john_r._fulton_jr.

I focus bracket my f1.0 lens by moving my head forward and backwards. 'Sounds weird but it works. We're talking about 1-2 inches forward and 1-2 inches forward. I rarely have need to do this but it's worked for me when I'm not quite confident in the focus.

I handled and used dozens of F2 cameras when I was at newspapers. I also had them maintained. I was the one who took them to San Francisco to the Nikon repair shop. That was a factory Nikon shop - back then it was EPOI (Ehrenreich Photo Optical Industries - the importer). Never ever did anybody say anything to me about leaving shutter uncocked. That said I will admit I was dealing with new and being used F2's. I really liked the F2's. They were real workhorse cameras. When the F3 came out - and since I was the one who handed out the cameras - I was the last to change from F2 to F3. That said I got the first F3P's that were available. That, too was a real workhorse. I hope all of you have a great time with your Nikons. They are amazing cameras. I appreciate your allowing me to jabber on a bit. Good luck with your photography.

Wait, what? Did you say that putting an F2 away with the shutter cocked is a big no-no. If you're using the camera daily or weekly or monthly that's not a worry. Jeez that is sheer nonsense. Somebody read about not storing LEAF shutters (Rolleiflex,etc) cocked for a long period of time. Then they decided that what's good for leaf shutters must be good for focal plane shutters.

Great thread. All it does is make me buy another OEM battery. LOL. B&H included an extra generic battery with my D500 so I have two. The generic seems to work well and the life of the batteries in general seem to be extraordinary. If it were me I'd take four batteries. I'd be sure the camera was on airport mode and that auto-preview was off. Oh & I'd shoot in RAW mode only. That's off top of my head. Backpackers do a lot of solar charging so they're a good source. Good luck. Sounds like a great trip.

I use the XQD cards in my D500. First I bought the Lexar then Sony. 32 and 64 Gb are plenty for what I shoot. One of the things I like about shooting with XQD card in the Nikon is a housekeeping thing. Since I also shoot with a Leica M-P (SD cards) I easily keep the "Nikon" pictures separated from the other camera. Depending on what I'm working on this just simplifies things. The pro photographer rep at where I buy said another advantage of the XQD card is that it downloads faster to the computer. I haven't noticed that.

I talked to the "pro" rep at my camera supplier about XQD cards. Here's what he basically said. The XQD card is really for video. So, if you're shooting video it's a must-have. For stills it's good especially if you're shooting 10fps in RAW (think sports). Since I photograph the Indianapolis 500 - okay, great. And it is. Shoot a second or two of 10fps and they're are written super-fast to the XQD card. But - and this is mentioned above - his main "like" of the XQD card is how quickly they download when you are done shooting. AND I agree. Downloading 15 to 20 to 30GB of photographs is significantly faster than the SD card. That for me was the key point in buying the XQD since I never (almost never) shoot video. For reference I use an older MacBook Pro with a USB 2 connection. The new USB3 would even be faster.

<p>>>>BTW, I'm jumping back into the world of Leica :-) Just bought an M6 to use with a beautiful old Summitar 5cm 1:2 given to me a couple years ago. Currently dusting off the old darkroom gear.<<<<br> <br> Welcome back Dan. Have fun with that M6 and take a lot of great photographs.</p>

<p>If you use your imagination - looking at the silver M10 - and eliminate the red dot and ignore the missing (frame illunimation) window, it looks like an old M2 that had the button rewind and no self-timer. The ASA dial looks similar to the rewind knob.</p>

<p>Your 28 + 50 are good for a start. 50 will be a bit long but the 28 will be 35mm effective. I mostly use a 35mm.<br> By the way, Jim A., I'm now past 120,000 on my M8.2. 'Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. Hope all still well with that M262.</p>

<p>Ray - I'm assuming you're referring to my one sentence post. I didn't mean to offend or upset anybody. I certainly wasn't trying to dismiss the OP. I was simply making a point about "sharpness". Whatever that is. I am more interested in the content of a photograph and am not offended or upset if the picture isn't sharp. I would like to wish everybody a happy new year and hope that you take many interesting photographs.</p>

<p>Sometimes your best pictures aren't always your sharpest pictures.</p>

<p>I like it. But then I considered buying a red Nikon D3200. Personally, I think it shows a sense of humor on Leica's part that surprises me. We tend to be so serious about our equipment. It's just stuff. The photographs are what's important. </p>

<p>Oh, he was? Okay. Yeah, right. I get it. Jeez, that's hilarious. I can barely catch my breath.</p>

<p>Ian - what glow? That's the older lenses, not the Lux-Asph. Very sharp, very clear. Do you shoot with a 35mm Lux-asph?</p>

<p>I shoot a lot at f1.4. It's sharp as it needs to be. I have classic Summilux 35mm and it's not quite sharp at f1.4. Sort of like looking out a train window. There's gonna be somebody complain about focus shift but I don't know about that. I have a black one and a chrome one - both fine. This probably hasn't helped you with "characteristics". The main character of a lens is who's behind it and what's in front of it. Good luck with your photography.</p>