D-SLR's Capturing light !

There are two aspects to tripods-the legs and the head.

Like SLR camera-most of the standard issue tripods comes as a system(like the Manfrotto/benro etc). One can buy a tripod and then go on adding different heads. Yes the Manny is a good brand and the 715B is the base model.

Vivicam uses aluminum legs of very thin section and is best avoided as the same will be flimsy and the whole purpose of the purchase will be lost!

Have a look here for some good info on tripods

This is a good deal that i came across

The velbon is purely value for money-as i have a small video camera also- i went in for a fluid pan head-but in retrospect i feel i should have bought the one with the Ball head.

Thanks Binoy.

Any clue as what lens would be apt? I may not use or like carrying too many lenses and hence looking at some versatile option. Something like 18-135/18-200 etc. There are quite a few options available in Nikon, Sigma and Tamron. Should I stick to Nikon or Sigma/Tamron can be given serious thought? There is huge difference between the prices of Nikon and other brands but I am not sure if they have similar difference in picture quality as well!

Most probably I will be getting the entire stuff from US of A. Any suggestions?

Guess the D40 is with the 18-55 non VR lens.There are two options.

1) single lens for 90% of the the shooting oppurtunities.

Example:

Nikkor 18-200VR

Sigma 18-200 or 18-250

Tamron 18-250 or 18-270.

2) specialized lens for 100% coverage.

Example:

10-20mm wide zoom(great for landscapes)

16-85mm or 18-105mm for standard work

70-300 or 80-400mm for telephoto work.

Another aspect to consider is all of the entry/midlevel d-SLR's sport APS-C sensors so the focal length on the lens will be multiplied.(so getting actual wide angle cover is very difficult).

The single lens solution will have great convenience but the image quality would be less than ideal and there is also the issue of distortion and lens creep.(there will be less issue with dust also).

The multi lens setup will give much more clarity at the cost of convinience and dust issues.

About brands-Tokina is the sharpest of the third party lens makers followed by sigma and tamron. Sigma lenses like the 18-250 OS are really value for money. Another aspect is how fast the lens is(but here the cost is a big concern).

My plans are:

Currenly have a 18-105VR Nikkor, and i plan to add:

1)Sigma 10-20mm/3.5f wide angle zoom(cost is about 18K from US)

2)Sigma 70-300mmVR/APO telephotozoom(cost is around the 8K mark).

My rationale is that i will have coverage from 10mm to 300mm(in 35mm format that from 18mm to over 400mm)

You can sell the 18-55 for about 5K in the open market.

The Nobel  Physics Prize 2009 is shared by Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith  "for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit - the CCD sensor" (Charge-Coupled Device). This is the central imaging unit in every (sure exceptions are there) digital consumer camera.

More news here.

@ Binoy, I am also planning for Sigma 70-300. How much will it cost in Kerala ?

Many thanks. Binoy.

How important the VR feature is by the way? I saw a 18-135 non-VR Nikkor lens selling for 20k, A Sigma 28-300 (non-autofocus on the D40) is selling for about 16k. Do these lens make sense? And how good is your 18-105? Is it good enough for say 80-90% of daily usage? As compared to 18-55 kit lens?

You sure I can sell off my 18-55 non-VR kit lens for 5k? It's in absolutely great condition. I won't mind selling it for even 4k!

@Feroz-thanks for the link. Current trend is to put CMOS chips instead of CCD's in the prosumer to the professional cameras.(even the your Canon 1000D has a CMOS sensor).

The cost of the Sigma 70-300 APO would be in the 10-12K range and for the 70-300 non APO version about 8K.

@Ban-VR is quite important at zoom range more than 70mm-more over it gives about 1-2 stops extra(lens makers claim 3 stops). Had handled the 18-200/18-55VR and the 18-105VR before deciding my lens choice.(thanks to a friend).

The 18-105 is the sharpest(almost similar to the pro level 16-85) and the 18-200 had serious amount of lens creep.

Yes you can sell the 18-55, give a listing on ebay-there will be many takers.

I think D60 is having a CCD sensor .

Have you noticed the difference in images taken with APO and non APO lenses? I have seen some images in flickr having bluish (or is it purple) fringes at the edges which the photographer admits as a problem. Is this chromatic abberation due to use of non APO lenses? Or is it a result of the lighting conditions. I am asking this to know whether it is absolutely necessary to go for APO lens(otherwise can save 4k).

Also please let me know whether Sigma or Tamaron have 55-300mm lenses?

Yes the 'purple fringing' is the chromatic aberration(CA), and the non APO model is known to have the same.

But 90% of the defect can be corrected with software so thats not a big bother.

Am not sure of Tamron/sigma having a 55-300, maybe you can sell your 18-55 and then buy the 18-270mm tamron for about 18k(the 18-55 would fetch about 4.5 to 5K)

O.T Feroz am planning to get the Sigma 70-300 or the Tamron from Bombay during the National meet, maybe we can pitch together for two lenses and bring the price down!!

I would like to keep the Canon kit lens.

That's a good idea (purchase from Mumbai).

The local shop quoted 12k for both Sigma APO and Canon USM III 70-300 lenses. One of my friend told that for Sigma  the price is about 10k at Coimbatore. I hope we will get a better deal from Mumbai.

If you are getting the Canon at 12K that would be a much better buy than the Sigma. Tamron also has a similar lens (Di 70-300), the cost for the same is below 8K but ,most reviews report CA's and slow focus.

Am also looking at selling my 18-105VR and buying the Tamron 18-270VC(price is 22K). The nikkor lens might fetch 12K in the used market and with the budget for the 70-300 i will be getting the 18-270 tammy.(that give 15X optical zoom with a single lens).

As a caveat let me also mention that ideally a single zoom lens should not cover more than5X zoom as the image quality will go for a toss. But i guess am a sucker for the convenience that a single wide to super tele zoom lens provides!

OT-Ban and i would be going to the photo shops on 18th evening, you can join us.