Old with new

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>I have recently sold a bunch of my 35mm slr's and lenses. I have a Nikon F3t and FM2N and was thinking of selling one to finance others things I need. I have decided to keep both and to start using film for much of my personal photography. Today I took the F3t to a local cemetery to take some shots of statues. I used Ilford Delta 100. I also took my newest camera, the Nikon Df. I set it to shoot black and white and used the same iso as the F3t. I had not used the F3t in a while so I used the Df to check the metering against the F3t. Most of the exposures were the same , with no more than 1/2 stop difference. I had the Df set to center weighted metering since that is what the F3 uses. I took most of the shots with my 70-150 series e lens. I switched the lenses between the cameras , and used a tripod, so that the focal length and composition would remain unchanged between them. Now that I am confident that the F3t is metering correctly, I plan to go out tomorrow to finish the roll and possibly shoot another. The Df gets to stay home. I will be ordering chemistry to develop some exposed rolls I have and hope to get my son interested in learning about the "old school" way of photography. I will continue to use digital for work related photography, but I enjoy taking photos with the older manual cameras. I took a photo of my F3t for those who like the camera photos.</p><div></div>

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>Here is one I took with the Df with the 75-150.</p><div></div>

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>One more.</p><div></div>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Whatever floats your boat Jon. But perhaps with those identically taken shots you can finally disprove KR's stupid assertion that film has equivalent resolution to a 24Mp digital camera, and that film is "the real RAW".</p>

<p>I hope you've got a soft water supply and a good water filter to remove micro-dirt and lime contamination from your processing. IME it was poor water quality that degraded my film images more than anything else.</p>

[User_4754088]

<p>Wow Rodeo Joe, could you be more of a wet blanket?</p>

<p>Hey Jon, Congrats on getting back into the film thing. That F3T is one nice camera. I've got the non-titanium version and I love to still shoot it. Was messing around with some Tri-X pushed to 6400 a couple weeks ago. Much fun.</p>

<p>And I'm insanely jealous of your Df. No funds for one at this time, but some day. Thanks for sharing the black & white.</p>

<p>Best,<br>

-Tim</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Yikes - sometimes I forget how large the F3 is with the MD-4 and AH-3 until I see it in someone else's photo. Nowadays I mainly use mine in that configuration for long exposure nighttime photography - no worries about battery life. And because I lost the cap that blocks light from the battery compartment with the MD-4 detached.</p>

<p>Reminds me, I have a roll of FP4+ in my F3HP that needs to be finished up and developed. Usually I prefer T-Max 100, but I have a ton of FP4+ and HP5+, which have very fine grain when rerated to about half the box speed and souped appropriately.</p>

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>HI Rodeo Joe, although I will compare the film with the digital photos, that was not the reason for using both. I used the Df to get the exposure correct and compared the meter readings to the F3. I am not into the "digital vs. film" arguments. I know they are different, and I do see that difference, but I like that about the two mediums. Tim, how did the pushed tri-x turn out? I have not pushed film in 15 years. I used to teach film developing and had access to a darkroom 24/7 and would do lots of experimenting but now I have to do it in a small bathroom. I am thinking of converting a corner of my garage to a temporary darkroom. I have to clear that with my wife first. I have one last photo taken with the Df and 75-150. This one was shot at f/3.5. The previous ones were at f/8</p><div></div>

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>Hi Lex, the F3/MD-4 combo is huge and heavy. I normally wouldn't use the MD-4 for tripod work due to the weight, but I have not used it in months and thought it needed a workout. I will keep it on for a few rolls of film. I don't like having manual equipment sit around unused. I also will be using some other older accessories tomorrow with the camera. I have the Nikon ml-1 remote set for wireless release and SB-16 flash that need to see some use. Good job noticing the AH-3. I wouldn't put the camera /md4 combo on a tripod without one. For anyone who owns an F3 with MD-4 and doesn't have the AH-3, I suggest getting one. </p>

[michael_bradtke]

<p>Lex<br>

Check in the battery compartment of your MD-4. There is a slot there for the cap for the bottom of the F3 when the MD-4 is not installed</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Yup, checked years ago. That cap is long gone. I rarely use the F3 handheld so the MD-4 is actually pretty convenient for tripod mounted photography. Less chance of shifting position between frames than with manually winding the film advance lever.</p>

[michael_bradtke]

<p>Well it was worth a shot. I have forgoten mine in there a time or two. But then I usually use my F3 with the MD-4. I like the extra weight</p>

[User_4754088]

<p>Hey Jon,</p>

<p>Here's one of the Tri-X pushed to ISO 6400 from a couple weeks ago. Nighttime soccer game. Shot with F3HP and MD4 w/300mm f4. Some fun.</p>

<center>

<p><img src="http://www.timcarrollphotography.com/Forums/TX6400.jpg" alt="" /><br>

<strong>Tri-X @ 6400</strong></p>

</center>

<p>Best,<br>

-Tim</p>

[owen_omeara]

<p>I have a f3 HP with the same drive and I truly believe it may be the greatest camera Nikon ever made.It has served me for 20 years.<br>

-O</p>

[Albins images]

<p>A rush of nostalgia, reading these posts! I have the exact same combination, black F3T with MD4 .. among other old camera's gathering dust in my study room. And given the choice, I would without doubt grab that combination for use with film. Best film camera I ever used!<br /><br />But.. I am hooked to the digital workflow now, and the dust will continue to accumulate..</p>

[michael_bradtke]

<p>Right now I am using my F3t to do some Ultra Violet light photography. I have it loaded with some Kodak 800 T 5289 motion picture film and us a B&W #403 filter. Exposure times run between 30 minutes and 1 hour depending.on the DOF I want.</p>

[SCL]

<p>Seeing your camera almost made me miss my F3HP which I sold last year, but I'm still using my F4 and Nikkormat FTn. If I ever run out of film not sure I'll buy more, but those old bodies are a joy to use, better tactile sense than my digital bodies.</p>

[bebu_lamar]

<p>To be fair though I have an F3HP and a Df. I don't shoot B&W so I use the finest grain color negative film Ektar 100. The film shows me less details than what I got with the Df. Still I love shooting film.</p>

[kevin mayo]

<p>How well do the old AI and AIS lenses work on full frame digital bodies. I have a bag full of old lenses collecting dust</p>

[dave_wilson1]

Beautiful Jon. I used to use a F3 T like yours for all my sports stuff back in the 80s.

If you're really into that B&W, like I used to be, sometimes still am, get yourself a Hasselblad with a 50 and 100.

[marc_ravignat]

<p>Kevin, old lenses work really well with the DF and it's 16 megapixel sensor. I am using quite a few including the 75-150 mm E lens used in this thread. The results are really excellent. I am not sure how they would perform on a sensor with more pixels.</p>

[nikofile]

<p>Great stuff, Jon. I hope you enjoy the processing. I never really enjoyed it once I learned to do it. The fun was in learning. I would love to shoot the FM2n again, but I won't. Film is is behind me, but after about 9 years with digital I was pretty much losing the magic. I was losing the joy, and nothing I tried could bring it back. Then I got a Df. I'm glad to see you have a Df. I lve this camera more than any I have ever use, even the FM2n which was my all time favorite because it was so simple and such a precision piece. For me the Df it is like shooting film again, only a lot more convenient.</p>

<p>Hey the images look great, film and digital. Good luck.</p>

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>Thanks, Roy. I like the Df more than any other digital slr that I have owned. The controls for the iso and exposure compensation are in the same location as on my F3. It was fun using it with the ais lenses and it felt like a digital f3. I still like film and will use it for personal photography. I like the darkroom more than I like sitting in front of the computer editing, but there is so much more I can do in photoshop than in a conventional darkroom. I never realized how much information a digital sensor captures until I worked on a few photos of Christmas lights. I will attach an un-edited photo and then a photoshopped version.</p><div></div>

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>I didn't do anything in photoshop elements other than adjust the shadows slider. I just wanted to quickly see if there was any detail in the shadows. It appeared to be totally black until I moved the slider. I was amazed at how much detail was captured in the shadows.</p><div></div>

[kevin mayo]

<p>Thanks Marc the DF will be a stretch</p>