New Nikon Set-up

1. FE2 with AIS 50mm f/1.4

 

2. F100 with 50mm f/1.8G

 

You could get both of those sets and a decent tripod and some film for under 1000. If the project is shooting by window

light I'd go with a tripod and manual exposure control. Either of those cameras would be good for that use or for

automated use.

 

Oh, if you wanted a single lens to go between the two cameras I'd say either the AIS lens (and use the F100 in manual focus) or a 50mm f/1.4D. The G lens is a great AF option but doesn't work on manual focus cameras.

<p>Are you sure FE2 is the best Camera-Body below 1000 Euros Nikon has factured?</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Nikon 55mm f/1.2 AI(S) is a great lense?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>No Mag, mea culpa... It was produced in pre-AI and AI version and it was replaced by 50/1.2 that finally was AI-S.<br>

If is a great lens? It depends who you ask the question:) As a lucky guy who own the trio of the f/1.2 lenses produced by Nikon (50, 55 and 58) I can tell you that my favorite is 55. No, is not the sharpest, also probably is the cheapest from the group... but its character is special. So for me and for other "old-fashioned" guys it definitely is a great lens. For others it is an outdated piece of gear.<br>

As a bonus, because my copy is AI while my copies of 50 and 58 are AI-S, I can get more keepers at f1.2 with 55 because it's focusing throw is longer. That's a huge advantage for someone with myopia like me. :(</p>

<p>So mihai, which lens would you seriously suggest?</p>

<p>Philip, if you want to go just with a camera and a lens and AF is an advantage, I'd definitely pick F100 + Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF-S (or for less money 50/1.8 AF-D which is pretty good on film).</p>

<p>If for you is more important the "retro" look'n feel and AF is not so important, then a camera like FE2, FM2 or FM3a with a MF lens like 50/1.2 AI(S) 55/1.2 AI or even a 50/1.8 AI which is incredible good for a very inexpensive cost may be your best option.</p>

<p>Whatever you will decide you'll not go wrong. Legacy film bodies and lenses are of a high quality in Nikon yard. And the cost is mostly attractive.</p>

Philip, you asked for an option that's manual focus and auto exposure. I'd have four candidates to be Nikon's best in that

category: FE2, FM3a, F3 and FA. You said small size was a priority so drop the F3 because it's larger than the others.

The FM3a doesn't really improve on the FE2 when in auto exposure and it's a lot more expensive so drop that one.

Between the FE2 and the FA the FE2 seems to me a bit "nicer" - though the FA does have more auto modes (the FE2 is

limited to manual exposure and aperture priority auto) so if adding S and P modes is important you could get that.

<p>A good choice for camera: Nikon F100. It's not overly large and works very well. Best 50mm lens: Sigma 50mm f1.4. The f1.4 will work well in low light, and the lens is superb. Many like it better than the Zeiss 50mm for portrait use as the Sigma has a nice smooth look.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

"Best" is really a personal judgment here. The Sigma has somewhat better bokeh than the current Nikons but (I'm going

to compare it to the 1.8G because I'm the camp that has that as the one to buy) costs twice as much, weighs more than

2.5x as much and has terrible sharpness outside of center frame at apertures where the bokeh improvement is

noticeable.

<p>Apparently the good folks above who have volunteered their time to help the OP have been wasting their time:<br>

http://www.photo.net/modern-film-cameras-forum/00bzfh</p>

<p>Before you go hog-wild into film, check how easy or hard it is to get film and processing where you live. I lived in a small town until recently where it was getting really hard to get film, and the only decent processing was super-expensive. A lot of film is going away, or getting expensive.<br /><br />If you DO really want to go film, F100 is the easy choice, get a 50 and an 85 to add to it, and you're golden for portraits.</p>

<p>we have full capacity here at university, so everything goes!</p>

<p>ok, so i think the best choice for now is a nikon fe and a 50 mm 1.2 or 1.4 lens.<br>

the question is, which exact lens is the right one? if i google it i just can't differentiate between the one which come up. i know i'm a beginner, so it might be pretty easy to say for nikon-specialists.<br>

thanks a lot for your help, philip</p>

Any of the ones that are AI or AIS. When using an FE or FE2 there's no real difference. You can go by serial number.

Google nikon lens serial numbers and one of the first links is on a site called photosynthesis.co.nz. It had lists of lenses

by type and serial number.