One feature on your camera

[johnnya]

Good morning all.

With your current camera. What is one of the features that you like the most, that you use the most or comes in handy in certain situations. Maybe it is a hidden feature within the camera that you found. Please add make and model of your unit.

[canasta]

well...I'm not a proficient "tog" yet but you **may** want an answer from a complete noob.

OK the camera that got me hooked on photography was a Nikon D80 BUT that came with Auto, portrait and Landscape settings and me being me was happy to use that. Consequently I didn't learn a thing because I didnt have to.

Now that I want to try and go to the next level I invested in a D700 which doesnt have the preformatted settings (although P is fairly close)

The first thing I find myself playing with a lot is the ISO setting.
As the D700 has such a good ISO range (whoo hoo...me getting techie) I am enjoying finding out how far I can push it with different apertures and speeds.

Got to say the course here is the first time I really feel as though I am understanding all the terms. As I progress through the course I'll hopefully be able to keep that ISO at 100 or 200 and find out how to mix and match the other settings.

Anyway..in brief (I do waffle) ...as a noob... adjusting ISO is kind of neat.

[jerryph]

Coincidence, but the clean high ISO from my D700 is precisely my favorite feature of my camera. Being a budding wedding photographer, having the best glass and a camera that can shoot clean ISO 6400 shots is a boon for me. Of course, you have to nail the exposure, but when done right, the results are better than anything else out there on the market... except maybe a D3s... lol

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3244/3142794536_1f80259cb5.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3347/3454989188_2e15182616.jpg

Even an ISO 25,600 comes out usable with a little cleaning up:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3635/3454174957_0cc87b296a.jpg

I thought about getting a D3s, but with the capabilities I have now, I am more than fine, but when a D4 comes out... well, let's just say that I have already started saving my pennies for that one! :D

[canasta]

"...except maybe a D3s... "

I'd done a bit of research before purchasing the d700. Obviously spotted the d3s....and...financially it wasn't out of the question for me.
However I'd made my mind up on the d700 with the intention that if the saleman is VERY, VERY convincing then ....maybe go for the d3s (at least i couldnt blame my shots on a crappy camera)

I know...i know...its the man not the camera.

BUT...you know what he said.

"You don't need the D3S unless you're intending taking pics that will be blown up for billboards. Its kinda like buying an 18 wheel rig...and just using it for going to church on a Sunday"

That clinched the deal for me...and out I walked with the d700.

[Fusion07]

3 features I find most useful.

1. Auto ASA adjustment
2. Back button AF
3. Auto bracketing

Canon 1D Mk IV...:)

[jerryph]

BUT...you know what he said.
"You don't need the D3S unless you're intending taking pics that will be blown up for billboards. Its kinda like buying an 18 wheel rig...and just using it for going to church on a Sunday"


Oh man... sorry to tell you, but that salesman was clueless and nailed you with a lie. The Resolution of the D3s and the D700... is near **identical**. D700 has 12.1mp and the D3s has 12.2mp. There is no way that a photo from a D3s can be made significantly bigger than a D700 based on MP amounts. ;) :o

This is why I never, never, never, EVER listen to a sales man trying to sell. I do my own research and at the very least know everything I can learn about a camera beforehand. Specifications being the very first thing I know before walking in. First hand impressions from owners being the 2nd.

For me, the ONLY thing that a salesman is good for, is in handing me the camera from the shelf to my hands and taking my money. The rest of the time, I expect them to stay quiet, because if they pull this BS on me, I hand the camera back, tell them why they are an idiot and walk out to purchase elsewhere.

The D700 may well have been the best camera for you, but you really need to be SURE it is and not leave that decision in the hands of someone else.

Just off the top of my head, the D3s has:
- a superior autofocus system
- superior auto WB
- dual CF card slots
- a 100% viewfinder
- lighter than a D700 with battery grip
- electrically more efficient with the same battery (using the EN-EL4a battery, 4200 shots vs 3100 for the D700)
- additional LCD screen and ergonomically placed buttons on the back that make the D3s a dream to use in a fast dynamic environment.
- HD Video mode
- 2 stops better high ISO performance
- 1.5 stops higher dynamic range

I love my D700 and am very happy with it, but between the D700 and D3s, we are talking some major apples and oranges, just not at the levels you were convinced at. :)

BTW, there is a 100X40 foot billboard locally here that was made by a local photographer using a Nikon D2x... a camera with a way lower resolution than a D700 or D3s. I just do not know what they guy was thinking... I would have so torn that guy a "new one" right then and there. :mad:

[Fusion07]

It was a SIMPLE question ???

[craigpauli]

lol............
Runnning on ac through adaptor and using laptop as remote..

Canon 500D.