CGrindahl wrote:
Here are a few more from the Marin Art and Garden Center I visited yesterday. All with the 135 f/3.5 Q AI and a sweet little PK-12 extension tube mounted on the Df. IF a Df2 arrives on the market I'd be sorely tempted. After shooting with this camera for about a year I'm much in love with it. Of course, with the conversation so often featuring a Fuji camera, I have to admit I've done a bit of reading on the subject.
Don't read too much about the Fuji. The next thing you know, you'll be buying one.
Todays offering is arrival in Tucson after four days of driving. Visited with my cousin and her husband and a second cousin who we had not seen since 1960!
The first days trip was to Davis-Monthan Air Force base to see the boneyard and a static display of aircraft. It was a beautiful Arizona day!
leighton w wrote:
Don't read too much about the Fuji. The next thing you know, you'll be buying one.
I've read some nice things about Fuji. It seems they make cameras the way Nikon once made manual focus lenses, which is certainly a good thing. BUT, the cameras that make sense from a price perspective all have cropped sensors and frankly, I've been shooting FX too long to consider going in that direction. That is especially true since IF I bought a Fuji camera I wouldn't be buying any Fuji lenses, but would rather be using the camera to mount Nikon MF lenses. I like my wides, wide and my longs just the way they are. I read enough to know a 1.5 cropping factor of a DX sensor doesn't appeal to me.
Unfortunately, the alternative, an FX Sony like the A7 RII that our friend John is enjoying, is simply too expensive. Of course, the humble A7 used by Philippe is very affordable but not especially well reviewed. So for now I'll suffer along with the Df whose sensor continues to do lovely things. Who knows what Nikon might do in the future with that camera and with other offerings. I really feel no pressure to change anything at the moment.
dgjean wrote:
I love the Nikon FM series of mechanical cameras. Here's a shot taken the other day in Padova with an FM3a:
Nikon FM3a & Nikkor 35/1.4 Ai-S.
(Kodak Tri-X developed in Ilford ID-11 (1+1) for 11 minutes at 20° C & scanned with an Epson v850).
I love the work you're posting Don and really appreciate where your journey has led you. You've demonstrated for a long while your affection for Nikon's manual focus lenses and have used them beautifully with your evocative images of Venice. Now you're exploring film, playing with our favorite lenses mounted on the cameras for which they were originally made. AND you give us insight into how you're processing film which will doubtless add inspiration some will build upon as they experiment with film. I get that you are keeping fresh your own enthusiasm for photography by going in this direction. I tip my hat to you. Very well done!
And thanks, as always, for sharing your work with all of us.
You should know by now Reagan, that I'm not a fair weather fan of things Nikon. Yes, I bought and sold my first D700 but did so only because I bought a second copy with fewer shutter actuations. I still own that camera, despite the fact I bought a Df. With regard to lenses, it is true I've sold a few, but when I did it was because I'd bought a cleaner copy of the same lens. The 47 Nikon manual focus lenses now in my kit aren't going ANYWHERE. If I buy another camera I would consider selling the D700, but a new camera would be purchased ONLY to play with my Nikkor lenses.
I'm not struggling with the weight of my cameras... fortunately, my 75 year old hands, arms and shoulders can still handle them. I'm not having problems with the manual focus lenses either. I still don't use eye glasses except to read small print, but then I'm using over the counter reading glasses that magnify at 1.0. I can see through an optical viewfinder and find focus without any aids.
If anything tickles my fancy, it might be going the direction Don has taken with his film shooting. I've toyed with that before, even buying a Nikon FA. But I loaned that to someone who needed a film camera and he hasn't returned it yet. Time will tell whether this is a pipe dream or something I'll actually do...
Hope you find your way back to Nikon... a Nikon camera I mean. It would be nice if you could actually mount those three fine manual focus Nikkor lenses you own.
Great to have you back on the thread Ken. That first image of the instruments on your Corvette was impressive... especially the MPG you've gotten on your trip. The best I've done on a tank of gas with my new/old 2012 Toyota Camry XLE with a V-6 engine has been 24.5 miles per gallon. Of course, that is combined city/highway miles and not a great many of those ON a highway. The Camry is surprisingly peppy but I'm sure nowhere near your Corvette.
When I was driving a Corvette things like gas mileage were farthest from the mind...
As an aside, you don't mention the lenses you were using in your recent photos. That would be useful information for folks on the thread who are eternally evaluating these lenses we so love. Help us out, would you?
I look forward to seeing what you discovered on your road trip. But I remember those long drives across the western half of the U.S. Great country!
You should know by now Reagan, that I'm not a fair weather fan of things Nikon. Yes, I bought and sold my first D700 but did so only because I bought a second copy with fewer shutter actuations. I still own that camera, despite the fact I bought a Df. With regard to lenses, it is true I've sold a few, but when I did it was because I'd bought a cleaner copy of the same lens. The 47 Nikon manual focus lenses now in my kit aren't going ANYWHERE. If I buy another camera I would consider selling the D700, but a new camera would be purchased ONLY to play with my Nikkor lenses.
I'm not struggling with the weight of my cameras... fortunately, my 75 year old hands, arms and shoulders can still handle them. I'm not having problems with the manual focus lenses either. I still don't use eye glasses except to read small print, but then I'm using over the counter reading glasses that magnify at 1.0. I can see through an optical viewfinder and find focus without any aids.
If anything tickles my fancy, it might be going the direction Don has taken with his film shooting. I've toyed with that before, even buying a Nikon FA. But I loaned that to someone who needed a film camera and he hasn't returned it yet. Time will tell whether this is a pipe dream or something I'll actually do...
Hope you find your way back to Nikon... a Nikon camera I mean. It would be nice if you could actually mount those three fine manual focus Nikkor lenses you own.
One of the main reasons I started shooting film again is because of the number of Nikkor manual focus lenses that I have. Even with 65 year old eyes I'm pretty good manually focusing on a D3s (and, surprisingly, even better on a D3x), but in order to really take advantage of the Nikkors you have to use a film body with a split-image, etc., focusing screen. As I said in a post the other day I really enjoy using the film cameras much more than digital--it's just a lot more fun!
I also enjoy developing the film too. It is time consuming but it's worth the effort. You should give it a try, Curtis!
CGrindahl wrote:
I've read some nice things about Fuji. It seems they make cameras the way Nikon once made manual focus lenses, which is certainly a good thing. BUT, the cameras that make sense from a price perspective all have cropped sensors and frankly, I've been shooting FX too long to consider going in that direction. That is especially true since IF I bought a Fuji camera I wouldn't be buying any Fuji lenses, but would rather be using the camera to mount Nikon MF lenses. I like my wides, wide and my longs just the way they are. I read enough to know a 1.5 cropping factor of a DX sensor doesn't appeal to me.
Unfortunately, the alternative, an FX Sony like the A7 RII that our friend John is enjoying, is simply too expensive. Of course, the humble A7 used by Philippe is very affordable but not especially well reviewed. So for now I'll suffer along with the Df whose sensor continues to do lovely things. Who knows what Nikon might do in the future with that camera and with other offerings. I really feel no pressure to change anything at the moment.
I understand, you're too captivated by the FF sensor. I thought I was going to struggle with that same issue when I switched, didn't miss it all.
I really really wished that Nikon would have come out with a camera like the Fuji, but alas, it wasn't to be. So when a friend converted to Fuji from Canon he started sharing his experience with me and the rest is history. The last thing I'll say about it is that Fuji is like Nikon used to be.
leighton w wrote:
I understand, you're too captivated by the FF sensor. I thought I was going to struggle with that same issue when I switched, didn't miss it all.
I really really wished that Nikon would have come out with a camera like the Fuji, but alas, it wasn't to be. So when a friend converted to Fuji from Canon he started sharing his experience with me and the rest is history. The last thing I'll say about it is that Fuji is like Nikon used to be.
Alas, for all the good things about the Fuji, the one negative from my perspective, as a person who has shared this adventure with you for quite a few years, is that the new camera led to you selling all but one of your manual focus Nikon lenses. Fuji worked for you, but NOT for your Nikkors. I accept the fact that life brings change with it and I know you had good reasons for wanting to shoot AF. This is simply the way it is. Had I not made such a financial AND emotional commitment to manual focus shooting, it might have been easier to make a change. I'd note, however, that it was precisely these manual focus lenses that saved me from abandoning photography all together. You landed in the place that works for you and I remain in the place that feels like home for me. But we'll always be friends and you are always more than welcome to spend time with your friends on this thread you invested so much in maintaining over the years. All good...
dgjean wrote:
One of the main reasons I started shooting film again is because of the number of Nikkor manual focus lenses that I have. Even with 65 year old eyes I'm pretty good manually focusing on a D3s (and, surprisingly, even better on a D3x), but in order to really take advantage of the Nikkors you have to use a film body with a split-image, etc., focusing screen. As I said in a post the other day I really enjoy using the film cameras much more than digital--it's just a lot more fun!
I also enjoy developing the film too. It is time consuming but it's worth the effort. You should give it a try, Curtis! ...Show more →
The time consuming part seems doable, but the space to accomplish it is another matter. I imagine you living in a rambling old Italian villa with ample space for everything. I live in a studio cottage which is lovely, but only about 400 square feet. I don't have much free space for storing supplies and very limited space to set up whatever is required to develop the film. I had friend with whom I shared quite a bit of time a few decades past who was a professional photographer. The basement of his home down the block from mine was his studio. He shot film and I spent time with him occasionally with his film processing gear reviewing contact sheets for work that ended up in annual reports as well as a couple of books he published. Of course, he was processing ten to twenty rolls of film at the time, so it was quite a production. I know it can be done on a more basic level than that, but I always have that memory in my mind.
Incidentally, that fellow is now on the faculty of the Journalism School at the University of California at Berkeley. He has the PERFECT name for a photographer... Ken Light.
CGrindahl wrote:
Alas, for all the good things about the Fuji, the one negative from my perspective, as a person who has shared this adventure with you for quite a few years, is that the new camera led to you selling all but one of your manual focus Nikon lenses. Fuji worked for you, but NOT for your Nikkors. I accept the fact that life brings change with it and I know you had good reasons for wanting to shoot AF. This is simply the way it is. Had I not made such a financial AND emotional commitment to manual focus shooting, it might have been easier to make a change. I'd note, however, that it was precisely these manual focus lenses that saved me from abandoning photography all together. You landed in the place that works for you and I remain in the place that feels like home for me. But we'll always be friends and you are always more than welcome to spend time with your friends on this thread you invested so much in maintaining over the years. All good... ...Show more →
You're exactly right, it is all good. The one thing I do miss is all the fine MF lenses I had to sell to finance the new gear.
One of these days, I'm going to build my MF stable back up, because shooting MF with the Fuji is such a pleasure.
CGrindahl wrote:
The time consuming part seems doable, but the space to accomplish it is another matter. I imagine you living in a rambling old Italian villa with ample space for everything. I live in a studio cottage which is lovely, but only about 400 square feet. I don't have much free space for storing supplies and very limited space to set up whatever is required to develop the film. I had friend with whom I shared quite a bit of time a few decades past who was a professional photographer. The basement of his home down the block from mine was his studio. He shot film and I spent time with him occasionally with his film processing gear reviewing contact sheets for work that ended up in annual reports as well as a couple of books he published. Of course, he was processing ten to twenty rolls of film at the time, so it was quite a production. I know it can be done on a more basic level than that, but I always have that memory in my mind.
Incidentally, that fellow is now on the faculty of the Journalism School at the University of California at Berkeley. He has the PERFECT name for a photographer... Ken Light....Show more →
Actually, Curtis, I keep all the chemicals, beekers, etc., in a couple of large plastic containers in my garage. I also have a couple of foldable saw horses that I lay a board across (it's probably 3 x 4 feet). When I'm ready to develop (usually a couple of times a week), I bring everything in and set up in my wife's laundry room (i.e. running water). It takes about ten minutes to set up.
After I develop the film I go upstairs to the room I use as a studio and do the scanning, etc., there. It usually takes a couple of hours--more if I develop more than a couple of rolls of film.
I guess it keeps me occupied and out of my wife's hair.
dgjean wrote:
Actually, Curtis, I keep all the chemicals, beekers, etc., in a couple of large plastic containers in my garage. I also have a couple of foldable saw horses that I lay a board across (it's probably 3 x 4 feet). When I'm ready to develop (usually a couple of times a week), I bring everything in and set up in my wife's laundry room (i.e. running water). It takes about ten minutes to set up.
After I develop the film I go upstairs to the room I use as a studio and do the scanning, etc., there. It usually takes a couple of hours--more if I develop more than a couple of rolls of film.
I guess it keeps me occupied and out of my wife's hair.
I feel like my MFNG addiction is coming back
I really love the feel of the all-metal Nikkors. Currently have the 55 1.2 and 105 2.5 PC (both have metal focusing rings) Can you guys please post a list of ALL Nikkors wider than 55mm that have metal scalloped focusing rings?
leighton w wrote:
You're exactly right, it is all good. The one thing I do miss is all the fine MF lenses I had to sell to finance the new gear.
One of these days, I'm going to build my MF stable back up, because shooting MF with the Fuji is such a pleasure.
For some reasons I still think the Fuji X-system-cameras work best with the lenses invented for it. I have adapters for Nikon- and Leica R-lenses for the Fuji, but after some rounds of playing with a MF-lens on the Fuji I usually go back to the compact Fujinon-lenses. The balance is off for me and that's why I prefer to shoot Fujinon-glass on the Fuji and Nikon-glass on my Nikons.
The almost same can be said about using slighlty larger ore more heavy glass on lighter Nikon-bodies. The 105/1.8 for instance is a wonderful fit for the D7000, the 135/2 feels too heavy or large for this body, while it feels "natural" on the D700 or D3s.
But I'm glad that using MF-Nikon-glass on the Fuji worked well for you and hope you'll be back in the MFNG-business soon ;-)
