finally got a d70, impressions of hongkong

[dciscool]

My D70 story

I managed to purchase my D70 at teds here in adl
I convinced them to throw in a 512meg sandisk ultra2, and uv filter
for 2000
went to hk, and got TRS 200 off, and 200 cashback

so total was $1600
I also managed to pick up a crumpler formal lounge from the crumpler shop here

i felt 512meg was enough
an i shot jpg large format most of my trip

With my powerbook with me i offloaded the pics most days
Shot over 500pics

Some observations in hongkong
-went to mongkok to buy a f1.8 50mm lens
pretty hard to find, all shops did not have stock or had to wait a few days
found a nice little shop in the mongkok computer centre

price of the lens was 720 - HK warranty - ie 120 aussie
price of 70-300d was the same
f1.4 50mm out of stock

there were cheaper places
i bought the f1.8

other observations
crumpler bags were being sold in HK!!!
they were $50-100 more expensive than in Aus

tripods were cheap, wish i bought a gitzo

http://www.ygdragon.net/index.php?page= ... aprice.htm
gives you a guide on prices in hk
use http://www.xe.com to convert prices

they had the symphony of lights - read about it here
an excellent photo opportunity
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/sho ... ndex.jhtml
it happens every night at 8pm
watch the videos on this page
http://www.tourism.gov.hk/symphony/
unfortunately i didnt get a chance to take pics of this

there are so many photographers in HK
Went up to the peak
lots of little entrepreneurs setup there with their digital SLRS including d70s with sb800s, and portable print stations - they take a pic, and print within 3min
The pics are excellent too

i took a few night shots but unfortunately i had a crappy freebie tripod which was not high enough. I will post later.

The harbour usually presents great opportunities for photos, very foggy atm so did not get great shots

I am now learning more about photoshop
i am findin RAW much better than jpg now - a >1gig card would be much better.
Im keeping really busy - and hope to use the camera a lot more in a month or two when i get more time.

things i regret - not buying a flash there, not buying a tripod there
i had many family shots - and the internal flash doesnt cut it for a big family shot

I had no troubles with customs on the way back, and found the maxwell 200 check in the mail.

[mudder]

G'day,
Sounds like you've had fun buying heaps of new toys, and what sounds like a good deal on the D70 with lens

The symphony of lights looks very spectacular, would be a great event to capcture with the new D70, shame you missed out. Looking forward to seeing some pics...

Cheers,
Mudder

[dperrett]

you mentioned you bought a crumpler formal lounge. i have been looking at buying one of these. what did you think of it?

i am concerned that there isnt much room in the bottom compartment. the pictures on the web dont really show clearly enough what can fit and how easy it is to access.

[fozzie]

dciscool,

I see that you managed to get yourself a good deal before leaving Adelaide. With 'TRS' and 'Nikon/Maxwell Rebate' saving in total $400. BTW: Any chance of you making it to the 'Adelaide Mini Meeting' in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens - Summer House at 11am on Sunday 6 Feb. 2005. So far we have Marvin, digitor and myself. We also intend to have lunch at the Exeter Hotel in Rundle Street after.

Cheers,

[birddog114]

you mentioned you bought a crumpler formal lounge. i have been looking at buying one of these. what did you think of it?

i am concerned that there isnt much room in the bottom compartment. the pictures on the web dont really show clearly enough what can fit and how easy it is to access.

Please take my word:
The crumpler formal lounge won't serve your purposes in the near future, try to look and see other alternative bags as LowePro Mini Trekker AW II.
Couple members have it and now never seen they use again after they lust other gears