Nikonian(s)

Freddie0288 · Jan 3, 2011

Hey ya'll,

I have a Nikon D40 and just recently acquired a AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D..
Im liking it so far; its just tricky with the MF..
Anyone have any tips/suggestions??
I've read on flickr and what not, that this is worth the buy..

OptiBrite Brightness Enhancement - KatzEye Optics

Does this hold any truth??
Also, does anyone have any suggestions of what my next purchase should be, I shoot many portraits, my family gatherings, automotive, landscapes and so forth..

My arcenal includes a Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di, the stock 18-55mm and the mentioned 50mm..

Thanks for your help & thanks for reading!
:lol:

Light Artisan · Jan 3, 2011

Title of this thread made my throw up in my mouth a little...

Anyway, I'd recommend a newer camera if the MF bothers you - newer cameras aren't really optimized for MF.

Freddie0288 · Jan 3, 2011

Light Artisan said:
Title of this thread made my throw up in my mouth a little...

Anyway, I'd recommend a newer camera if the MF bothers you - newer cameras aren't really optimized for MF.

Thanks, but $$ is tight right..plus I looked around and everything is either $600 and up, for what I want at least..

Light Artisan · Jan 3, 2011

You could sell the 50 for a 35 and be out $100 at most.

I don't know what else to say... not sure I'd spend money on a MF screen for a D40 - the viewfinder just isn't big enough for one thing.

mrpink · Jan 3, 2011

Freddie0288 said:
Hey ya'll,

I have a Nikon D40 and just recently acquired a AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D..
Im liking it so far; its just tricky with the MF..
Anyone have any tips/suggestions??

Just look for the focus indicator light in your viewfinder. There should be nothing tricky about it.

As for the screen, I have no experience with them so I will be rechecking this thread for updates on that.

p!nK

Nijay · Jan 3, 2011

I used that lens on my d5000 before I sold the camera. You just have to look for the green focus dot on the viewfinder (lower left). Just be sure to maintain minimal focus distance and practice at it.

Freddie0288 · Jan 4, 2011

thanks guys..anyone else??

Infidel · Jan 4, 2011

Light Artisan said:
Title of this thread made my throw up in my mouth a little...

So why'd you click? Morbid curiosity?

Light Artisan said:
Anyway, I'd recommend a newer camera if the MF bothers you - newer cameras aren't really optimized for MF.

I'm having a little trouble understanding this statement...do you mean a camera with an internal focusing motor? Or alternatively, an AF-S lens that will autofocus on the D40?

Freddie0288 · Jan 16, 2011

^^agree..

scotch59 · Jan 16, 2011

30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM - Wide Angle Prime Lenses - SigmaPhoto.com

sigma makes an AF-S 30mm. not too expensive, and I would not recommend selling the D40, to get one with an AF motor, especially if that is the only reason you would sell it. I would just look for AF-S lenses from now on. sigma makes some great ones for Nikon, and almost all are AF-S

and by the way as you probably can figure.. the MSRP on sigmas site is much more expensive than street value

KmH · Jan 16, 2011

The Katz eye focusing screen is worth the money if you often need to manually focus.

Auto focus is not a be all to end all. It has limitations.

The Katz eye focusing screen will also add value to your D40 at resell time and can be used with all of your lenses.

Be sure and check out all the inof on the KatzEye web site that pertains to your D40.

Sart with the focus in front of your intended focal point. Turn the focus ring past focus so it is behind your intended focal point, and then come back to having the focus right on your intended focal point.

Unfortuately, part of the manual focusing issue today is that lens focus rings move the focus a lot with just a little bit of focus ring movement. Older lenses had less sensitively geared lens focus rings.

Practice will make it easier to manually focus, and a KatzEye focusing screen will be a big help.

arcooke · Jan 16, 2011

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a focusing screen only useful if what you're focusing on is exactly in the center of the frame? I could see that being really counter-intuitive if you're shooting with a shallow depth of field, and the simple act of rotating the camera after focusing could bring your subject back out of focus.

KmH · Jan 16, 2011

arcooke said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a focusing screen only useful if what you're focusing on is exactly in the center of the frame? I could see that being really counter-intuitive if you're shooting with a shallow depth of field, and the simple act of rotating the camera after focusing could bring your subject back out of focus.

Yes, just like using the center AF point and recomposing the shot.

Yes, the shallow DOF issue is exactly the same as when using AF.