Just got a D200!! My first dSLR - It's a celebration!!!

[FuzzyNutz]

WOOHOOO!!!!!!!! I just ordered my first dSLR camera! I took an intro film photography class last semester in school (to fulfill my 1 non-music arts requirement), and I loved it so much I'm moving on to the digital class (i.e.: I REALLY need another A!). So yeah, just picked me up a used D200 and a new 50mm f1.8 prime lens (hopefully more lenses to follow - sooner than later!). I hope to try my hand at concert photography! I don't think I'll ever afford a setup to take it underwater (at least for the next few years... that kind of money will just be spent diving!), but I'm excited as hell right now and I love sharing stuff on scubaboard, so there it is! :cool2:

 

[Meyr]

time to get it wet and share the pics

 

[PatW]

The D200 is a very nice camera, I hope you enjoy it.

 

[Larry C]

Have fun. 50mm f1.8 is a nice all purpose lens for portraits and knocking around. When I first got my D300, I hit E-Bay for oddball stuff. Some of it is useful, some not. Lenses usually bring too much money, but I got a 35mm f2.0 cheap because someone had put tape on it and the guy couldn't get the residue off (goo-gone, 5 minutes) as well as a couple of manual focus lenses, a Tokina 400 f5.6 (old version, lousy contrast) and another one. They're not so great, but they were cheap. Sometimes you can get later model, better versions that aren't the newest coolest for a good price. Anything that says Nikon on it will sell too high, usually, unless it's crap and nobody wants it.
Your next real money purchase should be a 60mm or 105mm micro, which you'll start out taking cool pictures of flowers and bugs with and later take underwater. D200's with housings show up on e-bay fairly frequently, and sometimes they're cheap. Alternatively, go down to the camera shop or check out B&H or Adorama and get a set of diopters to make your 50mm f1.8 into a macro with no depth of field or focus past one foot, and maybe a nice Kenko teleconverter to play with as well.

 

[FuzzyNutz]

Well, I got the camera in the mail and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!! I've been playing with it non-stop to get a feel for the controls, and the button layout is amazing - it's very easy to shoot in manual mode. I got permission to photograph at a local venue tomorrow night, I'm hella-excited about that and hoping I can get some nice shots. I did a LOT of low-light stuff on film last semester, but never in a concert environment with changing lights and fast moving subjects (well, I did shoot some skateboarders a few times at night which came out really nice!).

Thanks for all the tips Larry! I'm sure they'll help me a greal deal! I tried searching for more info on the diopters and found this site: ShutterFreaks - Macro Photography for Beginners which explained it pretty well to me. I've heard of that stuff before but never knew what it was for! I think macro is incredible, I'd love to try it! Maybe these diopters and extension tubes can be my ticket to doing it on the cheap, lol! I was really excited to find a 'step-up ring' the other day (again, something I hadn't heard of... total noob, I know) that lets me use my 55mm polarizer on my prime 50, and it even fits with the lens hood on!

I did purchase a new 18-55 VR "kit" lens, but returned it before even opening it (for now). I think I'd rather put that money towards a bigger zoom like a 55-200 for sports action shots (like skate and snowboarding). There's so many things I want to photograph, I don't how or why I always end up finding the expensive hobbies, lmao. Story of our lives, right? I figure I'm just gonna stick with the 50 for a few weeks until I learn more and figure out exactly what it is that I want... or at least wait for the class to start, lmao!

 

[RonFrank]

You will want to shoot in shutter priority mode and use a high ISO. You will get grain but grain is better that nothing. You want to shoot at a shutter speed the stops action so 1/60 minimum. Adjust the ISO so that is possible, maybe start at ISO 1000. A 50mm lens is not a reach out and touch me lens but if you can get close it will work. If not you can explain to folks that the small brightly lit object in the center is a person!

Shooting with the lowest ISO possible while still stopping action is what you want. The reason to shoot in S mode vs manual is that your light will be changing often. Set your WB to auto and shoot RAW + JPG Fine. That way you can adjust the WB after the fact if needed. I have been shooting Nikon for longer than I want to admit! I have a d200 with housing and strobes and live in your backyard!

 

[FuzzyNutz]

Well, had my first night out shooting last weekend, and I think I did fairly well! I ended up shooting completely in manual, I tried shutter and aperture priority for a few pics, but they came out beyond awful. I left the aperture wide open at 1.8, had to 'boost' my ISO to 3200 (really stops at 1600, but can be boosted, whatever that means), white balanced at around 2700, and shutter speeds were anywhere from 20-200, but mostly on the faster end. I had a great time, loads of fun, it was a great learning experience, and I think I walked away with some nice photos! I even already got an invite for some other work - hopefully soon it will start paying, lol!

Here's some links to what I got. I already used up my monthly upload limit on flickr with these (I guess I should have converted to jpeg before posting, lol), so that's all there is for now. There were 2 other bands that night as well. I think I found me a new niche!

Red Stinger: Red Stinger - a set on Flickr

Otic: Otic - a set on Flickr

They're all unedited except for 2 that I lightened up a bit. I'm looking to get Photoshop and Lightroom in the next 2 weeks (I LOVE this student discount!!), so maybe I'll work some magic on these in the future... or just go do more, lol.

 

[starkvision]

I've got an Aquatica housing for sale with extension ring and 8" dome port for $1000 if you are interested!