I had two lenses that I wanted to sell. One was a Nikon 24-85mm 2.8 lens that was in perfect condition. The second was a 24-70mm Sigma lens that was in good condition but there was a problem with the auto-focus. The auto-focus worked but it had a “tight spot” which required the user to manually focus the lens sometimes.

I went to the B&H website and listed both lenses. B&H gave me on-line quotes for both lenses along with a pre-paid mailing level. I got an e-mail form B&H a couple of weeks later telling me that they would pay me for the Nikon lens but they were not interested in the Sigma lens. No problem

I decided to give Adorama a try on the Sigma lens. After looking at their web site for used lenses, some of the lenses they were selling are rated “F” for condition. These lenses have been beat to death but still function. Since my lens was in excellent condition with the exception of the focusing problem, they might be interested. So I contacted their used department

Instead of getting a price estimate via e-mail, I received an e-mail the next day telling me I need to call this number and speak to a particular individual from the used department. I called this gentlemen and he says “Well, the best we can offer is around $100.00” Best you can offer? I felt like I was talking to a used car salesman. They haven’t even seen the lens and they are already giving a “best” price. But since I still wanted to sell the lens, I agreed to the price. I mailed the lens using their pre-paid mailing label. I received an e-mail a few days later telling me they had my lens and they would get back to me in five to seven days.

Ten working days later, I get another e-mail telling me they are ready to discuss a price with me for my lens and I had to call again. I called but had to leave a message. I received another e-mail telling me that they got my message and wanted me to call again. I called, the salesman tells me that the lens is a high demand lens and the best they could give me was $25.00. I baulked at the price and told him I was looking to get $50.00. He put me on hold for a few minutes and then agreed to the $50.00

While I am happy that they bought the lens, the whole process of e-mail, having to call, leaving messages, and having to call again is a bit much for me. The whole time I felt I was dealing with a used car salesman, start the price low and see what they can get rather than just giving me what the lens was really worth. I have other lenses to sell and I will NOT be using Adorama again. When I dealt with B&H, it was done all through e-mail, the price was based on what the value of the lens was, and I didn’t have to call anyone just so they can low-ball me on my lens.

PS.
It's been a week and I have yet to see my check. I looked in my e-mail and saw an e-mail dating back to the day I talked to the last salesman. It stated that they have agreed to send me $50 for the lens but I needed to reply to the e-mail agreeing. What a pain in the ##$%^$. I have now replied, should see my $50 in a week or so...

All comparisons aside, the choice between the two comes down to what you plan on doing with the camara. If you shoot nothing but birthday parties and family vacation shots, the smaller sensor is all you need. Take advatage of the lower price and the ligher camera.

But if you are like me, who does landscape photography on a more serious side, a full size sensor (I have a Nikon D610) is the only way to go. I reguarlly print picture at 20"x30". This can be done with the smaller sensors, but the larger sensors will give you much better results

B&H Photo will buy your lens for $150.00, maybe a little more if it is in good condition.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/trade-in.jsp/view/item/id/4613

You can also try KEH and Adorama and see what they would offer. Or you could try E-bay or Craigslist.

I have this same lens and have owned it for 15 plus years. It's a good lens

Yep. As a dad, one of my rules is everyone comes to the dinner table for dinner, cell phones are not allowed!

I would recommend West Coast Imaging (http://www.westcoastimaging.com/) or their sister company Aspen Creek Photo(http://www.aspencreekphoto.com/). I have used both companies and have had very good service.

I have had the D610 since last November when it first came out and I have not had any problems with spots on the sensor so far. There is not much of a difference between the two cameras, except that it appears that Nikon fixed the sensor problem with the D610. I did a lot of research on the D600 prior to buying the D610, and it seemed that at least 75% of the people who bought the D600 had problems with spots. Nikon is now repairing these cameras at no cost, but given the choice, I wouldn't bother. I would just by the D610. I recently shot a water fall with the 24-70 2.8 lens and enlarged the picture to a 20x30, it came out awesome!

I would recommend David Busch's book on this camera. The owner's manual will tell how to set your camera up, but David will tell you why you want to use that setting. Worked great for me....

Here's the Amazon link

http://www.amazon.com/David-Buschs-Digital-Photography-Guides/dp/1305110196

I agree. Before I learned about Lynda.com, I spent years reading books on how to work Photoshop. But then I started watching the videos on Lydna. I spent a half hour each night, and in about 3 months, I was pretty good with Photoshop. That was five years ago, I recently started watching some of the same videos again, kind of shocked at some of the stuff I had forgot.

Can't beat the price of $25 per month.

I would recommend Nikon's 18mm to 105mm lens. I use this lens more than any other lens. It was a great lens to use for a wedding. The ultrawide 18mm is great for group shots, being able to zoom in to 105mm works good for close ups.

Check B&H Photo's (bhphotovideo.com) used section, you can usally pick one up for about $200 or so.

I bought the Canon PIXMA iX6820 Wireless Inkjet Printer from B&H photo a couple of weeks ago. My other Canon printer was about 10 years old and it finally died. I looked at a lot of other brands and compared them but this Canon model was the best for the cost. I also compared ink cartridge prices and again, the Canon was the cheapest.

So far I really like the printer, it prints soooo much faster than my old Canon.

You might also look at the Canon PIXMA PRO-100. It's a $400 dollar printer but it has a $150 rebate which makes the same price as the Canon I had. I considered it, it would be better for printing pictures, but like most other people on this site, I rarely print my own pictures. Costco is just way cheaper....

Good luck

I bought the 14mm-24mm lens a few months ago and I love it. I considered the 14mm, but looking at the reviews, it was not as sharp as the 14-24. I bought this lens primarily for star photography thinking I woudn't use it for much else but I was wrong. I have used it to shoot the inside of a 18th century church, took an awsome shot looking straight up into the treetops of the coastal redwoods, and took some awesome pictures of the buildings in downtown San Francisco.

For a few hundred more, I would suggest the 14-24. Keep an eye on B&H Photo's used department. I got mine there for $1600.

I sold an old Nikon film camera (F100) and an old Nikon digital camera (D70)to them a few months ago. Neither camera were worth much, too old to try to sell on E-Bay or Craigslist but what B&H offered was reasonabe. I tried to sell the same two cameras to Adorama, they declined. I took the money as a credt and used it to by a lens. Worked for me....

I would reccomend the Nikon 18 - 105. I used this on my D300 to shoot an entire wedding, it worked great. You can find them on B&H in the used department all the time for about $200.

Here's a few web sites that will help:

http://www.blue-marble.de/nightlights/2012

http://www.davemorrowphotography.com/p/tutorial-shooting-night-sky.html

http://www.learnstarphotography.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Photography-Night-Sky-Field-Shooting/dp/1594858381/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410829379&sr=8-1&keywords=star+photography

The last site is for a book on star photography. Overall it was a pretty good book, but it was like she used a lot of basic photography techniques to fill in some of the pages. A lot of her pictures were taken in the same area you are heading to.

Also, take a look at the September issue of Outdoor Photography, there was a good article on star photography.

The more you know ahead of time, the more likely you will get a good shot.

What I can recommend is a wide angle lens (I use a 14-24 Nikon, a good tripod and a cable release for the camera. The ISO will depend on how much ambient light you have around you, but I usually somewhere around 1600 to 3200 based on a 2.8 aperature and a 20 to 30 second exposure.

I suggest you go out in your back yard at night and experiment. You won't get any stellar shots, but it will help you get used to using your camera in the dark. It will also help to show up to where you want to shoot before it gets completely dark. Trying to set up the camera and to get it to focus is very difficult in total darkness.

I will be trying to go out on the 25th of October to the coast south of Monterey. The moon will be setting just after dark, so I hope to do one shot with the moon lighting up the coast, and a separate shot of the stars. I can then blend the two shots in Photoshop. But getting a clear shot on the coast... the odds are not so good.

Good luck.

I have been using GND filters for over 10 years now, started back in the days of film, and I still use them. Lots of folks like the idea of HDR, but I am not a fan of it, most of the time the pictures just look unnatural to me. I can spot a HDR picture right away.

I use the rectangle filters (Singh Ray) along with a Cokin filter holder. This way I can adjust the filter up and down to match whatever I am shooting. I almost always do this in combination with a polarizer filter. If you want to start out, get a 2-stop graduated filter, it will be the one you will use the most. Stick with the graduated filters, not the hard lines one, they are a lot easier to use. I have a 2-stop and a 3-stop and I use both of them a lot.
Singh Ray are the best on the market but there expensive. There are other companies like Lee that will work as well.

I posted three pictures, all were done with a split neutral density filter. Without them, the pictures would have been impossible to shoot. You would either have good shadows and a blown out sky or vise versa.

The first two were done with a 2 stop, the third was done with a 3 stop filter.