john_r._fulton_jr.

I focus bracket my f1.0 lens by moving my head forward and backwards. 'Sounds weird but it works. We're talking about 1-2 inches forward and 1-2 inches forward. I rarely have need to do this but it's worked for me when I'm not quite confident in the focus.

I handled and used dozens of F2 cameras when I was at newspapers. I also had them maintained. I was the one who took them to San Francisco to the Nikon repair shop. That was a factory Nikon shop - back then it was EPOI (Ehrenreich Photo Optical Industries - the importer). Never ever did anybody say anything to me about leaving shutter uncocked. That said I will admit I was dealing with new and being used F2's. I really liked the F2's. They were real workhorse cameras. When the F3 came out - and since I was the one who handed out the cameras - I was the last to change from F2 to F3. That said I got the first F3P's that were available. That, too was a real workhorse. I hope all of you have a great time with your Nikons. They are amazing cameras. I appreciate your allowing me to jabber on a bit. Good luck with your photography.

Wait, what? Did you say that putting an F2 away with the shutter cocked is a big no-no. If you're using the camera daily or weekly or monthly that's not a worry. Jeez that is sheer nonsense. Somebody read about not storing LEAF shutters (Rolleiflex,etc) cocked for a long period of time. Then they decided that what's good for leaf shutters must be good for focal plane shutters.

Great thread. All it does is make me buy another OEM battery. LOL. B&H included an extra generic battery with my D500 so I have two. The generic seems to work well and the life of the batteries in general seem to be extraordinary. If it were me I'd take four batteries. I'd be sure the camera was on airport mode and that auto-preview was off. Oh & I'd shoot in RAW mode only. That's off top of my head. Backpackers do a lot of solar charging so they're a good source. Good luck. Sounds like a great trip.

I use the XQD cards in my D500. First I bought the Lexar then Sony. 32 and 64 Gb are plenty for what I shoot. One of the things I like about shooting with XQD card in the Nikon is a housekeeping thing. Since I also shoot with a Leica M-P (SD cards) I easily keep the "Nikon" pictures separated from the other camera. Depending on what I'm working on this just simplifies things. The pro photographer rep at where I buy said another advantage of the XQD card is that it downloads faster to the computer. I haven't noticed that.

I talked to the "pro" rep at my camera supplier about XQD cards. Here's what he basically said. The XQD card is really for video. So, if you're shooting video it's a must-have. For stills it's good especially if you're shooting 10fps in RAW (think sports). Since I photograph the Indianapolis 500 - okay, great. And it is. Shoot a second or two of 10fps and they're are written super-fast to the XQD card. But - and this is mentioned above - his main "like" of the XQD card is how quickly they download when you are done shooting. AND I agree. Downloading 15 to 20 to 30GB of photographs is significantly faster than the SD card. That for me was the key point in buying the XQD since I never (almost never) shoot video. For reference I use an older MacBook Pro with a USB 2 connection. The new USB3 would even be faster.

<p>>>>BTW, I'm jumping back into the world of Leica :-) Just bought an M6 to use with a beautiful old Summitar 5cm 1:2 given to me a couple years ago. Currently dusting off the old darkroom gear.<<<<br> <br> Welcome back Dan. Have fun with that M6 and take a lot of great photographs.</p>

<p>If you use your imagination - looking at the silver M10 - and eliminate the red dot and ignore the missing (frame illunimation) window, it looks like an old M2 that had the button rewind and no self-timer. The ASA dial looks similar to the rewind knob.</p>

<p>Your 28 + 50 are good for a start. 50 will be a bit long but the 28 will be 35mm effective. I mostly use a 35mm.<br> By the way, Jim A., I'm now past 120,000 on my M8.2. 'Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. Hope all still well with that M262.</p>

<p>Ray - I'm assuming you're referring to my one sentence post. I didn't mean to offend or upset anybody. I certainly wasn't trying to dismiss the OP. I was simply making a point about "sharpness". Whatever that is. I am more interested in the content of a photograph and am not offended or upset if the picture isn't sharp. I would like to wish everybody a happy new year and hope that you take many interesting photographs.</p>

<p>Sometimes your best pictures aren't always your sharpest pictures.</p>

<p>I like it. But then I considered buying a red Nikon D3200. Personally, I think it shows a sense of humor on Leica's part that surprises me. We tend to be so serious about our equipment. It's just stuff. The photographs are what's important. </p>

<p>Oh, he was? Okay. Yeah, right. I get it. Jeez, that's hilarious. I can barely catch my breath.</p>

<p>Ian - what glow? That's the older lenses, not the Lux-Asph. Very sharp, very clear. Do you shoot with a 35mm Lux-asph?</p>

<p>I shoot a lot at f1.4. It's sharp as it needs to be. I have classic Summilux 35mm and it's not quite sharp at f1.4. Sort of like looking out a train window. There's gonna be somebody complain about focus shift but I don't know about that. I have a black one and a chrome one - both fine. This probably hasn't helped you with "characteristics". The main character of a lens is who's behind it and what's in front of it. Good luck with your photography.</p>

<p>The Noctilux has always been an interesting lens. Larry Clark used one for his photography as did Magnum photographer Eli Reed. 'Back in film days. But in film days, as Arthur says, there was a need for speed. Nikon came out with not only a 200mm f2.0 but a 300mm f2.0 - both for sports, or so they thought. The 200 became the darling of fashion photographers, while the rare 300 f2.0 got snatched up by cinematographers. I have a Noctilux and a 50mm Summicron. To be honest, I'd probably trade both for a 50mm Summilux-asph. I DO like f1.4, but can live without f1.0. And the weight. And the 1-meter minimum focus. :-)</p>

<p>I think the M8 battery wil have to be around for a while. They discontinued the M-E just over a year ago. Same battery. B&H has them in stock. I'm not sure I see reason for worry. Now *parts* - that's another problem - or future problem. I agree with that. The international photojournalist with one lens? I'm guessing a 35mm. Cheers and again - good luck with your photography!!</p>

<p>My M8.2 (purchased new in 2008) is a great camera. It has 117,000+ shutter activations and a new sensor (and with that a new body covering that's "leather" look). One thing about the M8 that is generally not mentioned. In the viewfinder for the 35mm frame lines are NOT 135mm frame lines but 24mm framelines. I don't believe any other M has frame lines for the 24mm. Yes, at 1.33 crop it's about 32mm equivalent but still a nice thing if you have a 24. Good luck with your photography.</p>

<p>In regards to pricing (Bill Mitchell) I've been buying Leicas for a while now. I bought a new black chrome M4 in (about) 1976 for $600. That was not cheap nor inexpensive. When the 50 Jahre black chrome M4 came out about a year or so later they'd raised the price to $650. I considered that quite expensive. Mark's Photo in Grand Rapids, Michigan had two of them with consecutive serial numbers. I have always (somewhat) regretted not buying both of the 50 Jahre M4's. But *that* was a lot of money back then. My first Leica M2 (1966) was (all used) $150, 21mm f4.0 + finder $160, 35mm Summaron f3.5 $25, Leicameter (not much) and Leicavit MP $25.00. All bought with money I earned freelancing for local newspaper as a teenager. I had already owned Nikon rangefinders and didn't like them very well. (The Nikon F was fine). After the Leica M2 there was no going back to the Nikon rangefinders. Nice cameras but not built like a Leica. Back to topic I have priced out an ala-carte M240 so I could get 50 Jahre engraved for MY 50 years with Leica but it's a bit pricey. I hope all of you are well and shooting a lot of photographs!</p>

<p>Of those late 70's/early 80's vintage edif Nikkors the 600mm f5.6 was perhaps the most underrated. The 200 f2.0, 300 f2.8, 400 f3.5, 600mm 4.0 were all popular and workhorse lenses. The 5.6 wasn't discussed much. I remember using one in the studio with a TC14 plus an extension ring for a closeup of (something). Later came the 300 f2.0, 400 f2.8 and the 500 f4.0. I don't remember using the 500mm but used all the others. Most were oriented toward sports although the 300 f2.8 was a general purpose photojournalist lens. The rare one of the group was the 300mm f2.0. From what I remember it was mostly designed to shoot gymnastics at the 1984 LA Olympics. Interestingly, most of the 300mm f2.0 lenses were bought by DPs in Hollywood and converted for cine use. </p>

<p>My D3200 has been great. I've used it on professional jobs and it's come thru. I'm done with incremental upgrades :-) and am going to stop fooling around and upgrade to a D500.</p>

<p>Oil? While your mechanic might try some on a sticking caliper on your Porsche, I'm not sure I've ever heard anybody recommend adding oil to a lens. The most radical procedure is to add a little lighter fluid that will help break down the antique oil already coagulated in the lens. But THAT is NOT considered good advice either. Get it to a veteran repair person who can properly fix it. Sounds like a wonderful camera + lens. Good luck with your photography.</p>

<p>Wait a second. If you're going to be shooting in light (overcast/shade) as your example image, for gosh sakes don't use strobe. Bob's advice on posing is great. Watch for hands in the pockets - you don't want them. NO crossed arms either. Oh - when you're done shooting the formal photograph announce you're done. Then - usually - for about a second or three everybody loosens up and laughs and it *can* be a nice moment. (So keep shooting) No guarantees however. Good luck with your shoot.</p>

<p>Whatever. The way *I* photograph with a Leica isn't very accurate anyway so the inaccuracy of the frame markings don't matter much. I've photographed with M2, M4, M6, M8, M9 - doesn't seem to matter. Once in a while a picture works. Even a blind sow picks up an acorn occasionally. Hey all-good luck with your photography!</p>

<p>I have a D3200. It's an amazing little camera. I've used it professionally and it works great. I've used it alongside a D4S and it's fine. Here's a shortcut. You want to buy "AF-S" Nikon (Nikkor) lenses. They will autofocus on your camera and as was said above you want to autofocus. Manual focus is not much fun and tends to be a bit of a pain. There's a little green ball in the viewfinder that comes "on" when it's in focus (when using manual) and altho it works you tend to spend most of your time focusing when you should be composing your pictures. So the AF-S lenses are the way to go. Not an AF lens. They won't autofocus on the D3300. IF you can get a telephoto lens with "VR" that's good, too since it's Vibration Reduction. If you see a "G" lens for sale it will not have a diaphragm ring. No f-stops. It does not matter. Your camera and the lens wil figure everything out. I almost never shoot video or use Live View so the battery lasts forever, but don't forget to get an extra anyway. Oh, the variable f-stop lenses - say a 24-120mm f3.5 to f5.6 - don't worry about the variable diaphragm. Wide open at 24 is 3.5 and at 120 it's 5.6. The camera will figure out how to set the lens. The built-in flash can be a little harsh. By checking your owner's manual you can learn how to "dial" down the amount of built in flash. I could go on but this probably all sounds terribly confusing, but if you get your camera and two lenses you should find it pretty easy once you get it up and running. Oh two last things. Shoot raw and buy plenty of memory cards. They're cheap these days. Buy more than enough for your entire trip so you don't have to mess around downloading while you're on the road (unless you want to). Argh - one more. Back up all your photos to at least two places. Your computer and the cloud. Your computer and an external hard drive. Good luck with your photography and have fun on your trip.</p>