Inherited a Nikon system and need help.

[mac_kennins]

<p>Good day to all of you,</p>

<p>I recently inherited, by way of an uncle, an old set of Nikon equipment. The full list is as follows;<br>

Nikon F3<br>

Nikon F100<br>

Nikon 20mm f/4 MF<br>

Nikon 24mm f/2.8 MF<br>

Nikon 28mm f/2.8 MF<br>

Nikon 24-85mm f/2.8-4 AF<br>

Nikon 35mm f/2.8 MF<br>

Nikon 55mm f/3.5 Micro MF<br>

Nikon 85mm f/1.8 MF<br>

Nikon 80-200mm f/4.5 MF<br>

An old Gossen light meter<br>

3 external flash units that don't seem to work<br>

2 tripods<br>

2 18% gray cards I think <br>

And a whole dastardly assortment of filters, teleconverters and other things that make no sense to me whatsoever.</p>

<p>I've never been much of a photographer, my only experience with SLRs or similar types of cameras was with my father's old Leica M3. Which he sold as off 1980-something to make some money as he rarely took it out to use. Some of those lenses have some fungus on them I think or cleaning marks, the Micro lens even has a rich 'glowy' effect to it which I'm certain has nothing to do with the lens and everything to do with bad maintenance(uncle was a mighty big hoarder, and typical of the rich, eccentric as well). </p>

<p>After doing some hefty research on these lenses and cameras, I've surmised that they're all pre-AI lenses save the 85mm f/1.8 which I believe is AI-converted. The 20mm and 55mm have a decent amount of fungus on them and I was wondering how much it usually costs to have them cleaned, and whether it's even worth the trouble. The 35mm has an odd halo of 'fog' about the lens but is clear in the centre. I don't know how or when or why my uncle acquired this set of equipment. But he was not a photographer, he just had fleeting interests in a lot of things over the years.</p>

<p>So without having to bore all of you kind folk further. I've decided(or more like my wife decided) to bring the F100 and a set of lenses for our next holiday in southeast Asia, namely Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and with a brief stopover in Australia on the way back. But as circumstance has it, I do not know what to bring. I've narrowed down what I want to what everyone should have.<br>

A wide-angle, normal and telephoto. With the state some of the lenses are in, I've chosen the 24(but wonder if the 20 would be a better lens, at least from a beginner's(me) point of view), I've shot a few test rolls on the 20 and it doesn't seem like the fungus takes away much, though it could probably just be me and my lack of experience. Between the 85 and 80-200, I'm not quite certain what to bring, I will most likely bring a tripod because the wife feels that there will be many great opportunities to take glamourous photos of her and me. And with regards to a normal, both the "normal" lenses I have are utterly gutted optically so I have to buy a new or used lens.</p>

<p>Before I go further, I'd just like to say that although I could afford most lenses, barring one's that cost thousands of pounds. I don't want to spend a lot of money on something I might give up when I come back. And because all the lenses I mentioned are manual, I would prefer a big aperture(is the term fast?) normal autofocus lens(the wife has been adamant about how I am terribly slow at focusing manually). </p>

<p>So I believe my choices are either;<br>

Nikon 35mm f/2<br>

Nikon 50mm f/1.4<br>

Nikon 50mm f/1.8<br>

No I don't want a G lens, as if I were to sell off this whole set, I'd want all the lenses to be compatible with both the bodies and as far as I know, the G lenses are not compatible with the F3.<br>

I also do not want a zoom lens, if I'm going to take the 80-200, it's heavy enough. And fixed lenses are smaller and lighter and make for better travel companions I feel.</p>

<p>With all that said and done, I have 3 questions which I hope you will help me answer. I'll say it in advance that I appreciate any and all help.<br>

1. With regards to the wide-angle, is the 20 preferable over the 24 in spite of my novice ability?<br>

2. Which telephoto should I be using? <br>

3. What focal length would better serve as my normal-always-on-the-camera if you take my choices of lenses into account?</p>

 

[leicaglow]

<p>1. I think the 24mm is more usable, but the 20mm gives some nice effects. I think a novice could use either.<br>

2. Depends entirely on what you want to shoot. I would look at a 200mm f/4, 180mm f/2.8, and a 300mm f/4 ED/IF.<br>

3. Personal preference, but on those cameras, I would choose a 35mm or 28mm, again, depending on what you like to shoot.</p>

[mac_kennins]

<p>Thanks Michael, but for question number 2. I was really wondering which telephoto out of my telephoto lens collection I should be using. Either the 85 or the 80-200.</p>

[leslie_cheung]

<p>It all depends on your subjects, what and how you like to shoot. That said, I like the 24-85mm f2.8-4 of the bunch. It provides flexibility of a zoom plus it's not too slow. If you are going to Thailand and Vietnam, there's no reason to skip Cambodia... </p>

[joshloeser]

<p>If only he had the 180 instead of the 80-200. Alas.</p>

[jyoungman]

<p>I agree with Leslie. If you can get the 24-85 working (and/or cleaned), take it. Southeast Asia is humid enough (or in other parts of the year, dusty enough) that it's advantageous to avoid changing lenses more than you have to. (Also take a bunch of silica gel and a large sealable bag with you for drying damp camera stuff out in).</p>

<p>If you're not sure you're going to keep up the photography, buy the 50mm f/1.8. Not only is it one of the finest lenses Nikon make (it mostly out-performs the 50mm f/1.4 lenses), it's very cheap. (reason: it's easier to design and manufacture 50mm lenses than any other focal length). Using 50mm rather than 35mm as the walk-around lens is really a matter of taste to be honest.</p>

<p>I'll bet that the flash units are not broken - or that at least some of them are not - but they're just not Nikon-dedicated guns, instead they are designed to be used with off-camera flash cords. That is, they're not triggered by the Nikon hot-shoe but by a PC cord.</p>

<p>Get a shoulder strap or tripod bag for the tripod you take with you, if you do take one.</p>

<p>Last, plan to take the photos with the F100. It's lighter and easier to carry around. However, bring the F3 with you to leave it in the safe in your hotel room, just in case the F100 breaks down. After all, you don't really know what condition this stuff is in.</p>

<p> </p>

[ben_manring]

<p>You said two things that lead me to offer the following advice. First, you've never been particularly interested in photography, and second, your wife, at least, thinks you focus manual lenses incredibly slowly. If I were you, I'd sell all of this film and manual focus equipment and buy a used copy of one of the more recent vintage digital SLR's--one of the less expensive models--with a reasonably good medium range autofocus zoom, perhaps the 16-85 VR (unless you expect to do a lot of indoor stuff, where you might want a faster lens).</p>

<p>You'll get immediate feedback on your photos with the digital SLR, without the trouble and expense of buying, storing, processing, and scanning film. I think the immediate feedback makes photography more fun for most novices, it lets you know when you need to retake a shot, and it gives you more opportunity to experiment. Handling an autofocus zoom (as long as it's not too large) will be easier than swapping lenses frequently, VR will make the photos sharper in general, and you won't have to worry about your wife despising you for the 10 minutes or so that it takes to snap a picture of her in the sweltering heat of southeast Asia.</p>

[ArthurRichardson]

<p>Mac,</p>

<p>The knowledgable Tom Hogan states that the F100 is best not to be used with non-ai lenses. Probably because the camera will get damaged upon mouting the lense. So be very carefull.</p>

<p>Since you are not a fast focusser and probably do not want to take along too much gear, why not give the 24-85 a try. It's AF, it's relatively good, and doesn't weigh too much.</p>

<p>Selling the lot, as Ben suggests is up to you, but if the lenses are indeed covered with fungus, don't expect to get funds available for entering the digital world. Not only do you need a digital body, most lenses will not work on the dslrs too, so we're serious envestment here.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

[Aoresteen]

<p>Sounds odd to me that he would have an F3 & F100 and so manny non-AI lenses. Are you sure that they haven't been converted to AI?</p>