Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After over a month of being on a wait list my new Nikon D200 is here and I LOVE IT! What a fantastic camera! Now I understand why the wait list was so long on these! I pre-ordered the camera right before Christmas time. At that time, the camera hadn't been released yet and there was already a long wait list for them. So, I added my name to the list and the retailers told me that they expected a shipment at the beginning of January. They were released at the end of December and the only place you could get your hands on one was on eBay but everyone was SELLING them for $400 to $500 OVER MSRP. I refused to pay that much more than MSRP so I waited.

Week after week went by and still no camera. The place where I ordered from said they had received a couple of shipments but everything was going to pre-orders ahead of me (they had close to 100 preorders). One day I get a call saying that they were getting in a bunch of Nikon D200 kits and would I like a kit instead? Well, I didn't really need the extra lens but I decided to get the kit because the wait list was MUCH shorter on the kits. They come in and mine gets shipped out. YEA! Or so I thought!

The box arrived a few days later, I signed for it and as soon as I picked it up, I knew something was wrong. The box was empty! I could tell it was empty as soon as I picked it up, I just didn't want to believe it. I opened it up and inside there is some plastic packing material, a packing slip/receipt and that's it! NO CAMERA!

I called up the retailer ASAP and apparently, they made some sort of mistake and shipped me an emtpy box! This wouldn't have been a problem except now they were out of D200 kits as well because they had all been shipped out to preorders!

ARGH! So I looked around and actually found another retailer who had some kits available for the same price! YEA! So to make a long story slightly shorter, here we are!

These are the first few "test" photos I have taken with the camera and let me just say that so far, it is amazing! The photo quality seems much higher than the D100 and I can't wait to really get the hang of it! I also purchased the Nikon R1 Close-up Speedlight system which I used in conjuction with my Nikon SB-800. I find that using the whole system allows me to produce a softer looking photo (not as much harsh, bright flash bounce back) and therefore shows the various different colorations on an animal much better.

Anyways, here are a few photos I took. Let me know what you guys think. These pictures have been resized but NOT compressed to preserve image quality so the files are slightly big.

Thanks for looking!

Caramel Albino

Lavender Albino

Clown

Lemon Blast - I love the purple on her head

Lesser Platinum

Here are a few photos of my new Nikon D200 with the R1 Closeup Speedlight system mounted on it. It has two smaller speedlights that can be mounted either on the lens like in the photos, handheld or mounted on a tripod. The smaller flash heads can be expandable up to 8 flashes. If mounted on the lens, you can rotate them 360 degrees around the lens and the flash heads tilt 180 degrees. The Nikon SB-800 controls the smaller flash heads remotely so everything is synced up wirelessly. It really is amazing and a lot of fun to play around with!

-----
Celia Chien
www.ExoticsByNature.com

2006 Boa Constrictor Morphs Calendar
2006 Ball Python Morphs Calendar

Beautiful pics Celia, of course your pictures are always great looking. You could probably take better pics with a 2 dollar disposable then I could take with that new camera of yours. That thing looks like some serious hardware. Of course it helps when you have such great looking subjects. When did you guys get a lesser?

Mark

>>After over a month of being on a wait list my new Nikon D200 is here and I LOVE IT! What a fantastic camera! Now I understand why the wait list was so long on these! I pre-ordered the camera right before Christmas time. At that time, the camera hadn't been released yet and there was already a long wait list for them. So, I added my name to the list and the retailers told me that they expected a shipment at the beginning of January. They were released at the end of December and the only place you could get your hands on one was on eBay but everyone was SELLING them for $400 to $500 OVER MSRP. I refused to pay that much more than MSRP so I waited.
>>
>>Week after week went by and still no camera. The place where I ordered from said they had received a couple of shipments but everything was going to pre-orders ahead of me (they had close to 100 preorders). One day I get a call saying that they were getting in a bunch of Nikon D200 kits and would I like a kit instead? Well, I didn't really need the extra lens but I decided to get the kit because the wait list was MUCH shorter on the kits. They come in and mine gets shipped out. YEA! Or so I thought!
>>
>>The box arrived a few days later, I signed for it and as soon as I picked it up, I knew something was wrong. The box was empty! I could tell it was empty as soon as I picked it up, I just didn't want to believe it. I opened it up and inside there is some plastic packing material, a packing slip/receipt and that's it! NO CAMERA!
>>
>>I called up the retailer ASAP and apparently, they made some sort of mistake and shipped me an emtpy box! This wouldn't have been a problem except now they were out of D200 kits as well because they had all been shipped out to preorders!
>>
>>ARGH! So I looked around and actually found another retailer who had some kits available for the same price! YEA! So to make a long story slightly shorter, here we are!
>>
>>These are the first few "test" photos I have taken with the camera and let me just say that so far, it is amazing! The photo quality seems much higher than the D100 and I can't wait to really get the hang of it! I also purchased the Nikon R1 Close-up Speedlight system which I used in conjuction with my Nikon SB-800. I find that using the whole system allows me to produce a softer looking photo (not as much harsh, bright flash bounce back) and therefore shows the various different colorations on an animal much better.
>>
>>Anyways, here are a few photos I took. Let me know what you guys think. These pictures have been resized but NOT compressed to preserve image quality so the files are slightly big.
>>
>>Thanks for looking!
>>
>>Caramel Albino
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Lavender Albino
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Clown
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Lemon Blast - I love the purple on her head
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Lesser Platinum
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Here are a few photos of my new Nikon D200 with the R1 Closeup Speedlight system mounted on it. It has two smaller speedlights that can be mounted either on the lens like in the photos, handheld or mounted on a tripod. The smaller flash heads can be expandable up to 8 flashes. If mounted on the lens, you can rotate them 360 degrees around the lens and the flash heads tilt 180 degrees. The Nikon SB-800 controls the smaller flash heads remotely so everything is synced up wirelessly. It really is amazing and a lot of fun to play around with!
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>-----
>>Celia Chien
>>www.ExoticsByNature.com
>>
>> 2006 Boa Constrictor Morphs Calendar
>> 2006 Ball Python Morphs Calendar

We got the Lesser Platinum about a month ago. I'll have to take some comparison shots between him and the African "Lesser?" that we have because they really are very different looking.

Thanks,
Celia
-----
Celia Chien
www.ExoticsByNature.com

2006 Boa Constrictor Morphs Calendar
2006 Ball Python Morphs Calendar

Wow, you got a new one in from Africa too??? I'd LOVE to see some side by side pics of those guys.

Mark

>>We got the Lesser Platinum about a month ago. I'll have to take some comparison shots between him and the African "Lesser?" that we have because they really are very different looking.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>Celia
>>-----
>>Celia Chien
>>www.ExoticsByNature.com
>>
>> 2006 Boa Constrictor Morphs Calendar
>> 2006 Ball Python Morphs Calendar

.

Awsome Awsome Awsome!!!! Thats great celia We always love your photos you do such a nice job.

-----
2.1.0 ball python (aragorn, frodo, arwen)
2.0.0 columbian boa (wiggles and squiggles)
1.0.0 rat snake (alabastered)
0.1.0 corn snake (baby)
3.3.0 cats (rockie, bs, brownie, lerrado, kole, camie)
1.3.0 kids (dilyen, dakota, chyanne, sierra)
Brian n Chrissy
"snakes are kind of like potato chips, you cant have just one"

Celia, is it's name R2D2 ? Looks like a mini robot. Takes great pics though. If you don't mind my askin', how much did it run ya?

Quig

name it something huh? It certainly is big enough to warrant having a name LOL!

As for costs, the camera body alone is $1,700.00. The kit I ended up getting comes with a 18-70mm lens (which is a pretty nice little lens which surprised me!) and retails for $2,000.00. The 60mm lens which I used for all those photos is about a $550.00 lens and the R1 Wireless Close-up System costs around $550.00 as well.

A bit of money but well worth it in my opinon!

Keep your eye on the Boa forum for some boa photos I took with the same setup!

Thanks,
Celia
-----
Celia Chien
www.ExoticsByNature.com

2006 Boa Constrictor Morphs Calendar
2006 Ball Python Morphs Calendar

.
-----
www.ballpython.ca

Those photos are awesome. Looks like the camera was well worth it. Your photography skills are unbelievable.

Now I just need to clean up the puddle of drool that I've left on the desk while staring in jealousy over those pics. lol

Thanks for sharing!
-----
Michael Rehker

Middle Tennessee Reptiles
Website Coming Soon!

"Which of us has not been stunned by the beauty of an animal's skin or its flexibility in motion?"
--Marianne Moore

wow, looks like that camera was well worth waiting for....awesome pics!!!

Leyla x
-----
1.0 husband
1.3 kids
0.1 african sulcata tortoise
1.0 Argentine Black & white tegu
1.0 green iguana
1.0 egyptian Uromastyx
2.3 canine buddies
0.1 Ball Python

Good luck with it....Celia, please email me some info on the flashes that are mounted on your lenses. I cant find them around here. I would like to get them. I am using the D2X. I love it. But I could really use those wireless flashes. I already have the speedlight 800. So I can just link them right to it. Great shots.......

Could you send me some shots that are shot RAW or at Fine jpeg. I would love to see some shots from the camera

Thank you ........

I sent you an email so feel free to give me a call whenever you have a chance.

As for flashes, I used to use the Sunpak AF5000 with my D100. The reason I went with a Sunpak model at the time was because the only speedlights Nikon had to offer either used CR123 batteries that were very expensive at the time or the speedlight cost $300 . At the time, I couldn't justify spending that much on a speedlight and I didn't want to get stuck buying $5 batteries that weren't rechargeable. So, after reading a bunch of reviews, I decided to go with a Sunpak.

The AF5000 is a fantastic flash and they still manufacture them today (it was about 3 to 4 years ago when I originally got mine). I believe the retail price on them is right around $125.

This time however, I had been hearing such good things about the Nikon SB-600 and SB-800 flashes, I figured why not get a new flash since I'm getting a new camera? The reason I went with the SB-800 was because it had more power. The SB-600 retails for about $150 whereas the SB-800 is anywhere between $300 to $350. I wanted the extra versatility and power so I went with the more expensive one.

I'm glad I chose the SB-800 because I then decided I wanted to get the R1 Close-up Wireless system. This system is amazing and incredibly versatile. There are SO many different things you can do with it and so many different ways you can set up the wireless flash heads. The system comes with two flash heads (SB-R200) but you can purchase additional ones separately and control up to eight SB-R200s on one time.

In the photos I posted, I just had the two mounted to the front of my lens and took my photos that way. Since the flash heads are wireless, you can hold them or set them up on tripods or whatever else you can think of.

Now I know that the SB-800 controls the SB-R200s but I don't know if you can control them without the SB-800 or the SU-800 Wireless Commander. I don't believe you can sync up the wirelss flashes with your camera without either the SB-800 or the SU-800.

With the Nikon D2X, since you don't have a SB-800 speedlight, I believe you would want to get the R1C1 Wireless Close-up System which is basically the SU-800 with two SB-R200s and all the other accessories the kit comes with. A friend of mine has the D2X and he has the R1C1 and really likes the way it works with his D2X.

I forgot to email you some full sized photos which I'll do as soon as I post this. I don't shoot in RAW just because the file sizes are so big and takes so long to process. I generally shoot on the Fine setting at medium size.

In fact, I just uploaded one of the full sized originals. Here is the link to the photo for anyone who might be interested in seeing the quality of a full sized photo from the D200. Now be forewarned - this photo file is HUGE! I would NOT recommend clicking on the link if you are on dial-up! The file is 2.5MB!

Full Sized Lemon Blast Head Shot

Also, here's a full sized boa photo I took a couple of weeks ago with the D100 which I thought came out really well too. This one is only 775KB...

Full Sized Hypo Jungle Photo

Thanks,
Celia
-----
Celia Chien
www.ExoticsByNature.com

2006 Boa Constrictor Morphs Calendar
2006 Ball Python Morphs Calendar

Just to see the pic in full. Or I just have a small monitor lol.
Awsome pic love it.
-----
2.1.0 ball python (aragorn, frodo, arwen)
2.0.0 columbian boa (wiggles and squiggles)
1.0.0 rat snake (alabastered)
0.1.0 corn snake (baby)
3.3.0 cats (rockie, bs, brownie, lerrado, kole, camie)
1.3.0 kids (dilyen, dakota, chyanne, sierra)
Brian n Chrissy
"snakes are kind of like potato chips, you cant have just one"

Are the PICs taken indoors?
and do you use any kind of special lighting?
and do you use a flash?

I don't know squat about photography and it shows in any of the pictures I take of my animals.

Thanks,
Mark

All the photos I posted were taken indoors under regular florescent lighting at our facility. I don't use any special lighting at all. Everything comes from my speedlights. I tweak them to give me the exact results I'm looking for that best represent the animal's true colorations.

If you take a look at the response I posed to Adam's questions, it goes into what sort of flashes I use. I think having the correct lighting is key and my flashes provide that for me.

Feel free to give me a call if you want to talk about different flashes, etc. I would be more than happy to help in any way that I can! (985) 893-0082

Thanks,
Celia
-----
Celia Chien
www.ExoticsByNature.com

2006 Boa Constrictor Morphs Calendar
2006 Ball Python Morphs Calendar

and give you a call. I'll also look at you response to Adam.

Mark

Celia ...OUTSTANDING PICS !!! .... love that Lemon Blast !! ... now when are you going to be in Florida to take photos of my snakes

cheers, John
-----
John Berry Reptiles LLC

www.johnberryreptiles.com
www.investmentmorphs.com

let's say this August - sometime around the middle of the month? How would that work for you?

Thanks,
Celia
-----
Celia Chien
www.ExoticsByNature.com

2006 Boa Constrictor Morphs Calendar
2006 Ball Python Morphs Calendar

Celia,

Very nice camera system and your pictures/subjects are just awesome! What model diffuser are you using on your SB800?
-----
Steve Markevich

www.SerpentsDen.com

My Email

diffuser I have ever used! It is an inverted dome diffusion system called the Lightsphere II and is designed and sold by Gary Fong. It's made of clear vinyl and is light and flexible. It basically just slips over the flash head and fuctions to keep the flash from losing light while increasing the diffusion and softness of the flash light at the same time.

Here is a link to it on Mr. Fong's website with more information. It's $48 plus shipping so it comes to around $55 shipped. I would highly recommend it - one of the best investments I've ever made for my camera setup!

store.garyfonginc.com/liiido.html

Thanks,
Celia
-----
Celia Chien
www.ExoticsByNature.com

2006 Boa Constrictor Morphs Calendar
2006 Ball Python Morphs Calendar

Thanks for the link and for $55.00 that is money well spent.
-----
Steve Markevich

www.SerpentsDen.com

My Email

Love that flash setup...the photos look great!
-----
================================
Support your local herp society
www.chicagoherp.org