James Markus wrote:
Apparently there are three versions of the Nikon FM - plus silver or black finish. I have version #2, and version #3 in black finish, and other than a screw in the mirror box, and knurled knob they look identical. I finally finished shooting my test rolls of expired, and tortured Tri-X.
I souped my first Df96 monobath bulk loaded Tri-X rolls today. The film was from approximately 2000, and got buried in the glove box of my car. Well over 100 degrees many days, and freezing cold far as many days for about a third of those 24 years. Then it got forgotten on my desk. I actually got confused which camera was loaded, and opened one half way through the roll. (messed up about 5 frames) While loading the reel - one roll's leader shattered - it was so brittle. There is a base fog, and they are grainy - but it worked.
The Nikkor-H.C 50mm f2 has a dreamy way of rendering that I must try out on a digital body. I guess Colin and any one else who has one of these lenses already knew this....Show more →
I really like the grain in these, especially the teacup. Congratulations on the beautiful grandchild.
AdaptedLenses and Scott,
I was expecting the grain, and thought the shallow DOF would play nice with it on the tea cup. I failed to mention that I broke out my Nikon K rings to get even closer MFD. In this image I used a K3 ring. Nikon metal finishes are gorgeous.
Jim
AdaptedLenses wrote:
Great to see some film Jim. That tea cup is great.
spoupard wrote:
I really like the grain in these, especially the teacup. Congratulations on the beautiful grandchild.
Jim, even in super grainy view, that FM is a great looking camera.
180mm f2.8 AIS. The leafless season does provide a good opportunity to capture the actual structure of the trunk and branches. Kinda like what Jim does with IR photography in the summer, which I think is still really cool.
Ray,
There are many reasons I choose the FM. 1-It does not need batteries. Everything except the light meter are mechanical - every shutter speed - it will just work. Another fav was the F3HP, but when that battery dies, only 1/60th of a second works. 2-Every F-mount lens fits and works on the FM - non-ai, ai, ais - the FM don't care (not true of the FM2 - etc). It is small and light, but extremely well built. The second copy I found was close to mint - "near mint" as the ebayers love to claim, and it's MD-11 motor winder is mint. 3-It's beautiful. I can remember getting my silver body FM about 35 years ago - and being too cheap to pony up the $20-35 extra for the black body back then - didn't make that mistake again.
Jim
pbraymond wrote:
Jim, even in super grainy view, that FM is a great looking camera.
180mm f2.8 AIS. The leafless season does provide a good opportunity to capture the actual structure of the trunk and branches. Kinda like what Jim does with IR photography in the summer, which I think is still really cool.
James Markus wrote:
Ray,
There are many reasons I choose the FM. 1-It does not need batteries. Everything except the light meter are mechanical - every shutter speed - it will just work. Another fav was the F3HP, but when that battery dies, only 1/60th of a second works. 2-Every F-mount lens fits and works on the FM - non-ai, ai, ais - the FM don't care (not true of the FM2 - etc). It is small and light, but extremely well built. The second copy I found was close to mint - "near mint" as the ebayers love to claim, and it's MD-11 motor winder is mint. 3-It's beautiful. I can remember getting my silver body FM about 35 years ago - and being too cheap to pony up the $20-35 extra for the black body back then - didn't make that mistake again.
Jim
I I understand it well. Had a black FM in my film days as well, you know, because ummm I may be in a spot where I need to shoot something and have no power at all. In reality, I ended up using the F5 and F100 pairing the most, and usually the F3HP when I wanted a more deliberate experience. I did play around a lot with "guess the exposure" before checking with the light meter, since each frame cost money with film, and got pretty good at it, especially in outdoor conditions from sunny 16 to heavy overcast.
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cadman342001 wrote:
A couple of views from the historic bridge in the last shot.
This time with yes you guessed it the PC 28 again.
I really like the K1 on my 24/2: Gives me just enough extension without getting "weird", Speaking of weird, the background blur on that second shot, particularly the lettering on the film boxes, is quite, shall we say, complex, maybe even ugly. And that's only with the K1. I would have thought the 50/2 would behave a bit more nicely at such a relatively small extension.
Richard honors this thread with his post. He also tempts us, but the prices for this beatiful 50mm 1.1 have become quite steep. Keep fingers crossed for a garage find bargain in my lifetime.
Grant,
Though the 2nd image was shot at 1/320th of a second - I think it is motion blur exasperated by topaz sharpen using the motion model. I have noticed the Nikkor-H.C 50mm f2 seems to put a diffuse, almost diaphanous vignette over the entire frame while wide open - slightly becoming stronger near the edges. For decades I have done a similar technique in Photoshop to focus attention on the subject. This is always dead center, but I find it a welcoming feature. Therefore, I don't believe it is the lens, or the K-ring. Now, the Nikkor 24mm f2.0, has the weirdest bokeh of any lens I have ever owned.
Jim
I added a f11 shot without topaz sharpen to the original post
grantgoodes wrote:
I really like the K1 on my 24/2: Gives me just enough extension without getting "weird", Speaking of weird, the background blur on that second shot, particularly the lettering on the film boxes, is quite, shall we say, complex, maybe even ugly. And that's only with the K1. I would have thought the 50/2 would behave a bit more nicely at such a relatively small extension.
Lots of amazing photos in just the last couple pages.
I am fascinated by the grain from the glove compartment-cooked Tr-X!!
James Markus wrote:
Apparently there are three versions of the Nikon FM - plus silver or black finish. I have version #2, and version #3 in black finish, and other than a screw in the mirror box, and knurled knob they look identical. I finally finished shooting my test rolls of expired, and tortured Tri-X.
I souped my first Df96 monobath bulk loaded Tri-X rolls today. The film was from approximately 2000, and got buried in the glove box of my car. Well over 100 degrees many days, and freezing cold far as many days for about a third of those 24 years. Then it got forgotten on my desk. I actually got confused which camera was loaded, and opened one half way through the roll. (messed up about 5 frames) While loading the reel - one roll's leader shattered - it was so brittle. There is a base fog, and they are grainy - but it worked.
The Nikkor-H.C 50mm f2 has a dreamy way of rendering that I must try out on a digital body. I guess Colin and any one else who has one of these lenses already knew this....Show more →
One from the combo I posted on the other page. Hassy with 50mm Millennial edition. Uncropped and heavy vignette on the medium format sensor, but I liked it in this shot. Using these lenses in ways that the designers never imagined is what is fun
One more from today with that combo. Again un-cropped and embracing the hard vignette
BW03 black and white preset from Lightroom Classic applied and border added in Photoshop
