Just Did a Shopping Trip

Dao · Nov 6, 2008

Lyncca said:
Has anyone else received the B&H book yet?

Yes, they sent one to my home and one to my office. Not sure how they got my office address though.

Zest777 · Nov 6, 2008

Yeah, being able to work with two flashguns really opens up the realms of creativity.

Lyncca · Nov 6, 2008

Dao said:
Yes, they sent one to my home and one to my office. Not sure how they got my office address though.

They are sneaky. They want to make sure they use every means available to get our money!

JerryPH · Nov 6, 2008

manaheim said:
ummmm... cuz I'm an idiot and didn't do my research???

LMAO!

manaheim said:
It has a 5th batt compartment? That's interesting... just so it has more power/lasts longer or is it like a RAID hot spare kind of thing?

Decreases recycle times. (Chris! I have this strong desire to swat you up the back of your head... LOL!)

manaheim said:
*Chris needs to do more research before buying stuff apparently*

Oh hell yes, thats a good idea!

:thumbup:

manaheim said:
Oh shoot, I just realized I need to buy a circular polarizer for that 18-200. Hmmm... wonder if I can slip that in without the Marcia noticing.

I hope you don't mind me asking... but why did you get the Nikkor 18-200? I did not figure you for the kind of guy that would settle for anything less than the 70-200 F/2.8 VR and something like the Sigma 18-50 or Nikkor 17-55 level of quality?

Now, before anyone jumps on my back for that, I own the 18-200, and love it, so don't anyone start bashing me, I'm just asking the gentleman! :lmao:

manaheim said:
God this hobby/business is a money pit.

The next level gets scarier. It's where the D300 is put aside for the D700 or D3 and you can basically start over the entire lens purchasing process... and at that level, you are HARD pressed to find a lens under $1100!

It's kind of an eye opener to comprehend that the monetarily cheapest lens in your arsenal at this level would be the legendary 85mm F/1.4!

It hurts the plastic a little, but it's still a crapload of fun! :lol:

In case I did not mention it... congrats on your new toys!

icassell · Nov 6, 2008

Lyncca said:
Has anyone else received the B&H book yet?

Yeah, and immediately recycled it ... don't wanna get any ideas ...

JerryPH · Nov 6, 2008

IvyJade said:
Hey I work on hot rods, I know what money pits are, this is the SAME THING...lmao

Been there and done that. Not including the price of the car, I have over 10Gs in it in modifications alone. By January of this year, I will have exceeded that amount in photography toys.

I do NOT count the totals of what it costs me to mod and play with my car, and I will never do that with the camera toys either... I would go insane if I did... lol

Excel spreadsheets with totals at the bottom are a BAD idea, trust me.

manaheim · Nov 6, 2008

Thanks, Lync and everyone for the congrats.

Now on to Jerry's abuse... :lol:

JerryPH said:
LMAO!

Decreases recycle times. (Chris! I have this strong desire to swat you up the back of your head... LOL!)

I'm notorious for this kind of thing. I learn enough to know what I NEED to know to get the job done, but don't usually learn every single aspect, so I wind up with a few surprises.

It usually works out because I'm "close enough" but maaaaaaaan is it a bad behavior.

I'm a driver. Gotta make a decision! Get it done! Move on to the next thing! GO GO GO GO GO GO GO!!!

My nickname should be "Collateral Damage". :lol:

JerryPH said:
I hope you don't mind me asking... but why did you get the Nikkor 18-200? I did not figure you for the kind of guy that would settle for anything less than the 70-200 F/2.8 VR and something like the Sigma 18-50 or Nikkor 17-55 level of quality?

Nope, don't mind a bit.

It's kind of complicated, though... not sure if you really want to know the answer. :lol:

Well, you asked!

My intention for this lens is as a replacement for my current nearly-constantly-mounted 28-100 3.5/5.6. It's a "fine" lens, but it's optical and mechanical quality is kinda "meh", and the zoom range on it is usually just not quite enough. However, that being said, I know the lenses limitations and get some really good shots out of it, and I even use it for some detail work on my job sites. It's been a real workhorse.

The 18-200 is optically better than the one I am using currently and has far better zoom range, so it's a very useful replacement.

I've also really been wanting a "vacation lens". I know if I go on vacation that I can absolutely get away with packing this lens and no other and be totally fine, which is great.

The other reason for this purchase at this time was budget... all of the next lenses on my list are $1200-1500 lenses. This one was $640. So, while this lens was technically a bit lower on the priority scale, the $1500 would have broken the budget for this pass (or made it so I couldn't get some of the other things that I needed more right now), so it got pushed up a bit on the priority scale.

I seriously debated getting the 18-135 because I know it has slightly better optical quality, but there was also some emotion in this one. This 18-200 VR was one of the first lenses I was excited about and figured I would simply never be able to justify spending the money on. It was also the very thing that made me decide to get into professional photography so I could afford to buy toys. If I bought anything other than the 18-200 VR, I would forever be still wanting it, which would drive me nuts.

The next lens I want (and one I really really need) is an 24-85ish range 2.8. FULL FRAME. I'm not spending $900+ on any lens that isn't full frame. I haven't decided specifically which one I want yet. I'll work that out in a month or so when I'm getting ready for the next shopping trip.

I also have on my list either the 70-200 2.8 VR or the 80-200 2.8, but I haven't decided which yet. I have an 80-200 2.8 on indefinite loan from a friend of mine (he never uses it), so that need is temporarily filled. (Which is good since I really need the 24-85ish one sooner)

So that's my long boring explanation.

JerryPH said:
Now, before anyone jumps on my back for that, I own the 18-200, and love it, so don't anyone start bashing me, I'm just asking the gentleman! :lmao:

JerryPH said:
The next level gets scarier. It's where the D300 is put aside for the D700 or D3 and you can basically start over the entire lens purchasing process... and at that level, you are HARD pressed to find a lens under $1100!

yyyyyyyyyeah... I wonder if I'll ever go D3. I really don't like the bulk of the thing. I even have a battery grip for my D100, which I wound up taking off. It was really annoying. I like the form factor of the D100/200/300. One thing I like a lot in the D3 is the redundant card writing. That is EXTREMELY good. I need that.

Unfortunately, I really could use full frame... it would get me more potential width for my interior shots, and every mm counts big time in those situations. This is also why I will make sure my expensive glass investments are full-frame as there is a very good chance I'll wind up there at some point.

JerryPH said:
It's kind of an eye opener to comprehend that the monetarily cheapest lens in your arsenal at this level would be the legendary 85mm F/1.4!

ohhhh yes... I maintain a prioritized list of purchases that I toss at the wife occasionally so she's prepared for what I'm gonna do, and he eyes about fell out of her head when she saw that the cheapest thing on there was a $600 NAS device. :lol:

JerryPH said:
It hurts the plastic a little, but it's still a crapload of fun! In case I did not mention it... congrats on your new toys!

Thanks!!!

BTW...

B&H and Adorama are AMAZING. ALL of my stuff will be here TOMORROW. Crazy.

potownrob · Nov 6, 2008

manaheim said:
The next lens I want (and one I really really need) is an 24-85ish range 2.8. FULL FRAME. I'm not spending $900+ on any lens that isn't full frame. I haven't decided specifically which one I want yet. I'll work that out in a month or so when I'm getting ready for the next shopping trip.

The Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 might fit that bill :sexywink:

.