Upgrade to D5 body or spend money on buying lenses

[thoongeng]

Many masters of street photography shoot with manual focus lenses, even in this day and age of superior autofocus performance
I'm sure you know 50mm is a prime lens, some may like the field of view, some prefer others
You could zoom your 24-70mm to 50mm and tape the zoom ring and shoot all day and see if you like the field of view

Nikon flashes for the past many years have worked well with years of different Nikon bodies
SB-5000 is the latest high end Nikon flash. If you have the budget and don't mind the weight, can't go very wrong with it

The Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 and 70-200f2.8E are also excellent lenses. Again no fixed rules which type of lens is for what type of photography, you can certainly shoot landscapes with 70-200, 14-24, 24-70 and 28-300mm, just depends on the field of view and what type of composition you wish to achieve

Nothing beats your own testing to find out your own style and requirements. If you have the budget and buying new equipment makes you go out to shoot more often, why not?

 

[Stephen27]

Thank you for the advice on the uses of the different lenses.

If the 24-70mm,f/2.8 all-purpose lens is so versatile and can shoot landscapes and portraits, then I believe I need not buy
a 70-200mm,f/2.8 lens just to shoot portraits, am I right? Then it means I can save some extra money including lugging around heavy stuffs.

 

[Nikonzen]

For your budget I would consider the 3 Dragons and a really good tripod. I also advise you to keep the 700 around...do not sell. Classic camera. You keen on trying video?

 

[swifty]

24-70/2.8 is a very versatile lens covering wide to short tele but for portraiture, there are better options. The portrait primes come to mind such as then 85/1.4 but the 105/1.4 is the pick of the bunch currently imo.
Any of the 70-200/2.8 variants are very versatile portrait options due to the focal length range and has the added advantage of very fast AF motors but comes at the expense of weight and bulk.
For cheaper alternatives, there are some very good third party alternatives as well as less exotic primes such as the 85/1.8G or older designs such as the 105 and 135 F2 DC’s as well as the 180/2.8.

 

[Stephen27]

I think you should save the money and attend a course on photography instead. Improve your skills before considering buying new gear.

Thanks for the advice. Yes, I have attended couple of photography courses here in Singapore and also purchased a couple online
but my biggest problem is the retention part on what I have learnt.As such, I have resorted to writing important points in a note book.

If only I can find a teacher who can teach and provide me with points to note such as:
e.g. On a hot and sunny day shooting (outdoors),
Shutter Speed Mode: 1/500sec.
Aperture: f/8 (for sharp pic)
f/16 & f/22 (for front to back pic sharpness/depth of field)
f/2.8 (for bokeh background)etc. etc.,

If I can find a photography book that teaches all these learning curves' shortcuts, I am willing to pay for it no matter the cost.

Do you think you can suggest me a book/an author please?

Thank you in advance.

 

[skf]

Thanks for the advice. Yes, I have attended couple of photography courses here in Singapore and also purchased a couple online
but my biggest problem is the retention part on what I have learnt.As such, I have resorted to writing important points in a note book.

If only I can find a teacher who can teach and provide me with points to note such as:
e.g. On a hot and sunny day shooting (outdoors),
Shutter Speed Mode: 1/500sec.
Aperture: f/8 (for sharp pic)
f/16 & f/22 (for front to back pic sharpness/depth of field)
f/2.8 (for bokeh background)etc. etc.,

If I can find a photography book that teaches all these learning curves' shortcuts, I am willing to pay for it no matter the cost.

Do you think you can suggest me a book/an author please?

Thank you in advance.

:thinkff hand, I can think of

1. Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure
2. John Shaw's Closeups in Nature

It has been a while since I read the second one; it is mostly pre-digital film era and focused on macro's but nonetheless, I think it gives a give view of basic photography principles. You would not find histograms, white balance and other digital specific topics in this book. (Unless, there has been a major edition update. :sweatsm

Also, retention comes with practice, shoot, self critique and shoot again to rectify mistakes.

:cheers:

 

[one eye jack]

Thanks for the advice. Yes, I have attended couple of photography courses here in Singapore and also purchased a couple online
but my biggest problem is the retention part on what I have learnt.As such, I have resorted to writing important points in a note book.

If only I can find a teacher who can teach and provide me with points to note such as:
e.g. On a hot and sunny day shooting (outdoors),
Shutter Speed Mode: 1/500sec.
Aperture: f/8 (for sharp pic)
f/16 & f/22 (for front to back pic sharpness/depth of field)
f/2.8 (for bokeh background)etc. etc.,

If I can find a photography book that teaches all these learning curves' shortcuts, I am willing to pay for it no matter the cost.

Do you think you can suggest me a book/an author please?

Thank you in advance.

Your reply seem to imply that you shoot manually, that is setting shutter speed ,aperture and ISO?
If you have problems with retention then shoot in auto or program mode or scene mode.Unfortunately
the D5 which you are considering is a pro camera has only program mode and standard semi auto modes not the scene mode where you select portrait,lanscape,macro,sunset,etc and the camera chooses the approriate setting and expose accordingly.

That said if you want to shoot manual eg. sunny day use the sunny16 rule.Please search what sunny16 means or have a basic photography book but I don't think you need it as you can find online tutorials
practically on any photographic subject.

With digital cameras just point,half press to focus and full press to shoot ,it's that simple if
that 's what you want.Technically there's no necessity to shoot manual.With full auto or program mode
the most important thing is to set the ISO sensivity limit as if not the camera will select a very high ISO and that means noise and also select the type of noise reduction you want too.

For a good book I recommend this, Perfect Digital Photography 2nd. ed. the authors are National geographic experts.Very comprehensive from basics to national geographic standard!

https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Digital-Photography-Second-Dickman/dp/007160166X

 

[Stephen27]

Thank you for the input and advice. Appreciate it.
I browsed through the book recommended "Perfect Digital Photography, (second edition)" by Jay Dickson & Jay Kinghorn
but sorry, I find it not suitable because its teachings are more on the proficiency in the digital dark room, Adobe Photoshop CS4, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom etc.,

These subjects are too "chim" for me because I do not have knowledge or experience in these matters. Maybe I will pick up a course on it in 2019
after I have spent sufficient time practising on my camera skills.

Thank you anyway for your advice.

 

[Stephen27]

Hi,
Many thanks for the advice on the 3 Dragons. Are they also called the 3 photographic triangle i.e.14-24mm,f/2.8; 24-70mm,f/2.8 & 70-200,f/2.8 ?
If yes then I am aware of these three lenses and its uses.

I will consider again about selling my D700 as per your advice. With regard to the learning of video, thanks but no thanks. Not just yet.
Let me concentrate on learning everything on photography same time practice as much as possible until I am proficient in this subject.

 

[one eye jack]

Thank you for the input and advice. Appreciate it.
I browsed through the book recommended "Perfect Digital Photography, (second edition)" by Jay Dickson & Jay Kinghorn
but sorry, I find it not suitable because its teachings are more on the proficiency in the digital dark room, Adobe Photoshop CS4, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom etc.,

These subjects are too "chim" for me because I do not have knowledge or experience in these matters. Maybe I will pick up a course on it in 2019
after I have spent sufficient time practising on my camera skills.

Thank you anyway for your advice.

Check these out:

https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Artistry-Exposure-Digital-Photographers/dp/0596529880




https://www.amazon.com/Exposure-Lighting-Digital-Photographers-Only/dp/0470038691

 

[swifty]

Thanks for the advice. Yes, I have attended couple of photography courses here in Singapore and also purchased a couple online
but my biggest problem is the retention part on what I have learnt.As such, I have resorted to writing important points in a note book.

If only I can find a teacher who can teach and provide me with points to note such as:
e.g. On a hot and sunny day shooting (outdoors),
Shutter Speed Mode: 1/500sec.
Aperture: f/8 (for sharp pic)
f/16 & f/22 (for front to back pic sharpness/depth of field)
f/2.8 (for bokeh background)etc. etc.,

If I can find a photography book that teaches all these learning curves' shortcuts, I am willing to pay for it no matter the cost.

Do you think you can suggest me a book/an author please?

Thank you in advance.

Instead of trying to memorise exposure settings for different scenarios, it'd be much easier to learn how your camera works as it gives you all the tools to work that out in every scenario.
Understand how the different modes of metering work and when to use it. If you need more help visualizing this, an EVF or LV will help you with the exposure preview.

But try to approach it like problem solving.
Eg. 1 If you had a hot, sunny day with ample light, you can start with setting your ISO to base or the lowest setting. Why? because you want to obtain the maximum image quality and there's a lot of light around.
Then look at your scene and decide where you are focusing on and how much focus around this point you need and set an appropriate aperture. Your camera's metering mode will tell you the shutter speed it thinks is required (example of Aperture Priority mode). You check to see whether this is adequate for hand holding that focal length and subject matter's motion. If so, fire away. If not, you adjust one of the other parameters eg. increase the ISO or open up your aperture. Shoot. Check the picture (chimp). Is the exposure as you intended. If not, why not? Did you need to dial in exposure compensation?

Eg. 2 It's a dim and dark environment. You might begin with your maximum aperture setting for your lens and minimum hand holdable shutter speed for that focal length and your subject matter's motion. The metering then tells you what ISO you need for your chosen exposure setting (Example of Manual mode with Auto ISO). Is that ISO too high? If so, you've already maxed out your exposure settings so you might have to live with it. Or do you have some form of stabilization (in lens or sensor based) available to you to lengthen your shutter speed. If so, can your subject motion allow for you to drop that shutter speed?
If the ISO required is still comfortably low enough, can you afford to give the exposure more DOF or shutter speed safety?
Shoot. Chimp. Is the image as you've intended? If not, why? Exposure compensation required again? A negative exposure compensation will often be required for low light photos.

You do this all the time and pretty soon you have a pretty good grasp of what settings to use in whatever lighting condition you find yourself in.
To speed things up, many of us use one of the semi-auto exposure modes such as Aperture priority and just play with the exposure compensation as required. But you work out what works for you and practice. But it's important to learn your camera back to front and use all the tools it has available to you.

 

[Octarine]

The two books mentioned earlier are by far the most important things to focus on. Understanding this will enable you to take great pictures with nearly any camera and to handle less ideal situations.
Spending money on equipment without knowing the basics will only make the sales man happy.
Reminds me on a story from about 10 years ago: a young guy, below 20, just made his Open Water dive certificate and joined a group of divers. His father meant well and had bought for the guy a full dive equipment with all sorts of bells and whistles. The guy was not even in the water when parts of his gear started beeping and blinking and he was lost and confused. The dive master just gave him a standard set from the shop, checked the basics of dive knowledge and the boy followed the group. I didn't see him using the high end gear again during next days.
I hope you get the idea

 

[ziggy]

After reading through the posts, can I suggest that you keep the D700, buy a 24-70f2.8 for general use and the 85f1.4 or 105f1.4 for portraits. Maybe a 50f1.4. Plus flash. Get more equipment if you want later, but first you need to learn how to use your equipment.

Then learn to use photo editing programmes like Lightroom or Photoshop. Get a new computer with at least 8G RAM and SSD drive if possible.

Capturing the image is only part of digital photography. To complete it, you need to know at least the basics of editing as well. Shoot in RAW+jpeg. RAW files allow you to correct colour balance.

To get photos you want, you need to shoot and edit after reading or watching YouTube tutorials.

 

[Stephen27]

Hi, I was browsing through the responses and I came across your advice on learning photo editing programmes like Lightroom or Photoshop.

I am very keen in taking up a course in Adobe Lightroom as I was told this is the best software.

However, does that mean I will have to purchase the software first and can you recommend me where to purchase it please? And how much is it?

 

[Octarine]

Hi, I was browsing through the responses and I came across your advice on learning photo editing programmes like Lightroom or Photoshop.

I am very keen in taking up a course in Adobe Lightroom as I was told this is the best software.

However, does that mean I will have to purchase the software first and can you recommend me where to purchase it please? And how much is it?

Why don't you use the Nikon software first? Learn to walk before you run. Lightroom is a work flow solution, starting with Import /Library, Development, Print, Web and other modules. That's far more than the few adjustments that you might need initially. This will result in a steep learning curve, chances of frustration are high. On top of that you need to keep an eye on the computer requirements. All this for a few white balance corrections?
Secondly, most Adobe products now come as subscription models. Only very few sources left for the perpetual license. That means: monthly payments via credit card, online, regardless whether you use the software or not.
Use the Nikon software, Adobe LR will still be around if you decide to step up to it. Just because someone says that a software is good doesn't mean it is good for you and your situation.

 

[Stephen27]

Thank you for the advice including explaining the complexities in using Adobe Lightroom for beginners like me.

Yes, I would definitely want to use the Nikon software, Adobe LR. Can you kindly advise how do I go about getting it please?

 

[shierwin]

Thank you for the advice including explaining the complexities in using Adobe Lightroom for beginners like me.

Yes, I would definitely want to use the Nikon software, Adobe LR. Can you kindly advise how do I go about getting it please?

The Nikon Software should be found in the CD that come with your purchase of the Nikon Camera.

 

[Stephen27]

Apologies but that was a long time ago when I bought my D700.

Any chance of you advicing on how to go about getting this Adobe LR please?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Octarine]

Download the Nikon software here:
http://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/download/sw/113.html

 

[Stephen27]

Thanks a million.

Your very detailed advise will definitely help me improve.

Thank you once again. I truly appreciate your advise.