DG Site Updates: 2007 Photo Contest... What camera did you use?, 0 by wallaby1

wallaby1 wrote:
I have a Nikon D40X, my son bought it for me and I have only had it since early September. It's the newer, cheaper version made in China and Thailand as they are moving production. The lens is a 55-200mm VR, again a plastic cheaper version but obviously lighter.

Most of the pics I took with this, with the exception of my Daffodil Fortissimo which I used my old Sony DSC V1 compact. I use 'Auto' for many things, for smaller objects I had used the spot focus metering with single area auto focus, also centre-weighted metering with dynamic focus area (allows for movement), depending on the size of the object or insect. These are settings in the digi-vario programmes I used on the 'P' or programme setting which now doesn't work!

Taking a real close up with this camera isn't as easy as you may think, although it has a dedicated Macro setting it is really only useful for the whole area with the kit lens at 18mm, even then can only be shot at a distance of 11" minimum. The 10MP does allow for a lot of expansion though.

I only use the 55-200mm lens now which has VR, vibration reduction, essential with a longer zoom lens on a DSLR if taken hand held, and I don't use tripods with the type of photography I do. You can only take pics from a minimum of 3 feet with this lens! So all my insect pics are from that distance, and the focus spot is very precise, if any closer or further away at times it will go straight through it as if it's not there.

This pic of Salvia Black and Blue had the sun behind me, it was in partial shadow, I had a devil of a job getting it to focus. The dark colour in shadows made the lens shoot straight past to the sunlit foliage behind, but this is what I got with persistence. All I have done is crop a little off, it didn't get a place but it is one of my personal favourites, taken about a week after I started to use the camera.