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jon_porter

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  1. I'm keeping my last one, the 60mm D. I prefer the focal length over a 50mm and like its solid build quality. Plus I can use it on any F mount camera; I still have an FM and friends occasionally give me old Nikon bodies. All my other mechanical AF lenses were sold off a few years ago.
  2. The SB-30 is my all-time favorite flash. It's small and light, fairly powerful, and works in Auto or Manual on any camera. It will even work in TTL mode on late-model Nikon film cameras or early digitals. It has four Auto settings and three Manual power level settings. You didn't say what you plan to shoot with the flash, but I mainly use the SB-30 for fill flash. It adds very little weight to my camera, which is appreciated if, for example, I'm going to be walking around a car show for hours. And the SB-30's single battery provides a surprising number of full-power flashes. For indoor shooting, such as a party or wedding reception, I'm more inclined to use a TTL unit to better balance the flash with the ambient light.
  3. Another review of the film: Film Review Blog No. 45 - CatLABS X Film 80
  4. I shot three rolls of 120 CatLabs and was impressed with it. Good skin tones, shadow detail and fairly fine grain. I rated it at 64 and developed in Rodinal 1:50 for 12 minutes @ 68 degrees. I never developed any Panatomic in Rodinal so I can't comment on how similar CatLabs 80 is to that film, but it's worth a try. I'll probably shoot a few more rolls of it later this year to see how it looks developed in FX-39.
  5. For as long as I can remember Nikon (and Canon) has issued a fancy fold-out brochure that was co-sponsored by local camera stores and included with newspapers around the beginning of December. This year I didn't see a brochure from either company in Silicon Valley's main paper. While that may be indicative of newspapers' declining circulation, or my local camera store feeling it wasn't worth the expense, I enjoyed collecting the brochures each Christmas as a way to document what Nikon model was hot or new each year. Here's the brochure from 2017.
  6. I'm impressed with the Z6, but as a D500 owner with only one FX lens (that won't auto-focus on the FTZ), I view the Z6 as an expensive paper weight unless I spend about $1,000 more on the 24-70mm and a couple of XQD cards and reader. So I'll pass on considering a Z camera until there's a collection of native lenses for it.
  7. Hey Shun, Were you able to get a reservation for the Z event at San Jose Camera? It was "sold out" by the time I opened my email about it this morning. Yeah, these cameras are going to sell!
  8. I've bought almost all my used gear from eBay, KEH or Roberts. Over the years I've only had two issues, both quickly resolved. So many people churn digital gear nowadays that it's easy to buy almost unused gear for much less than new prices.
  9. It's an excellent standard zoom. I used one on my D700 and F100 and loved it. They go for around $300 on eBay, so are also a good bargain.
  10. Not sure why there's such a clamor for Nikon to make an F-mount mirrorless. What, exactly, would Nikon bring to the table that isn't already offered by Fuji, M43 and Sony? I use both EVIL and SLR cameras since both have advantages and I don't plan to give up either. But I'm outside Nikon's demographics, so maybe if photographers under 35 are mainly buying mirrorless cameras if makes sense for Nikon to enter the market. Hopefully a better effort than Canon's M series.
  11. <p>Another use for film cans was to store the stock strap rings and plastic inserts when replacing them with an aftermarket shoulder strap. But like the original box, instructions, sales receipt and tripod pad, most owners lost them over the years before they sold the camera. But if that FM2 is otherwise in pristine shape, it's still a good buy for a very useable camera.</p>
  12. <p>The only reason to get a G690 is if you need more than one lens. If I remember correctly, there was a 65mm, 100mm and 150mm lens. The camera was introduced in 1970, so most of them have had a long, hard life. I agree with Ellis, find a clean GW690III. It will have a much better viewfinder and rangefinder than a G690. They're a lot of fun to use and the huge negative yields wonderful scans.</p>
  13. <p>I've had several of these early metal Mamiyas and they're wonderful cameras. But they are prone to erratic frame spacing and overlapping frames as they age, so ask the buyer about this and, as Russ suggested, put some film through the camera. In my experience, if there are overlapping frames or less than 15 shots on a roll of 120 film, changing film inserts won't make a difference; the problem is the camera.</p>
  14. <p>I had the same experience with my SQ-AI as Kenneth. At times I had to press on the battery door for the shutter to fire. I put a small piece of card stock on top of the battery holder to create more pressure on the electrical contacts. That worked most of the time, but it also put pressure on the battery door, causing it to pop open occasionally, dumping the batteries on the ground. I finally got fed up and replaced the camera with an SQ-B.</p>
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