Merco_61

We are going through a very unfamiliar heat wave and sitting down at the computer hasn't been an appealing thought. Here are some edits, I will have more when I get to it.

It is written that way so even Canon shooters find the ad. Canon's small sensor is the APS-C format, a small-sensor Nikon is DX. The heading is usually loaded with popular search terms in many ebay listings.

Could you share the EXIF as well as the photo samples?

My biggest moneymaker is the Nikkor-O Ai'd 35/2, but my favourites to use are the 105DC and the MicroNikkor 105/4 Ai'd.

My combination for this week will be the D300 and Tamron 17-50/2.8 again. I didn't find the time to do the lens justice last week. Let's hope the light and the stress cooperate better this week.

If anyone else wants to shoot any single lens with me for a week, feel free to post what you get in this thread.

Model: NIKON D300

Stacking will probably not be needed if you shoot the full specimen cards with a 55 as the distance will be somewhere around 60 cm, the reproduction ratio ~1:8.9 and the DOF around 40 mm @f/8. 

As a starting point, I would stay away from the Nikkor 50-s as they all have a marked field curvature. I would much rather go with one of the 55 mm manual focus MicroNikkors as they are made for repro use. A copy stand will make your life much easier, as will using a colorchecker and shooting tethered. Twin light sources make getting the light even much easier, but one light and a reflector screen can work if you are careful. Take control over all aspects of the exposure you can as you will want consistent captures of all the specimens. This means manual aperture, shutter speed, ISO and white balance. To get things critically sharp, focus manually using either liveview or the computer monitor to check focus.

The 55-s (all versions) have the highest contrast and are free from vignetting @f/8. You can use the grey-card that is part of a colorchecker passport to measure your exposure with the camera's meter. If you need more DOF than the lens gives, focus stacking is a much better choice than stopping down.

If you don't want to shoot tethered, use Liveview and a cable release to minimize camera shake.

You have inadvertently put it in 1.2X crop mode.

As it is a used body, it might have the focus start assigned to the AE-L/AF-L button. This is a frequently used way of separating AF operation from the shutter button. I don't remember which custom function it is on the D7100, but it should be easy to find in the manual.

Could it be that the camera has gone into power save mode? I sometimes have to wake it by a shutter half-press to be able to change the EC, adjust the aperture or move the focus point.

It sucks dust in, but it will take a tremendous amount to degrade the picture quality. I usually let Nikon or a certified repair center do a CLA on my heavily used AF zoom lenses every 18 months or so with a 24-month interval on my less used zooms and the primes. Manual focus lenses will get the CLA when I notice an increase in drag on the focusing ring. This will keep wear to the focusing and zoom mechanicals down as well as keeping the internal dust under control. To me, it makes sense to protect the lenses and bodies by having them serviced now and then just like a car or other mechanically complex larger expense.

My combination for this week will be the D300 and Tamron 17-50/2.8.

If anyone else wants to shoot any single lens with me for a week, feel free to post what you get in this thread.