Bellow is a letter I wrote to a novice photographer on a newsgroup. You might find it useful


Hi Lee,

I used to be like you, an amature with an SLR and a hobby, however given that I have done photography before in my life(many years ago) it was an easier start. I have spend over 100 hours on-line and digging through the books to find out as much as I can. I think I pretty much had the grasp of available technology and how it works (all Nikon, Canon, and third party). I also think I've absorbed most of the advices I received. It was time to do some serious shooting.

I have an N70. N60 is a beginner model that stays at beginner much like N50 which I bought and then sold. You can NOT grow into it, and there are features that it is missing that will make you go up the wall in the future. Main 3 things to look for are AF speed, ability to range/exposure meter with manual(AI/AIS) lenses, and flash compensation. I'm not sure about N60(never really made it a point to memorize features of all cameras) but I think the MF and flash compensation will not be to your satisfaction. Though useless 99.9% times feature, but does it reduce red eye? How about the superb 3D Matrix Fill-In Flash Metering? I found this feature to be my best buddy along with flash/exposure compensation. But then again, as long as you can manually adjust the settings, most cameras will be a good start. One of John Hedgecoe's photography guides was written with a Nikon N50 in mind.

Your lens choice falls very close to mine. Budget is a priority for me(though I always balance it with quality), so I went with Nikon 35-80, and Sigma 70-300/4-5.6. I soon sold 35-80 to get a Sigma 28-105/2.8-4. 35 is just is not enough for nature scenics which I like to shoot, and 28 to 105, you must admit, is a very tempting range. When getting lenses pay attention to the decimals at the end. They are often more important than the focal length. I can do much more with a 50/1.2 than you ever will imagine with a 105/4. Although yours will reach further, mine will open up so much that I can shoot without a flash in a dark room, or shoot sports, or create a depth of field so narrow, the face will start to blur by the time you get to ears. At 28/2.8 up to 105/4 it's not the best but VERY versatile. About Sigma vs. Nikon. I don't enlarge above 11x14 and rarely even that much so I could go with old russian Helios for all I care, but other things to look for are color transmission, vignetting(dark corners), and blur in corners on the fully opened apperture at both focal ends. These Sigmas seem to work well, the only draw back is AF speed, which annoys me at times, but I'll survive, it's not that bad, especially with extremely fast N70 whose AF system is better than that of N90 (though N90s has a more powerful motor so will actually focus faster). It seems to be "smart" - it will slow down when the contrast is low, and speed up with more light.

As far as tips, visit my web site: http://gregphoto.cjb.net/ there you'll find plenty of tips, read the gallery and tips sections for all kinds of stuff, also there are reviews for my equipment. Kodak Has a great section of tips too(link available on my site).

If you have any more questions, broad or specific alike, e-mail me. E-mail's given above or on my site.
Equipment to own? To what you have - FILTERS. Most people will say you don't need them, what do they know! Some are a must: Circular polorizer(or a linear if you have an internally focused lens) for contrast and glass, Star filter for whenever :), soft(diffusion or dreams) filter for portraits, glamour, or dreamy scenic, ND(neutral density/gray) filter for the shots that are too bright to have an "error-zone", and an absoulte must for landscapes: ND grad(gradual grey) for the shots when sky is too bright or the water is too white to have an evenly exposed shot. Some others may include a blue grad for a blue sky on a gray day, or a sunset filters for instant orange sky during midday. Spot in color and speed filters have fun uses too. Best filters to get are Cokin. Very portable, easy to use, cheap(no metal rings), and use high quality optical glass. Cokin has starter kits that include different sets of often needed filters. I got one that had a Star8, B1 Grad(blue sky), Sunset1, and a circular polarizer. I went and bought me an NG drad later($10). Look for them on Ebay(www.ebay.com).

As far as a camera, see if you like what you have. Upgrade as a need pushes(mine pushed a month after I bought my N50). Upgrade to an N90s not N90. There IS a big difference. N70 is considered best price/feature ratio, and will do things that N90s does not and needs a data back for. N90s has a faster AF, better metering, faster overall motor speeds, multiple exposure, etc. It IS a pro camera. Are you a pro? If you answer to that no, you won't need it, that's why I went with N70 and all I really miss is the multiple exposure. DOF preview can be simulated by disconnecting a lens 1/4 of a turn, mirror lock up is useless for what I do AND can be simulated by setting a continuous shutter on N70 (I'll just lose the first shot, but there's not shutter release button push shake in the second frame either.) N70 goes up to 3.7fps.

Get a Speedlight! Long discontinued SB-25 seems to be the best in the price/features battle, but it's hard to find. I killed for mine. :) SB-25 is better in features but will cost you $50 or so more. Do not go with 3rd party. Full dedication is essential and these units will do red-eye reduction, AF assist, auto zoom, and flash compensation for you. SB-26 has a built in diffuser and a bounce card. I use both very often.

Remote flash is VERY useful, get an SC-17 to take your flash off the camera while still keeping all it's functions intact.

You will need a tripod. I have 2 and use both. Get a simple used one for $5-10, it can hold a clip on portable reflector light or an umbrella and a remote flash, or even your elbow for long boring portrait shoots. The main tripod - don't go cheap on it. For $40-50 you can get a VERY decent Slik or a somewhat cheasy Bogen(better tripod, but thus same quality will cost more than Slik). I have 2 Sliks and recently plyed with a Velbon that I now want to buy. Get a head that rotates, tilts, AND swiels sideways. For vertically framed portraits and scenics it's a very hefty feature.

A good carrying case if you don't have one. All that you have is worth nothing if it falls and shatters into pieces or the rain gets to it. My case will hold all that I have plus a space for one more lens(I am planning to get a 50/1.4 or a 105/2.8) AND it will hold one of my tripods, which is all I need when I go out with a case. In other situations I often get a huge travel bag and trow there my tripods, portable reflector, extra bulbs, batteries, film, and the case with the camera.

FILM! Buy cheaper film, but the film you can trust and get same shoot to shoot results. I use Kodak. Not to endorse Kodak, but they are GREAT. Fuji Velvia(slide) is the only Fuji film I use, it's rare in a non-professional stores, expensive, but god is it good for portraits. With the New Kodak Portra film(not slide film) I can switch to Kodak on that too. I do buy cheap Meijer-brand film from a local Meijer store. This one I use when I shoot for a community newspaper that uses BAD b/w print. It gives me color shots, and decent ones at that, but I don't care for the quality too much nor skin tones because they mess it up anyway. But it's cheaper for them, and they appreciate it.
For my heart and for my sales I shoot Kodak Gold 100 and 200(can't beat the color depth of that with a huge -1/+3EV lattitude(your camera meters for average contrast compared to 18% grey shutter reflection, the colors within the error-zone illumination offset will still be exposed properly). Kodak Gold MAX 400 is actually an 400 film with 200-size grain. I LOVE IT!!! I can shoot in a darkest of rooms with a straight flash, and never get red-eyes, I can shoot in a poorly lit building hall, with no flash, I can shoot sunsets and hand hold the camera(speed faster than hand shake). I also rarely use Kodak Royal Gold("Select Series") 100 for portraits, and Kodak T-MAX 100 for b/w. I'm not a Kodak sales rep, I just like what I get and it's consistency. The colors and exposures are balanced for the most versatile use, besides the lab that I have a business accound with, will correct exposure at request, filter out tungsten, and add/remove color tints(you've got to watch those color temperatures at slow shutter speeds).

Damn this is a long letter, I wonder what else I needed to say that I missed. I hope this helps. it's 100+ hours in a few minutes.
Visit my site for nature tips. I am a nature lover too. If you live close to KY, I often go on trips with other people around here(national parks, mountains, caves, rivers, gorges, etc) and shoot. Look me up to join in.

-Greg

P.S.: No, you can not make this into a brochure or publish this directly on the web, this is freely available info, still the compilation is mine, and I'd like to be rewarded for the time I spent researching this by at least a visit to my site or a mention of my name.