Ken thanks! And not investing more money into this hobby is the safe bet hah. While specific lenses really do add some missing elements to most pics, and IMO make it that much more fun. Its really expensive!

Those food shots were taken in Indonesia. And if you saw their menu...yeah, I'd use my photos too :icon17:

Yeah I remeber looking at macro and was horrified by the prices. It sucks that quality lenses are soooo expensive. I would love to have an arsenal of lenses but I just cant afford it:(

ha! wat is on the menu next? :icon17: your shots are definitely professional grade! :tup:


indonesia... huh, ive not visited there. :) you should make menu's for them and sell 'em. :tup:

Thanks ken! Long ways from anything that has "pro" in it. But im enrolling in the local CC for photography this fall.

Next up is a Nikon prime 50mm 1.2 manual focus. They have a 30year old used one thats cheap, would be really fun to play with. Much cheaper than the newer, and albeit better version for $724.


Phelan - Nice! i wondered where that was, what with all the mopeds :icon17:

here's a couple pics i took with the 85 f/1.2 L last year in savannah just for comparison. 50mm on a crop body will be about the same focal length since this was on my FF 5D camera:

son
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/...3_ZSgP4-XL.jpg

father
http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/...0_CiUs2-XL.jpg

anybody have pointers on what to watch out for when purchasing used lenses?

make sure the lens is in good condition (obviously). look for scratches/dents on the outside casing. if there are more than one or two marks it could have lived a rough life and be soft when focused. i would take your camera with you to buy the lens (if possible) and make sure the AF works and doesn't sound harsh. if a zoom lens, make sure it is smooth action completely through the zoom range. it's not unreasonable for a higher priced lens (let's say $500 and up) to ask the seller to take the lens to a local camera shop and have a 3rd party evaluation (which you can pay for) to be sure the quality of the product in question. also worth noting, L-glass in canon and nikon's top shelf lenses have such a good construction that i would be less hesitant to buy one used than a cheaper lens since it takes a good whack to do any real damage to one...

well i'm meeting with another seller off of craigslist (yeah i'm bargain hunting) for a BNIB SB-700 that he's letting go of, and he also has a nikkor 50mm f/1.4G on sale. i'm gonna bring my d5100 and attach both and make sure they work okay.

someone else was telling me to make sure the lens internals aren't messed up, but i've no idea what exactly to look for. i mean...unless it's a big mess, how are you going to tell if there's fungus and what not in there O_o;

take both caps off and look down the barrel, if it looks weird or there are any cracks/spots, avoid buying it. 50 f/1.4's are pretty good lenses for nikon

^ storm, excellent portraits. FF 5D never fails to amaze me, especially when mated to top quality glass.

I did notice a minor scratch on the glass of the used 50mm 1.2 and im sure thats why the price is low. I may just hold out for a new one.

Phelan - 50mm 1.4 gets great reviews. Also seems to be built well, and is G series glass!

I like some of the pictures, but I think you might want to watch your verticals and horizons some - I'm personally not a fan of wierd angles in most pictures, such as the squirrel or some of the food shots (though I like the squirrel picture otherwise).

I was going to suggest considering the Sigma 105mm Macro 2.8 that I got for about half that price, but it looks like it was just replaced with a much more expensive model :( However, Tamron makes a couple of 90mm, 100mm macro lenses in Nikon format that are under $500 that might be worth considering.

Yeah, after a couple hundred shots on vacation, by the time I hit Bali, I was being a little experimental. Thanks for the heads up though, appreciate it. It is rather jarring to see the ground at an angle.

If I'm taking a picture of a long table, though, is there a good way to frame the shot? That was a photo I put a lot of thought into, and nothing else came out quite as well. Here's the other one I took, I thought it was 'meh' (and yes I'm aware it needs work in more way than one! That's why I'm trying to learn...):
http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/...4/DSC_0812.jpg

...I'm a bit of a nut with taking food photos. I used to run a little food blog, so I guess it's still an old habit; but now that I have a DSLR I can actually take half decent photos, not just point, shoot, hope it wasn't terrible.

Any input on taking better shots of food would be appreciated - I might even start the blog up again :)

Did a shoot of my friends Genesis Coupe a few months back

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5183/...aa5de77d36.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2065/...4e2f60b75e.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3010/...391a3c3ca0.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2079/...f5b6404f_z.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2191/...8138716a95.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5225/...1fc0005e24.jpg

left the wheel turned the wrong way...sucks. The last two shots are my first time shooting with off camera flash (only have 1 old vivitar 285). I also need a tripod; the cheapy one I found gives me shake still.

Boost- nice shots of your friend's coupe! :tup: