Indrek Aavisto wrote:
Hi Ron,

Thanks for your feedback, which is much appreciated.

You make a good point about the Nikkor 80-200 VR lens in that it obviates
the need to change lenses and avoids the possibility of introducing dust
onto the sensor. I do worry about 200mm being too short, and realistically I
can't see ever justifying the price tag on an 80-400 VR lens to myself, much
less to my wife. That being the case it looks as though I will be committing
to two lenses, and will live with the hassle of changing lenses from time to
time, and the inevitable dust on the sensor. Presumably there are ways of
removing the dust without damaging the sensor, albeit at the cost of some
effort and expense.

Your image using the 70-300VR lens looks excellent and shows that this lens
is capable of good results. Can you, or anyone else comment on the pros and
cons of this lens?

I also need to decide on a shorter focal length lens. Any recommendations
would be most welcome.

Has anyone used DX0 software which purports to remove lens artifacts etc.
from RAW and JPEG images?

Please excuse all the questions. This will be a significant outlay for me
(I'm a pensioner) so I want to make sure that I make an informed decision.

Cheers,

Indrek Aavisto


You can always try cleaning the sensor yourself - this is not difficult
to do. Remove the lens and lift the mirror in the sensor cleaning mode
(I think you will find most D-SLRs have this facility). Clean the sensor
with a highly purified methanol solution such as Eclipse (available from
your local photographic supplier) on a suitable sealed cleaning pad to
remove dust and pollen spots. I do this regularly with my Canon D-SLRs,
with no problems so far. The important thing is to check that the camera
battery is fully charged first, to ensure that the shutter remains open
and the mirror up during the cleaning process.

Regards

Graham Salt