bob fowler

I have both the F3 and FM2n bodies. Before trashing the flash capabilities of the F3, take a minute and think of when the camera was designed and what other "professional" cameras of the day could do. 1/80th sec was pretty much the norm for pro 35mm in 1980, and not too many cameras offered TTL flash.

 

Some good reasons to choose an F3: Interchangable finders (I use the DE-2, DW-3, and DA-2), MD-4 motor drive (the best Nikon ever made for a pro camera), MF-18 databack (imprints between the frames), MK-1 motor drive speed controller (choose your frame rate), 23 different focus screens, use non-AI as well as AI lenses, smoothest manual film advance of any camera (should you decide not to use the motor)...

 

That's a good start.

I use a T screen mostly, otherwise an E or a K.

<snip>"I'd break one or two a year..."<snip>

 

Wow! How did you manage to do that? The F had/has a reputation for being one of the strongest 35mm bodies ever. I've beaten up more than a few of them over the years, and the ONLY one that didn't bounce back is the one I dropped into the ocean! :-)

Craig Shearman hit the nail squarely on the head, blasting away with a motor drive is NOT the way to capture sports. Unless you're using a Hulcher at 65 frames per second, shooting at 5fps is a sure fire way to miss "peak of the action". BTW - for those not familiar with the Hulcher and/or those who doubt 65 fps, look here: http://www.hulchercamera.com/page13.htm

I tried the Tokina at PhotoPlus Expo in NYC last Fall. I shot some pix with it using my D-80. It seems like a nice enough lens, but I already have the 50-135 f/3.5 Nikkor (AIs) lens. Since I don't REALLY need fancy metering in the studio, I just use the Nikkor in manual exposure mode.

F3, DA2, MD4, MF18, MK1, MN2, 25-50mm f/4 AIs and/or 50-135mm f/3.5 AIs.

5X7 Eastman #2, 10" B&L Petzval, J&C Classic 200<div></div>

I'm quite fond of my Weston Master II, it's the perfect companion for medium format folders.

<i>"How much did the CLA run? Seems I've got this old Agfa..."</i><p>To be honest, I'm not sure. I send Carol so much work, it all kinda runs together. Her large format shutter CLA's run about $45 though. Contact her through her site at www.flutotscamerarepair.com...

Portra NC 160 and 400 through a Bronica SQ-Ai. I have a local lab soup & proof to 5X5. Everything that goes into the album or is destined for a frame on the wall, I scan, post in PS, and print myself. I got rid of the Epson and bought HP printers and have never looked back.

 

For B&W - I shoot 120 Classic Pan 400, soup in Microdol-X 1:3, scan and print myself.

 

For formal portraits that will be larger than 16X20, I'll shoot (at least) on 4X5 film, often on 5X7.

 

Yeah, I'm an old fart...

Nice! I had mine CLA'd a while back, just haven't used it much lately...

<i>"What have you done with the leathette on wind lever? I need an original leatherette for the wind lever on one of my retinas."</i><p>Sorry, it didn't come off in one piece... It's now in file 13.

Choosing the color wasn't easy as Morgan has a big selection. I had a hard time making the final decision between a red and a green. I think the red goes well with a chrome body.

 

Anyway, I hope to finish the roll that's in her this weekend (been a tough week to do anything). I'll post some results!

I posted this over on APUG, but wanted to share it here as well...

 

I recently got my Retina IIa back from a CLA and rangefinder

recalibration by Carol Miller of Flutot's Camera Repair. While it was

out for a bath, I contacted Morgan Sparks of cameraleather.com and

ordered a new Indian Red Kid Skin coat, and from Gordy Coale I bought

a nifty leather wrist strap. Morgan's leather kit fit perfectly and

Gordy's strap is the cat's ass in comfort. Thanks guys, ya'll do

great work! It's good to have baby back home, better than ever.<div></div>

I'm rather partial to normal or <i>slightly</i> longer focal length lenses for landscapes. I have a 305mm f/9 APO Nikkor process lens in front of a Packard that I've used for much of my 8X10 work, though I recently bought a 12" Orbit which, because of its excellent #4 Ilex shutter, will probably start to get more use. The Orbit (house brand of Burke & James) was made by Ilex and my initial tests have found it to be excellent.<br>When I want something longer, I have a 17" f/10 Ektanon which is also quite a good piece of glass. Mine is in front of a Packard, but I'm considering sending it to SK Grimes for mounting in a Copal 3. Actually, I'd rather have it in an Ilex, but they are getting harder to find...

I have a 305mm f/9 Nikkor that I used to use on 4X5 (it's on my 8X10 now). It was a tad too long for my taste. I usually don't go longer than a 10" on 4X5.

It works just like it does on the SQ and SQ-A, there is a lever which engages the shutter button on the front of the camera.

Hi Chad. Yes, I'm familiar with Solaris - In addition to my Win2K boxes, I have an old, but somewhat souped up, SPARCstation 5 running Solaris 8.

Anyone here using Sun workstations for image manipulation? If so,

which models are you using? I've been giving serious consideration to

the new Ultra 20 workstation running Solaris 10 as a platform for

GIMP (I use GIMP on a Windows 2000 box).

 

My main concern is scanner and printer support, though I have

computers (Wintel boxes) that could handle the printing functions if

necessary.

 

Any feedback or input would be appreciated.

<i>"why on earth would anyone bother using a 4x5 at a wedding. what do you think the largest size print the bride and groom will want. even if it is 16x20 do you really think that the bride would notice the diffrence between a print made from a 4x5 or a 6.45 or 6x7 using a finer grained film. will the print be viewed from 6 inches away?"</i><p>...Because it's not <i>just</i> about "fine grain". If I were able to get a lens for my Bronicas that had the <i>look</i> I can get with my Ross Homocentric, I'd buy two. Truth be told - it ain't gonna happen. It's not just the lenses (though I wouldn't take my 5X7 anywhere without my 8 1/2" Series S Paragon), it's also about image real estate. 4X5 (or larger) is going to have a very different look as an 8X10 than will a medium format negative, and dramatically different than a 35mm negative.<p>Having said that, though I take a large format camera to every wedding, it doesn't come out of the equipment truck at every job. While <i>most</i> of my shooting is 6X6, there are many occasions when all the pieces fall just into place and out comes the 5X7...

Guilty as charged. I also use a 5X7 camera for wedding work as the aspect ratio is more to my liking. I have an example of a 4X5 bridal portrait here:

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/1198753

 

Different bride, shot with a 6X9 rollfilm back on a 4X5 view camera:

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/1440025

 

Another reason I like using 5X7 is the 2-up sliding split back I have for my Eastman #2. I can shoot two 3?x5 images on 1 sheet of film quite quickly - a big help in keeping the session moving along.

 

I have a bunch of different lenses that I use for both cameras. Among my fav's for portraits are a 10" Ilex Paragon for 4X5 head & shoulder shots, a 180mm Rodenstock Sironar for 4X5 full length shots, 12" and 14" Goerz Red Dot Artars for 5X7 head & shoulders, and an 8?" Series S Ilex Paragon for 5X7 full length. If I anticipate large groups, I'll bring a 90mm Ilex-Calumet Wide Field Caltar for the 4X5 or a 5" Ross Wide Angle Xpres for the 5X7.

I should also mention... The body should be able to fire without a lens or back attached.<p>FWIW - Alkaline batteries work best in my SQ-Ai. I buy a standard PX-28 and pry it open for the 4 76 size cells that are inside - a much cheaper way to feed the beast!

<i>"Oh, I forgot, even without batteries, the shutter should fire (albeit at a fixed 1/500 of a second only)."</i><p>

Nope, sorry, not the SQ-Ai. The SQ-A <i>will</i> fire without a batery, but the SQ-Ai uses an electromagnetic shutter release and if the battery is dead, your out of luck.<p>My suggestion iis to try again with a new battery. I've had several batteries test "good" with the check light, but that wouldn't fire the shutter - even without a meter prism attached. The SQ-Ai <i>is</i> a power hog...

Dan beat me to it... Darkroom Studios is worth the hour drive for me from Coastal New Jersey. It should be just a few minutes from Philly...

Sweet!