going up further does not help anymore. Like what night86mare mentioned, if you've taken a look at those gigantic size poster up close, you will find that they are printed at very low resolution anyway simply because they are not meant to be viewed up close.

The images you showed here should technically be able to go up to A2 print but depending on situation, you may need to upsample to the required resolution and maybe perform an unsharp mask first. However, I think you should try to work a bit more on your composition.

I consider exotic lenses to be lenses that burn a hole in my pocket. Of course not all lenses which burn a hole in my pocket are good so need to be careful of which one to buy. And also, lenses which I consider to be exotic may not be considered exotic by everyone else because some people's pockets may be deeper. ;p

 

[night86mare]

Yeah, I would definitely do a quick check on the lens when I do get it. I'm actually slightly torn between the Sigma 150mm and the Nikkor 105 because I think VR will very useful. :dunno:

I do a bit of poster design in school and we usually print at A3 and above...

Hmmm I haven't actually seen them close-up... hehe. Are you saying that those pictures will look not as good when seen up close?

ah, i don't really need to care about VR, because my system has inbody shake-reduction. i think you should care more about the working distance actually. VR would certainly help in macro, but for the real low light slow shutter speed shots there's no avoiding using a tripod or monopod to aid you.

yes, if you go to even the jc decaux ones, and looik at them close up, you'll see that the resolution is actually not as good as you see it from far away. optical illusion.. i guess it takes advantage of our eyes' resolution, heh.

 

[zhaowei]

The images you showed here should technically be able to go up to A2 print but depending on situation, you may need to upsample to the required resolution and maybe perform an unsharp mask first. However, I think you should try to work a bit more on your composition.

Yep, I think I still have much to learn about composition, especially. I guess it's the most important aspect, as no amount of photoshopping can make up for poor composition (while exposure and colours etc can be fixed to some extent). In the meantime, I've been looking at lots of others' pictures to try and pick up some pointers. Hope to post some good shots up soon in the gallery.

ah, i don't really need to care about VR, because my system has inbody shake-reduction. i think you should care more about the working distance actually. VR would certainly help in macro, but for the real low light slow shutter speed shots there's no avoiding using a tripod or monopod to aid you.

Yeah, I think the working distance that the 150/2.8 gives me is ideal, but VR... darn. I actually enjoy using a tripod, because it allows for longer exposures. I recently took a tripod along for a shooting trip to this flower park and took some pictures that I couldn't have taken without one. Unfortunately, a tripod is not usable in all circumstances (eg when travelling). Grr... In any case I hope to get the new lens by end of this month! Have to decide quickly. Hehe.


In closing, thanks to everyone who have replied to this thread, especially night86mare and lsisaxon. I'm going to continue working on my photography and hope to produce some good work soon. Cheers!