I rented some equipment...

[Elfin Yeti]

...and now I want to kick all my stuff to the curb! I robbed a bank and rented a Nikon D3S and a Nikon 70-200 2.8 VRII and am amazed at the quality of the images! And all this under marginal lighting conditions. I've rented this lens before, but never a camera better than a D300. Several of these images enlarged and cropped -- I never could have gotten away with this before using my D300.

[elleng]

1. WOW!

[Elfin Yeti]

10. Thanks elleng!

[Curmudgeoness]

2. Wow, indeed.

I am awestruck by that second photo. But all of them are excellent.

So are you really telling me that my photos are not great because of the cheap camera that I use? Good. I am glad that it isn't just that I suck at photography.

[Elfin Yeti]

6. Not exactly!

You're making me laugh Curmudgeoness! I haven't been to this forum for a while so I guess I'll just have to take a look at your photography to see if you really suck, can blame your equipment, or have some real talent!

[Curmudgeoness]

11. LOL, there is not much here

for you to look at. I don't have the nerve to post many photos, but have been getting more confidence. I have only entered one contest so far. I am here trying to learn more, and the more I read here, the more I realize how awesome these people are. And their photos just blow me away, making it harder to post any of mine.

But I will get there.

[Elfin Yeti]

12. Oh gosh...

...post your photos! You won't find a more sympathetic, friendly, honest group of people than here! Constructive criticism is always helpful and you don't need a thick skin!

[Curmudgeoness]

13. Sigh.

OK. Because I wanted to add something anyways, I put a photo on the "flowers for Solly Mack" post.

Not one of the best I have, but I like it.

[Elfin Yeti]

14. Nice shot...

... and I especially like it because I'm a beekeeper!

[Curmudgeoness]

15. You are very kind.

I know that everyone in this group is helpful. Mira was explaining to someone about how to use Picassa to align a photo, and so I downloaded it and I have been having fun with it. For the record, the photo of the cactus was unprocessed....but I have been working on a few photos. I actually was not aware of how easy it is to process a photo for a beginner.

And I hope you are a successful beekeeper. I love to see bees. I cannot grow anything in my flower bed because it was taken over by mint, and I hate that mint---except when it blooms, because I have never seen so many varieties of bees in one place before.

[Elfin Yeti]

16. I love Picasa

I use that and an older version of Photoshop (of which I know very little). Picasa works amazingly well, and as you noted, is pretty easy to use.

I have one very robust hive at the moment and three empty hives (awaiting a swarm and/or a call from someone who has one) to populate them. I'm an amateur but love learning and so enjoy the bees! My neighbor, who has a small grove of avocados, citrus, and various other trees, loves my bees too! Since I've been keeping them, her harvest has become much more bountiful! I'm glad you appreciate your garden bees!

[Solly Mack]

3. Very nice!

[Elfin Yeti]

7. Thank you Solly!

I hope you are on the mend and not hurting. This one's for you because I bet you feel as though you've been "rode hard and put up wet"...

[ManiacJoe]

4. That 70-200mm f/2.8 II is a fabulous lens!

Hard to knock that D3S, too, but the D300 is nothing to sneeze at. Love my D700. For low-light sports, good equipment makes a difference.

Just out of curiosity, what was the ISO you were shooting at?

[Elfin Yeti]

8. Yes, but...

...I'd rented that lens a few times before and used it with my D300 and didn't get results like this -- I did turn off the VR this time which I think made a difference in the ability of the AF but I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Once the sun was down I used anywhere from 1250 to 4000. The lighting in this arena is awful -- very yellow or saffron looking with hot spots and dark spots. They were told it was broadcast quality but it's nowhere near it.

[regnaD kciN]

5. Probably more the lens than the camera...

Plus, keep in mind that "marginal lighting" is the one situation where the D3S would be at least somewhat superior to the D300 (being about a stop better in terms of noise reduction).

[Elfin Yeti]

9. I dunno...

I've never had such good results before this.

Just a note: I used to rent from Calumet before they went away in the middle of the night! I tried Borrowlenses.com and was very pleased with the service (although the prices were higher than I was used to paying). I'd recommend them.