Posted by Kent Staubus on November 27, 2006 at 10:20 AM
OK, BH has put together a nice combo package for the Nikon D80 that has caught my eye. It comes with a Sandisk Ultra III 2gb and a cheap lens that's actually pretty sharp. What sensor cleaners should I look at? What else is there that I'm likely forgetting? A Delkin lnes hood, cable release? I'm also buying an SB-800 and Sigma 10-20mm I think. The camera itself is only $940, but by the time I order everything else to complete the system it's going to run right at $2,000! No wonders I'm just now getting one of these things.
Kent in SD
Posted by Mel Ladewig on November 27, 2006 at 3:06 PM
I'd say you need the cable release. I don't know about Nikon, but on Canon they have several cable release models, and not all are interchangeable. I'd also get an extra battery.
Extra battery, extra memory chip, and off camera cable for your strobe. The latter will only be useful for people indoors or against a wall where shadow management is required, but when you need it you will really need it. That SB800 is so versatile and capable that you'll use it a lot more than you imagine.
Nikon has both a cable release and a remote release for the D80. Both cost about the same. The extra battery is an excellent idea, as well as the battery grip. I would get another 2 gig card as well, depending on how much RAW you intend to shoot.
Posted by Les Barstow on November 27, 2006 at 7:02 PM
Visible Dust has an excellent reputation for sensor cleaners, but there are many players in the field now...
I'll second the 2nd memory card and battery. You can limp along without a cable release if you can use the self-timer for the tasks in question. It obviously doesn't help with using the Bulb setting, though, or for immediate release situations; if you want to set up your camera and then step away from it for, say, bird photography, then Nikon's remote release is something you'll want.
The off-camera flash cable is a good idea, or a flash diffuser/bounce system, depending on your flash needs. You're obviously investing pretty heavily in flash equipment, so...
There's always room for one more gadget in the photo bag!
Posted by Mark Windom on November 27, 2006 at 7:09 PM
A L-bracket?
Posted by Kent Staubus on November 27, 2006 at 9:48 PM
Hank--
The SB-800 flash is supposedly wire free iTTL, and that's what attracts me. I may eventually end up with two, even.
I plan on only shooting raw. I was wondering about the spare SD card, but since I'm not planning any long trips for awhile (short one to Chicago in January,) I thought I could get by with one card. I do shoot every day, but can download at night. I shoot at night quite a bit in winter, so I definitely need a cable release to get the bulb function, I think. I'm trying to not miss anything! Of course, I better get going and actually order one before B&H runs out. That has happened to me before, LOL!
Lens is the cheap 18-55mm. Reviews say it has less distortion at the wide end than the 18-70mm, and I shoot a lot of things with straight lines. I rarely use anything in between a 10-20mm and 80-200mm anyway.
So, the recommendation is for the Visible Dust kit? Doesn't NPN have one of these for a sponser?
You could get an estimate of how many SD cards you will want by relating the frames per card to the frames per roll to the rolls per day. Get enough cards that you could shoot a whole day without having to download. For reasons that aren't important here, I standardized on 512k CF cards. Ok, I'm way out-of-date, but I don't worry about it. 0.5 mB cards are very cheap now! I sometimes download during the day, but you may want to avoid that.
If I were buying a new camera, I'd get an Arca-Swiss compatible L-bracket before I even had the camera.
Pete D.
Posted by Les Barstow on November 28, 2006 at 3:20 AM
Oops. Too many models, not enough personal memory. The D80 has a wireless commander for the flash - no off-camera cable required!
The Visible Dust model you want is the Econo 1.6x brush. Which kit is best I couldn't say. I don't think the NPN shop sells them. I know a lot of people swear by them; others improvise, prefer other brands, or take the camera to the shop for a good cleaning once in a while.
If you're used to taking more than 3-4 rolls of film in a day, you'll probably want the extra card.
Enjoy!
Posted by Kent Staubus on November 28, 2006 at 10:25 AM
I decided to quit procrastinating and just went ahead and ordered some stuff. (Before they run out of stock, LOL!) I got: Nikon D80, 18-55mm cheap lens, Sandisk III 2gb, spare battery, Visible Dust Econo SD 1.6, Nikon SB-800 flash. Will order a Magic Lantern for D80 from Amazon. Dang, there's something I forgot, too! I meant to buy a stack of those Delkin gold CDs to archive on.
Crying out loud--this stuff came up to $2,100. Wife & I have an agreement that we don't spend over $2,000 for anything without consulting the other first, but believe it or not she was actually pushing me to get this camera. She thought if I shot digital it would be cheaper than film. LOL!!!! The way I calculate it, digital is even more expensive to shoot than 8x10! This is all hard on a tightwad Midwesterner like me, you know! I don't even like to spend $2,000 on a car if I can help it.
Congratulations Kent! I think you will be delighted with the new outfit.
I haven't tried to use the single strobe wireless, though I frequently use two. The biggest advantage I find for the strobe cable is the ability simply to drape it around my neck and hang the strobe when not in use. It frees up my hands when things are happening fast. In either case, you'll be thrilled with performance of the strobe. I've used most of Nikon's models since 1975, and this is the best of the lot-- they have applied lessons learned all along the way, and the sensitivity and effectiveness for fill is simply unbelievable.
Posted by Les Barstow on November 28, 2006 at 12:07 PM
At "only" $2100, you'll have paid for the camera in no time saving on the costs of film and development.
I'm still working off my D2X; even after a 12 weekend photo assignment, I'm only halfway there (just counting film costs, not the money from the assignment...)
Discussion
12 repliesKent in SD
I'll second the 2nd memory card and battery. You can limp along without a cable release if you can use the self-timer for the tasks in question. It obviously doesn't help with using the Bulb setting, though, or for immediate release situations; if you want to set up your camera and then step away from it for, say, bird photography, then Nikon's remote release is something you'll want.
The off-camera flash cable is a good idea, or a flash diffuser/bounce system, depending on your flash needs. You're obviously investing pretty heavily in flash equipment, so...
There's always room for one more gadget in the photo bag!
The SB-800 flash is supposedly wire free iTTL, and that's what attracts me. I may eventually end up with two, even.
I plan on only shooting raw. I was wondering about the spare SD card, but since I'm not planning any long trips for awhile (short one to Chicago in January,) I thought I could get by with one card. I do shoot every day, but can download at night. I shoot at night quite a bit in winter, so I definitely need a cable release to get the bulb function, I think. I'm trying to not miss anything!
Lens is the cheap 18-55mm. Reviews say it has less distortion at the wide end than the 18-70mm, and I shoot a lot of things with straight lines. I rarely use anything in between a 10-20mm and 80-200mm anyway.
So, the recommendation is for the Visible Dust kit? Doesn't NPN have one of these for a sponser?
Kent in SD
You could get an estimate of how many SD cards you will want by relating the frames per card to the frames per roll to the rolls per day. Get enough cards that you could shoot a whole day without having to download. For reasons that aren't important here, I standardized on 512k CF cards. Ok, I'm way out-of-date, but I don't worry about it. 0.5 mB cards are very cheap now! I sometimes download during the day, but you may want to avoid that.
If I were buying a new camera, I'd get an Arca-Swiss compatible L-bracket before I even had the camera.
Pete D.
The Visible Dust model you want is the Econo 1.6x brush. Which kit is best I couldn't say. I don't think the NPN shop sells them. I know a lot of people swear by them; others improvise, prefer other brands, or take the camera to the shop for a good cleaning once in a while.
If you're used to taking more than 3-4 rolls of film in a day, you'll probably want the extra card.
Enjoy!
Crying out loud--this stuff came up to $2,100. Wife & I have an agreement that we don't spend over $2,000 for anything without consulting the other first, but believe it or not she was actually pushing me to get this camera. She thought if I shot digital it would be cheaper than film. LOL!!!! The way I calculate it, digital is even more expensive to shoot than 8x10! This is all hard on a tightwad Midwesterner like me, you know! I don't even like to spend $2,000 on a car if I can help it.
Kent in SD
I haven't tried to use the single strobe wireless, though I frequently use two. The biggest advantage I find for the strobe cable is the ability simply to drape it around my neck and hang the strobe when not in use. It frees up my hands when things are happening fast. In either case, you'll be thrilled with performance of the strobe. I've used most of Nikon's models since 1975, and this is the best of the lot-- they have applied lessons learned all along the way, and the sensitivity and effectiveness for fill is simply unbelievable.
I'm still working off my D2X; even after a 12 weekend photo assignment, I'm only halfway there (just counting film costs, not the money from the assignment...)