A netbook. Something with excellent battery life. Something with an Atom processor. Smaller is better. Higher resolution screen is better. The MSI Wind is the leading candidate (with a 6 or 9 cell battery). A GPS device for my camera.  Something reasonably priced like a Geomet’r GNC-35. At 150, it is a steal. A 1.4 Kenko teleconverter. For the 300 2.8. [aquired for about 100 used from Map Camera]

Nikon K ring set. Or some extention tubes.

Nikon macro stuff. (coupling ring, reversing attachment thing, filter mount for other end of lens.)

I finally have a 300 2.8. After waiting 5 or so months for another Nikon 300 2.8 AF, I decided to get a much cheaper Tokina 300 2.8. Festival season is here and I really don’t want to wait. Resale value won’t be anything but I doubt I will sell it. 

First impressions: heavy as a mofo, I am trying to order a monopod now,  it is a lot shorter then I expected, 60mm or something, shorter than my 70-200 2.8, the AF is fast enough, it doesn’t give me THAT much reach, 1.4 teleconverter here I come, it fits in my camera bag without removing the little stuff basket on the top, much more convenient. I’m relieved that I finally have this.

After getting the new camera toy, I realized it does not work with my default shoulder bag. This is a regular non-camera bag that I use every day that worked quite well for my D200 but does not work at all with a bigger camera. A day shooting a bit of a Setsubun festival makes it obvious that my current bags do not cut the mustard.

A trip to Bic Camera finds be wanting a Flipside 300 from Lowepro. Backpack styled. Can handle a pro DSLR with 300 2.8 attached. Has a tripod holder. Pretty much the feature set I would have requested. And it is pretty slim and compact too. The problem: 13500 yen. It costs $57 at BH Photo. A search on the Internet through Japanese websites did not show a better price than Bic.

I wound up getting it at Bic even though it was brutally expensive. This is maybe the first time I’ve just had to bite the bullet on something insanely pricey. Previously, I’ve been able to find a decent price or a different solution but I just swallowed it this time. Since there is not that much info on the Internet about this product, I plan on putting my thoughts down on ‘paper’ on this. I will be using it on a weekend trip to Yonago/Izumo and the weekend after at a work party (maybe) and the Naked Man festival here in Okayama.

 

My new camera came. Impressive of course. Haven’t shot with it. Control wise, it is even more customizable than my D200 but still I cannot get the perfect combination of dial directions for all controls like aperture controls, shutter-speed, and exposure comp. Nor can I get the function button set to give 1/3 stop adjustments when pressed so I can set the default to 1 stop increments. The opposite is possible. The lack of a protective screen is a bit disturbing since I will be tossing it on my regular day to day shoulder bag. I will seek one when one is available.

I haven’t installed CaptureNX yet. I will and it will change my workflow by quite a bit. Not looking forward to that. My preferred noise reduction solution has not been updated to provide noise profiles but I don’t have an immediate need for it now.

I am still seeking to fill out my kit with a 300mm and a 28mm. I might also get one of the 2.8 zooms: the ultrawide or the midrange. I doubt I will get the recently announced 24 PC but it is interesting. I also am seriously considering a new bag since I can’t carry it about very easily now.