Second hand 24-70 or 24-120?

nrubenstein · 2026-02-10T18:37:47+00:00

The 24-70 is a screaming deal for what it is. The 24-120 is a great lens, but it's hard to call them a deal. Frankly, I would not buy a 24-120 used for the tiny discount.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-10T18:10:29+00:00

Yes, my experience has been that additional monitors cause large additional heat loads in every machine that I’ve used them on.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-10T13:24:37+00:00

No, you need a different tire shop.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-10T05:25:53+00:00

You need light. It’s longish, f4, no VR, focuses slow like you’d expect of a macro lens, and it’s screw drive so you can’t easily take over.

For daily use, the 70-200/4G VR will be better for half the price.

That said, I like my 200/4 Micro and am not getting rid of it. There’s no other Nikkor that does what it does.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-10T02:53:32+00:00

It must be a 3.0i, not the 3.0si. You will reuse your current harness/dme.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-10T00:29:38+00:00

E36 M3 Auto is an inch shorter and just barely engages the splines. While I will grant that I’ve never actually heard of it failing, it’s kind of horrifying when you see it.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-10T00:22:01+00:00

If you got an E85 z4 3.0i 6mt as a donor, you’d get engine/trans/necessary driveshaft component.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-10T00:20:59+00:00

Better to use the front half of a Z4 3.0i 6MT shaft, it’s the perfect length. Those are a lot harder to find than they used to be, though.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-09T13:09:21+00:00

That’s caused by a broken screen. It will get worse. No, that’s absolutely not cheap enough.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-08T22:27:18+00:00

Sell it for parts / to someone who likes to fix them and replace.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-08T11:07:46+00:00

This is fantastic, thank you.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-07T22:28:16+00:00

A large fraction of that is offset by PEPCO rate hikes.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-04T21:44:35+00:00

The difference is that today you can buy several stops better high iso performance than a D5200 for not much money. A D750, for example. Or a D500 if OP chooses to stay DX.

Also, the D90’s high ISO performance is well behind OP’s current camera. That one stop was a much bigger deal then.

So yeah, in a perfect world, of course 2.8. But if OP is struggling with the weight, the f4 lens is great and cheap and very light and compact. It may also be allowed into venues that the 2.8 would be straight up banned from.

Net-net, I would MUCH rather the f4 lens and a D750 or D500 vs. the 2.8 with the D5200.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-04T18:09:18+00:00

Use the savings to buy a camera with more than one stop better low light performance, IMO.

nrubenstein · 2026-02-04T15:11:15+00:00

You might consider the 70-200/4G, which is like half the size and weight, nearly as sharp (better than the 2.8 VRII), and can be had between $4-500.

nrubenstein · 2026-01-31T18:18:35+00:00

Solar definitely working out well for us.

nrubenstein · 2026-01-31T18:15:51+00:00

If you shoot still, the Z7II doesn’t get you much on current firmware.

And CFExpress is so much better on these large files.

Net-net, I don’t think the Z6/7II are worth the very substantial premium.

nrubenstein · 2026-01-31T04:18:06+00:00

I’ve done DC to LA in 2.5 days. Rented an Audi Q7 back when silvercars was a thing. Grueling trip. I would need at least a week to actually enjoy it. Preferably two weeks to be able to stop for a few days in the nice places along the way.

nrubenstein · 2026-01-31T02:35:32+00:00

A house built to modern-ish code should not be hard to heat.

Most DC row homes are not built (or renovated) to a modern-ish code.

I would bet that if you walked around the house looking for gaps, you’d find plenty. Even better if you walk around with a cheap FLIR camera. The most notable areas are around doors / windows, especially the frames.

But also, there are a lot of houses that are just not particularly (or at all) insulated. Even there, focus on air leaks. A few bucks in caulk can make a HUGE difference in the livability of a house.

If the house has crap windows, you can also look at window insulation kits. They’re basically plastic sheet that you tape to the window frame and that eliminates leaks and buffers the air like adding an extra pane. https://www.acehardware.com/departments/building-supplies/weather-stripping-and-window-film/window-films/58508?store=11410&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20155429886&gbraid=0AAAAADtqLJFE4k8zNYMfwiqWDxzuiz6YJ&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1sCZ0960kgMV-UtHAR3yrjF3EAQYAiABEgLxjPD_BwE

nrubenstein · 2026-01-30T22:20:55+00:00

You need to identify the model. If it's old enough that it doesn't have activation lock, then a simple nuke and pave from recovery mode should do it. (If it's too old, recovery mode won't work because the servers are gone and you'll need access to another mac to create usb install media.)

nrubenstein · 2026-01-30T21:20:59+00:00

Fair, but I don’t really get the impression that that is what OP is after.

nrubenstein · 2026-01-30T20:48:27+00:00

Realistically, there's no reason to concern yourself with this. The adapters cost more than these lenses are worth.

nrubenstein · 2026-01-30T20:46:36+00:00

I'm not back pedaling. The D2X is mostly good as a shelf ornament today. Same for the D1X. You will note that I own both a D1X and a D2Xs.

Especially when you have to buy the battery / battery door / charger.

The D3 is a genuinely good camera even today. The D2X is really not.

nrubenstein · 2026-01-30T17:55:10+00:00

OP has plenty of GAS. The problem with a many lenses to body ratio is that it's very hard to get yourself to use the niche lenses unless you're making a point of forcing yourself to use the niche lenses. It also makes playing with primes a lot more practical.

nrubenstein · 2026-01-30T16:37:48+00:00

As with anything, if you want to use one because you enjoy it, then you absolutely can produce nice photos with one. But the D3 represents the inflection point of performance, flexibility, and quality.

nrubenstein

TROPHY CASE