Took the plunge... Gonna need some recommendations

obajoba

Just got home with my D4. Bought it used with ~20k actuations on it for a really great price. Going from a D7000 to this is, ummmmm, well there's a learning curve for sure! I'm like a kid in a candy store right now. So excited. I'll have my nose in the manual and/or reading and watching setup videos for at least a few days to get familiar with the menus :O

I took some shots of my buddy's new Yamaha Raider after sunset while just messing around, ISO6400 makes ISO800 on my D7000 look like a cameraphone pic - not sure I will ever put this thing down, I might even sleep with it under my pillow.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to my post regarding what to buy, I would not have done this without a lot of consideration and lots of opinions.

- That being said, any recommendations on CF cards? I am a Lexar and SanDisk kinda guy, I picked up a lame 16GB card from BestBuy so I can play around but I will need to be ordering some very soon.
- Shoulder strap recommendations? I had a neoprene neck strap for my D7000 that was long enough to sling over my shoulder but I will really want a good shoulder/sling style strap for the D4.

haroldp

Probably 80 % of 'sandisk' cards in circulation are counterfeit ( 100 % of those offered on ebay ).
Some of these are so good that I was able to register warranties serial no and all, only performance testing revealed them. The real cards were 4-5 times faster on writes. Sandisk (the company) does not seem to care.

For reasons unknown to me, Lexar is not counterfeited as often.

I still prefer Sandisk or Lexar, but will buy only from vendors that are large enough to source them directly from the manufacturer rather than a distributor supply chain.

In the US this would be:
Amazon (directly, marketplace vendors have shipped phony's.
B & H
Adorama
Calumet

I am sure there are others but these have never shipped me a counterfeit.

I initialize and test every card for integrity and write performance which is how I found the counterfeits.

I also as part of initialization will perform a secure erase which overwrites every byte, on each card. I have found random 'strings' on new cards that can confuse compression algorithms (like jpeg).

Given the buffer caopacity of a D4, 60 mbps (about '400x) is the threshold of diminishing returns, where you will likely not see any benefit to faster cards unless you are a professional sports photographer in which case ever picosecond matters.

Regards ... H

Msmoto

I use one XQD 16 GB and a Lexar Pro 600x 16GB as backup. Welcome to the D4 world...

The only problem is..... it is difficult to put the camera down and use something else....

Watch the Nikon Tutorials on their website..it will get you started. I actually have no idea how to use mine, just sort of stumble around and it seems to work out....

You can put the manual on your smart phone so if you cannot figure something out.....

shawnino

Straps are very personal things but I stomped all over Antarctica/S.America with the BlackRapid RS Sport. 800E, not a D4, but I'll tell you I could hang the 14-24 or the 135 or the 200 f/4 macro on it and it was a piece of cake. I'm deformed and don't walk well and I was really edgy about what would and wouldn't throw off my balance both on land and at sea. This combo never put me off balance once.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/738106-REG/Black_Rapid_RRS_1BB_RS_Sport_Extreme_Sport_Strap.html

Enjoy your new gear--hope to see the fruits on PAD.

obajoba

@haroldp - That's some in-depth info! Thank you for that. I hate fleabay and only buy from trusted sources as well, so I should be ok.

@Msmoto - I think I am likely to go a similar route to what you are using. In my D7000 I always had 2 SanDisk Extreme Pro SD cards and typically I shot RAW+Backup or RAW to one + JPEG Fine to the other. I didn't realize CF cards were so ridiculously priced so I had ruled out XQD. Now that I see the prices though? Not an incredibly huge difference. Still, at least 2x the price of an SD card.

Now that I am digging around in the menus, it's not soo bad after all. I wish I could setup the options on my laptop and copy to the CF card, then load in the camera (Logitech remote style.) Going through ALL of the menu options to set it up is going to take a while. I should probably save the settings then reset it since the previous owner didn't do that prior to selling it to me.

@shwanino - thanks for the recommendation! I will look into it for sure. I am going to be lugging this thing around for a month in South Africa so I'll need something comfortable and reliable for sure.

TriShooter

Congratulations on picking up a D4. Your comment "ISO6400 makes ISO800 on my D7000 look like a cameraphone pic - not sure I will ever put this thing down, I might even sleep with it under my pillow." made my mouth water and my eyes green, nevertheless, I am totally delighted that you will enjoy using the best 35mm camera in the world today for getting the shot under the most awful conditions imaginable.

SkintBrit

Probably 80 % of 'sandisk' cards in circulation are counterfeit ( 100 % of those offered on ebay ).

Maybe I've just been very lucky (or maybe I've not noticed I haven't?), but I always buy my SanDisk Extreme Pro CF cards from "trusted sellers" with very large numbers of positive feedback on eBay. Normally these come from HK, and as far as I can see they are always genuine. I am someone who regularly needs to shoot RAW on his D3s at maximum FPS for several seconds, and when using these cards, have found it extremely rare to fill the buffer, and have never had a card failure. (Oh boy, did I just make that statement!) I don't know if that means they are genuine or not, but it does mean that whatever is inside the casing, they work for me.

TaoTeJared

For CF cards, I stick with Sandisk Extreme pros. I usually have 1-2 super fast 8gb cards for the times I need the max burst, and then buy slower versions in 16-32gb.

Local shop got me on a pro master card (name looks like "[pro] master") it is a UDMA "Code 1289" and they said it was made by the same company that makes Hoodman Raw cards. A couple of pros in there at the same time said they have been using them for years and have never had an issue. Not sure if it is made by Hoodman but I have been using it as my primary card and have about 100 day shoots/formats on it and it still works great. Fast too. Much cheaper as well. Worth a look.

Camera straps, I use a Black-rapid R-strap with dual bodies or with the 70-200 as I find it more comfortable. For a strap when I am primarily on one body and hand-holding I use Domke straps with quick releases. They are pre broke in and wrap around my hand/wrist easily.

Connectors I have been using/trying for the straps:
OP/TECH USA System Connector Adapt-Its
OP/TECH USA Mini QD Loops - 1.5mm
OP/TECH USA Utility Loop Connector (Like the most)
I reverse the quick releases on the Domke straps and hook them on the strap. That way when I want to take the strap off in studio, it is very quick.

TaoTeJared

Probably 80 % of 'sandisk' cards in circulation are counterfeit ( 100 % of those offered on ebay ).

Maybe I've just been very lucky (or maybe I've not noticed I haven't?), but I always buy my SanDisk Extreme Pro CF cards from "trusted sellers" with very large numbers of positive feedback on eBay. Normally these come from HK, and as far as I can see they are always genuine. I am someone who regularly needs to shoot his D3s at maximum FPS for several seconds, and when using these cards, have found it extremely rare to fill the buffer, I don't know if that means they are genuine or not, but it does mean that whatever is inside the casing, they work for me.

I have ran across articles on this that try to claim "all cards are fake", but there is no way 80% are fake or even more than a few % are. I have read it is mainly SD cards and not CFs also. If you are an idiot and think you can get a $120 card for $15 then you will get duped. Don't buy them from China, and realize even the big sales they go for only 15-20% off and you will be fine.

obajoba

Lots of great info, thanks everyone!

@TaoTeJared - I like the 8GB extreme card and 32GB slower card idea. I don't see myself going deep into the buffer but... at 10-11fps I suppose it goes faster than I think it does.

The Black Rapid strap is precisely what I had in mind for toting it around with the 70-200 on it. When I'm on a boat I like to wrap the strap around my hand and wrist because it keeps the camera nice and tight to my hand, so perhaps I will look at the Domke straps as well.

Most of my $ in the near term is going to be directed toward adding glass and at least one TC to pair with my 70-200 VRI. I've sent the 14-24 in to Nikon per @Golf007sd's suggestion so I am stuck with the 70-200 and my 1997 Sigma 28-80 3.5-5.6 D Macro lens (first lens I ever bought when I was 18 to go my my F60 and eventually my N90, never could let it go). I probably shouldn't be shooting the 70-200 without a monopod because of the weight and my 10lb restriction (neck surgery about a month ago.)

I'm in absolute awe with this thing, just as everyone had said I would be. The weather here is supposed to be nice and we've got a Bald Eagle nesting about 1/2 mile from my house on foot. I think I will try to find him tomorrow to get a feel for some of the AF settings. If I can't find him, we've got prairie dogs and prairie hawks abound, they're easy targets

mirtos

If 80% of Sandisk cards were faked this would be a MASSIVE problem to Sandisk, the company. Reputation is Key. I've read artilces claiming 1/3 of the sandisk cards on this earth are fake, and I dont buy it either.

I completely agree with TaoTeJared on this. Caveat Emptor. If the deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

Too many people are buying into a recent article that has "a Sandisk engineer" claiming that 30% of Sandisk cards in the world are fake. The reality is probably more like this:

1. There are a lot of fakes on ebay
2. Desptie what people believe, ebays selling of sandisk cards dont come to even remotely close to 30% of the sales of sandisk cards. If they did, Sandisk would have a stronger presense on ebay.
3. Sandisk the company, in my opinion, DOES care about preventing the counterfits. They warn people about them, about the prices, etc. They have also invested in preventing counterfit cards from being sold. I think it was last october that they and the police raided placed in New Dehli to find and stop the counterfit cards.
4. This engineer if hes at the level of an engineer would have know real way of knowing what the numbers of fake cards are. He probably doesnt even know the number of Sandisk sales. And this information was dropped into the lap of a reader of a blog. And yet no credible business paper has picked this story up. If this "30%" number was even remotely true, you would have seen it in the Wall Street Journal, a massive stock drop in Sandisk, you would have seen major retailers like Staples drop them like a bad habit. None of this happened.

My point? You can safely buy Sandisk cards if you avoid online auctions, if you purchase from reputable companies. (and they dont even have to be photo companies, as retailers like Staples, Office Max, etc, all sell Sandisk. Obviously stores like B&H are going to give you a lot more options than a Staples, of course, but in a pinch, Ive certainly run out to a staples to purchase a card if ive realized im out.

DJBee49

obajoba.

Have you considered buying Thom Hogan's Guide to the D4? Every camera I buy is followed (or even preceded) by a purchase of one of these. They are essential in my opinion unless you know it all already. I certainly don't!

The recommendation of the Black Rapid RS4 is very good. I bought one about a year ago and have not worn a neck strap since. With long, heavy lenses like the 70-200 f2.8, there is no comparison. The lens and camera hang at your hip and the whole plot just slides up on the strap in a second when you need it. Brilliant if a little expensive.

Wish I had a D4........

haroldp

My point? You can safely buy Sandisk cards if you avoid online auctions, if you purchase from reputable companies. (and they dont even have to be photo companies, as retailers like Staples, Office Max, etc, all sell Sandisk. Obviously stores like B&H are going to give you a lot more options than a Staples, of course, but in a pinch, Ive certainly run out to a staples to purchase a card if ive realized im out.

obajoba.

I agree, my point was to buy from a retailer who buys directly from Sandisk, those who buy from distributors are where the risk is, even though they themselves may be well intentioned.

the 'safe' list would certainly include Staples, Walmart (Sams Club), and Costco, but they usually do not carry the high end cards.

I have received fakes from Amazon market place sellers as well, but never from Amazon directly.

In an auction market like ebay, the fakes force the genuine product out of circulation, even from ebay 'stores'.

A simple test is to write a 2 or 4 gb file to the new card. Use a known 'good' card of the same speed as a standard and note the write time. Be careful that the limiting factor is not the reader or USB port. The differences are not subtle, fakes often being 4 - 5 times slower.

My last experiences with fakes are 3 years ago, when I offered to send to them ( with no compensation ) a card that was so well counterfeited that I successfully registered it with them for warranty, even though performance testing established that it could not be genuine. that they could track it's source. Their response was that I should be more careful and it was not their problem.

Perhaps this question has hurt them enough lately that they have become motivated.

I have found Thom Hogan to be extremely well informed, and a very clear writer. He is the one of the best web sources for information both about Nikon, and photography in general. He also does not confuse his personal priorities with universal needs, and simply describes how things are, letting the reader judge what matters to them. I am doing this for 45 years, and was a pro photographer, and I check Thom's post almost every day. There are other sources, but you will not go wrong following Thom's advice.

In my posts, I describe my personal experience, and what has worked for me.

obajoba

@haroldp - yep, Thom has provided me with loads of invaluable knowledge. I do find the sheer volume of menu options on the D4 to be a bit intimidating where the D7000 reminded more of a traditional SLR.

Also, I've found a large number of D4 users seem to use many "auto" options. This may be ignorance on my part but that seems odd to me given the target user of the camera. With the exception of AF, I never used auto anything on my D7000. Is the D4 truly "that good" that using AutoISO and/or AutoWB is acceptable (not that WB truly matters when shooting RAW). I do need to dig deeper on this Auto ISO with focal length business though since I have seen it in many forums and reviews.

I'm pretty stoked to try out the AF in a rugby or (American) football game as I keep reading that the 3D AF is incredible for locking on to someone's eyes and staying there. I will likely get the chance to shoot at a cricket match or two this year as well. This camera has me pumped up.

Golf007sd

@obajoba Congratulation amigo....welcome to the D4 family!

With respect to your question, here are my recommendations. 1) Get the 16Gig XQD card....it rocks! Don't lets a few $$$ here and there get in the way. 2) SanDisk 32 CF Extreme Pro 32Gig 90MB/s. 3) Have never had an issue buy from those highly commented Ebay sellers. You are no spring chicken, you will know which is a good deal and what is not. Amazon, B&H, Adorama are always there. 4) Black Rapid RS-7 /w curve. You can always add the sport option. Also get a few additional fasteners....one for the main body and one for your 70-200. I attach the strap to the lens vs. the body with this setup. You will find good deals on them on Ebay. 5) Shoot and shoot and shoot....there is no substitute for leaning you way around the D4 than putting yourself in a position in taking a shot you have in mind. Your knowledge from using the D7000 will come in handy. 6) Auto ISO does come in handy and works fantastic on the D4. I only put it on this mode when I shot Aperture Priority when outdoors and the light is changing due to extensive cloud movements. 95% of the time I shot full Manual....I'm in charge of all my setting.

If need some more one-on-one info...send me a PM with your number and we will chat in that manner.

Enjoy your new toy....cheers

obajoba

@Golf007sd - thank you sir! And thanks for the info! I definitely learned more about the D7000 from shooting, trying to figure out how to force it to work the way I want and shooting again, than I ever did reading the manual. I will say that FroKnowsPhoto had a nice walk through vid on the D7000 that was pretty helpful. I'll also be looking for a way to hand edit/create the settings and recompiling the .bin file for the D4 from a CLI. It is way too time consuming to sit here and go through every single setting with the controls on the camera (I have honest to goodness ADD, patience and lack of instant gratification are not in my strong suits)

Not that it matters all that much but my "big boy job" is actually as a SAN/NAS Engineer for an internet search provider. So, I know a little bit about storage/disk/compression and was curious about preferred cards to see how they fare compared to their rated MTBF. I will likely get an XQD because, at the very least, I find that I like having dual cards. I'm not worried about a few dollars difference in price on the "small" stuff. I'm a value shopper but I'm also a creature of habit and convenience, and will often spend a few dollars extra for convenience and/or preference of the retailer. I typically buy SanDisk or Lexar just because I've always had good luck with them, though I did have a 32GB Lexar Pro SD card get corrupted after only a few uses and it was broken in properly (as are all of my disks, regardless of interface or type.)

For straps and connectors, I guess I didn't even realize there are different connectors and all of the choices there are. For the D7000 I bought a neoprene padded "neck" strap, slung it over my shoulder or wrapped it around my hand/wrist and started shooting. We don't have any great camera shops in Denver these days, the couple small shops don't stock a lot of inventory and they are Canon biased (meaning they don't carry new Nikon gear.) The only other options are BestBuy and Mike's Camera and they cater more to the average consumer. So, trying things out and seeing them in person is really difficult in our area.

DenverShooter

I run a 32G XQD card and SanDisk SAECF32GB 32GB CompactFlash Memory Card Extreme 400x UDMA in my D4. The QXD will let me shoot just about 100 images at 10 FPS before it needs a pause and thats generally sufficient for most everything I shoot. I am thinking about the new 64G XQD "S" class card which should be even faster....

The other nice thing about running XQD is the express card adapter and the fantastic transfer speeds to my MacBook Pro.

Golf007sd

@DenverShooter I too have the Express card reader in my MBP 17". It is so nice to be able to just pop it in and boom the transfer happens very, very fast.
64G XQD "s" class...hmm...did not know about this. Thanks for the heads up...i'm off on a hunt. I feel the need for a getting something and this is right up in my alley. :P

DenverShooter

B & H and Amazon appear to have them. Not Cheap but good gear seldom is!

Off to the National Western Stock Show to shoot the MLK Rodeo.

JorPet

I will second (or third or fourth...) both the Sandisk Extreme Pro cards and the BlackRapid strap. Both work phenomally well. I typcially carry the D700 with battery grip (total weight is a bit more than the D4) and the 70-200 VRII on the strap. Never had a problem and the most convenient way to bring the camera up to shooting position.

Enjoy the rodeo, the National Western Stock Show is a blast. Took my son when we lived there, aahh, good times.

obajoba

@DenverShooter - off topic slightly, but where do you go locally for gear (when you need/want)? I'm on the farrrrr north end of town but I've gone to Englewood Camera when I was down that way and haven't really found another place I like.

Baes on everyone's input, I've ordered the Black Rapid Sport setup, should be here in a couple days. Looks like a great setup for when I'm shooting on the lake, that little extra security of the camera not falling into the water while hanging off the side of a moving boat would sure be nice.

Checking Amazon and others for an XQD. I've got a late 2011 15" MBP, don't think I get the option for the Express Card reader but, to be honest, copying over USB wasn't all that bad. I'll keep researching on those options, haven't had much of a chance yet.

Thanks again everyone, your input thus far has helped tremendously.

DenverShooter

I don't do any local shopping. I usually order the big stuff from Roberts Imaging in Indy and the small stuff from Amazon or B&H.

Denver Shooter

SkintBrit

@DenverShooter I too have the Express card reader in my MBP 17". It is so nice to be able to just pop it in and boom the transfer happens very, very fast.
64G XQD "s" class...hmm...did not know about this. Thanks for the heads up...i'm off on a hunt. I feel the need for a getting something and this is right up in my alley. :P

Oh dear, watch out.....Golf's got NAS. Well not NAS exactly but close!
$-)

Golf007sd

@SkintBrit: Ok I must admit...what is NAS exactly? Just want to make sure their is a blue pill for it...hate to have to much NAS...I think...right?

obajoba

@SkintBrit: Ok I must admit...what is NAS exactly? Just want to make sure their is a blue bill for it...hate to have to much NAS...I think...right?

So, I will ask non-jokingly... What is NAS? In my world, NAS is SAN backwards, errrr, I mean it's Network Attached Storage as opposed to Storage Area Network (which I prefer.)

So, what say you? NAS obviously is something like being a shopaholic but I can't figure it out (Nikon Addicted Shopper?)

Golf007sd

Mike is going to have a field day with this one: "blue bill." What on earth is a blue bill...I made the correction before you all get on my case....hehe :P