james_noel4

<p>Finally got it to work. Issue was I kept waiting for the display to show "NR" after the 6" shot and it never does. I just shoot 1", 6" then 1" and it it works great. I am not using focus trap myself. I am controlling the aperture with the lens and so far so good. No pictures yet so we"ll see. Thanks everyone.</p>

<p>Just finished installing a dandelion chip on my 35mm f2.8 lens and I can't get the chip into programming mode. I have tried 1,5,1 and 1,6,1 shutter speeds. After either the 5 or 6 second shot the display shuts off even though I have it in extended time mode. If I hold the shutter depressed either the 5 or 6 stay displayed but nr never appears.<br> I am using it on my F100. When installed the camera displays f2.8 and matrix metering is available. Also if not in C mode I can't active shutter. It appears the camera is recognizing the chip. Any help?</p>

<p>Anyone have a similar issue and fix it? Pic is above (click link)</p>

<p><img src="https://www.flickr.com/photos/133021264@N05/24958613131/in/dateposted-public/" alt="" /></p><div></div>

<p>Here is a pic taken through the viewfinder. Not great but it shows the angle of the meter needle vs the green shutter speed needle. Def. is off but if I match the tail of the needle the exposure matches my other cameras so exposure should be fine. Just a bit of an annoyance.</p> <p><img src="/photo/18188171" alt="" /></p> <p> </p>

Cant quite tell if it is bent viewing this way. It is def. Not pointing correctly. I can get around it by using the green needle to help establish tail location which indicates the correct exposure. Just annoying. Id love to be able to fix it but getting in that far is going to require a fair amount of disassembly. Can it be accessed from the front ie mirror box or does the pentaprism need to be taken out so it can be accessed from the top.

<p>Ok, so I recently picked up a really nice FE2 to add to my collection and really because I want to try out the<br> needle metering for a while. When I was working with it I thought the meter was off but I have come to realize <br> that the needle is either bent or out of position slightly. The angle of the needle did not seem right and I have compared it to multiple pictures online as well as looking at the nneedle itself. My question is has anyone ever tried<br> to fix this? I will obviously have to pull the top cover (damn ASA ring!) then get a good look at the needle. I assume<br> it is very fragile so I will have to be very careful. I don't think this work must be done as if you look at the needle<br> base you can get a good idea of where it should point. Any thoughts or recommendations?</p>

<blockquote> <p>Well, a compulsive buyer has Psychological implications. We go into denial and call it GAS! I know of no other field other than Photography that uses the term. In fact I learned of the term GAS here! We all agree that you can't buy yourself into good Photography, but we do it anyway. Analyze that!"</p> </blockquote> <p>Agreed. I called this a psychological question rather than philosophical for the very reasons you state. Everyone knows the gear doesn't really make better pictures yet here we are. To add to that though it seems that GAS for DSLR/digital is more driven by camera improvements (higher resolution, more/better sensors etc.) whereas the old cameras, which at this point are what they are, and yet we still seek them out and buy them and many of us still use them. That was the crux of the original question...why. <br> I am glad I asked this question as this thread is quite enjoyable to read. Thanks everyone for your thoughtful responses. </p>

<p>That is an impressive collection. I've been trying myself to keep the number of bodies down but it is a struggle. Traded my F3HP for some nice prime glass which I agree can't be beat. At the moment I am struggling to not buy an FM2. Heard so many good things about it that I just want to give it a try. Besides at the moment I've been able to keep the bodies down to just 2...that is clearly not enough :).</p> <blockquote> <p>"Playing" is how many persons started using digital. It's the same game, really: composition, f-stop, ISO, shutter speed, etc. The more things change, the more they stay the same."<br> Of course the playing you mention can be done easily with digital and maybe even more so for beginners since the feedback is immediate. What I meant though was just handling the camera but not taking any photos. There is for me a certain feeling handling my manual focus SLR's that just makes me want to use them even if to just<br /> practice composing, focusing metering etc. Like I said in the initial post, it's a psychological thing. There is really no explainable reason other than I find it inspiring and enjoyable in a way that more modern cameras just don't do for me. At least the typical FX DSLR body style. Maybe the minimalist Leica, Fuji X or Nikon Df might feel similar but I have not had the pleasure of trying one to date. </p> </blockquote>

<p>So Peter's post above is interesting to me. He did not start out necessarily with the idea of collecting film cameras yet somehow that seems to happen. Other than say Leica which has a dedicated following regardless I am not sure I've seen people write about there collection of digital cameras with the same passion. Is this just my own clouded view or have others noticed it as well?<br> And just to re-state... the original idea of the post was not intended to be anti-digital, which it seems most folks aren't but to ask why do these old camera's have so much allure. I personally really dislike the menu driven digital cameras at least beyond the simple menu's in the last generation SLR's. It find it so much easier and faster to use the dials. Reminds of a recent trip in a rental car. It took me like a minute or more to turn on the heat and adjust there the air was going due to everything being menu driven where as in my old car it takes 5 seconds due to the knobs and dials. I personally think electronics are often more complicated than they need to be but the manufacturers at this point have to do this since it is what folks have come to expect. It is however very likely that this next generation that is growing up all digital will not even skip a beat since it is all they know.<br> Back to photography...I know I can take the same photo digitally as I can with film. And if I was a professional would completely embrace it as it really can speed up the workflow, but there is just something about these old machines that makes the process more enjoyable at least to me. I do scan, use lightroom and then make prints so I am not totally analogue.<br> One last item, I think digital has changed the concept of photography to most people such that it is totally disposable and exists solely to create digital images that reside wholly in a digital world. There is no permanence to how many people use the medium. I personally think there is a reason, beyond cool factor or nostalgia that keeps some of these analogue technologies alive.</p>

<p>For me there is something special about my old nikon bodies, and I wholeheartedly agree on the MF lenses. They have such a great feel as well.. I have a couple of AF lenses and they e great images but they don't match the feel of the older MF lenses for me. Obviously any camera has the ability to take great pictures its up to the photographer at that point. My daughter who is a gifted artist has been taking amazing photos since she was very young starting with a hand held game and now primarily with her phone. She could not tell you an f-stop even had anything to do with a camera but she has great vision. For me though I feel more inspired with the older cameras and it does make me stop and take my time and be more thoughtful. Aside from Leica which thankfully I have never handled or I would likely have to sell my car to get one, the newer cameras just don't have the same build quality. Then again not much else does these days either. I know I don't have to switch to digital but feel the pull. One area for me that it would help with is it would cut down on the time for me to see the picture and learn what worked ad what didn't. I feel I have so much to learn still to improve and the immediacy of digital would help that. It could also paralyze you into taking the same photo over and over I suppose as well. I am not anti-digital, I use my phone quite often to take photos when out without my camera and I also use it when I do have my slr's to pre-visualize my B&W photos. But I have to admit I like the fact that when you create an image on film it exists on a negative not as a files with a bunch of zeros and ones...but take that from someone who is a great lover of the early 1960's. <br> I am glad I asked this question. Everyone's responses are really great.</p>

<p>Very good point. Taking pictures with digital display is very different and if I think about it I do find myself less engaged. Fuji is def. on my list of digital considerations.</p>

<p>Figured this was a good community to pose this question to...<br> I own several Nikon SLR's (FE2, FA, F100, recently traded F3) and at the end of the day<br> when I want to "play" with a camera ie practice seeing, metering etc I always choose<br> the manual focus SLR. When I go out shooting same thing. It's like they have a<br> magnetic pull or something. I have to also continually remind myself I don't need another<br> one as well! I know that the F100 is likely to give me the greatest opportunity for the<br> best exposure and I do like how the camera feels for some reason it isn't as inspiring.<br> I feel the same about digital. I know I need to switch to digital but until I can afford one<br> of the old slr inspired versions I just can't seem to do it. Anyone have similar experiences?<br> Anyone care to explain why these old machines are so attractive?</p>

<p>No, worries. I was so into the content of the responses I never even noticed! Thanks for the great info. I think I am going to give it a try.</p>