mrjallen

Very informative discussion, which I have valued.

So what's a poor fellow to do who also has hungry mouths to feed? I can't afford an autofocus f/1.4 lens of any focal length.

I've just begun using GIMP, which is freeware. You can see multiple YouTube and and regular web pages with pointers for using it.

First off, thanks for linking to that thread. It was absolutely fascinating reading. Second, I have never developed any film of any type before. This upcoming foray into processing film at home will be my inaugural attempt. With 10 rolls of C-41 that have accumulated over the past year, I decided to develop myself rather than send out. With ten rolls ready, certainly I'll have a few keepers that I can then scan in. Every weekend for much of the past number of years, I've followed this forum. I just haven't had the time, or made it, to participate. Ultimately, I hope my son will take an interest in it, as well. He's the creative one!

My 9-yr-old son and I shot two rolls of XP2 with this yesterday at a couple car shows. I hope to develop the film next weekend--my first ever attempt. The chemistry kit is en route from freestyle right now. Nikon FE2 with 50mm AI f/2

Chulster, just ignore the bloviations of that loquacious sesquipedalianist. I have a copy of the 50mm f/2 AI that, to my amateur eyes, produces beautiful. images.

Regarding OP's question, I have no plans for mirrorless, as much as I might enjoy such a system. I am just now in the process of upgrading from a D40(!) to a D7100, allowing me to more effortlessly use my manual focus lenses and my one AF-D lens. The AF-D lens came free with an N90s, which I'm also enjoying. Moving from early 2000s technology to 2013 technology will give me much better low light, flashless capability, at half the cost of my original D40 purchase.

It's neither classic nor manual, but I used a Nikon N90s yesterday, and I even let my two young kids have a turn at using it!

Polaroid 600. I collected enough green stamps (actually branded Quality Stamps, as I recall) from my mom's grocery store trips, and then she helped me paste them into the little books. We took those to the exchange store to get the camera.

How about a 20 dollar N8008? It's built tough enough that even a teenage boy can handle it, costs less than an F80 or F100, and offers a blend of the features of both early modernity and the late Pleistocene. If the back is already sticky, just borrow some of the lad's skateboard tape for a field-expedient repair!

Once the 7200s are on the shelves and the price of the 7100 drops, I might finally be persuaded to upgrade from my D40!

That's good news on the D7000 price drop. Can't wait for it to get down to $100 so I can upgrade from my D40! :)

I got an N8008s from KEH about 1.5 years ago for $28. It looks brand new, and it works great with my manual lenses. The metering is superb. At the time, I considered an F90s. I can't recall now what swayed me to the 8008, but I'm glad I got it.

<p>I am also shooting some film these days, and I like the look it gives. With my local Costco no longer processing and scanning film at $5 per roll, I now have to use a local lab that costs $15 per roll. At this price, I might be better off just to get a scanner, saving the pro lab for only those shots for which I would like a nice print.</p>

I believe JDM posted a link to your website a few weeks ago. I followed the link and have since looked at nearly every photo on the site. It's one of the best sites I've been to.