Gear discussion thread v. "I got some new gear and I got to post it here" - General

Look what I found in the attic! [QUOTE][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/eFG1kRm.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] Pretty old (from 1988 I think?) but it's still perfect. The thing i'm holding is my old tripod as a size comparison lol

Just bought my self a D5300 for my birthday. Just the body and 18-140mm at a low enough price. Not a super great deal but I've had it all of four days and it already saved me. I'm quite pleased with it even though I know there were alternatives. I have a few modest plans, those being eventually to get a 35mm or 50mm, not very soon though, I need a camera bag, hoping for a deal on a decent sling bag, not looking to break the bank here, a couple of fast memory cards unless research says I don't really need C10/UHS-1, but I do plan on shooting 1080p video, not sure about the framerates, have to play with them a bit and see what I like, and lastly a mic, mostly I hope to shoot car videos, nothing too serious and in my rare spare time, but decent audio is top of my list. Thanks for reading. Sorry about all the commas. I'm surprised i'm awake enough to even type this out.

get a lowepro messenger; SanDisk Ultra SD cards; probably 1080p24; Rode Videomic (or Videomic Pro)

32gb sandisk extreme from a website like mymemory is a good shout

Thanks for the suggestions. Lain, I really like the look of those lowepro bags. It looks like the messenger 150 is a right fit for me. I don't plan to ever carry more than my body+lens, prime lens in the future, external mic, and various small accessories, extra battery, memory cards, charger, cables, etc. I was thinking about one 64GB card but I think it would be smart to have two 32GB cards. One for redundancy. I was also wondering about lens protection. I read somewhere about using filters for one being a filter (CPL, UV) but also for adding a level of protection. That way if something happens, it's to the filter first and not the outside element. If I could do this cheaply and without sacrificing image quality I would like to. Either way I will also be careful as can be. And as for mics, Videomic Go and Pro seem good but minimum $100 and more is pushing my budget. Can Audio-Technica be trusted? There are a couple of mics from them for around $50 to $60. If the extra money really is worth it then I will more seriously consider it but for the moment I don't need anything great. Good audio in a relatively compact package is really what I'm looking for.

If you think you'll need 64 gb, then by all means two 32 gb cards is the way to go IMO. If your camera has two slots, it makes it even easier. I would just buy one nice 32 gb card and keep whatever you have now as a backup, though. As far as filters, you kind of get what you pay for. Cheap filters can soften the image and fuck with contrast. For front element protection people typically use UV filters because they have little effect on usable light and by extension shutter speed. I have a circular polarizer and it's ok, but at full effect it can reduce light by half a stop so that's something to consider. I don't know much about filters though so I shouldn't make any recommendations brand-wise.

I just wanted to pitch in that I've been using a circular polarizer for some years and I've always seen consistent exposure value regardless of how it was turned (unless you're only pointing it at a monitor or a highly reflective object), but there was certainly significant difference with it on/off.

My polarising filter came to bits in my hand the other day. It was only £2 from a Chinese guy on eBay though so idgaf.

Okay, so I have had my camera and lenses for about a month now, and im starting to notice small pigments of smudge, anyone got any advice on cleaning my lenses? I could probably do with picking up a small cleaning kit from amazon or something.

[QUOTE=cr2142;45539743]Okay, so I have had my camera and lenses for about a month now, and im starting to notice small pigments of smudge, anyone got any advice on cleaning my lenses? I could probably do with picking up a small cleaning kit from amazon or something.[/QUOTE] Just blow on it and wipe it with something soft. If you're talking about the lens glass that is. But go with what Lain said if you wanna be extra careful.

microfibre and a little water for lenses buy swabs for sensor cleaning but be careful when you do so because the sensor is typically quite sensitive (:downs:)

Just bought a Nikon D5300 even though I'm new to photography, thought I would buy something decent first rather than saving money on a mediocre camera. Cost me £638 and came with a bundle of stuff and a zoom lens.

Just got the Nikon D810 [img]http://sirwaddlesworth.com/files/cameras.jpg[/img] Left: Nikon D7100 w/ SB-400 & Nikon 35mm f/1.8 DX Right: Nikon D810 w/ SB-910 & Sigma 35mm f/1.4 HG DSM It's pretty cool. Here's a picture of my studio/tabletop/whatever with a full crop example. [img]http://sirwaddlesworth.com/files/studio_s.jpg[/img]

I found this and uhm [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/SdaTxly.jpg?1[/IMG] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/n671F0K.jpg?1[/IMG]

[QUOTE=Tracker;45551598]Just got the Nikon D810 [img]http://sirwaddlesworth.com/files/cameras.jpg[/img] Left: Nikon D7100 w/ SB-400 & Nikon 35mm f/1.8 DX Right: Nikon D810 w/ SB-910 & Sigma 35mm f/1.4 HG DSM It's pretty cool. Here's a picture of my studio/tabletop/whatever with a full crop example. [img]http://sirwaddlesworth.com/files/studio_s.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] Ultra jelly.

there's a fucking black speck of dust INSIDE my new rokinon cine lens. I can only see it at f22 but its bugging the shit out of me knowing it's there

i want a set of rokinons but dollar

[QUOTE=Glitchman;45563721]there's a fucking black speck of dust INSIDE my new rokinon cine lens. I can only see it at f22 but its bugging the shit out of me knowing it's there[/QUOTE] Get it replaced? If it's new, it has warranty. If it has warranty, you're eligible to get it sorted out.

Keep in mind that the Samyang family are Korean manufactured lenses, with very good build qualities and exceptionally high optical properties and advanced elements. These are being sold at prices that are sometimes less than 75% of the cost of competing products, and are even cheaper than legacy manual focus glass. The facilities don't always have the highest QC because of this, and so it's understandable that sometimes there will be issues, but I've heard the companies are very good at resolving them. Always keep a little perspective!

Yeah it's a great lens, use it for documentary video shooting. I might see if I can get a replacement. Only had it for about a month and take pretty good care of it. Although it has been through a lot of environments I don't see how one black speck could get in there.

[QUOTE=Glitchman;45565953]Yeah it's a great lens, use it for documentary video shooting. I might see if I can get a replacement. Only had it for about a month and take pretty good care of it. Although it has been through a lot of environments I don't see how one black speck could get in there.[/QUOTE] It probably got in during the lens assembly and moved from the wall of the lens to the glass while you were working with it.

Thinking of picking up an OM2 with 50mm lens. Is the camera any good troggy?

majority of single digit OM bodies are great, less likely to get jammed or break down than the double digit bodies

I got a OM-2n. Can't say a real bad thing about it. Maybe that it's battery dependant, but that's all. Very well made camera and very reliable. Definitely a big step up from something like a OM-10.

cmon man dont make me feel bad :((

Yeah the om2n is pretty nice, it has aperture priority which is nice. The manual mode works well too because it has a needle meter which I like much more for manual shooting. It's hard to see the meter in darkness though because it isn't lit at all, something I vastly prefer about my Canon A1. The viewfinder is big, not as bright as my Canon stuff (I do have a terrible screen in it though). Overall I can't fault it much, but I do like my canon lens collection more so I will be sticking with Canon bodies. I also detest the shutter speed dial by the lens Pros: Small and lightweight (pretty much the same size as my Contax G1) ASA and exposure comp dial is good Manual and Aperture priority modes are good The self timer is nice Big finder Requires cheap batteries Accurate metering Cons: Needs external shoe attachment for strobes Finder is dimmer than other cameras I've used Finder info is very dim and hard to read in many lighting situations Controls are very different from other cameras Good buy if you want Oly stuff, I'm just not an Oly fan.

Anyone have any recommendations on monitors for under ~200 bucks? The screen on my laptop is absolute garbage, banding and shit everywhere, zero color accuracy etc, etc... Sick of uploading shit and then seeing it later on another computer and realizing how shit it looks.

i would spend a little more. look at dell IPS displays (look for 8 bit displays)

[QUOTE=.Lain;45586792]i would spend a little more. look at dell IPS displays (look for 8 bit displays)[/QUOTE] Yeah, you're really better off buying a good monitor that's gonna deliver a quality picture and last you a while.

[QUOTE=Trogdon;45574166]Finder is dimmer than other cameras I've used.[/QUOTE] Are you sure this isn't because you were shooting with a [B]f/3.5[/B] lens rather than the 50mm kit? IIRC OM systems are know for their insanely huge and bright viewfinder.