Hi all... shucks, I’ve fallen to the dark side...

Nope, don’t worry... not from Nikon to Canon. From Olympus to Nikon!!!

As a newbie, I just wanted to say a warm hello to all in the Nikon forum.

After a few days of head-scratching and eye-spinning reading net-reviews, I finally took the plunge for a D90 with the AF-S Nikkor 50mm f1.4 and AF-S Nikkor 10-24mm f3.5-4.5.

I have a work assignment that (insists!) that I go to India to record an event for 5 days (photos with a bit of video). I am not a pro or anything. Actually, I am a graphic designer, but since I have started to take photography more seriously since my daughter was born, I have been asked to tag along.

My current gear is an EP1 (20mm f1.7) and a E-620 plus a general zoom (Zuiko 14-54mm) which has served me well. But, I seriously thought whether this would suffice for my trip to India – if I could get dynamic enough shots. I love the lenses which Olympus has and I think they make the best general zooms on the market, but what has failed to materialize is a dedicated portrait lens. To be able to get more subject separation from a lens like the AF-S Nikkor 50mm f1.4 (combined with the larger sensor) was really a gateway that enticed me to Nikon. Plus the Nikkor 10-24mm and the wider-ratio of 2/3 compared to 4/3 would allow me to capture sweeping landscapes. Basically, I will be selling the E-620 and lens, and keeping my E-P1 with 20mm f1.7 for my walk-around snap-shot camera, and the new D90 with portrait and wide-angle lenses for more dynamic shooting.

The D90 was selling at a great price over here in Japan (around $720 by current exchange rates) which is around the same price as the D5000. The Pentax K-7 was also a close contender, but it was 1/3rd more expensive.

So, to join a new system is slightly bewildering with having to adjust to new menus, functions, controls, software, etc. Plus, I will be leaving for my trip in less than 2 weeks time, so, in a sense, I am under pressure to learn as much as possible to lessen any photo disasters while I am away.

Any tips and wisdom from forum members would be much appreciated!

I am a mac user and have just discovered that the CaptureNX2 is not yet compatible with Snow Leopard... bummer! Any raw converters that are recommended?

Also, any tips on optimal settings or how best to use the two new lenses that will be arriving in the next day or two? (Portrait shooting tips would be much appreciated)

Thanks all and I look forward to sharing photos once I am up and running.

Regards,
Tony

--------

Scene: Han Solo saying his farewells after getting captured…

Princess Leia: “I love you Hans!!”
Han Solo: “I know, I know…”
Chewbacca: “Urrgghh, graaagghh…”
Han Solo: “…now THAT I didn’t know…”

– Robot Chicken Star Wars II –

--------



http://www.flickr.com/photos/26154011@N07/

Poor planning on your side, it takes at least 1000-3000 shots to get to grips with a new camera. But, that can't be helped.

OK, pack the pen anyway with that tiny 20mm on it, might be good for some candid and semi-candid portraits.

Assuming you have a working knowledge of photography techniques (in other words, you know the difference between aperture, shutter speed, iso and your own index finger) what I'd advice you to concentrate on:

metering, matrix versus center versus spot
do a spot of fill flash with the popup.
guesstimate a correct manual exposure quickly
change your iso and know at all times where it is
deal with the focus points
shoot a custom whitebalance

As to india,

pack plenty of memory cards, you'll be wanting to shoot raw

Depending on the actual location a few protective filters and a polarizer might be a good idea
take a second battery

take cleaning gear, rocket blower + micro fiber are minimal, an arctic butterfly would be very nice to have.

Good luck!
--
Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/

I use RAW exclusively with my little D40, and Aperture on my iMac and MacBook. Great program (IMHO), but maybe not enough for your needs. Lots of tutorials to be found as well.

Good luck with the D90 !

Matt

Found these in another thread :

http://www1.nikonusa.com/slrlearningcenter/how_do_i_landing.php

http://www.flickr.com/groups/nikon_d90/

Hope it helps.

Matt

I am also learning the D90. May I recommend an excellent book, Mastering the Nikon D90 by Darrell Young from Rockynook/NikonianPress. It is a great resources for people who hate manuals.
--
http://digitalphotonut.zenfolio.com/

although I have not had a chance to view this video, Amazon has a video on demand for an instructional film of the D90. It deals with the controls for the D90 and it is $1.99 for 7 days rental. On amazon use the drop down menu and highlight video on demand and then type in D90.

Also, do a google search for D90 tutorials and do a Bing search of video for D90. There is a wealth of information on the internet.

Good luck and happy new year.
--
http://digitalphotonut.zenfolio.com/

View NX2:
Mac OS X

CPU: PowerPC G4 / PowerPC G5 Intel Core series / Intel Xeon series (Universal Binary).

OS: Mac OS X (Version 10.3.9, 10.4.10).

Memory: 512MB or above (1GB or above is recommended).

Hard Disk: 500MB or above for OS startup disk unit (1GB or above is recommended). For OS installation: 50 MB or above.

Monitor resolution: 1024 x 768 pixels (XGA) or more millions or above.

Will that work for you?

I have been doing very well shooting RAW and then using the free ViewNX2 software to convert the images.

wijnands said:

Poor planning on your side, it takes at least 1000-3000 shots to get to grips with a new camera. But, that can't be helped.

Click to expand...

I was only notified a week ago, so a choice had to be made. I think I made the correct choice and am looking forward to learning a new system. All I need to know is the basics and I think I should be fine. I already have a good foundation to photography, so that will assist me a great deal. The main difference is that I will be shooting in raw now – which is probably a good thing as I can master the processing techniques later when I get back.

wijnands said:

Assuming you have a working knowledge of photography techniques (in other words, you know the difference between aperture, shutter speed, iso and your own index finger) what I'd advice you to concentrate on:

Click to expand...

wijnands said:

metering, matrix versus center versus spot

Click to expand...

I read that the matrix metering can sometimes blow highlights? What is the best way to deal with this?

wijnands said:

do a spot of fill flash with the popup.
guesstimate a correct manual exposure quickly
change your iso and know at all times where it is
deal with the focus points

Click to expand...

I tend to just shoot center-point and recompose.

wijnands said:

shoot a custom whitebalance

Click to expand...

Is autoWB not so reliable? Or is this mainly for indoor lighting?

wijnands said:

As to india,

pack plenty of memory cards, you'll be wanting to shoot raw

Depending on the actual location a few protective filters and a polarizer might be a good idea
take a second battery

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice.

wijnands said:

take cleaning gear, rocket blower + micro fiber are minimal, an arctic butterfly would be very nice to have.

Click to expand...

Coming from Olympus, I never had to clean the sensor due to the effectiveness of the dust-removal system. Is the version on the D90 not so reliable as to need regular sensor cleaning? How often do you have to clean it?

wijnands said:

Good luck!

Click to expand...

Again, thanks for taking the time help me.

Regards,
Tony

--------

Scene: Han Solo saying his farewells after getting captured…

Princess Leia: “I love you Hans!!”
Han Solo: “I know, I know…”
Chewbacca: “Urrgghh, graaagghh…”
Han Solo: “…now THAT I didn’t know…”

– Robot Chicken Star Wars II –

--------



http://www.flickr.com/photos/26154011@N07/

veteran35th said:

I use RAW exclusively with my little D40, and Aperture on my iMac and MacBook. Great program (IMHO), but maybe not enough for your needs. Lots of tutorials to be found as well.

Click to expand...

Did you do a comparison between CaptureNX, Lightroom and Aperture before settling with Aperture? What made you choose it for your raw processing if you don’t mind me asking?

veteran35th said:

Good luck with the D90 !

Click to expand...

Cheers! Looking forward to having fun with it.

Regards,
Tony

--------

Scene: Han Solo saying his farewells after getting captured…

Princess Leia: “I love you Hans!!”
Han Solo: “I know, I know…”
Chewbacca: “Urrgghh, graaagghh…”
Han Solo: “…now THAT I didn’t know…”

– Robot Chicken Star Wars II –

--------



http://www.flickr.com/photos/26154011@N07/

2005magnum said:

I am also learning the D90. May I recommend an excellent book, Mastering the Nikon D90 by Darrell Young from Rockynook/NikonianPress. It is a great resources for people who hate manuals.
--
http://digitalphotonut.zenfolio.com/

Click to expand...

But I find that by playing and having fun first and then reading later once I get stuck is the effective way for me.

Regards,
Tony

--------

Scene: Han Solo saying his farewells after getting captured…

Princess Leia: “I love you Hans!!”
Han Solo: “I know, I know…”
Chewbacca: “Urrgghh, graaagghh…”
Han Solo: “…now THAT I didn’t know…”

– Robot Chicken Star Wars II –

--------



http://www.flickr.com/photos/26154011@N07/

717 said:

View NX2:
Mac OS X

CPU: PowerPC G4 / PowerPC G5 Intel Core series / Intel Xeon series (Universal Binary).

OS: Mac OS X (Version 10.3.9, 10.4.10).

Memory: 512MB or above (1GB or above is recommended).

Hard Disk: 500MB or above for OS startup disk unit (1GB or above is recommended). For OS installation: 50 MB or above.

Monitor resolution: 1024 x 768 pixels (XGA) or more millions or above.

Will that work for you?

I have been doing very well shooting RAW and then using the free ViewNX2 software to convert the images.

Click to expand...

Yes, I have a 2008 Macbook 2.4, so it should be good. Thanks.

--
Regards,
Tony

--------

Scene: Han Solo saying his farewells after getting captured…

Princess Leia: “I love you Hans!!”
Han Solo: “I know, I know…”
Chewbacca: “Urrgghh, graaagghh…”
Han Solo: “…now THAT I didn’t know…”

– Robot Chicken Star Wars II –

--------



http://www.flickr.com/photos/26154011@N07/

I have just found the app: ‘Nikon Learn & Explore’ app for free.

Anyone else use this app and what do you think?

Regards,
Tony

--------

Scene: Han Solo saying his farewells after getting captured…

Princess Leia: “I love you Hans!!”
Han Solo: “I know, I know…”
Chewbacca: “Urrgghh, graaagghh…”
Han Solo: “…now THAT I didn’t know…”

– Robot Chicken Star Wars II –

--------



http://www.flickr.com/photos/26154011@N07/

TonyinJapan said:

wijnands said:

Poor planning on your side, it takes at least 1000-3000 shots to get to grips with a new camera. But, that can't be helped.

Click to expand...

I was only notified a week ago, so a choice had to be made. I think I made the correct choice and am looking forward to learning a new system. All I need to know is the basics and I think I should be fine. I already have a good foundation to photography, so that will assist me a great deal. The main difference is that I will be shooting in raw now – which is probably a good thing as I can master the processing techniques later when I get back.

Click to expand...

Yes. Create a backup copy of your raw pics when you get back. Take out that DVD after a year or so and you will be able to redo some pics ang get that much more out of them.

TonyinJapan said:

TonyinJapan said:

Assuming you have a working knowledge of photography techniques (in other words, you know the difference between aperture, shutter speed, iso and your own index finger) what I'd advice you to concentrate on:

Click to expand...

TonyinJapan said:

metering, matrix versus center versus spot

Click to expand...

I read that the matrix metering can sometimes blow highlights? What is the best way to deal with this?

Click to expand...

Either accept them or don't use it. Matrix tries to calculate a proper exposure for the whole scene. If that's not possible you'll either get your subject too dark or you'll blow the sky.

TonyinJapan said:

TonyinJapan said:

do a spot of fill flash with the popup.
guesstimate a correct manual exposure quickly
change your iso and know at all times where it is
deal with the focus points

Click to expand...

I tend to just shoot center-point and recompose.

Click to expand...

That will work, try and see if that produces satisfactory results.

TonyinJapan said:

TonyinJapan said:

shoot a custom whitebalance

Click to expand...

Is autoWB not so reliable? Or is this mainly for indoor lighting?

Click to expand...

AutoWB is either pretty reliable or it totally messes it up. Most articial lighting it messes up, sunrise it'ss not that good at either, sunsets are usually ok.

TonyinJapan said:

TonyinJapan said:

As to india,

pack plenty of memory cards, you'll be wanting to shoot raw

Depending on the actual location a few protective filters and a polarizer might be a good idea
take a second battery

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice.

TonyinJapan said:

take cleaning gear, rocket blower + micro fiber are minimal, an arctic butterfly would be very nice to have.

Click to expand...

Coming from Olympus, I never had to clean the sensor due to the effectiveness of the dust-removal system. Is the version on the D90 not so reliable as to need regular sensor cleaning? How often do you have to clean it?

Click to expand...

From what I've heard from other travellers there's places in india that can and will overwhelm every dust removal system currently on the market. Clean as needed.

A rocket blower will also help in keeping the exterior of your camera and lenses clean.

I know of one guy who did a shoot in the deserts in the mongolian/russian/china area. A 350D didn't survive that trip and his 5D needed a major professional clean.

TonyinJapan said:

TonyinJapan said:

Good luck!

Click to expand...

Again, thanks for taking the time help me.

Regards,
Tony

--------

Scene: Han Solo saying his farewells after getting captured…

Princess Leia: “I love you Hans!!”
Han Solo: “I know, I know…”
Chewbacca: “Urrgghh, graaagghh…”
Han Solo: “…now THAT I didn’t know…”

– Robot Chicken Star Wars II –

--------



http://www.flickr.com/photos/26154011@N07/

Click to expand...

--
Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/

You'll like the Nikon additions. Although I could never give up my Olympus stuff, also having a diversified Nikon system really opens up your capabilities. I will not lay blame on either system as I honestly think they complement each other in a variety of ways.

So yes, you will like what you see and use here. Good luck...
--

TonyinJapan said:

veteran35th said:

I use RAW exclusively with my little D40, and Aperture on my iMac and MacBook. Great program (IMHO), but maybe not enough for your needs. Lots of tutorials to be found as well.

Click to expand...

Did you do a comparison between CaptureNX, Lightroom and Aperture before settling with Aperture? What made you choose it for your raw processing if you don’t mind me asking?

Click to expand...

Think that I saw one too many threads saying that CaptureNX was pants.

Lightroom vs Aperture is a hard one. I started using the Aperture Trial and found it very easy. I was processing photos quickly and didn't miss anything. When I came to test Lightroom, I thought why bother? Not very scientific but then, I'm not a scientist !

If you want to really manipulate your photos with Photoshopt then I presume the Lightroom - Photoshop route might be better. I have not found that I need PS for my photography.

Matt

Congrats on the camera, it's a great little machine (I steal my wife's all the time!).

I wouldn't worry too much about the menu system, etc, as the camera is pretty darn easy to learn, though of course practice as much as you can.

Hopefully I can answer some questions:

1) ViewNX is Nikon's extremely basic image viewer. It can convert non-edited NEF (raw) files into JPG, you can tag images with basic markers (1, 2, 3, then filter, etc), and that's about it.

2) Capture NX2 is Nikon's more robust image editor. It gives good results, and has a neat system of "control point" usage for editing sections of an image. The downsides: Way too slow on many systems, can't do proper cloning, doesn't do organization. While I personally bought the program, I sorta regret it now, as I'm starting to get as-good results from PHotoshop CS3, with more flexibility for most tasks.

3) Aperture is I think Apple's counterpart to Adobe Lightroom. If you have a lot of photos to go through, many people prefer these applications, as they can sort, tag, and basic edit, and print all in one application. I would recommend using a demo to see how you like it.

Most of all - enjoy your camera The only suggestion I have is to enable your "AutoFP" setting (I think that's what it's called) in your menus, so that you onboard flash can sync up to 1/200s. I have no idea why this option just isn't in the flash speed menu.

As for matrix metering - yes, it's going to blow highlights, just like any metering mode can at one point or another.

Here's what I do: For large landscape-type pictures, I'll leave it on matrix, as I want the whole scene metered and then I'll go from there.

For people, I'll switch to center-weight, so that the camera mostly pays attention to the center of the image (or my focal point, I think), which is where I'll have the subject framed.

For very tough situations, or if I'm shooting manual mode, I'll switch to spot metering. This is when I have time to shoot and I'm not in a rush.

Edit -- Get really good at using your flash for a slight fill-flash during daytime photography. I'm not sure if you've done it or not, but it takes a little practice. Really good for when you have someone in harsh sunlight and need to take thier portrait, and you need to fill in the shadows.

You'll have to work around the sync speed (1/200 max), which is way too slow for sunny outdoors, and the onboard flash doesn't have a huge range. Considering brining along a neutral density filter if you have the time, as it will let you shoot with larger apertures.

--
JL Smith
http://jl-smith.smugmug.com
Gear listed in profile!

for the good advice.

Also, I noticed you made comments on my flickr... cheers!

Regards,
Tony

Ben Herrmann said:

You'll like the Nikon additions. Although I could never give up my Olympus stuff, also having a diversified Nikon system really opens up your capabilities. I will not lay blame on either system as I honestly think they complement each other in a variety of ways.

So yes, you will like what you see and use here. Good luck...

Click to expand...

Thanks Ben.

I will be a triple-system user for a short period of time (m4/3, 4/3 and Nikon) but I hate have excess gear gathering dust in the cupboard (which is probably opposite to you – don’t you collect gear for fun???). The E-620 will most likely go to a new owner unless I see something drastic with my time comparing it with the D90.

Here is a question for you:

What one thing would you love to have on the Nikon system taken from Olympus (and vice-versa)?

I have a feeling I will miss the Olympus colours straight out of the jpeg engine. Are there ways to get something close to Oly colours on Nikons from raw processing?

Regards,
Tony

--------

Scene: Han Solo saying his farewells after getting captured…

Princess Leia: “I love you Hans!!”
Han Solo: “I know, I know…”
Chewbacca: “Urrgghh, graaagghh…”
Han Solo: “…now THAT I didn’t know…”

– Robot Chicken Star Wars II –

--------



http://www.flickr.com/photos/26154011@N07/

jl_smith said:

Congrats on the camera, it's a great little machine (I steal my wife's all the time!).

Click to expand...

Thanks.

jl_smith said:

2) Capture NX2 is Nikon's more robust image editor. It gives good results, and has a neat system of "control point" usage for editing sections of an image. The downsides: Way too slow on many systems, can't do proper cloning, doesn't do organization. While I personally bought the program, I sorta regret it now, as I'm starting to get as-good results from PHotoshop CS3, with more flexibility for most tasks.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I already have CS3 and use it daily, so that could be the route to go. Any tips on getting ‘as-good results’ from using ACR?

Regards,
Tony

--------

Scene: Han Solo saying his farewells after getting captured…

Princess Leia: “I love you Hans!!”
Han Solo: “I know, I know…”
Chewbacca: “Urrgghh, graaagghh…”
Han Solo: “…now THAT I didn’t know…”

– Robot Chicken Star Wars II –

--------



http://www.flickr.com/photos/26154011@N07/

I use Oly for daytime scenery etc, it just gives me better results and less work after taking the photo, compared to Nikon.

On the other hand i always use Nikon when it is night time, or indoors, Oly can not match Nikon d90 in that department.

For portraits and stuff, with controlled/good lighting, i just am in love with Oly 50mm lens, a bit pricy but well worth the money.

It is hard to haul two systems, but if I am to go to another country and will only carry one system, it would be Nikon d90, due to night time capabilities, instead of setting a tripod continiously, i can just bump the iso a bit