ScottinPollock

Welcome to the forums!

Your budget is on the low side as you need something to hold a background, the background itself, lights, light stands and a sturdy tripod as well as the camera and preferably a macro lens. If you get a light tent, you can use that as a background holder and skip light modifiers. This will keep costs down a bit. Those cheap LED panels on Ebay or Wish work well enough and continuous light is easier to rig than speedlites or strobes as you can see where the light will fall and also the shadows.

Pentax K-1, D FA 24-70 @24mm, 1/180 sec, f/8, ISO 100

So Nikon decided to include BT, but use it only for file transfer? Wow! Just... wow!

The stupidity and strangeness that is Nikon, at least for the entry-level models. It is a good thing for the future that Snapbridge seems to be a parenthesis in Nikon history.

The control features of Snapbridge are not available with the D3400 according to this page.

https://www.nikonusa...bridge-app.page

Snapbridge over BT works for uploading photos but not much else, unfortunately.

I agree with Scott, but if you go with a Chinese plate, make sure that the clamp is screw- rather than clamp-actuated as they vary more in exact dimensions than the expensive name-brand ones.

What do you shoot where you need more than 24 MP from a DX sensor? The MP race has been stupid since about 2007 as 10-12 MP is enough to print mural-sized.

The D500 produces significantly cleaner files than the D7200, making larger prints possible even if the resolution is lower.

The D7500 is dumbed-down to be a modern equivalent to the D90, now that the D7xxx series is no longer the flagship DX body.

The D500/D7500 sensor actually has a smaller pixel pitch than the D850.

Remember that a sensor resolution that is higher than the optical resolution will make for less perceived sharpness, not more, as empty resolution will make contours fuzzy.

One from my new-to-me 300mm f/2.8

D500, AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/2.8D IF-ED @ f/2.8, 1/640", ISO 100, overcast afternoon light

The lenses you have now covers most of what you can expect to shoot with this body. The dim viewfinder will get in the way of enjoying available dark photography and the AF is a bit slow for sports, so if you want to venture into those types of shooting, you need a more advanced body as well as the faster zooms or primes.

IMO getting a super-zoom will not offer any added value over the lenses you have as the photo quality will be lower.

If you feel some money burning holes in your pocket, the only things lacking for the serious student is a couple of speedlights with a radio trigger and maybe a macro lens. There is no need to get the expensive Nikon speedlights as a modern Yongnuo or Godox kit has the radio receivers built-in and is ready to use if you get it complete with a trigger. The Nikons need clumsy add-ons to work over radio instead of IR.

Was hoping that the D760 might have been mentioned at CP+ Show, this week, seems like it isn’t going to be. Although I’ve pretty much decided that my next one will be a D850, I’d still be interested in a D760 if the spec/price were right.

Well, it’ll take me another few weeks to get the cash together, so we might still get an announcement before I put my money down.

Nikon seem to avoid releasing new expensive things at the trade shows nowadays. I think they prefer not to have their news drown among all the other press releases.

All my cameras use the EC as an offset for bracketing. To check if yours does, shoot a series and take a look at the EXIF to see the values.

I've developed a thing for evening strolls with a camera. The D810 with the new Tammron 24-70 G2 has been my favorite so far.

PES_2019-02-05_07-27-40_24mm__01 by merco_61, on Flickr

Model: NIKON D700
Lens (mm): 24 (AF-S Nikkor 24/1.8 G ED)
ISO: 1250
Aperture: 3.5
Shutter: 1/100
 

The same preset again, no contrast boost but a yellow-green filter.

Mark, that is exactly what I mean. I did a blog post back in 2014 that might be of interest. https://www.nikonfor...s-in-lightroom/

Bengan, I think we will keep this as an open challenge that can be done whenever one sees an opportunity to shoot for 7 days straight. Who is to say that a Sunday to Saturday, or any other schedule works for somebody else?

My idea is to keep this thread as a place to showcase, and perhaps get some feedback and discussion going when one does the challenge just to challenge yourself. It is good that so many have been active in the thread already as every participant is automagically following the thread.

PES_2019-02-04_12-13-44_24mm_A by merco_61, on Flickr

Model: NIKON D700
Lens (mm): 24 (AF-S Nikkor 24/1.8 G ED)
ISO: 200
Aperture: 3.5
Shutter: 1/640
Exp. Comp.: +0.7

Same conversion settings as yesterday, with the exception of some slight contrast boost. Information in zones 0-9.

I'd like to join in on this one. I need something to motivate me to get the camera (and myself) out more often.  Thanks Peter!  These towers supporting electrical transmission lines reminded me of the aliens in War of the Worlds (Tom Cruise version).  I dunno why, it just popped into my head when I saw this scene. 

Nikon D810, AF-S Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8

Focal Length: 170mm

Aperture: f/2.8

Shutter: 1/4000"

ISO: 64

Converted in Lightroom using B&W Orange Filter profile

Here is my first:

PES_2019-02-03_10-27-04_24mm__01 by merco_61, on Flickr

Model: NIKON D700
Lens (mm): 24 (AF-S Nikkor 24/1.8 G ED)
ISO: 500
Aperture: 9
Shutter: 1/160

Flash to freeze the whirling snowflakes.

Conversion in SilverEfex Pro with Ilford PanF film emulation, blue filter, a slightly yellow paper hue and medium strength selenium toning. These are more or less my standard settings for conversion so this is probably the conversion preset I will use for the week, with the exception of the filter colour.