Sentimental Nikon Man!

[joshua_mortel]

I've been a Nikon kid all my life --and I didn't even know it.

 

Shot with an N70 for a very long time. There was a point where I was almost going to go over to Canon (EOS 5D)

but something about it felt all wrong. To add even more pressure to me, my best friend bought a 5D and was

telling me "we can share lenses" but I wasn't really sure. I did my homework, saw the kinds of photos people were

taking with the 5D, but for some reason I just could not close the deal.

 

I ended up getting the D300 which wasn't even out when I was considering the 5D. I'm glad I waited; I love this

camera :)

 

The part that makes this story sentimental is that I brought my camera over one day and my dad saw it. My dad

doesn't keep up with digital cameras but he told me he was talking to my mom about the new camera I bought. So he

was telling me that what he told my mom was this: "If he's smart he'll buy the model that's one step down from

the pro model. The pro models are always the most expensive and they only have a few more extra features that you

only really need if you're a pro photographer." And that is exactly what I did --I got the D300 which, (the D700

is technically the camera I wanted to get but it didn't even exist yet). But at that time the D300 was the model

under the

top-of-the-line D3.

 

So that made me smile --the fact that my dad really knows me :)

 

Not only that, my dad opens up the closet and pulls out his old camera bag and loans me his old Nikon gear. This

consists of his old banged-up Nikon, which was the camera he used to take all of our family photos over the

years-- as well as some really old glass that I can still use with the D300 because of the good ol' F-mount. That

was a very humbling experience for me...

 

The Nikon legacy continues ;)

[johnw63]

So... what did he dig out of the closet ?! Did you take any shots with his old stuff to see how it worked on the D300 ?

[joe_a2]

Yes! Yes! Do tell.....

[jeremygray]

My dad gave my brother some old camera gear when my brother got his first dSLR and then his first film SLR. And since

my brother is older and got into photography a few years before I, I ended up not getting any of the old stuff. That's okay

though, I've got plenty of my own new stuff. Joshua, man, hit us up with a list of your newly-acquired gear!

[bgelfand]

Hi Joshua,

 

Just how old is your father's gear? If the lenses are not AI or AIS, you will damage the AI tab your D300 if you attempt to mount a lens without the AI cutout. Check this chart: http://www.aiconversions.com/compatibilitytable.htm

 

If your lenses are not AI, John White does an excellent conversion. The converted lenses will work both on your D300 and on your father's old camera.

[Rene11664880918]

That's half a story! Tell us what you got and most important WHAT YOU WILL SHARE WITH US! :)

[joshua_mortel]

I can't even ID the camera... it has the looks of an old Nikon F but I can't find the exact finish. Attached to

it is a 50mm F1.8 and there was also a 70-210mm F4 in the bag

(http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/emfgfg20/eserieslenses/htmls/70210mm.htm)

 

and then the flash unit.. an SB-15 (15!) :D

 

So, by comparison, my gear is D300, 17-55mm f2.8, 50mm f1.8 (D-AF version), SB-800. I'm going to eventually get

the 70-200mm and then that will probably be enough gear for me for a while.

 

For Christmas a couple years ago, my dad got me a Coolpix 995 :) --I know that is probably like blasphemy to you

guys ;) I used it a couple times but always went back to my film SLR (N70).

 

My dad saw the D300 with the MBD10 vertical grip and he asked if it was a "motor drive" and then I went on to

explain what it did. I was thinking in the back of my mind "what the heck is a motor drive?" though when I got

home... haha so I looked that up online too and learned that it advances your film and also improves your FPS

--same idea.

 

I should mention that I just recently broke the Nikon habit and purchased a Mamiya C220 TLR with an 80mm 2.8 twin

lens off

ebay for pretty cheap. Must say I'm very impressed with it! Apart from understanding how to compensate for the

parallax distortion, the full-manual mechanical functionality is refreshingly simple and --you gotta admit--

really fun! I got it Friday and haven't had a chance to put film through it because I'm still busy trying to edit

my friend's wedding photos... :(

 

But back to my dad's old Nikon camera. It got a lot of "love" over the years; it's pretty thrashed! The black leather

casing is reduced to almost cardboard. And the camera bag is like an antique. Very retro. :)

[joe_a2]

Joshua.... Sounds like you may have an FE or FM if the camera doesn't have a name on the front. I base this guess on the lenses. Take a look at the back of the camera and look at the serial number in the upper right. Does it begin with FE or FM, as in "FM 5678901"?

[joshua_mortel]

Joe, you are correct! The serial is FE 4274089

[peter_hovmand]

It is indeed good to be a sentimental Nikon Man, especially if you have your hands on some good ai lenses. Get some more!

The D300 is a great "compromise." In daylight it is producing same quality shots as the D700. And in effect is is more handy and faster because of the format.

 

PS. Remember you can get a prism for your Mamiya C220!