Best Nikon material for low-light?

I have read a lot of posts…400D VS D80, D200 VS D80, D200 VS 30D, etc etc… It’s funny to see how people are fighting with special features. I don’t really take sport shots…So no need of high fps. I’m still wondering if an automatic cleaning system is really useful or if it’s just a marketing action....

Actually I have a D70 and I mainly use it in low-light conditions ( I take a lot of pictures in clubs/bars). In clubs I use my Nikon D70 + 18-70mm + SB-800 Flash. I shoot in manual mode, ISO 800, F 3.5 and mostly with a 1/2sec aperture. I know the 30D is the best model for low-light conditions but I would like to stay with Nikon. I love my D70 but I have sometimes some AF problems. Once a while the focus is made on the background and it’s very disturbing because I can only notice it when I see the picture on my computer. And it happens even if the models are completely centered...Some of my friends have the same problem with the D70 and I know it never happens with the 30D.

• Does anyone have the same problem with his D70+SB600/800?
• Does it also happen with a D200?
• If not, it should be also fixed with the D80, isn’t?
• Would it be useful to get a D200 instead of a D80 for what I do?

• Would it be really useful for me to get a VR lens? It looks very interesting but I have to say that the Nikon offer in that segment is poor regarding to what Canon is selling….

Even with my 18-70mm I only shoot in 18mm at night so I wouldn’t need an 18mm-200mm… More then this, the 18mm-200mm enables focusing from as close as 20 inches against 15 inches for my actual 18-70mm and sometimes I like to go really close to people’s faces….So I do care about those 5 inches Canon got very good wide-angle lenses with the “VR” option; nothing by Nikon in that range. Does that mean the VR is only useful when you zoom? If yes, would it be better for me to simply get a good F2.8 without VR? Well, once again I don’t know if there is a “useful” difference between a F2.8 and a F3.5.
Thanks a lot

Sebastien

Comment below:

paikan07 said:

I love my D70 but I have sometimes some AF problems. Once a while
the focus is made on the background and it’s very disturbing
because I can only notice it when I see the picture on my computer.
And it happens even if the models are completely centered...Some of
my friends have the same problem with the D70 and I know it never
happens with the 30D.

Click to expand...

How do you know it NEVER happens with the 30D? If you truly belive the 30D never misses focus in these situations, you really ought to buy one.
Never is a word which when used in this context will usually be wrong.

Ted

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Because I asked my friends who take pictures in clubs with a 30D. The ones with a D70 have somtimes AF problemes, the ones with a 30D don't.

As I said I really like my Nikon and I'm happy with the settings I found. So I would like to fix this and to keep all my lenses.

The D70 will have AF problems if the USER is focusing on a subject with no detail or contrast (blank wall, etc). Im sure the 30D would have the same problem.

I would not dump your Nikon gear because the D70 misses AF sometimes in a dark club. You have to make sure you give the camera something to focus on. You cannot make blanket statements like "this never happens on the 30d". The photographer is usually the variable. Don't blame the tools.

paikan07 said:

Because I asked my friends who take pictures in clubs with a 30D.
The ones with a D70 have somtimes AF problemes, the ones with a 30D
don't.

As I said I really like my Nikon and I'm happy with the settings I
found. So I would like to fix this and to keep all my lenses.

Click to expand...

--
'87.6% of all statistics are made up on the spot'

ShutterBugin
http://www.exposureproductions.smugmug.com

Believe me, it happens quite often with 30D, as well as, 20D. My friend who is a proud owner of his 2nd 30D and used to own 2 copies of 20D and let me tell you 70 % of his shots were either front of rear focused. Your so called "friends" are not telling you the truth or maybe they are the lucky ones that got the perfect copies. Don't forget when Canon released 30D, the following week they released the firmware update for it.What does it tell you?
I will let you answer this question.

On the other hand, the D50 that I've had for a year rarely misfocuses. In addition when I got my SB-600 I started to make even better, sharper images. It is more likely that it is the lens's problem and not the flawless D70

Shutterbugin said:

paikan07 said:

Because I asked my friends who take pictures in clubs with a 30D.
The ones with a D70 have somtimes AF problemes, the ones with a 30D
don't.

As I said I really like my Nikon and I'm happy with the settings I
found. So I would like to fix this and to keep all my lenses.

Click to expand...

--
'87.6% of all statistics are made up on the spot'

ShutterBugin
http://www.exposureproductions.smugmug.com

Click to expand...

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I'm not a canon-lover saying everything from Nikon is bad. I use Nikon and I like my material. The thing is that all the people I know who use a D70 in clubs have the same problem and the ones with a Canon are not complaining. I don't think it's a statistical coincidence or that D70 users are worst then 30D users. But I will give you a link to an example. You'll see, it's not normal at all.

Beside this, I never got any AF problems outsite a club. It's only in really dark conditions.

As I said I use an SB-800. So thanks to the "holographic projection" I can focus a pure white surface.

Hehe ok I should investigate on this then

So It shoudn't be better with a D80/D200? (except the fact it would be perhaps easier to see on a 2.5 inches screen if a pic is not well focused)

Are you using single area focus with spot/center focus metering?
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Paikan,

I shoot photos in the clubs as well and some photos do come out out of focus, but nothing to worry about. It is impossible that every shot will come out perfect. There will be shots that you simply will not like and some will be out of focus. Do you shoot club scene for fun or work.

I do it for fun, usually when my friend is DJing.

http://henrypollux.com/vlad/v/Party+Photos/

By the way, I try to use primes for the clubs. Sometimes I might use 24-85, very nice, sharp lens.

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Yes.

But I found an interesting link: http://www.focustestchart.com/chart.html

"What is back focus?

Back focus is when you shoot a pic like the one below, expecting to get the result shown on the left but, instead, you get the result on the right.

That’s back focus. Your focus is set to a distance further back than your subject. You’re focused behind, or to the back of, your subject. (Front focus is simply where everything’s the other way around.)

It’s VERY annoying to shoot your pic of the day of your wife/husband/child/friend and then find out that their face is out of focus but their ears are tack sharp. Not nice.

There are many things that can cause this problem and almost all of them can be chalked up to operator error. Occasionally though, the camera and/or lens is to blame and that’s what this test is for.

The D70

Although this test was originally devised in response to the back focus issue that manifest in some Nikon D70 cameras, it can be used to check any camera.

Human nature is such that when we’re happy with a new toy we tend to simply enjoy it quietly but, if our new toy gives us grief, we want to tell everyone who’ll listen. And some who won’t.

So, in evaluating Internet discussions on the back focus issue, one has to be careful not to be misled into believing that every Nikon D70 suffers from back focus just because it’s a hot topic.

The truth is that only a minority of D70s have been faulty in this regard. The majority work just fine."

I hope that calmed you down a bit )

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Hello Vladik!

Thanks for your answer! I know I cannot avoid it completely, I wish to get the best I can with the money I have

Well, it's not my main activity but I get paid for it (not a lot but enough to sometimes buy a new tool for my Nikon )

Hahaha yes, I'll make the test later

OK, to start with, why don't you try a faster lens?

An f/2.8 lens gets you twice as much light as an f/4 lens, so do your AF sensors!

I also have a D70 and the AF is just fine, in low light, you may need a faster lens, i would look at 50/1.4 and 85/1.8 to begin with if I were you...

Your 30D friends possibly have faster lenses and that's the only reason they get more keepers.

Generally speaking, guys, what is your opinion what is better for low light nikon d50 or canon 350d?

thanks
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Something like this?

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED

jetstream said:

OK, to start with, why don't you try a faster lens?
An f/2.8 lens gets you twice as much light as an f/4 lens, so do
your AF sensors!
I also have a D70 and the AF is just fine, in low light, you may
need a faster lens, i would look at 50/1.4 and 85/1.8 to begin with
if I were you...
Your 30D friends possibly have faster lenses and that's the only
reason they get more keepers.

Click to expand...

Actually it's not a DX

May be this one is better:

Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF]

??

Get a better lens, and learn about aperature and shutter speeds. 1/2 sec aperature? Makes no sense. and, focus issues are most likely your fault. The 30d is KNOWN for it's poor AF quality. You don't hear that about multicam-900 to 2000 (all current nikons). Yes, you'll notice better AF with a d80, but not enough to get a new camera. I recommend you get a 50 1.8 and experiment in the clubs with it
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D50

1/2 sec makes no sense? Why?...

Thanks for the advice but I made enough test the past two years with aperture and exposure. I don't have anything to improve here.

The back focus is a known problem on the D70. When my models take 80% of the picture and if they are centered, I don't get where my fault is...

[Thanks for setting off the arrogant mode]

Because you said 1/2 second Aperture...and you meant 1/2 second shutterpseed.

paikan07 said:

1/2 sec makes no sense? Why?...

Thanks for the advice but I made enough test the past two years
with aperture and exposure. I don't have anything to improve here.

The back focus is a known problem on the D70. When my models take
80% of the picture and if they are centered, I don't get where my
fault is...

[Thanks for setting off the arrogant mode]

Click to expand...

--
'87.6% of all statistics are made up on the spot'

ShutterBugin
http://www.exposureproductions.smugmug.com