Dont Hate Me! Just Got a D300

[MaxxxRacer]

Ok, so I went to get the SB-800 for a birthday party (gonna return it) and I saw the D300 there. I found out it was the last one in the store (best buy) and got the sales rep to give it to me for 448 dollrs off sticker. I got the D300 kit with the 18-200.

Suffice it to say, the D300 makes my D40x seem like a childrens toy.

Sadly, I wont be able to keep it, I will sell it for a 200 dollar profit most likely, but I am gonna see if I can start doing weddings and actually keep the camera.

I have only used it for a few minutes so far, but I can tell you one thing. The LCD is spectacular.

[Planet]

Sell it make a profit. Go to another best buy get them tor price match with the receipt :p:

[Movieman]

When I saw this title I just had to look..
Now I hate to say it but my Canon A70 died( muddy LCD viewing screen) two days ago and I need a new camera..:wasntme:

[WrigleyVillain]

Dave there's just too much we'd love to buy you :wasntme:

First things first. :)

[Movieman]

Dave there's just too much we'd love to buy you :wasntme:

First things first. :)

I don't want you to buy me anything, but I do look for a good deal..:D
Really liked that Canon A70..anyway to fix that LCD or is it junk and I throw myself on the mercy of Max to give me a good deal?:rofl:

[Zytek_Fan]

I don't want you to buy me anything, but I do look for a good deal..:D
Really liked that Canon A70..anyway to fix that LCD or is it junk and I throw myself on the mercy of Max to give me a good deal?:rofl:

Give in to the mighty DSLR gods. :rofl:

[eXclusive]

Dave there's just too much we'd love to buy you

First things first. :)

The smile free? I'll take it... lol

[[XC] 2long4u]

I hate you. :D

[MaxxxRacer]

I think I am going to start doing weddings to pay for this thing so I can keep it. I have put about 200 shots on it tonight and its awesome.. especially with the SB-800 indoors.

[[XC] 2long4u]

You got it for 450 off, so last night you spent at least $2,000.00.
Did you get in a fight with your wife last night? :D

[ZOMGVTEK]

When I saw this title I just had to look..
Now I hate to say it but my Canon A70 died( muddy LCD viewing screen) two days ago and I need a new camera..:wasntme:

Do the pictures turn out fine? Aka, is it the sensor or the screen? I have a A70 that the screen would randomly go black, and show random lines on. If you hit it, it would be fine. The menu worked, and the pictures looked the same on the screen as on my computer, random lines... etc. It turns out, the ccd connector was poorly glued or something internally, and cannon had a recall on it, regardless of warranty status. I can try and find the pdf you need to fill out to return it if you like. They sent me a sticker to put on a box, and under a week later i got my camera back working. :)

[MaxxxRacer]

2long4u;2971478']You got it for 450 off, so last night you spent at least $2,000.00.
Did you get in a fight with your wife last night? :D

My girlfriend (fiancee eventually) understood because she realized what i was thinking with regard to reselling it. Before the 14 days are up from best buy the camera and lens will be on ebay.

And yes, it was over 2000. It was 2100 with the SB-800 if i recal correctly.

[berk]

Congratulations on owning one of the best DSLRs on the planet...i'm jealous :D
But i have yet to justify getting one for myself.

[WrigleyVillain]

Weddings sure are lucrative if you can get your foot in the door. Good luck!

[MaxxxRacer]

I have hook ups within the Russian & Armenian Community in Los Angeles (who have assloads of weddings and parties) so I think I will be keeping the camera.

On a side note, I just rented the 17-55 F2.8 for the party tommorow. I have heard mixed reviews, about it, but I will give it a try. Sad part is that I am largely using it just to make the camera look more professional (read professional as "bigger")

[Soulburner]

How much does renting cost?

[MaxxxRacer]

How much does renting cost?

27 dollars plus a 1200 dollar deposit for the weekend. Its normally 27 a day, but they have a weekend special that starts from 4PM Friday to 12PM Monday for the same price as 1 day during the week. Suffice it to say I will give this lens a workout as I plan to be doing alot more parties and want to know how useful it will be.

On a side note, the SB-800 with 5 NI-MH 2700MAH AA cells is crazy. I can fire the full buffer (6 frames) of the D300 with full power on the flash and it only takes about 2 seconds to cycle.

[[XC] 2long4u]

What is the FPS of the D300?

[Soulburner]

6, 8 with the battery grip.

[Nate P.]

6, 8 with the battery grip.
But only 2.5 or so with 14bit A/D conversion. Unlike the 40D with 6.5 with 14bit A/D conversion.:p: HAHA, enjoy the new cam Max!

[Soulburner]

No one uses 14-bit anyway, so it doesn't really matter does it? ;)

[rip[tor]

Could i see some pretty pictures please ?

[Nate P.]

No one uses 14-bit anyway, so it doesn't really matter does it? ;)
If I had it, I'd probably use it.:shrug:

[berk]

14- bit vs. 12-bit articles (for and against)..http://blogs.oreilly.com/lightroom/2008/02/14bit-capture-and-lightroom-pa.html

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1039&message=26245613

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00NvWa

[MaxxxRacer]

Could i see some pretty pictures please ?

i will upload some to flickr. currently prepping an assload of batteries for the party.

EDIT: got some posted here.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/maxxxracer/sets/72157604965709323/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2252/2478265994_dcb8579c49_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2053/2477451665_78069309b2_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2378/2478264960_7d41bf8715_b.jpg

[Soulburner]

Not bad, but I hate it when the EXIF data is killed :(

[MaxxxRacer]

go to my flickr. the full size images with exif are there.

Just got up from the party. kinda got drunk. had atleast 10 LARGE (read 2x normal shot glass size) shots of Kiev and Grey Goose vodka. In any case, I had alot of fun and got about 600 photos, 85%+ turning out great. The "pro" photographer that was at the restaurant watched me, green with envy. She was doing indoor shots with the builtin flash on the Canon 40D. Nothing agaisnt Canon here, but the built in flash on ANY camera sucks if you actually want to get good lighting. Ironically a friend of ours ended up buying a picture of my girlfriend and myself from the lady purely for the fact that there were only 2 other pictures of me with my camera. In those few moments that the camera was in someone elses hands my heart clenched up pretty tightly as I seemingy watched 4 months rent flail about in the hands of a drunk Armenian.

Setup was as follows:
D300
17-55 F2.8
SB-800 (5 battery)
LumiQuest Softbox

Almost all shots were done with the softbox pointed at the ceileng (ceiling was painted to look like the sky so it gave GREAT bounce lighting. For a few long range shots I had to do with the SB-800 pointed at the subject without the softbox for maximum range (softbox kills the range).

I know I said some bad things about the 17-55.. I take them all back. That lens is hot. My only gripe with it is that the zoom much to stiff. Its stiffer than my 70-300 by a factor of two, and to make matters worse, its tiny. The zoom ring is in the back (where the focus ring normally is), with a large focus ring in front. Its almost as if their engineers got the two mixed up when they were designing the lens.

In any case, photos to arrive shortly

[Soulburner]

Did you see Chris Ross's landscapes with that lens? Phenomenal is all I can say.

I'm sure it was a blast...wish I got to play with that kind of gear.

[disruptfam]

holy moly!!!! that retails for over 2 thousand dollars in AUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MaxxxRacer]

ya, it was a blast. Sadly I was busy the rest of the weekend so i only got a few shots in. These 3 are all shot in RAW and converted to JPG with Capture NX. Some mild post processing done to the cat one. All photos done with D300 17-55mm F/2.8G and SB-800 with LumiQuest Softbox pointed at the ceiling (white popcorn ceiling).

From the looks of things I will be selling the D300 and keeping the SB-800. I will be doing photo shoots with the D40x with SB-800 until I can afford to purchase the D3 and then I will get the 24-70 F2.8 along with the D3 and apply at a photography school in the area. I would keep the D300 and sell it when I get the money for the D300 but I cant afford to pay off the CC right away.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3258/2482178870_1e078e07e5_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2094/2482175906_3f12a52f9b_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2094/2481264457_6eebd625d6_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/2482000914_93b7b687ee_b.jpg

[Entity_Razer]

Dam thats a nice kit :o

This is the sound of me being jealous :p

[dinos22]

nice work man
beautiful shots

[Soulburner]

I used a D300 today...and coming from my D80, if money were no object right now I would have bought it today.

It's not that I don't have the money...it's that it is supposed to be going toward a house...damn "important" things getting in the way of my toys!

[berk]

I like the way you've done the Parrot/Parakeet.

[YugenM]

Beautiful cat you've got there :up:

[MaxxxRacer]

I like the way you've done the Parrot/Parakeet.

Thankyou. He is a Red Sided Eclectus Parrot. They are from Australia

[Duh]

WOW!!! bet you would do some real $ in weddings with that baby.. congratzz