The other day, I had a customer come in looking for a specific lens — Canon’s 85mm f/1.8. It wasn’t one we had in the store, so as we started placing the order for the lens, we got to talking. Turns out she had a Digital Rebel XT, and she said that she had “a lot of photographer friends on the internet” that had recommended this lens to her.
“Do you have a photolog on the ‘net or anything?” I asked.
“Actually, I use a site called Flickr.”
I grinned. “Nice…I’m on there too.”
“What’s your name on there? It would be funny if we knew each other.”
“djwudi.”
Her eyes got a little big, she grinned, and held out her hand. “I’m Myla Kent!”
We’d been watching each other’s photos for some time now, and it was fun to actually run into each other. We chatted for a bit, and she even gave me a very nice compliment, remarking that she was surprised that I didn’t have a digital SLR after I mentioned that I was still using my little Canon A95. “They don’t look like point-and-shoot photos.” Hehe — yay!
Last night during a slow point at work I got a little curious, and found a similar lens to pop onto the store’s Nikon D70s (my current dream camera) — Nikon’s 50mm f/1.4 (about a 75mm after the digital conversion). Oh, wow…such a nice lens. I spent a good half hour shooting randomly around the store and experimenting. Man that lens has a nice shallow depth of field. I want!
Heh.
I can’t even afford the camera, and I’m lusting after a $320 lens to add on to it.
Someday…
“Lucky” by Girls Under Glass from the album German Mystic Sound Sampler Vol. I (1989, 4:07).
That (the 85/1.8) is a nice lens — I’ve got the 100/2 counterpart to it. I love the color and sharpness, and having f/2 doesn’t hurt either. It’s just a little long to be a walkaround lens, so that job is delegated to the 50mm 1.8.
(what, gearhead? me?)
This may be a potential downside to my having picked up a job at a camera store. I’m about to become a gearhead who doesn’t actually own or use any of the equipment that he babbles on about! Lots of technical knowledge, very little real-world experience. Heh.
I just need to win the lottery or something so I can start buying some of this stuff. ;)
Ooh, neat encounter! I’ve been trolling Seattle area camera stores for camera bags in the last 2 days. I wonder if I’ll run into you too. :)
I now have two 50/1.4 lenses, one for my old Nikon, and one for my new Canon. Yum. Although the new toy is the 100/2.8 macro. I am having so much fun with that!
Hmmm…I did have a lady come in within the past few days looking for a specific bag — unfortunately, it was one that we don’t carry anymore, so she left disappointed. Hopefully our first meeting wasn’t me being the bearer of bad news!
Hi – well, serendipity may have put you in the right place.. given the current explosion in digital cams, and your knowledge in both tech and artsy things…
Quick update: Canon vs Nikon used to be a non debate among digital photographers (which includes all pros these days); now with the latest Nikons, Canon may feel some pressure. They’re at the top in both price, performance, and lens availability and quality. CMOS sensors are the way to go, making shooting at 800 ASA equivalent a no brainer (all others CCD based show far too much noise at ISO 400 already – excpet maybe Fuji and Sigma)
Sooo, maybe forget about the D70 for now: not only is the Rebel better & cheaper, you’ll find that getting decent Nikon lenses is vvery expensive.
Further recommended reading: dpreview.com, luminous-landscape.com ..
Cheerios
@
FYI, if you were looking at a $320 Nikon 50mm, I would guess it was the 1.4, not 1.8. Personally, for the $230 price difference I think I’d get the 1.8!
Eventually, I’ll get a 50mm 1.8 for my Canon 20D!
Heh, neat that you met a fellow Flickr-ite :)
I was about to say… I bought my 50mm f/1.8 for about $100. Good thing Dan cleared it up.
Looks like it was the f/1.4 — since I couldn’t take it home with me, I had to work from my notoriously faulty memory. Thanks for the clarification!
Dan, you bought the 20D but haven’t picked up a 50mm f/1.8, yet? What’s wrong with you? :P
I love my 50mm – and really wish I could have done the $250 more for the f/1.4, but my budget does have limits. Actually, the bigger regret is not picking up the used version I when I saw it at a shop in Florida – much better construction than the II.
Michael, you should listen to NYCandre. The Rebel XT is definitely an upgrade over the D70, and Canon has already shown how willing it is to expand their line rapidly by adding both the 20D and the 5D. I already plan on upgrading from my Rebel whenever the successor to the 20D is announced :)
Oh, they’re both excellent cameras, and truth to tell, there’s no way that I’d complain if either one were to suddenly drop into my lap. In fact, the Rebel XT was my ‘dream camera’ of choice until I started working at the camera shop, and it’s just been over the last few months that I’ve found myself drawn far more to the Nikon d70s.
Here’s what I’ve been finding as I play with both of the cameras:
Resolution: That 8 megapixel resolution on the Rebel XT is really far more than I need. The majority of my photography is simply going up on Flickr, and occasionally being printed out as 4×6 prints (something that Prairie’s working on getting me in the habit of). More rarely I might go up to an 8×10, but I’ve only done that with a few photos so far.
So, resolution-wise, the 6 Mp that the Nikons offer will do me just fine, without limiting me to 80 shots on a 1Gb CF card when I’m shooting at full resolution (let alone raw).
Feel: The XT is tiny! I’ve got fairly large hands, and the XT just feels cramped to me. The slightly larger build of the d70s (or even the d50) is much more comfortable for me to hold.
LCD Screen/Menus: Not only is the XT’s screen smaller than the d70s’s, but Canon uses light grey on a mid- or dark grey background for their menus, and a very tiny font. Very tech-y, but when compared to the larger font and brighter color scheme (white text with a yellow highlight against a grey background) of the Nikon’s menus, it’s much harder to see.
Useability: For whatever reason, I find the Nikon’s buttons, dials, and controls easier to keep track of without getting lost than I do on the Canon. I haven’t quite pinned down why this is just yet, but I tend to ‘hunt’ more for what I want to do when I’m working with the XT.
Add all those up, and I end up with a definite preference for the d70s as opposed to the Rebel XT.
I occasionally debate between the d70s and the d50, but even there, I keep leaning towards the d70s. While the d50 has slightly better image quality than the d70s (newer camera with newer electronics/processing), the two things that turn me away are the lack of higher-end features (some of which, admittedly, I’d never use) and the fact that it uses SD media instead of CF…and I’ve already got a small stash of CF cards that I’d rather not have to replace if I don’t have to.
Now, of course, all that said — if some kind soul out there wants to send a Rebel XT my way, I’m not going to be complaining! ;)
You caught me with my rare Canon-evangelism. I pretty much always encourage people to go with whatever camera they feel best with, but sometimes I can’t help my love for Canon :)
All of your points are very reasonable. The high resolutions are wasted on a lot of photographs these days, and once you hit 6MP you’re good for up to 8×10 at least. The physical size of the XT was definitely a minus for me, too. I debated about selling my Rebel and upgrading right away, but I’m glad I didn’t – I’d rather wait until I can afford a D20 or better.
I’ve heard other people mention they prefer the screen and dials of the Nikons, but that’s just a matter of personal preference. In the end, any of them are going to be really good.