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Is the 8700 good enough for professionals?

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another sensible name

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Im wondering if any very knowledgable people here, who may also be professiona photographers have an opinion as to whether or not the 8700 is good enough to use at a medium sized or small newspaper on a daily basis, with a decent nikon speedlight.

just curious as to people's thoughts on this as im thinking of doing this

i know a d70 would be best, but i just bought the 8700, love it, and cant afford anything more for now
 
I am not a professional, but have used a 5700 a lot. I also just upgraded to the D70. In my opinion, unless you have the need for speed, my 5700 takes shots that I have yet to rival with the D70. For the colors and resolutions available in newsprint, and given your budget, I would say the 8700 should do you very well. Its compact size and flip LCD might also get you into shooting positions you may otherwise not get with the D70 or other DSLR.

I would say, though, that a compatible, external flash and diffuser (like the $20 Stofen Omnibounce) is a must for producing great flash shots.

That's my 2c for what it's worth.

You may find this thread of mine to be of interest:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1007&message=10362096
another sensible name said:
Im wondering if any very knowledgable people here, who may also be
professiona photographers have an opinion as to whether or not the
8700 is good enough to use at a medium sized or small newspaper on
a daily basis, with a decent nikon speedlight.

just curious as to people's thoughts on this as im thinking of
doing this

i know a d70 would be best, but i just bought the 8700, love it,
and cant afford anything more for now
Click to expand...
--
Joe

Proud FCAS member #101
CATS > ^..^
WSSA member #46

Nikon Coolpix 5700, SB-50 DX , Nikon D 70, 18-70mm Nikkor DX
http://www.pbase.com/mrmom/
 
another sensible name said:
Im wondering if any very knowledgable people here, who may also be
professiona photographers have an opinion as to whether or not the
8700 is good enough to use at a medium sized or small newspaper on
a daily basis, with a decent nikon speedlight.

just curious as to people's thoughts on this as im thinking of
doing this

i know a d70 would be best, but i just bought the 8700, love it,
and cant afford anything more for now
Click to expand...
I find little difference between by D1x/D2h and my P&S camera. The challenge comes when you have less than perfect conditions in lighting and the need to take multiple images quickly or stop action. There is also some DOF control problems with the non-DLSR.

The advantage of a camera like the 8700 or the newer 8800 is a all in one package with a large focal range.

--
Greg Gebhardt in
Jacksonville, Florida
http://www.pbase.com/greggebhardt
 
Newspaper doesn't need high-res, pin-sharp images. Just images that fit into the pages.

However, There are 2 things that should be considered for journalist cameras.
  • Wide focal length.
Say 28-300 or 50-500. This is what 5700 and 8700 are excellent. They have 35-280mm lens!!!

But maybe you should wait and consider 8800 which comes with 35-350mm lens and also VR function (Which is helpful in low-light condition).

-High recording speed

You dont want to miss the frontpage picture, right? This is where 5700&8700 lack. You can use them to photograph sports or some events. But you might get nerved as they are not responsive enough. However, if you just want to photograph people in a village, patients in a hospital, a flood in a city or something like those. 5700&8700 will be more than fine :D

So my final answer is YES and NO. Depends on what you will photograph. But if I were you, I would wait until 8800 is out, then I will decide this again. I think 8800 is much better choice. You will get 10X VR Lens and also faster process too.
 
what is a vr function?
Y. Charles said:
Newspaper doesn't need high-res, pin-sharp images. Just images that
fit into the pages.

However, There are 2 things that should be considered for
journalist cameras.
  • Wide focal length.
Say 28-300 or 50-500. This is what 5700 and 8700 are excellent.
They have 35-280mm lens!!!

But maybe you should wait and consider 8800 which comes with
35-350mm lens and also VR function (Which is helpful in low-light
condition).

-High recording speed

You dont want to miss the frontpage picture, right? This is where
5700&8700 lack. You can use them to photograph sports or some
events. But you might get nerved as they are not responsive enough.
However, if you just want to photograph people in a village,
patients in a hospital, a flood in a city or something like those.
5700&8700 will be more than fine :D

So my final answer is YES and NO. Depends on what you will
photograph. But if I were you, I would wait until 8800 is out, then
I will decide this again. I think 8800 is much better choice. You
will get 10X VR Lens and also faster process too.
Click to expand...
 
VR stands for Vibration Reduction. In a VR lens, there is a system to detect the camera shake and the system moves the lens in the opposite way. This results in less shutter speed required in order to maintain the sharpness of images.

I think I might confuse you. To make things easier, Let's assume that you are about to photograph with a 60mm lens. With this lens, you have to use the shutter speed at least 1/60sec to prevent images from blurry result. But with VR function, you can use this set of camera, but reduce the shutter speed down to 1/15 without causing blur.

Canon IS and Sigma OS work in the same way. However, Minolta AS shifts the CCD rather than the lens. But the result is the same --> maintain sharpness in lower shutter speed.
 
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