[shajufx]

Originally Posted by recshenoy

do you have prime lens ( 50 mm / f1.8) for D60? AFAIR there is no AF-S 50 mm / f1.8 prime lens available! So D60 owners can only have MF prime but not AF?

Sorry I missed replying to the previous page earlier. Somehow that page didn't refresh later. I dont have 50mm prime, but got the 35mm 1.8 G AF-S DX which is as equal as a 50mm on FX (full frame) body. Its a beauty glass which does almost everything what a 50mm can do on a FX camera.

Originally Posted by amitk26

Gift or no gift it does not matter for the items which customs consider of significant value , They will levy duty based on

Yes I agree, I have gone through that bad experience last year. Also my 35mm 1.8 was shipped through UPS from B&H US 3 months back. Although the lens cost was $200 (9k as of today's value), the buggers at Mumbai customs stamped a duty on the pack based on the MRP that was 14k 3 months back. Summary: I ended up shelling out the same MRP here by shipping & duty. I could have saved 1.5 if I picked from my regular shop.

Originally Posted by recshenoy

Duh! An approximation from Amazon.com says these lens cost 5.3L INR. oh! man this such an expensive hobby!
Please note that i have not included cost of daily gym and protein cost to lift the Nikon 200-400 f/4 weighing 3.4 KG alone

Serious photography can be addictive and expensive unless you have the perfect mind of a sage who doesnt give any value for worldly things.

Is there any end to modifying a vehicle ? You can go to any extend based on your plan and budget. Same here. You can be a very happy person with a 18-55 kit lens and produce amazing pics, you can also spend lakhs for the same purpose. The latter need not be better than the former.

List I mentioned is a dream bag for many people, part of a professional photographer by any chance too. We can dream of anything, no cost to it . The 200-400 is a heavy lens and you will not need gymming anymore, lifting and carrying the lens with the body alone will make you a macho man. And it is an optional lens which comes to life only if birding becomes an addiction.

[bansal98]

Originally Posted by Torqy

Its not just you.
Even big companies like Canon and Nikon fall for it.
How did Dust Removal and Live View come into Canon and Nikon SLRs?
When Olympus introduced them, it was hype. But now everyone has these features.
Still call it hype?

Live View is an extremely useful thing when you need it (and if you shoot from a tripod). The biggest problem with regular DSLRs is that dreaded front-focus/back-focus issues due to focusing mirrors being used for autofocus. In live view, the focusing is done on the main sensor itself. This contrast detect autofocus is somewhat slow but extremely accurate.

[A350XWB]

^^ It is a really expensive hobby as I'm finding out now. It's hard to resist the temptation when you see a good lens. My friends literally drag me out every time I go to shops. The numbers also play tricks. Here in Germany, the numbers in thousands of € are tempting whereas in India, as the number of zeros increases, I feel it easier to resist the temptation. Am planning to replace my D200 with an FX, but successfully resisted the temptation to move to D700 till now. I have some lenses ready for the FX as I own an F80 already.
Can somebody let me know a place where I can sell off my 2 and half year old D200 in Bangalore?

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by bansal98

Live View is an extremely useful thing when you need it

Its a blessing when you are focusing a macro lens on the 1:1 mode. It comes very handy when you have to lift your cam above your head or lower to the floor level. Definitely one with live view will end up getting unique shots that others may not dare to try.

Originally Posted by A350XWB

Can somebody let me know a place where I can sell off my 2 and half year old D200 in Bangalore?

Many shops like RK, Fotocircle etc take used cam and lens if they are maintained well. Also you can sell your stuff through the classifieds here or the buy & sell page of the BPC site. There are takers for almost anything be it a small nut of a tripod or an expensive lens.

[A350XWB]

Originally Posted by shajufx

Many shops like RK, Fotocircle etc take used cam and lens if they are maintained well. Also you can sell your stuff through the classifieds here or the buy & sell page of the BPC site. There are takers for almost anything be it a small nut of a tripod or an expensive lens.

Thanks Shaju. Here, the only way to sell it, is through e-Bay as I live in a very small town. Will check the above, once I get back to India.
By the way, nice picutres in the other thread.

[HellwratH]

Added a ridiculously sharp lens to my arsenal today. Thanks to Sabir, he is on t-bhp (and a good friend of Rudra's) but don't know his ID. Wonderful guy and all his equipment is EX++. More about the lens after this weekend's trip .

I'll withdraw from arguing about the marketing hype (or living up to it's potential) around the M 4/3rds and would buy one in the near future.

[HellwratH]

Sorry about the new post, more than 20 mins I guess. Here's a test image I took while I was testing the lens, it is wide open and was shot @ 1600 ISO.

[icemanz]

I want to upgrade from my Olympus SP500UZ P&S to an entry level DSLR. I am a novice enthusiast and love clicking when I go places. Mostly it is family or landscape that I click.
Budget is 25K ($550). I went over camera reviews in dpreview and was able to shortlist the Pentax K-x kit, Nikon D5000 kit. As per the reviews there is marginal difference between the two mentioned cameras with Pentax delivering marginally sharper images compared to Nikon D5000.
The reason for inclination towards the Pentax is due to the in body IS which will help upgrading with non IS lenses in future and will also be lighter on my pocket.

Please advice whether Pentax K-x is a good camera to buy, pros and cons!

I would also like to understand if I get the Pentax K-x kit from US, what service support can be expected in India? Considering the humidity levels in Cochin, I fear the fungus attack and dust.

[Abbas]

Guys i tried some with my canon 1000D. Need feedback guys..... plz review this critically and lemme know areas of improvement. This one if without any editing.

[teknophobia]

Shooting in RAW and some post processing usually help quite a bit, maybe this is what you intended?

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by icemanz

Budget is 25K ($550). I went over camera reviews in dpreview and was able to shortlist the Pentax K-x kit, Nikon D5000 kit. As per the reviews there is marginal difference between the two mentioned cameras with Pentax delivering marginally sharper images compared to Nikon D5000.
The reason for inclination towards the Pentax is due to the in body IS which will help upgrading with non IS lenses in future and will also be lighter on my pocket.

Please advice whether Pentax K-x is a good camera to buy, pros and cons!

I would also like to understand if I get the Pentax K-x kit from US, what service support can be expected in India? Considering the humidity levels in Cochin, I fear the fungus attack and dust.

Make no mistakes Pentax Kx is LOT better specially if you are willing to use admin menus which are available for Pentax Kx. There is lot of material available for Pentax hackers.

Actually I shortlisted pentax Kx for purchase last year but there was no seller in India so settled for Canon 500D . In the process of search I found that you can get payed service at shops in Bangalore. One such shop is in HM tower brigade road but warranty service is not available. The only place to claim anything under warranty is Thakrall in Delhi who is authorized service center but it is not very user friendly.
Pentax is the only one who offers global warrenty but sadely in India there is no presence.

You can buy a 18-55 and 55-300 dual lens kit for USA in same / less price as D5000.

Usually people clamor about XYZ telephoto lens being soft at so and so Aperture and focal length where others praise them this is just becuase the lenses and bodies are made as per some tolerance and micro adjustment in body is required to use lens properly. Usually very high end cameras have this stuff but you can adjust microfocus in pentax -kx.

The low light performance is best in the class.

Also on Pentax Kx you can even use 40 years old Pentax K mount lenses and even M42 thread mount lens using an adapter.

In caseayou can get Pentax Kx from US also purchase M42 to K mount adapter and available lenses on e-bay, Specially an old Pentax Supar Takumar AF 50 mm 1.4 lens , This will cost you less then 50 mm prime 1.8 for canon.

There is a video on youtube where Supar Takumar 1.4 is tested for video on canon body using an adpoter and compared with nifty fifty on the same body in night v, search for it and see the difference between the two lenses.

[icemanz]

Amitk26, thanks for the detailed response.
Will the M42 to K mount also facilitate usage of other brand lenses like sigma and Tamaron? I believe with the Kit+55-300 lenses a casual enthusiast like me will not need other lenses.
There are some forums talking about the blurryness of K-x during vertical shots at slower shutter speeds like 1/60 and 1/90.
I am concerned about the service, since Cochin being a very humid place there are high chances of fungus entering the lens and camera body. I will have to get it cleaned every season. My Olympus P&S has spider like fungus on the lens, however so far the pictures have not been impacted. Would hate to see fungus on the Pentax.

[amitk26]

Hi,

Seeing the questions and answers I think you should stick to canon / nikon. Else you need to do some research on lenses etc yourself to see if you will be using some of the Pentax old lenses ever.
Whole point of using Pentax K mount and M42 to K mount converter is to use the old lenses available cheap relative to similar EF-S or Nikon mount lenses.

Originally Posted by icemanz

Amitk26, thanks for the detailed response.
Will the M42 to K mount also facilitate usage of other brand lenses like sigma and Tamaron?

M42 is a very old screw mount, m42 refers to the pitch of the screw , i do not think Sigma or Tamron existed when M42 was in use , You can use old lenses of Lecia , Zeius , Pratika etc brought cheap online. Similar lenses from Canon, Nikon , Sigma will leave you bankrupt :-)
For starter compare price of a 50mm 1.4 Lens from Canon/ Nikon to 50mm 1.4 Supar Takumar AF

Originally Posted by icemanz

There are some forums talking about the blurryness of K-x during vertical shots at slower shutter speeds like 1/60 and 1/90

I am not aware about this blurriness issue .

Gurus can comment here as I do not have a long track record of DSLR ownership but I think you will need sensor cleaning may be once in 2 years or so


In the end read about lens and sensor cleaning on net after reading the procedure. If you are confident that using an air-blower and nylon makeup brush or lint free tissue wrapped over a plastic knife and isopropyle alcohol you can clean sensor yourself at home feel free to buy any brand.

For record I have a canon 500D but whenever it will need sensor cleaning I'll do that at home, rather then spending money and trusting someone else .

[kkr2k2]

Originally Posted by HellwratH

...... The only problem I have is the availabilty of mf lenses in India. I don't know about other cities, but here in bangalore, they are very rare or may be I don't know where to look for these old mf lenses. Anyways, thank you for your hands on review, it just confirms my feeling about EVIL cameras .

Originally Posted by amitk26

Same question where to buy an old M42 screw mount lens ?

Folks I am interested in SMC Takumar F 1.4 if anyone willing to sell or knows where to get this in India PM me.

AFAIK, people who bought the SMC Takumar f1.4 know what they have bought. So they will not sell it at-least in India. Thats nothing short of a GEM.

Now coming to the buying part. If you are willing to be a bit patient and if you have cousins / friends abroad. You get them cheap!!! Try keh, international ebay, adorama, bhphoto.....

There is another crude way also! But its more like hit or miss type. Ask your dad / uncles / neighbors who used to own cameras during their heydays. They will have a gem or two lying in their cup-boards un-used for may be decades. Most of the time you might also need to take or buy the film camera attached with it. My sister's FIL is in double minds in selling his Canon AE-1. It has a 50mm f1.4 which I am eying. I am a film guy so I dont mind the film body!!!

Similar to the above method another is asking around in photography shops older the better. The chances are more in this but you should be willing to chat up with the old man sitting in there. Initially they might quote higher prices but later they might settle for a bit lesser prices. Make sure you know how to check these lenses for smooth focusing, decementing, fungus and scratches. What ever the condition. Just buy them but pay less if they have issues at least these may be useful for salvaging parts for other lenses.

PS: I bought a Pentax Spotmatic camera for around 1000/-. Incidentally it had a damaged lens attached to it. I figured out if I send it to a pro in Kolkatta, I can repair it for around 1500/- including shipping charges. And behold that lens is nothing but a Jupiter 85mm f2.0 which has amazing sharpness from f2.8. A good to excellent of this one would be around $80 to $120. So I think I can spend that 1500/- to get it working.

[Speed Pujari]

Originally Posted by shajufx

Wow, thats nice to hear !! Where did you pick up the 300 from, same guy from BPC ? I think a D300 can last for atleast 5 years according to whats in my mind, may be more (pure hobby, not a single thought on any commercial aspect).
...
My wishlist bag would be the following: hope I can atleast have them in dreams
1. D300s
2. Nikon 14-24 f/2.8
3. Nikon 24-70 f/2.8
4. Nikon 70-200 f/2.8
5. Nikon 200-400 f/4 (most expensive one in the list = an Alto on-road)
.. !

Yes buddy I bought it from the same guy. It seems there was a love triangle. The guy from whom u wanted the D90 was the guy contesting for the same D300 LOL!. I won.

The person from whom I bought the camera is a literal gentleman. He has upgraded to D700.

And u have heck of a dream !.. I am planning to rent the 200-400 next weekend for a bandipur trip. Lets see how it turns out to be. But I have heard the lens is a bit soft at 400mm if stopped at f/4.

For me the dream lens gear is-

1. Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 (planning to get it next year)
2. Nikkor 200mm Macro
3. Nikkor 14-24 f/2.8 (if I ever buy a FX body)
4. Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 Nikon mount
5. Nikkor 600mm f/4 (if I plan to go pro)

Originally Posted by jkdas

speed pujari; loved the lotus/pond pic. Was soothing.

Originally Posted by recshenoy

@SpeedPujari,

too good dude! i liked the first foto. i can imagine having big printout of same pasted on floor of room entrance! and some one new to house open the door and "bhaaaa i just fell down flat" feeling

what was OTR of 12-24mm DX f/4 lens!

@jkdas,@recshenoy thanks for your complements guys. Glad u liked the shots :-).
The OTR of 12-24mm DX is ~45k INR. I got them used for 32k. Only 4 shots taken from that lens. The owner was selling all his DX gear since he was upgrading to a FX. The lens is in straight out of the box condition.