Do you know what presents you're getting?

[owen]

Hi guys... just wondering whether you know what presents you're getting from santa/family for christmas. I am getting a learn to play the guitar book, as well as something in a box about the size of a D200... but I bet it's not a D200! lol

[wally]

i wish i was gettin one of them D200s two but i think i'm gettin sum anti fungal cream...

[owen]

lol, good luck with that... maybe you can smear it on a lens to give a glamour look

[gstark]

It'll at least stop your lenses from acquiring fungus on their surfaces.

[NikonUser]

Well I know it's not the Sigma 300-800 that's on my list...

Or a D200 that's on my list...

Or a 70-200vr that's on my list...

Or a Wimberly head that's on my list...

So through a process of elimination I'd say I'm getting..... a pair of socks.

Paul

[mudder]

Ha! My family isn't buying presents for each other this year, just for the nephews as that's what Christmas is all about is the kids (georgous twin 5 year old boys), so I thought stuff it and bought myself a new car, subaru forester... Now has 18kms on the clock on the drive home Can't wait to try it out getting into some nice bush spots...

Hmmm, now just gotta pay for it

[nito]

My birthday is just after christmas.

All I know is its expensive and I am not allowed to visit camera stores. Plus it wont arrive in time for my birthday

[BBJ]

I got a Scott Kelby Photoshop effects book, and already have it but haven't had a play yet but i will.

[Pauld]

I am hoping for something in a big gold box with "VR" on the side

[MATT]

I've been warned that its less than $20...

And I must show the Kids I'm grateful



OhWell

MATT

[Zeeke]

Manfrotto Monopod..

Dug helped me pick it out... i just said i wanted a monopod heh..

might get a dvd or 2.. nothing else exciting me thinks... not the Tamron 180mm Macro id like or a D200.. or atleast a memory card.. but thats Xmas for ya, ur always broke!

Tim

[Michael]

Set of reflectors gold white and whatever other colours there are.

scott kelbys photoshop for digital photographers.

and other crap hopefully clothes.

I got my olds a pic I took printed at 20x10 inches and framed cost me an arm and a leg for the framing but it looks good.

[graphite]

I got my christmas present early, which was my D50 plus bag, 55-200 lens, and various other goodies. which means come christmas morning, I wont be opening any presents, just taking pictures of everyone who is!

[Sheetshooter]

Well, I donned the red & white suit and went into a camera shop armed with a cheque book to pick up my D200 this morning. A couple of hours later I walked out empty handed having discussed it at length over lunch and deciding not to go down that path any further.

Come Jan 3 I shall take whatever lenses in gold boxes that have not sold and put them on consignment. Sort of reverse-Santa.

So, what else? Who can say?

Cheers,

[ABG]

Yep, already got mine. Picked up a new 2 Gb CF card, a CF reader, Optech pro strap and new, bigger eyecup. Thanks Santa Birdy

[xerubus]

absolutely no idea.. and it won't be camera related i'm sure..... but that's okay... i've had a good spending spree on gear this year...

i bought my wife a digital video camera... so i'm sure i'll have some fun with that

cheers

[Jonesy]

hard to fit under the tree... and had to buy it my self but



apart from that... not much

[Nnnnsic]

Well, I donned the red & white suit and went into a camera shop armed with a cheque book to pick up my D200 this morning. A couple of hours later I walked out empty handed having discussed it at length over lunch and deciding not to go down that path any further.

Geeze Walter, you change camps so damn frequently.

Why did you decide not to go down that path?

Hell, if you'd already started selling Nikon gear previously and were getting out of Nikon, why'd you even consider going down that path in the first place?

There are lots of paths here. Maybe one of them will bring me to a 404 error so I can't stop this line of paths.

[Nnnnsic]

I got a Nintendo DS!

With Mario Kart! (It's not like Jonesy's kart... I don't think I can race him )

And now I have a Nintendog to go with it!

[Manta]

No idea either....

Won't be a Scott Kelby book (got 'em all)...
Won't be a photo magazine subscription (got almost all of them)
Won't be a Benro tripod or any kind of monopod (family wouldn't know what to get)...
Won't be a 105mm Micro or an 80-400VR ("You want me to spend HOW much??!!)

So I guess it'll be .... geez, I don't know. I may even get a pleasant surprise on Christmas morning. How quaint!!

[Dug]

a heavy duty 18 volt cordless drill with hammer function.

I went and chose it myself last night:-)

[Oneputt]

You doing some camera repairs Doug

[birddog114]

a heavy duty 18 volt cordless drill with hammer function.

I went and chose it myself last night:-)

Dug,
To make a motor drive for your D70s?

[ozimax]

Dug,

Is it a left or right handed drill?

Max

[Dug]

18 volt BOTH HANDS!

I have a serious hardware addiction it is almost as bad as the camera one.

Birddog that is what I have my chainsaw for.

Oneputt I can drop over and modify you D2X if you like

[Paul]

I'm getting 10 energizer 2500Mha batteries as an upgrade for my SB-800.
I was hinting towards an Ipod Nano but got shot down in flames..

[Alpha_7]

I've got 14 Engerizer 2500Mha (just 1 bloody short), and I find they go very nicely with the SB-800. Ipod Nano would be nice, even though I already have a 40gb one... they just cute!

[Paul]

heh heh I was just testing the fire rate on the SB-800 with my new enegizers.. WOW!!
got to love the rapid fire rate!
Craig, just sneak a 2 pack blister pack into your Coles shopping trolley!

Ipod Nano has just been added to to the wedding list! maybe..

[PiroStitch]

A table saw and about 3 days to finish the flooring of my new place....not sure if that second bit is a present

Anyway, when I finish it'll definitely be a present

[bloop]

The best presents I get always come from myself for some reason, I guess I just know what I like...

This year, got myself a Silvia and Rocky <-- coffee machine + grinder

[Nnnnsic]

You name your appliances?

[rookie2]

by not mentioning anything to do cameras the last few weeks I hope my recent (18 months) camera addiction will result in something being under the tree in a few hours time.

Also with 10 days off I can hopefully get away from my lovely family for a few moments (..you're so embarrassing dad ...put it away...do we have to take a phot of THAT) and actually think things through a bit more.

If the big guy with the beard happened to drop anything to do with photography under the tree I would see that a sign to push the limits re further purchases....unfortunately the current quality of my pics doesnt seem to inspire the others to say 'you're good at this stuff Dad ...you should have more time (and money) to pursue you interests...dont worry about us..we don't really need to eat or have clothes!!

roll on Boxing Day!!

R2

[Yedrup]

Merry Christmas all.

I knew quite a while ago, a Benro A328 tripod plus K2 ballhead (brilliant). They are both sitting beside me looking like they want to go for a walk

Afraid Helen is taking a nap and Henry is killing something on his gameboy, I am relegated to cooking and cleaning for a while so tripod and ballhead will have to wait.

Cheers,
Terry

[birddog114]

Merry Christmas all.

I knew quite a while ago, a Benro A328 tripod plus K2 ballhead (brilliant). They are both sitting beside me looking like they want to go for a walk

Afraid Helen is taking a nap and Henry is killing something on his gameboy, I am relegated to cooking and cleaning for a while so tripod and ballhead will have to wait.

Cheers,
Terry

Yedrup,
Merry Xmas,
Forget about cleaning, get out and try the tripod + head out, beautiful day today. Just came back from the beach, lovely crystal clear water, now with a cold James Boag's premium in hand. No "hot lunch" today, but dinner with a nice piece of T-bone 550g with mashed potatoes and marinated king prawn with tamarin sauce over the bbq.

[Holden]

I got a staffie pup

[Sheetshooter]

Geeze Walter, you change camps so damn frequently.

Leigh,

I have waited until the present acquisition season had passed so as not to derail this thread in appropriatyely.

It has been a long-standing tradition over many decades. The photo industry in Australia has lived high on the hog thanks to my frustrations with kit - particularly Medium Format kit where I would switch systems as often as a couple of times a year in quest of the ideal. I digress to point out that Nedium Format is uniqque like that and it's not just me. There was a US photo magazine article several years back about a guy whpo pointed out that he had bought ONE 35mm system and stuck with iot forever - Nikon, as it happens. The same guy had reached a similar understanding to myself and said that after 11 switches in 10 years he had come to the conclusion that in MF one really needed two systems to meet all expectations.

Why did you decide not to go down that path?

You mean, why did I choose to go Nikon in addition to Canon? Well the EOS 5D is a camera that I rely one commercially to derive an income and it cost 5 grand, sort of. I needed to get out and work with digital if I were to familiarise myself its foibles and develop a workflow suited to my clients' needs. If I stuffed the Canoin in doing this I would be in deep shit work-wise. I was offered a deal on the D70s and a 45mm P lens. I took it and on the whole was very happy with it. So happy in fact that I added to the system pretty promptly and re-evaluated my 'personal' exploits based on the capabilities it provided.

Hell, if you'd already started selling Nikon gear previously and were getting out of Nikon, why'd you even consider going down that path in the first place?

Given the benefits of the Canon with my commercial endeavours and, in particular, the incredible flexibility the 24mm TS-E offfered not only with work with the built environment but also the customised motorcycles I do frequently I purchased the other two TS-E lenses - the 45mm and the 90mm. Given their cost I had pangs of guilt about over-capitalising and decided that since the Nikon kit did not really earn its keep income-wise, I would forego it. Hence the sale. But some of the lenses have not sold - especially the 60mm Micro-Nikkor which is one of the best 35mm style lenses I have ever encountered (including Leica) and so I thought that perhaps a D200 as a stand-alone with the 60mm might be a pleasant way to go.

Truth is, though, that for my personal work digital capture (at the level of the DSLR, at least) simply doesn't cut it. The film holders have been loaded and over the break I shall be back into what I am passionate about and that is shooting sheets as my nom-de-plume implies.

That makes me quite a happy camper. There has been a slight cost to servicing my DSLR 'learning-curve' but not a lot and besides there's no free lunches.

The kit I use is always and has been always determined by the end use and sometimes you have to try new avenues that arise. Better to make a judgement based on experience than one based on conjecture and third-party opinion.

Thanks for asking.

Cheers,

[tasadam]

Just came back from the beach, lovely crystal clear water, now with a cold James Boag's premium in hand.

Hey Birdy good to see, top quality TASSIE beer in your hands. Now when you do make it down here let me know and I will have some waiting for you as well as this top quality Tassie wine we have here.
Don't forget your camera...

[MattC]

The film holders have been loaded and over the break I shall be back into what I am passionate about and that is shooting sheets as my nom-de-plume implies.

Jeez, and I thought that your "nom-de-plume" meant something else.

Cheers

[MCWB]

You name your appliances?

Rancilio Silvia and Rocky.

[Nnnnsic]

I got a staffie pup

We need pictures!!!

[leek]

Just when I thought it was going to be the usual round of socks & jocks from my family, my brother surprised me with a Lastolite ePhotomaker - a collapsible light tent with a diffuser on one side and a reflector on the other. It also comes with a collapsible grey card and a blue gel sheet...
While this product is aimed at the PHD / eBay market and the included tripod wouldn't have a chance of supporting the D70, the light tent itself looks very practical and I look forward to experimenting with it...

[Manta]

That looks like a neat bit of kit John. I see Kayell are listed as distributors here so, even though they don't have the rpoduct specifically listed on their site, I may pay them a visit. Be a nice accessory for doing stock photos.

[HappyFotographer]

Well I got the manfrotto 190D and the 141RC, Camera Raw CS2 by Bruce Fraser, Nature Photography Field Guide by John Shaw and a Lens Pen Mini Pro.

Nothing to set the world on fire, but I am happy with them.

[Steffen]

Well I got the manfrotto 190D and the 141RC, Camera Raw CS2 by Bruce Fraser, Nature Photography Field Guide by John Shaw and a Lens Pen Mini Pro.

Heh, the lens pen mini is the only thing that lets you properly clean your viewfinder lens. Unless you've got a rectangular viewfinder, in which case nothing helps...

Cheers
Steffen.

[Steffen]

 BTW, I've wondered whether anyone has tried lens pens on sensors yet, followed by a giotto rocket blast. The theory being, lens pens remove stuck-on muck very well, leaving no streaks only the occasional loose dust. Which can be blown away easily.

Anyone with a spare DSLR game to try?

Cheers
Steffen.

[birddog114]

BTW, I've wondered whether anyone has tried lens pens on sensors yet, followed by a giotto rocket blast. The theory being, lens pens remove stuck-on muck very well, leaving no streaks only the occasional loose dust. Which can be blown away easily.

Anyone with a spare DSLR game to try?

Cheers
Steffen.

Steffen,
What's happenned if there's a small particle of dust on the lens pens or on the sensor?
Do it, then you may create yourself many artistry photos with all the scratches in horizontal and vertical.
I had lens pens, used them in the past, but not anymore and never will again, the best thing is one blow of your breath over the glass with a clean cloth after few blows with the Giottos Air Rocket.
Don't see much use of lens pens nowaday.

[gstark]

BTW, I've wondered whether anyone has tried lens pens on sensors yet, followed by a giotto rocket blast. The theory being, lens pens remove stuck-on muck very well, leaving no streaks only the occasional loose dust. Which can be blown away easily.

Anyone with a spare DSLR game to try?

Steffen,

This has been discussed at length in the past, albeit more with brushes than with a lens pen, but many of the same concerns apply.

Just wait till one of the hairs comes adrift and gets lodged on the sensor; you'll be totally thrilled with the concept then.

Or with just using brushes, getting some oil from the hairs onto it.

Let's suffice to say that this isn't a recommended procedure.

[Sheetshooter]

The other major concern, of possibly more costly harm, is if the brush is 'charged' it may zap pixels - even through the filter(s)!

This actually puts paid to one particular product which is vigorously promoted elsewhere and actually claims a positive charge as a key functional property.

Cheers,

[Holden]

I got a staffie pup

We need pictures!!!

OK , here's a quick couple I took of Billy this morning







I'll post some better ones later

[LostDingo]

I got a new lense It weighs 55 kilos after you hold it for 5 minutes (Called "VR" in NIKON terminology) but it does take some sweet pics

This has been cropped some, details are:
1/30s at f4 handheld
200mm matrix metered
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