crappyjones123

I don't see Sony going out of business anytime soon. They are providing great bodies with new tech for peanuts (by comparison). http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1029861-REG/sony_ilce6000_b_alpha_a6000_mirrorless_digital.html/BI/2123/KBID/2868

Baaah nevermind. Thanks for letting me know though.

http://www.trippingthroughthedark.com/manual-focus-on-d800e/ Not sure that company offers a solution if it makes the metering go awry.

Response from him - "the stock screen. Matte."

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1267129/0?keyword=Nikon,f100#12069510 Half the price they usually go for. Includes the grip too. Plenty of feedback so I doubt it's a scam. Thoughts?

Touche.

Isn't the downside though that you can't focus and recompose at very wide apertures? let's say I don't want the face in a portrait to be in the center of the frame. So I focus first since the split screen is in the middle but if I am at f/1.4 or wider and move to recompose, no way can I stay in the same plane. How does one accomplish this with split screens? With focus peaking, one can just move the focus point to wherever one wants on the screen and then use magnification and peaking to dial in focus without having to recompose. I guess I gotta find me a split image screen to try out

Very nice shelly. Glad you like it

Doesn't the focusing screen essentially replace the green dot? If so, whether you stick the screen in the d800 or the d610 shouldn't matter. If you are getting a sigma 24-70, why bother with the focusing screen? Are you thinking of keeping your vintage nikon gear? I never did shoot film (older nikon bodies) so I don't know how good/easy the manual focusing was but I have yet to see anything come close to the sony gear with focus peaking when it comes to manual focusing. Why not try an A7 with an adapter with the glass you already have?

I don't know about the green dot in the 610, but in the nikon bodies I have used in the past (d7000, d5200, d3100, d600, d800, d800e) the green dot was solid for far too long. With f/8 you can get away with it because you are bound to hit the focus by sheer dumb luck but get down to f/1.4 and the dot is basically pointless. HOWEVER, if you set up a little test before you start taking photos with the camera and shoot just when the arrow disappears and then the dot appears solid and gradually progress through the focus throw, you can figure out exactly when to click. Once I figured this point out on all the bodies, the number of keepers went up by a bit. At f/1.4 I think you are taking a bigger gamble with the AF. Given that I think I was doing better with the Rokinon 35/1.4 lens with the d7000 than I do at times with the sigma 35/1.4. However the last time I had the d800, I used the zeiss 35/2 and 50/1.4 with it and wide open, I was getting a fair number of keepers. I was not aware any company was doing focusing screens for the d800 as the screen size was not "normal." I emailed Katz a few times and they said that the dimensions are not standard and it required more fiddling about than they cared for. The zeiss 135/2 I had ordered a few weeks ago had a bad focus ring so it went back. While talking to Adorama regarding the 85/1.8, they offered to throw in some heliopan filters for the zeiss if I purchased both so I went for it. Will let you know how the manual focus is when I get it. The focusing screens have me intrigued though. Will look into it.

Live view + manual focus + lens super stopped down? IIRC, you have posted some images where the edge couldn't have been wider than a strand of hair. Isn't that asking a little too much of AF?

$800 for a lens that is almost as sharp as the Otus seems like a bargain. And comes with AF on top and a native mount so no fiddling around with adapters. Dew eet.

I came back to my senses, Nate. I think the only reason I keep going back to nex bodies is the focus peaking with manual glass which offered the best experience (to me). Unfortunately, that won't happen on a body like the d800. The focus confirmation dot is not even close to reliable compared to focus peaking - set it to red color and the moment you see a tiny red dot in the pupil, bang. Perfect focus every time. Ari, my quibble with the 85 (the one that I had) is not with the dof. It's that the bits that are supposedly in focus that seem very blurry. Anyways, I got another one to try from adorama today. Hopefully the one from amazon was a dud.

Seriously considering dumping the d800 gear and going towards A7r Sony sale - http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1272511 Fuji sale - http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1272462

Unless I'm reading this wrong or mistaken, the sigma is sharper by a bit on the d800 at least if dxo is to be trusted. http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare/Side-by-side/Sigma-35mm-F14-DG-HSM-A-Nikon-on-Nikon-D800-versus-Nikon-AF-S-NIKKOR-85mm-F18G-on-Nikon-D800___1057_792_823_792

I took both to NYC a few weeks ago and the results from the 85mm were actually shitty almost universally save for a few shots where I got lucky. Given that it is a portrait lens, I couldn't get the eyes to be sharp with it no matter what I tried. The eyes were always a watery, mushy mess. Same exact situation with the sigma, I never had to worry. Even down to 1/60 sec. In fact, unless I need greater DOF, I almost always shoot the sigma wide open and unless I was moving, or the subject was, I have no trouble getting perfect focus 80% of the time. Either I got really lucky with my sigma or I got unlucky with the nikkor 85. I guess I'll give it another try. The price after the rebate is only $10 - 20 more than what they go for used, so can't hurt to give it another try. What reviews compare the two lenses? I have only ever seen the sigma 85 get compared to the nikkor 85.

nikon lenses instant rebates. http://mycameragear.net/2014/02/nikon-rebates-february-2014/ I had purchased the 85/1.8 from amazon a few weeks ago but wasn't too impressed with it wide open. The sigma 35/1.4 was sharper wide open than the 85 at f/2 - f/2.8. Anyone have different experiences with that lens? I don't mind giving it another try especially at $100 less.

Whatever happened to him?

No clue what brand it is but it I inherited/claimed it from my grand father when he passed away. Must be a good 50-60 years old as it was the one he used for a very long time. I'll look into Cella. $10 is quite reasonable. I guess the ones they were trying to sell me at the art of shaving were marked up quite a bit. All the males in my family are hairy. Quite hairy. All our beards are thick and coarse and the hair is very thick and grows out straight. My dad shaves every day but I don't have the time or the motivation to do that - I get too many cuts if I shave every day or even every other day. Usually in a week, the beard sits at 1 cm which provides enough bracing against cuts I guess.

In India, no one uses canned gels/foams for shaving. Only recently they have made an appearance and people flocked to it only to realize that while less work, they actually suck for shaving purposes. I use shaving creams that my parents purchased from India and I can get a great lather but the creams were purchased in 2004 when they last were there so have expired. Not sure if it makes a difference but I have asked them to bring me back some when they come back in March. It's hard to justify a $30 shave soap when $1 gets me a big ass tube from of nice shaving cream from India. I don't spend enough time shaving to notice a difference I guess. I did however get the closest shaves with multi blade razors but they were typically accompanied by cuts and bumps leading to really annoying white heads. I got the hang of going with the grain pretty quickly but going against the grain for the final sweep was rather annoying as the multi blade cartridges are mounted on a movable head which adjusts to the contour of the face whereas the safety razor does not. More practice is needed I guess. I purchased this as a starter razor - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001LYAQ9E/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 And a sample pack for blades as I don't know which one I like - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PZEHIK/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Figured that would last me for over a year as I only shave once a week (can go longer when exams come around). Any suggestions for shave creams/soap that don't cost too much?

Just shaved with my first ever safety razor. Almost as close as shaving with a Mach 3 but I think that better technique and less apprehension should fix that. Certainly reminded me of my grandfather shaving when I was a young boy so I can see how people can get nostalgic but less irritation and no cuts with it today so I'm happy. Things didn't go so well with a straight razor where technique and keep the blade sharp are more important but I think the safety razor is the happy medium.

What's in the boxes?

The allure of sony I think is in the ability to adapt glass from other systems. The image quality is fantastic. The new zeiss fe mount lenses are close to the Otus in performance. Can't be said for many if any lenses from canon or nikon. Keep in mind they came up with the first point and shoot full frame and a full frame mirror less body neither of which have a peer currently. As far as glass...pick any up and you can use it. Speedbooster adapters let you af with canon lenses.

Why does that steak look grey???

I didn't know you had such a long nose, Ric.