- I finally got a nice DSLR (Nikon D5100)
- I made a website (http://bensisney.portfoliobox.me/)
- I'm going to take a bunch of pictures as well as deal with the massive amount I've already taken.
On to the point of this post!
One of the fun, but expensive, aspects of having a nicer camera system is that you can interchangeable lenses. My camera came with the standard 18mm-55mm kit lens. This lens is a great all around lens, but it doesn't quite reach out and touch things. For that, you need a telephoto lens. I very quickly picked up a 55-200mm lens off of craigslist for roughly one fourth of the cost of buying it new to fill in this gap. It works great, but I got such a great deal on it that I'm still trying to figure out what is wrong with it.
Side note. If you want to get the good craigslist deals, you need to be first. To be first, you either get lucky, sit at your computer smashing F5 (refresh) over and over again, or use notifinder.com. Notifinder is an amazing tool that simply e-mails you when it finds something on craigslist for you. Check it out!
One of the fun, but expensive, aspects of having a nicer camera system is that you can interchangeable lenses. My camera came with the standard 18mm-55mm kit lens. This lens is a great all around lens, but it doesn't quite reach out and touch things. For that, you need a telephoto lens. I very quickly picked up a 55-200mm lens off of craigslist for roughly one fourth of the cost of buying it new to fill in this gap. It works great, but I got such a great deal on it that I'm still trying to figure out what is wrong with it.
Side note. If you want to get the good craigslist deals, you need to be first. To be first, you either get lucky, sit at your computer smashing F5 (refresh) over and over again, or use notifinder.com. Notifinder is an amazing tool that simply e-mails you when it finds something on craigslist for you. Check it out!
After playing with my camera for a while, I noticed that I just couldn't get as close to my subject as I tend to like to do. With cell phone cameras and point and shoot cameras, the lens systems are so compact that the minimum focus distance as well as replication ratio that you can get is actually pretty good. Not so much with the "every day" lenses for DSLRs. For that, you need either a macro capable lens, or a dedicated macro lens.
After doing some research, I settled on the Tamron 90mm Dedicated Macro lens. Being the
After a few weeks of nothing, I finally found what I would consider a good deal. A independent camera shop had decided to list their demo lens on ebay. This is essentially a lens that is in "new condition", never left the store, and was only pulled out of its box to let customers see what it could do within the supervision of store employees. After a fierce bidding battle that I won in the last 3 seconds, I won the lens for nearly 50% of the "retail price". Hooray!
A few quick observations, and then some pictures I've taken while playing around with the lens to get a feel for it.
- Tripod, Tripod, Tripod... I haven't been able to get a clear picture without one.
- At the smallest f/stop, the depth of field is incredibly shallow. This is especially noticeable when you are focused in on your subject at the minimal focal distance offered by the lens.
