donald_choi

I agree with some of the above posts. You bought an F100. It is known to have a great AF system....why not take advantage of that? Manual lenses can be a pain in the arse if you don't have a good focussing screen and if you are not very experienced. Granted, they are generally cheaper, but depending on the type of photography you would like to get into, AF can get you shots that you probably would not be able to get with manual lenses. And besides, if you want to manually focus, just flick the switch on your F100 and presto!

Is 6 megapixels equivalent to a picture taken with 35mm? Well now, that would depend on how you define "equivalent", wouldn't it? Is 35mm Velvia equivalent to 35mm Reala? Is a picture from a 6MP camera equivalent to a 6MP scanned image?

 

Of course, the answers to these questions is no....because they can't really be compared....and that's why your question can't be answered. Think of digital as another medium, just like how you would think that slide film is different from print film. In terms of overall picture quality, digital has capabilities that exceed 35mm.....but 35mm also have capabilities that exceed digital.

 

I suspect that your question is probably referring to the amount of "information capture" ability of digital vs. 645. There have been a lot of studies that have been done in this regard to calculate the "theoretical" megapixel size that would be needed to capture the equivalent "information" of a larger format image. Some studies have concluded that to match the amount of information that a MF (Velvia) film can capture, you would need between 150 to 200 megapixels. But what does that mean? If we really did have a 200MP digital camera, would the quality of that picture be equal to that of medium format? Not really. Again, in terms of picture quality, they can't be compared.

 

In my mind, there is no war with digital and film. I see digital as just another medium on which to capture an image, just like how Velvia is a different medium from E100VS which is a different medium from Scala. The only real difference is this: with digital, you are stuck with only one choice (one sensor), whereas film has more creative options. That's why we should all have film AND digital cameras in our bags.

 

Did I stray? I think I strayed.....

I second the FM3A. Terrific camera.... auto-exposure/electronic shutter in aperture-priority and fully MECHANICAL manual in other modes. Basically means that you can get 1/4000 shutter speed without batteries! I just got it about a month ago. Very accurate metering, although no spot meter (guess you can't have everything).

 

The build quality is top notch. It's similar to my FE2 in many ways....which is a good thing because my FE2 has never let me down (the FE2 is the camera I am most attached to). If my FM3A's reliability is even half of my FE2, I am a happy camper. So far, it's perfect.

 

If MLU is necessary, the mirror DOES lock-up when using the shutter timer....for me, it's the best way to use MLU anyway.

 

 

Good luck!

Don't you just hate it when people answer with a website and nothing more? It's as if they don't have their own opinions....

Jason, I guess when I say "unwanted elements", an example would be reflections that can be removed through the use of a polarizer.

 

Thanks for your comments, everyone. I guess the lesson of the day is to be careful in the choices and uses of filters....understand what they do, and shoot accordingly.

I understand that filters in general can "enhance" a picture's quality

by removing unwanted elements or adding additional effects in a

composition.

 

However, I took some pictures over the last weekend, and I

accidentally left my Skylight filter off my lens (I always keep on on

at all times, mainly for lens protection). When I got the slides

back, I found that my slides were more "vivid" in color and slightly

more saturated. It was quite a pleasant surprise. Why is this? I

always keep my filter very clean, so I don't think its dust or dirt

causing the slight reduction in picture quality. Any thoughts?

You know, there are those of us who want all the goodies like AFS/VR and don't care about the aperture rings. Why should I bother with them, when I have the newest camera body that can change apertures at 1/3, 1/2 and full stops?

 

I know what some of you are going to say...."what about compatibility with my older bodies?" Well, for those of you, I remind you that you have access to DOZENS of excellent lenses to choose from.

 

Having AFS/VR lenses (even without the aperture rings) will delight people like me, because they introduce technologies that I value.

 

There are two generations of consumers that Nikon is trying to satisfy: those of us who want backward compatibility, and those of us (like me) who want advanced technology.

 

I, for one, want technology to win.

This is just another example of people resistant to change. You know what guys? It's gonna happen. You can whine and cry about it all you want, but I bet in a decade from now, you would all be using G-type lenses and will be wondering how you ever lived without them. The aperture ring is very limiting in its use. The introduction of the G-type lenses allows for a better integration of the aperture function to the camera's computer. It would expand the camera's capability to so much more. Who knows? Maybe in the future, there will be voice recognition on the cameras....all you would have to say is "F16" and you would be there in an instant. Now....wouldn't that be nice?

You would be taking much better quality pictures with the N80 and 35-70 combo than with the F100 with the crappy lens. The 35-70 F2.8 is one sweet piece of glass that will give you really, really sharp images. As well, the N80 is a very nice camera that will do most of what the F100 can do and will last. I own both. Go with the N80.

 

As with the other camera brands, although they may be competent cameras, I would tend to go with the bigger name brands such as Canon or Nikon, purely because of the larger selection of excellent lenses. As you grow with photography, so will your lens collection... and it would be nice to have many choices to suit your tastes.

 

Remember, in photography, GLASS IS KING.

Make sure you use lithium batteries and bring a lot of them. For me, if it's snowing or raining, it helps to shoot with a small towel on top of the lens and camera. It helps keep the moisture away and you can use it to wipe your lens when needed. As long as it is not extreme arctic cold, your N80 should be ok.