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Marcus Rowland's Content

There have been 9 items by Marcus Rowland (Search limited from 30-March 23)


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#87424 March 26 2021 moon

Posted by Marcus Rowland on 01 March 2024 - 04:08 AM in Night and Stars

Must have missed this previously - amazingly good.




#87423 Yes, that's a Moon

Posted by Marcus Rowland on 01 March 2024 - 04:05 AM in Night and Stars

My Xmas present to myself this year was a new long lens, a Sigma APO 170-500 f5-6.3 AF. Despite generally horrible weather in London yesterday it turned out to be a fairly clear night, and I turned it on the moon, the first time I've seen it really clearly this year. This is the first lens I've had that can actually autofocus on the moon, which is a great time-saver, though I had to set the shutter speed manually and bracket a lot, since metering really doesn't work that well on small bright objects on a black background.

The three photos show the moon at 175mm, at 500mm, and at 500mm with a 2x converter - I didn't think this would work, and I did have to focus manually, but the results are slightly better than simply blowing up the 500mm image. All pictures are the full frame (APS-c size) in my D7000.

53561064988_2caea247b7_c_d.jpg

full-sized image link - https://live.staticf...cfdd62c_o_d.jpg


53561308995_9a70b7dbe6_c_d.jpg

full size image here - https://live.staticf...70cb0ae_o_d.jpg

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full-sized image here - https://live.staticf...739d699_o_d.jpg




#87180 Earworm of the Day

Posted by Marcus Rowland on 14 February 2024 - 04:15 PM in Coffee Chat

This one's a trailer for the computer game Stelaris, the "sing along" version of a "space chantey" with some very nice graphics. A bit repetitive but fun and I now have the tune going round and round in my head...

https://www.youtube....h?v=oBL9dTwVi4I




#87073 Earworm of the Day

Posted by Marcus Rowland on 08 February 2024 - 03:14 PM in Coffee Chat

Lazy Town's You Are A Pirate - someone mentioned it and linked to it in another forum, and I can't get the damn tune out of my head!

 

https://youtu.be/i8j...vhKYQG409xSG80H

 

or

 

https://invidious.dr...h?v=i8ju_10NkGY

 

has it without ads.




#86904 Some Sigma Acquisitions

Posted by Marcus Rowland on 25 January 2024 - 02:06 PM in Nikon Lens Discussion

Sorry, forgot to post this here - I took the 50mm out to the park a few days ago, didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked because I got out late and didn't want to walk home in the dark. What I have so far is here, I'll be adding more. Still no chance to use the big zoom due to weather and being in the middle of London - haven't even been able to get a picture of the moon!

 

https://www.flickr.c...77720314017673/




#86689 Some Sigma Acquisitions

Posted by Marcus Rowland on 06 January 2024 - 01:24 PM in Nikon Lens Discussion

My Xmas present to myself this year was a Sigma APO 170-500mm f5-6.5 zoom - got it with case and hood for £130. This is the version that uses the original AF "motor in camera" autofocus and has no stabilization, but I really can't justify the cost of something more modern at the moment - it's replacing my old Vivitar Series 1 100-500mm f5.6-8 AI so it's a big improvement as it is. Unfortunately the weather has been lousy since I got it so I've only taken a couple of test shots so far, a couple of them showing why a tripod is a good idea with a long lens in poor light...

 

https://www.flickr.c...77720313510897/

 

So I've also been dithering about buying a macro lens, and a couple of days ago missed a Micro Nikkor 60mm at £90 that sold before I made my mind up to get it. Tonight I found a second-hand Sigma EX 50/2.8 macro lens on a charity's web site. I leapt at it and got the lens for £36.94 including an extra £5 donation and postage. The Sigma has some very good reviews, so I'm very pleased. I think it's the same as this one

 
 
This seems to be the version designed primarily for 35mm bodies, but that's a plus if I ever go the full format route.
 

Assuming that everything's OK I'll try to post reviews of both when the weather's a bit better.




#85136 D50 replacement that won't break the bank?

Posted by Marcus Rowland on 24 September 2023 - 06:05 PM in Nikon DX DSLRs

One thing I forgot to say is that the D7000 is a good camera, but doesn't support AF-P lenses. At the moment that isn't a huge problem but it eventually might be, it's a technology used for most mirrorless cameras which means that they may prioritize it eventually. I think D7100 onward do have AF-P support, as well as the backwards support I bought the D7000 for.




#85017 D50 replacement that won't break the bank?

Posted by Marcus Rowland on 17 September 2023 - 05:09 PM in Nikon DX DSLRs

Welcome mcdoug.

 

Yes, it’s an old thread but perhaps Marcus will tell us what he eventually replaced his D50 with.

 

The D50 is quite cheap on the second hand market here in the UK, but there are other options.

Wonder what your budget is?

 

I have two DX cameras, D3300 & D3200 which I use regularly. I’m trying to stop myself buying a D7200, but the price is still high for these – perhaps £350 - £400 from a dealer with warranty.

 

Wonder if you can find someone local to you to borrow another AF-s lens to quantify the problem you have with D50 / lens?

As I said earlier in the thread, I replaced my D50 with a D90. Still lots around, not incredibly expensive, and retains compatibility with the earlier AF lenses.

 

I eventually changed up to a D7000 because they still support the even older AI lenses, and I own a couple and like not having to mess around with guesstimating every shot, but that's not something most people need.

 

I'm currently thinking about going full-frame but there's no urgency about it - I'll probably go for a D610 if I eventually take the plunge. Just not the D600, judging by its reputation!




#83172 Queen Elizabeth II

Posted by Marcus Rowland on 25 May 2023 - 02:12 PM in Coffee Chat

Sorry, I've only just seen this for some reason. It came as a bit of a shock to everyone in the UK, which given her age is a bit surprising - until Prince Philip died in 2021 I think everyone just assumed she'd make it to 100+, even after that a lot of people seemed to be a bit shaken when it actually happened.

 

The transition to Charles seems to be going fairly smoothly - still haven't seen any stamps or coins with his face yet. They changed the definitive stamps (the ones used for most letters) last year to add bar codes and must have had huge stocks printed when she died, so that'll be a while. Not sure about notes and coins, I think that they were coming round to the next release of bank notes in the next year or two. There have been some 50p coins already but that was a short run which must have all been grabbed by collectors, I've never seen one.

 

I'll be honest - it doesn't impact me much. Although I live in London I've never even seen any of them in the flesh, and I'm a bit of a cynic about the way Royal news and rumours seem to be trotted out whenever the government needs a distracting news story. I think people are still waiting to see how Charles and co. work out, but I doubt there will be any sudden change - there's way too much inertia, and political pressure to keep things exactly as they are.