N90 question: Are number of rolls shot recorded?

[brushmeister]

I heard someplace you can plug the N90 into your computer and find

out how many rolls of film have run through the camera. Or, maybe it

was... how many times the shutter has gone off. Is this true? Does

the camera record and save such data?

 

If yes, where/how can I gain access to the data, since I do not own

any of the computer docking hardware/software. I do have a computer.

I am curious to find out how used my recently acquired, used, N90 is.

 

Thanks much.

[arnabdas]

I know such a recording mechanism exists on the F5, only Nikon technitians have access to it. Not sure about N90 though, probably not.

 

The N90 is able to store exposure data *per roll* up to a maximum of 30(?) rolls before it must be downloaded to computer using the ancient Photo Secretary software and the MC-31 cable.

[photojim]

Nikon can tell you, but I don't know of any users who have been able to get the information without a Nikon repair shop's help. The camera records shutter firings, which is useful to Nikon if the camera needs repair (e.g. shutter is inaccurate, won't calibrate and has suffered 111,422 firings - it's worn out).

[todd peach seattle, washi]

Splitting hairs with Arnab here: When storing the maximum amount of data per frame, the N90 can only hold 2 rolls of 36 exposure film. The N90s can hold over 30.

 

I don't know how the home user could get the "number of shots" data that Myron seeks.

[john in cincinnati]

I have the MC-33 cord and the SoftTalk software which I use with the F5. The cord and SoftTalk will work with your N90. The software will identify the roll number in the camera. I also think that the N90 roll counter is turned on at the factory. This is different than the F100 where you have to turn the counter on with your software, hence you couldn't tell how many rolls have gone through a used F100 unless the counter was turned on.

 

A friend of mine has an N90 and we plugged it into my computer using the MC-33 cord. I recall, though it has been some time ago, that we were able to determine how many rolls he had shot through his N90 which he had owned for a long time. Thus, if you have a friend with the MC-33 and ST software you should be able to find out the number of rolls your new N90 has shot.

[arnabdas]

Thank you for correcting -- my figures was not accurate, I've hunted the net for some info, then updated the records in my head ;-)

<P>

The specifics can be found <a href="http://web.mit.edu/cai/www/nikon/dataview.html">here</a>

[Carl Stone]

While I have no idea of just what the Photo Secretary will give as far as info goes, I can

say that the only model that works with Mac is the F5. The F100 PS is set up for

Windows only. So Mac users need to be aware. Now I was not aware that the F100 film

counter had to be turned on by the user. That would mean that Mac folks that have

an F100 have no way of determining the number of rolls that have gone through the

camera, and since that is considered a measure of camera wear, it allows the camera

to be possibly misrepresented at sale time.

[roy1]

i have been dying to connect my N90 to my PC for a very long time, but it just seemed undoable, since the secretary is no longer available... BUT<br>

about a month ago i bought this cable off ebay for $59 <br><br>(it's for sale right now as item # 2979309901) <br><br>the seller was very helpfull, a really nice guy. all you need is the cable and the software (which is available for free off the web).

besideds being able to count how many frames i shot i can track my exposure information. looking at a contact sheet is more fun now, and you can learn so much.<p><b>

General Options:

 

Time meter stays on 3-63 seconds. (default: 8)<p>

 

Slowest normal flash sync. This sets the slowest flashsync when using a flash in normal mode and the camera in A,P or Pm modes. The default setting is 1/60 but can be changed to anything below 1/250.<p>

 

Bulb or Time setting for long exposures<p>

 

Imprinting on frame 0. This makes the MF-26 back print the roll number selected in Dataview on frame 0. <p>

 

DX or ISO priority. When DX is selected ISO cannot be selected manually.<p>

 

Command dial reverse rotation<p>

 

 

 

Viewfinder Options:

<p>

Frame counter in Ps mode

<p>

"Delta" between Matrix and Center Weighted. Shows the difference between the exposure reading taken with the matrix meter and the one done when using center-weighted metering The value is shown instead of the framecounther in the viewfinder LCD.

<p>

Easy compensation in A mode, rotate the command dial for exp. compensation.<p>

 

 

 

Focus Options

<p>

Focus or release priority in S-focus mode (default: Focus) <p>

 

Focus or release priority in C-focus mode (default: Release)<p>

 

Lock-AF on continuous advance<p>

 

 

<p>

Beep Options <p>

 

Beep when in focus<p>

 

Beep on film error<p>

 

Beep on exposure error<p>

 

Beep on self-timer countdown<p>

 

Also...

<p>

Stored Shooting Data:<p>

 

1. Frame Number (can be adjusted to match actual frame no.)<br>

2. Shutter Speed<br>

3. Aperture<br>

4. Exposure Mode (M,S,P,A,Ps, even vari-program, e.g Cu, Re, Po etc..)<br>

5. Metering System (matrix, center or spot)<br>

6. Flash-Sync Mode (normal, rear or slow)<br>

7. Focal Length (on zooms actual f.l. e.g. 33 mm on a 20-35 zoom.)<br>

8. ± Exposure (compensation)<br>

9. ± Flash (compensation)<br>

10. Caption (comment)<br>

 

3 ways of storing data: Minimum, Intermediate and All.<p>

 

Minimum = 1, 2, 3 and 10 <br>

Intermediate = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10<br>

All = 1 - 10<br>

</b> <br>if this auction is closed i'd say just e-mail the seller. he probably has more... his e-mail is <a href="mailto:mtsbee@hotpop.com"> mtsbee@hotpop.com<a> ( i don't have any connection to this seller other then being happy with what i got, (and it seemes to be the answer to your question...)<p>hope this helped... good luck. <br> --Roy

[brushmeister]

Thanks, Roy, but...

 

All I see in your post are camera customization features; not what I'm after.

 

Also, where is this free software available on the net? I could not find any.

 

Cocoon Creations' SoftTalk 98 and 2000 are time-limited emulation demos only, and they want $45 for the Mcoy. Besides, I looked at that program and nowhere do I see "Total exposures made on this N90 are...etc", which is the data I am looking for. I also have seen nothing in the samples of Photo Secretary software, DataView 2.0, that answers my key question.

 

They all seem restricted either to recording CURRENT data, or to customizing the N90's base features.

 

By the way, I bought the N90 not for any of this, or even for autofocus. I wanted an economical, solid, reliable brick of a camera for my great, old MF lenses that would also be compatible with the more practical AF and TTL bells and whistles if I choose to use a D lens at any time. That, I got. The only thing I don't like is having no cable release outlet, and the rubber coating. Oh, and those seven dopey pre-programed shooting programs.

[roy1]

i don't remember where i downloaded the program from, but the seller would be able

to help... and if you are a simple guy then you can get the softTalk DOS version for

free anyway :)<br>

Using the cable i can see how many times my shutter has been released ( 3753 times

;) ) <p><i> with N90s/F90x and N90/F90 you can also review the total frame count

of your camera (shows how many times the shutter has been released since day one),

quite useful thing to know if you happened to buy your camera used </i><p>

 

the n90 is a great camera IMOHO, it definitely is a <b>strong </b>brick of a

camera...<p>

 

i hope you'll be happy with the frame count you'll see. --Roy