Nikon D3100 70-300mm non VR lens

[royalkulit]

i bought Nikon D3100 last week with 2 lenses, the 18-55mm VR and a 70-300mm G non VR lens

the problem is, i cant configure or the focusing is bad, im just a begginer, any suggestions about this lens?

by the way i bought this for about, 2999 dirhams, isn't it bad?

i really appreciate your help...

[Azaki]

If the camera has the option make sure the diopter for your eyepiece is set properly. otherwise what looks focused to you won't be for the camera, check your manual on how to do this properly.

70-300mm non-VR you want to make sure your shooting at a minimum shutter speed that matches your focal length. So if your at 70mm you want to be at min 1/100sec and when at 300mm min: 1/300sec... etc... you might also want to use a tripod or at least a monopod.

[royalkulit]

Originally Posted by Azaki

If the camera has the option make sure the diopter for your eyepiece is set properly. otherwise what looks focused to you won't be for the camera, check your manual on how to do this properly.

70-300mm non-VR you want to make sure your shooting at a minimum shutter speed that matches your focal length. So if your at 70mm you want to be at min 1/100sec and when at 300mm min: 1/300sec... etc... you might also want to use a tripod or at least a monopod.

thanks AZAKI for the info, i have also figure out, this lens do not focus automatically? am i right? you must do the manual thing to focus your subject.

or maybe i miss some settings? any idea? im using Nikon D3100 body.

[Azaki]

The 70-300mm G will autofocus BUT your camera body has to have a built in auto focus motor, which after checking, the D3100 does not have, so yes the 70-300mm G is a manual focus lens only, when used with your camera.

[royalkulit]

Originally Posted by Azaki

The 70-300mm G will autofocus BUT your camera body has to have a built in auto focus motor, which after checking, the D3100 does not have, so yes the 70-300mm G is a manual focus lens only, when used with your camera.

but i was wondering also if you attain the same shot as the automatic if you know how to focus on manual?, or does it makes a difference?

lol!, begginer question...

[Azaki]

manual or auto-focus doesn't make a difference.

[royalkulit]

thanks Azaki, this would help me a lot, next thing i would figure out is the apperture and shutter speed combination...

[Azaki]

Don't forget ISO.... if you can't get the right(high enough) shutter speed, remember that you can raise the iso to push it a little higher.

[royalkulit]

Originally Posted by Azaki

Don't forget ISO.... if you can't get the right(high enough) shutter speed, remember that you can raise the iso to push it a little higher.

Yeah thanks again, my friend told me he uses ISO 100 if it is daytime? and around 200 to 400 if the lighting is not too good, is this true?

im confused also on the P and M on my dial,hehe, M stands for manual, is this the one i should use on my 70-300mm lens? and P stands for program? dont know how to use it yet

[Doug Sundseth]

I don't know which sensor Nikon used on the D3100. If it's the same technology as used on the D5100 and D7000, you're fine to ISO1600 or so, and up to ISO4000 or so with a bit of post-processing noise reduction.

FWIW, if I'm not trying for a long exposure for some artistic reason, I'll usually leave my D7000 set to ISO 400 even in daylight. When I'm really interested in a fast shutter speed (like in this photograph, where I wanted to freeze the wing beats of the bird), I'll push higher even in bright sunshine. (I was at ISO 1600 so I could push my shutter speed to 1/3200 sec.)