rhaytana__tim_adams_

I second the referral to Light Impressions. Great range of products, good service ... the one disadvantage is that you'll get an endless stream of catalogs from them.

You should find it here:

 

ftp://ftp.nikon-euro.com/DOWNLOAD/Productfinder/Manuals/F100/EN

That should have been:

 

ftp://ftp.nikon-euro.com/DOWNLOAD/Productfinder/Manuals/

A gentleman named RDW posted this link on Nikonians. It was news to

me, so I'll take the liberty of posting it here, too:

 

ftp://ftp.nikon-euro.com/DOWNLOAD/Productfinder/Manuals/F100/EN

 

An FTP site for PDF-format Nikon manuals, from Nikon Europe.

Several manuals seem to be missing, though. Wonder why Nikon USA

doesn't have these online, too.

Thanks, Steven, Rod and Hal for your feedback. I think I'm going to try out a high end lab. For me the inconvenience may be more of a problem than the price difference, but if I see a consistent difference in the results ...

Thanks to everyone who responded ... and I ain't ever going to forget that anecdote about Marty Forcher! I wish I'd been on hand to see that one.

 

I do always use the lens hood, and have never used it without a UV filter in place. Kids are inquisitive, like to reach out and try to touch stuff ... including the front of the camera lens that's been staring them in the face all day. (Although I've been able to pull back in time to prevent that from happening with the Nikon ... so far.)

I shoot 3 to 5 rolls a week of color negative film, get the rolls

processed by a while-u-wait shop and scan them into Photoshop. They

charge $3.50 a roll, do it in 20 minutes and have damaged frames on

only one out of the 150 - 200 rolls I've handed over to them.

 

But, a high end lab they're not. Fingerprints on the negatives once

in awhile. The other day a guy walked out of the store while I was

waiting, held the negatives up to the light and exclaimed 'This

isn't my roll!' ... within my earshot, fortunately, as the roll was

mine.

 

I could take the film to a high end lab, but then I'd have to pay

$6.50 a roll instead of $3.50 and would have to leave them overnight.

 

Is it worth it? What I've read here and elsewhere is that the

reason to choose a high end lab is that they're less likely to

damage one's work ... which the while-u-wait shop did just once.

Does image quality differ too, or does C41 processing yield pretty

much the same results the world over?

Apologies for the vague wording of the question that follows ... but

I really do want to know:

 

How significant a whack/jolt/bump can a Nikon zoom lens typically

take before it's likely to be knocked out of alignment and/or

damaged in some way? And if it is damaged, is the damage always

apparent ... or is the camera owner likely to shoot many slightly

out of focus frames before realizing something is off?

 

I shoot 3 to 5 rolls a week, always around school kids. The

equipment in question is an F100 and an AF-S Nikkor 28-70 ED IF 2.8,

plus an SB-80 flash. I'm most concerned about the lens.

 

The kids bump into the camera. They just do. Sometimes they bump

it lightly; sometimes not so lightly. The greatest impact might be

roughly equivalent to the force with which a non-masochist would

slap himself or herself awake in the morning ... a slap of the palm

to the cheek enough to induce a light sting. But that's still

nothing I would do to the lens deliberately.

 

Is this pretty much par for the course for a lens intended for

photojournalism uses, or do I have real grounds to be concerned?

And if there is damage ... is it obvious? (Auto focus doesn't work,

weird noises from autofocus,etc.) Or -- the possibility that

concerns me more -- would I just start producing lots of soft,

slightly out of focus pictures?

Thanks to all for the feedback. Guy at Home Depot assured me that they had gaffer's tape in stock ... so, naturally, what had no one heard of when I arrived? I wound up buying painters' tape and it worked fine ... but I think I'll splurge for the gaffer's tape from a lighting supply house, whoever has it.

Several photographers have written of the good results they get by

taping a warming gel over their flash heads ... but so far I haven't

read anything about what kind of tape to use. Masking tape? Scotch

tape? I'd like to experiment with this technique, but am a little

worried about the gel/tape combo doing a melt down while I'm busy

taking pictures, and then having trouble getting it off later.

 

Also, the gels I'm going to experiment with are from a Lee Filter

swatchbook, which a generous counterperson at the photo shop was

nice enough to pass on to me free of charge. Some are rated 'HT,'

for high temperature, others not. The flash isn't continuous light;

does it make a difference? One photographer even recommended that I

could get roughly the same results by taping a piece of processed

negative film over the flash head ... and I'm sure that's not rated

for temperature!

First, you'll have to get the leader out. According to what I've read in this and other forums, Nikon can program your F100 to leave the leader out on rewind. If you don't want to get that done, you'll need a film leader retrieval tool ... and time to practice with it, IMHO. Others have written that these tools are easy to use, and I think they are, too ... but my first 30 minutes with mine were frustrating. After that, I got the hang of it.

 

Now that the leader's out, you want to advance to where you left off in the previous roll. According to Nikon support, you flip the focus mode selector on the front of the camera to M, manual and then just use the shutter release to move up to the frame you want. Of course, the lens must be totally covered.

 

I worried about fogging the film, but this hasn't happened to me yet, although I've only done the mid-roll change a few times. To be on the safe side, I also selected the fastest shutter speed and smallest aperture, and put the lens with cap in a black bag. Overkill, perhaps.

Thom Hogan (of Nikon flash guide fame) has reviews of both cameras on his web site, with comparisons:

 

http://www.bythom.com/F100.htm

 

http://www.bythom.com/f5.htm

<P>(Smiling to myself, and a bit embarrassed.) The problem appears to be solved; you folks definitely know your stuff. Thanks to one and all who contributed an answer. The culprit seems to be an improperly mounted lens hood, as many of you guessed.</P>

 

<P>I read the responses of Alex Lofquist, Hal Bissinger and Gerald Litynski before venturing out for the day's shooting session. Frankly, I was skeptical. The film developer had pegged it as a shutter problem. I just <I>knew</I> I had something wrong with my expensive new camera!</P>

 

<P>I shot the first roll without touching the lens hood. Between roll 1 and roll 2 I had some time, and thought, <I>Why don't I point it at the sky like that photo.net fellow suggested?</I> Even though I figured it wouldn't do any good.</P>

 

<P>And lo and behold, there was the problem. I could see the blockage through the viewfinder. It simply hadn't occurred to me to just point the camera at something evenly and brightly illuminated, as Hal Bissinger suggested.</P>

 

<P>To make a long story short: at 28mm focal, the HB-19 lens hood has to be screwed in all the way. If it's even slightly loose, the vignetting occurs. Doesn't seem to make a difference at other focal lengths.</P>

 

<P>I caught it today after the first roll, then shot two more rolls ... but now reminded myself to every once in awhile check that the lens hood is all the way in. Then, off to the lab to get the negs developed.</P>

 

<P>The result: lots of vignetting in roll 1, none at all in rolls 2 and 3.</P>

 

<P>I'm pretty sure this one is fixed. Again, many thanks to all of you for taking the time to contribute your answers.</P>

Hal and Gerald, thanks to both of you for your response.

 

If not the shutter and camera, any educated guesses as to what it might be? I can try the tests you suggested, but the problem is occurring irregularly ... I just shot five rolls with no signs of it, thought it was a fluke, and then today there it was again.

 

As for the thought about the filter: this makes sense, except that I've used the same set up -- same lens hood, same filter, same lens -- for thirty-five rolls with no sign at all of this problem.

Thanks for the response!

 

I'm using a camera-mounted SB-80 flash shooting through a Lumiquest Softbox -- the same equipment I've used since I bought the camera. The HB-19 hood is supplied by Nikon with the 28-70 lens. Outdoor pics show the same problem. No consistency with aperture and shutter speed, alas.

My three month old F100 seems to be irregularly vignetting/cropping

the top right hand and lower left hand corners (horizontal shots) of

some frames. It's warrantied U.S. equipment and I will be calling

Nikon, but want to check with the photo.net user community first.

 

I'm using a 28-70 ED IF Nikon lens, a 77mm Nikon UV filter and an HB

19 lens hood ... the same equipment with which I've shot dozens of

rolls since purchasing the rig, with no problems of this type.

 

The problem first showed up about ten rolls ago. I get the

negatives back, and the vignetting is evident in frames 3 through

27, then disappears. The next roll, shot the same day, the problem

shows up in frames 15 - 21, then goes away ... and stays away for

the next five rolls. But once again today the vignetting afflicts

twelve frames in a row, stops, reappears for three frames,

disappears. The problem has occurred with brand new batteries.

 

The photo developer suspects a shutter curtain problem. Can anyone

weigh in with an informed opinion on this? Thank you!<div></div>

Happy to oblige.

 

I've owned the F100-CPU lens-SB80 combo for about a month. My last camera was a Pentax K1000. With the F100, all of a sudden I've got exposure compensation, exposure bracketing, single servo mode, continuous servo mode, etc. etc. I assumed from the start that the dollar investment in equipment would matter far less than the investment in time/study and experience. So, after spending $3K for the whole rig, it certainly makes sense to pay another $30 for a guide.

 

The manual is 191 pages long. It is not a, 'slop together five pages of F100 specific info with 186 pages of filler and troll for suckers' type product. He's an excellent writer, explains camera functions and choices in prose clear enough for the tyro, illustrates the manual with complete diagrams and photos when appropriate. Yes, he undoubtedly does re-use some of the material in his other camera guides, but I still feel that I am reading a manual written for my camera system.

 

I think this manual would be well known to and appreciated by F100 users if you could buy it at Borders and flip the pages before putting your money on the counter. As an E-book, it seems to be underpublicized. It is not a good value for the money when compared to a good hardcover manual at Borders. But maybe in this respect he�s like the guy selling water at $5 a pint in the desert, when the nearest competitor is fifty miles away. $5 a pint is a lot, but if he�s the only one with the product, then ...

 

OTOH, an experienced user of modern SLRs might find little use for this book. And I can�t vouch for the quality or the bang-for-the-buck of anything else he�s selling.

In the interest of returning some of the help that generous online

users have offered me, I thought I'd recommend two products I'm glad

I bought for my F100, and which I suspect other F100 newbies will be

happy to have, too.

 

These plugs are unsolicited. If a forum moderator thinks that this

post may inspire solicited, commercial-type plugs ... well, feel

free to yank this post, and I hope you'll accept my apology. I'm

writing only because I wish I'd known about these items when I

bought the camera.

 

1) Camera Companion software. It works fine, has done no harm to

my F100, and I'm very glad I bought it instead of shelling out $160

something for Photo Secretary. My main worry was, will flaky

program behavior mess up the camera? An e-mail from the software

author explained that this is a non-issue, and ... well, it's worked

just fine. I'm glad I've got it.

 

2) Thom Hogan's Complete Guide to the F100. $30 is a lot to pay

for an e-book on disk, and the included reference card could have

dropped out of a cereal box, but I'm still very glad I bought this

guide, and heartily recommend it to non-expert camera users like

me. The bottom line is, what else is available? You already have

the Nikon manual. The Magic Lantern guide is a notorious gyp. I

think Hogan is a flat out fantastic technical writer, and the tips

and info provided in the manual are well worth the $30 price. So

you have to print it out yourself and you don't get the bang for the

buck you'd get for a book from Sybex. It's still Worth It times

five for the new, non-expert F100 owner.

I'm new to flash myself, but am getting good hand-held slow sync results in shutter priority mode at 1/20 or 1/15 ... no slower than that. Also, I use 800 or 1600 film, and an SB-80 flash.

 

Thom Hogan's Nikon Flash guide is a good source of background information on flash in general.

If I set exposure compensation on an F100 equipped with an SB-80

flash, does the F100 change the flash settings too? Or does it

change the flash settings in some flash modes, and not in others?

I've done some experimentation and research in the weeks since I

purchased this set-up, but am still a bit confused by this.

 

FWIW, I now use the SB-80 most of the time in '3D Multi-Sensor

Balanced Fill Flash' mode, and the F100 set to matrix metering. I'm

also usually using a Lumiquest Softbox on the flash; the SB-80 seems

to meter through it fine.

Thanks to those who responded. I bought Camera Companion. Works fine so far. Photo Secretary would have been much more expensive!

 

One comment: for me, at least, it wasn't obvious that the F100 must first be set in Camera Companion to record exposure info -- either in simple mode (data for 70 rolls is held) or in detailed mode (30 rolls) -- before Camera Companion can do anything. I found no reference to this function in the F100 manual, but then found it in Camera - Shooting Data Settings.

Has anyone used Photo Secretary II for the F100 in Windows XP?

Nikon tech indicates that XP is not a supported operating system for

this product, and one Usenet poster said he couldn't get the

software to work under Win XP. Have others run into problems?

 

I'll be using the MC-33 cable.

 

Also, can anyone offer first hand experience with the less expensive

alternatives: Camera Companion by Holy Moose, and Softalk.

I bought an Adaptec 2930CU for the same reason and on my system it made a big speed difference. I think something's wrong. (Sorry to have to give bad news.)

<P>I used the FS4000 with the USB interface for a few months, then shelled out for an Adaptec SCSI card. I never looked back. I can't offer precise before and after figures, but -- on my computer, at least -- there was a <b>big</B> difference, considerably bigger than I'd been led to expect by Canon tech support. At least twice the speed, maybe more than that.</P>

 

<P>The bottom line, for me: as long as I own this scanner, I'll own a computer with a SCSI port. I would never consider hooking it up to USB.</P>