What's the story on this thing???

[LuckySo-n-So]

I've done a thorough search, so sorry if this is Germans.

I'm assuming this falls under the "you get what you pay for" theorem of consumerism. Looks like a nice bag and tripod, though, and you get a crappy lens as lagniappe (that means "a little something extra" for you non-cajuns)...

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Kenko-420-1600mm-Telephoto-Teleconverter-Accessory/dp/B000V7087C/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1233979728&sr=1-7[/ame]

 

[Josh66]

linky no worky

 

[LuckySo-n-So]

OK, linky worky.

 

[beni_hung]

Hmmm, I'd rather buy it all one by one after I saw it all in person. You'd probably save more money in the long run that way.

 

[Overread]

hmm my thoughts:
Cleaning kits are cheap as chips anyway so getting it in the deal is not that big a thing - the blower looks to have only one entrance/exit which means that there is no valve like there is on the Giottos Rocketblower which has one in and one out hole - that means it does not suck in dust that it just blew out of your camera

Bag - looks reasonable, but you have no idea how big or how much space there is in it - bags really should be bought in person at a shop after you have tested them to fit all your gear! Otherwise you will end up with bags that just don't work (either too small meaning you have to take extra baggage or too big - though that does leave expansion space it also means your taking up deadspace when traveling)

Tripod - your standard fixed head cheapy tripod - decent with a lightweight lens though not to be trusted to hold the setup without you holding on - unless on firm ground in no wind (even then I would keep a hand very near to it). It will likley be very light which is great for travel, but really not go great once you put heavy kit on top (becomes topheavy and thus unbalanced)

Lens - cheap - chances you will have to use small apertures (f8 or smaller) to get enough sharpness out of it. I think Stsinner has one of those lenses. In the end they might be a cheap bit of fun, but they are really more of longdistance landscape lenses than they are sports or wildlife because they lack the speed and clarity at the long ranges.

 

[JerryPH]

I have one word for this... garbage.

 

[Iron Flatline]

Put on your fanciest sneakers, and run away.

 

[LuckySo-n-So]

Like I implied, I figured it was pretty much crap. I was just curious to see if anyone had used it and I was wrong about it.

I plan on shooting a lot of sporting events throughout the year (from the viewpoint of a fan, not an on-field photographer, so I'll be quite a distance away from the action. I don't have 1500 bucks to spend on a pro-level telephoto lens (if I had that much, I'd go ahead and buy a D90).

Like I said, just curious. Thanks for the replies.

 

[AlexColeman]

It is just crap.

 

[RyanLilly]

If you want a cheap telephoto that is actually good quality, look for an old pentax m42 mount and an adapter. No auto focus and it won't be super fast, but you can get a lot of glass for your buck with m42.

 

[LuckySo-n-So]

You mean something like this? And this would work with a Nikon d40 how?

3M-5A 500mm F8 TELE ZENIT PENTAX M42 MOUNT LENS OUTFIT - eBay (item 250330136170 end time Feb-20-09 10:57:30 PST)

 

[RyanLilly]

Some thing like that. You can also find 300mm f4 lenses for easily under $200. and 500mm f/4.5 for $400-600.

I believe with Nikon F mount, a basic adapter is about $15, but you loose infinity focus, but that's not the end of the world, as long as you can work within its limits. I think there are also some adapters that have a glass element to maintain infinety focus, but there will be some degredation of quallity. How much? well, thats a matter of opinion, but the quality will still certainly be worlds better than the those kenko, or opteka offerings.

 

[RyanLilly]

Cameras and used cameras available from KEH Camera Brokers.

There are some good cheap lenses on Keh right now. I can't offer any other advice about infinity focus on Nikon, as I am a canon shooter and the canon mount is shallower so it doesnt have that problem, but There are Nikonians out there shooting with m42 glass, so hopfully some of them can chime in.

I'm eyeballin one of those 300mm f/4 lenses myself right now. Have Fun!

 

[LuckySo-n-So]

That is very intriguing. Thanks for your input. I have about 9 months to scrape up the money for something like that. It comes AFTER my "nifty fifty" and SB-600.

It will be nice to be able to get some decent pics at the LSU games this fall, as I think this is going to be a very special season, much like 2007 and 2003 (2006 wasn't bad either).