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Apr 16, 2018 10:18:28   #
I vacation in Europe fairly often; was in Venice last year. I took my D750, 24-70 2.8, 16-35 f4 and 50 f1.4. Never used my 50 and only used my 16-35 a couple of times. Almost always my 24-70. As someone else mentioned, the streets are very narrow so using a longer lens would be limited unless you are going there to shoot wildlife. If you need a close up, shoot at 70mm and crop in post processing. The D750 is more than capable of handling that. I am going back to Europe next month and thinking of only taking my 24-70 but what scares me is if something happens to it, I would have no back up so I still might take my 16-35. But then, I always have my smart phone. A flash is frowned upon in most places. The D750 has a build in flash that I rarely use because the camera is very good in high ISO situations when you need to bump it up.

For other gear, definitely take a small tripod or other support. I bought the Really Right Stuff TFA-01 with a ball head and had no problem with it holding the weight of my camera and any of my lenses. It was also very good against a wall with the legs spread out. I love it and it allows me to use lower ISO indoors. Before I owned that tripod, I made a pad by putting rice in a plastic sandwich bag and my wife sewed denim from an old pair of jeans around it. I used that for years and still have it That was very helpful in churches and museums to support my lens from shaking. Most attractions in Europe will not let you use a large tripod so don't even take one. Take an extra battery, lots of memory, a good circular polarizing filter, a couple of elastic bands to remove a stuck on filter and lens cleaners. You are going to some great cities so make sure you also take your eye off the camera and soak in the European life. It is wonderful.
I have health issues that make me very suspicious of tap water but have never had any problem in any city in Europe. Enjoy your trip.

On a side note, depending on what you are going to do with your images, it is suggested that the focal length of your zoom lenses should not be more than 3 times apart. In other words, 70 is less than 3 times 24. 200 is less than 3 times 70 but 120 is greater than 3 times 24 so the quality of the image from your 24-120 will not be as good but better than a 28-300 which is more than 10 times. The image will be more distorted and the edges will be softer etc at the extremes of the lenses capabilities. If you are just looking for your subject to fit the screen or one lens to cover every situation, then these other lenses will do OK but recognize their quality is best in the middle focal lengths. I am sure I will get a ton of negative comments on this one.
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May 20, 2016 15:43:03   #
cjc2 wrote:
You have some nice photo content shoot happens. IMHO, they could be improved by opening up to max aperture to further blur out the background, which can be very distracting. Just my $ .02!



Thanks for the compliment. I agree that opening the aperture up is best for both bokeh and faster shutter speed but I found when shooting martial arts, the competitors can move very rapidly both forward and back as well as side to side. I have shot wide open at 2.8 but found the DOF to be so shallow that the focusing cannot keep up with the quick movements of the competitors. In addition, with arms and legs stretched out it is highly likely part of the competitor is in focus and the other is not, taking a gamble the part you want in focus, is in focus. If the right parts are in focus at f2.8, it was often more luck than skill. Thus shooting at f4 and f5.6 I found consistently gave me the sweet spot for keeping the subject in focus while keeping the aperture as open as I dared.
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May 20, 2016 15:27:24   #
cjc2 wrote:
You have some nice photo content shoot happens. IMHO, they could be improved by opening up to max aperture to further blur out the background, which can be very distracting. Just my $ .02!


Thanks for the compliment. I agree that opening the aperture up is best for both bokeh and faster shutter speed but I found when shooting martial arts, the competitors can move very rapidly both forward and back as well as side to side. I have shot wide open at 2.8 but find the DOF to be so shallow that the focusing cannot keep up with the quick movements of the competitors. In addition, with arms and legs stretched out it is highly likely part of the competitor is in focus and the other is not, taking a gamble the part you want in focus, is in focus. If the right parts are in focus it was often more luck than skill. Thus shooting at f4 and f5.6 I found consistently gave me the sweet spot for keeping the subject in focus while keeping the aperture as open as I dared.
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May 20, 2016 13:13:12   #
innershield wrote:
I have to take karate tournament pictures of my grandson. In a auditorium, no flash. What would you recommend for my settings. 24-70 f2.8 or/and 70-200 f2.8. Thanks. D3s or D5200


Definitely and only the D3s. You lens choice will be based on a couple of things. Can you get ring side? If so, the 24-70 is most appropriate in that the competitors will be moving around so you will need the wider POV. If you are in the stands, then likely the only choice will be the 70-200 except if you want to take the whole auditorium at once as well as when you take the single shot of your grandson wearing his gold medals. For all of my martial art photos those two lenses are the only ones I have used depending on the types of shots I took. Close ups are best with the 70-200 but flexibility was best with the 24-70. If you can get ringside, I would recommend the 24-70 for your grandson's time in the ring and put on the 70-200 to experiment when others are up to see the types of shots you can get. Also, consider getting close to the ground at times to shoot up for some dramatic angles.

You will likely need to shoot at ISO 3200 and maybe 6400 depending on the lighting. You should try for 1/500 shutter speed and hope you can get f5.6 or better as the competitors will move around a lot so you will need a decent DOF to ensure focus without including all of the people in the stands. Your focusing needs to be on continuous and you always need to be focusing. I like back button focus as I find it easier. Any shutter speed slower than 1/320 will cause a blurry or unfocused image which you can see in my first image. Depending on the belt level of your grandson, younger and more junior belts are much slower than older senior belts like black belts so with the senior belts a speed of 1/500 or faster is likely best. You also need your shutter on CH and keep your finger down shooting in bursts of 3 to 7 shots so you get that perfect image you would have missed on single servo. As you get more experienced you will be better at anticipating what will come next so the number of shots will decrease. The quality of your camera and lenses is perfect for being able to crop in post so don't hesitate to shoot a little wider. Since you will be keeping your eye on your viewfinder the whole match, I found it easier to have both eyes open but it does take a bit of getting used to. I miss my D3s a lot but love the D750 because of its weight in carrying around my gear all day.

My son owns a martial art club so I have taken hundreds of images at each tournament his students are in. I have attached a couple for you to see the quality you should expect. All are taken with the 24-70 2.8. Good luck to you and your grandson.

D3s, f5, 1/100, ISO 6400; Focus a little soft

(Download)

D750, f4, 1/640, ISO 6400

(Download)

D750, f4, 1/500, ISO 6400

(Download)
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May 20, 2016 12:08:59   #
jerryc41 wrote:
It's strictly a difference in price and service - nothing from Nikon. I'd return it, if I were you. The few dollars you'd pay for a US version would give you some piece of mind.

Abe's of Maine used to be excellent - when they were in Maine.


I know nothing about Abe's of Maine but the lens you bought is likely a grey market lens manufactured along with every other Nikon lens and is of the exact same quality and specs as a Nikon lens destined for the US. Tens of millions of people around the world buy Nikon products that would be considered grey market lenses in the US and have never had problems with them. Every piece of my Nikon gear, which is worth well over $10K, is considered US grey market gear in the US because I bought them in Canada where I live and I have never sent any lens back for warranty work. There is a risk in case of failure but it is a small risk and it is made smaller by the fact you bought a lens which is less likely to need warranty work than a more complicated piece like a camera. That small risk is only there if Abe's does not warranty it. If I bought a lens from B&H in NY, I believe it would be considered grey market in Canada and not under any Canadian warranty, yet many people from outside the US do buy from places in the US.

You bought a great lens, use it and enjoy it.
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May 11, 2016 22:57:04   #
OMG this argument happens so often. Art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination. Dance, music, painting, sculpture and photography are all some of the forms of art. Some artists are realists and some are not; neither is better or worse than the other. What is important is to appreciate all art forms for what they are. Once I realized photography is much more than the particular genre I was interested in, my photography skills increased astronomically because I saw life around me differently and I appreciated the value and beauty in all of the genres of photography. In my opinion, if we are so closed minded that we think realism in photography is the only way or is not the way at all, then we are robbing ourselves of a vast and wonderful world of visual enjoyment. Try something different with your photography with an open mind and you may find yourself actually liking it.
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Apr 17, 2016 15:46:55   #
RichardSM wrote:
Forget me this tripod is crap I'm 6'4" so 56" pod won't work my back would suffer. Not many pods for tall people that are at a reasonable price!


You're absolutely right about tripods for tall people. I am 6'3" and the only one I could find that is perfect for my height and with room to spare is Really Right Stuff but it was very expensive.
I have an aluminium tripod and it works great inside because I usually mount a flash on it but for my camera and lens, it is now only carbon fibre.
I really believe tripods are another one of those photography issues where you get what you pay for.
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Apr 17, 2016 15:30:20   #
I agree with everyone who is asking you what types of photos you take. There is some argument that any lens where the focal lengths are greater than 3 times, ie on a 24-70, 24X3=72 or roughly 3 times while on an 18-300; 18X3=54, no where near 300. Instead of 3 times it is 16 times. In those cases where the lengths are more than 3 times the smallest number, the quality diminishes.
Having said that, it really depends on what types of images you take and how picky you are on the quality of the image. I have found these 'all in one' lenses lose image quality at the extremes. If you shoot near 18 or 300; require fast focusing or shoot in low light, these lenses do not give great quality. Shooting towards the middle and in brighter light these lenses are just fine.
My position has always been: if I am serious about this hobby and I want the best quality of image I can possibly take then I must pay the price both financially and physically by carrying around multiple lenses when I travel. It is truly a pain but I appreciate the end result. If those things are not the same for you, then this lens may very well work just fine for you.
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Apr 5, 2016 18:39:08   #
Thanks for your responses. Always fun trying to be more creative.
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Apr 5, 2016 16:08:36   #
Always looking for those signs of spring after a long winter.


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Mar 18, 2016 17:57:06   #
If you go to Really Right Stuff's web site under the "Learn" tab you will find some interesting information regarding how to choose the right tripod for your situation. I have gone through a few tripods and have found RRS to be the best suited for me in many ways.
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Mar 18, 2016 17:33:33   #
The 50mm f1.4 is a great lens. The problem I see is that at f1.4 you will have such a narrow depth of field that people in one row will be in focus while people in other rows will not. You are best to shoot at f8 or maybe f5.6 if you can get away with it. You will need to boost up your ISO to get decent hand held images and I am not that familiar with how well higher ISO images are on the D5500 but my guess is that anything up to 400 will be fine while up to 800 would be OK for facebook, but again, I am not familiar with the ISO quality on the D5500. Maybe someone else can answer that for you.

You don't say how big a group you will be taking. but that will make a difference as to how far away you will need to be and if a flash will even work. Do you have an off camera flash or just the one with the camera? The camera flash is only good for about 12 feet or so which will make it fairly useless with a larger group shot and the light will need to be defused so you will not get that inevitable hot spot in your image thus making 12 feet likely too far away.

Although I have many diffusers for my flashes, I have had great success with Gary Fong's Lightsphere collapsible speed mount for off camera flashes and some success with his Puffer diffusers for an on camera flash.

Good luck with your project.
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Feb 27, 2016 16:23:00   #
Depends on how you have focus set up. Mine is set on single point continuous focus and if the subject is moving I would hold the BB down while I push the shutter release. If the subject is stationary I would focus on the subject I want in focus and then release the BB; reframe my subject and push the shutter. I use a single focus point which allows me to get tack sharp focus on the eyes of a person or animal and then reposition my camera so the composition is as I want it in the frame.
I hope that helps. Once you get use to BB focus, you will never go back.
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Feb 11, 2016 23:51:57   #
I have the non-VR version. With f2.8, and incredible low light performance of the D750, I see no reason to change to the VR version.
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Feb 11, 2016 21:05:48   #
I own the D750; the 16-35 f4; the 24-70 f2.8 and the 70-200 f2.8. When I had a cropped sensor, the 16-35 was my go to lens and had amazing quality, now with the D750, the 24-70 is rarely off the camera. I really don't think there is much better lens out there than the 24-70, 2.8. Having said that, if you can get that good of a kit lens for $300, it really should be a no brainer, if only to sell it on ebay for more.

There is a reason some of these lenses are so expensive. I have found them far superior when shooting extremes in lighting and contrast If you are very critical of the quality of your images you can't go wrong with the 24-70 2.8.
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