Two23

I have the Nikon F3T and it's my favorite film camera to use. (I have a couple of dozen!) It's very pretty and the meter works great. I have Nikon AiS lenses 28mm/2, 50mm/1.2, and 105mm/2.5. Kent in SD

My solution was to simply leave the heavy D800E & lenses at home or in the hotel, and I bought a used D5300 + Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 OS. Kent in SD

I bought a D3200 to use as a very small camera for street shooting. Didn't like it, and went to a D5300. The reason was the D3200 does not have a histogram, but the D5300 does. Kent in SD

I have a D800E and now a D500. The D800E is probably the best bang for the buck right now (used, of course.) HOWEVER, it's a very demanding camera. I use a tripod about 90% of the time, and my lenses are the very best available. I've spent well over $5,000 for lenses for it. The camera is too bulky and heavy to use as a family outing camera though, so for that (and backpacking) I use a Nikon D5300. I just bought a D500 (used) to shoot rodeos, ice races, and air shows with. I would rule it out for what you want because: (1) expensive (2) no pop up flash (3) you don't need the 200-frame buffer. My suggestion to you is to think SYSTEM, not camera. An excellent well rounded system for you would be D7200 or D7500, Nikon 16-80mm f2.8/f4, Nikon 70-300mm AF-P VR, Feisol 3441T tripod, RRS BH-30 ballhead. For landscapes I consider a good tripod & head ESSENTIAL. Most of the above is available used--I always buy used gear. Above system will do what you want and would be a great value. As for renting lenses, I don't. I simply buy a used one from ebay, and quickly resell if I don't like it. I always come out ahead. Kent in SD

The 85mm f1.8G (used) is a no-brainer. I had one and found it to be incredibly sharp, and didn't have the CA my older Nikon 85mm f1.8D had. I don't think anything else is really close to the 85mm f1.8G. I would not buy another 85mm f1.8D. Kent in SD

My suggestion would be a used D750 or a used D800E. A D7200 would be a significant upgrade over what you have too, and you already have the lenses for DX. All three of these are smaller cameras and would be easier to carry and use. Kent in SD

The Rokinon 14mm actually does have a lot of distortion. An off camera flash or two would be more important than a lens, though. HDR might work well too. Kent in SD

OK, I think I have one. Karnak Trestle over Lake Ashtabula, North Dakota. BNSF KO sub (Twin Cities Division.) East bound frack sand train around midnight. Nikon D800E, Sigma 50mm f1.4A, x3 WL X3200 monolights (~4,000ws power). ISO 800, f2.5, sync. Roughly 800 ft. of trestle here, 180 ft. high. Kent in SD

I started looking for a lightweight but good travel tripod a year and half ago. It was just too taxing to carry the Gitzo 1325 for 20 miles in the mountains. I wanted one that was light, would support both Nikon D800E + 80-400mm AFS and a Chamonix 4x5, and would reach around 60 inches height. After trying out a number of them in stores checking out height and resistance to vibration, it came down to either a Gitzo, RRS, or the Feisol 3441T. I found a great deal on a used 3441T and went with that. I've been using it for a year now, several times a week. It's a nice tripod. Very sturdy, reaches high enough and has no center column, and easily holds my gear. It's very light and has been holding up very well. I think it's the best option for lightweight, usuability, and price. The only negative is, like all these light weight tripods, it's not the best choice in heavy wind. Since the Dakotas are often very windy (over 50 mph in recent weeks) I still use my 1325 too. The 3441T is not quite as solid as the RRS, but it cost one third as much and has been doing everything I ask for over a year now. I will add that I hate lever locks. They're always catching on brush or pinching my fingers. Kent in SD

I use off camera flash all the time. My goal is to make it cheap, reliable, and fast to set up. I've gone with using about x8 Nikon SB-25 with CyberSync triggers. Yes, all manual, but very easy to do with digital cameras. (I used to have to use a flash meter, not always practical for what i do.) I found the CLS system does not work well in daytime. The new "500" system is WAY too expensive for what it does. For that kind of money I can buy a good monolight! Out of the question. The older Pocket Wizards with iTTL have become cheaper now on ebay. If I thought I needed iTTL (and I don't) that would be something to look into. Radio triggers are the most practical choice. Kent in SD Below photo used x5 Nikon SB-25. There are in effect two exposures: one on train and one on barn. This was not a difficult shot.

Yes, handheld. I tried to brace myself against something, or sat in a snow drift. I've always liked the smoothness of HP5. I shoot it in 35mm, 120, 4x5, and 5x7. It's very versatile. My other "regular" film is FP4+. I was at our town waterfall tonight with the Nikon F3T and HP5. This time I brought a tripod. The falls are really rolling right now with all the run off. I had my wife pick an image for my camera club contest since I couldn't make up my mind. (Usually it's the other way around. :) ) Kent in SD

Fifty views and no one has an opinion. Kent in SD

What do you clean the under side of the glass with? I assume it's "touchy". Kent in SD

Last weekend a blizzard came through my town. Rather than sit around at home and listen to the wind howl, I put on some warm clothes and headed to our city center. My camera of choice? A Nikon F3T with Nikon AiS lenses 28mm f2, 50mm f1.2, l05mm f2.5. I stuffed a roll of HP5 into the camera and headed out the door. I got several nice shots, I think. I'm trying to decide which one (if any) to enter in my camera club's spring contest. Any suggestions from you guys would be appreciated! Kent in SD

If the thing isn't acting up now, I have doubts Nikon will be able to diagnose it and fix it. My fear is you send it in, Nikon can't really find a problem, and they start replacing a whole bunch of expensive parts and charge you for it. Might have got some moisture in it and now it's dried out? I wouldn't send it in until it's clearly not working, if that happens at all. Kent in SD

If it has a hotshoe, the trigger should just slip in and fire without a cable. It won't be iTTL, of course. Manual only. Kent in SD

Without seeing the photo, I would have to guess that the shutter speed was slightly too fast for the flash? If the lens was causing a shadow, wouldn't that tend to fall in the middle & top of the image? Kent in SD

Those two Sigma lenses are phenomenal. Nobody else makes anything even close. If I owned a D500 I would certainly have the Sigma 18-35mm f1.8, especially if trying to minimize how many lenses I carried. It's just outstanding. Kent in SD

My suggestion is either the Nikon 20mm f1.8G (light & compact) or the Sigma 20mm f1.4 ART (sharpest lens at that focal length.) For portraits I don't think you'll do better then the Nikon 58mm f1.4. It's not as clinically sharp as the Sigma 50mm f1.4 ART, but it excels as a portrait lens. Kent in SD

I consider a back up body essential, especially on trips. Mine is a very small D5300. Very capable, and doesn't take up much space. It's also a great camera for walking around a crowded city. I also take a third camera, usually either a Nikon F3T with three small lenses or Leica IIIc with four tiny lenses. Kent in SD

1. My Chamonix 045n with a Fuji 150mm lens is actually lighter than my Nikon D800E with Sigma 50mm f1.4A. The Chamonix with 90mm f4.5 (Nikon),150mm f5.6 (Fuji), and Rodenstock 300mm f9 weighs less than my D800E with Nikon 24mm PC-E, Sigma 50mm f1.4A, and Nikon 105mm f2.8 VR Micro. Add film holders and the weight is about even. 2. I collect 19th C. photos and early 20th C. photography books & journals. In my 1911 copy of "The American Annual of Photography," there is an article by a guy who photo'd birds using an 8x10 camera and 16 inch (400mm) Bausch & Lomb lens. The camera was set up near a perch and he fired the camera remotely (bulb?) from a blind. He actually got some nice photos doing that. While I would not choose a view camera for sports or wildlife myself, it is possible. As for resolution, I actively shoot 4x5, 5x7, along with my Nikon D800E. Looking directly at the negatives I think the D800E roughly matches the resolution I get with the D800E, taking into account the differences in DoF. I haven't checked, but I doubt the D850 matches an 8x10. One other thing I'll mention is Howard Carter, being British, would have certainly be shooting dry plates. At that time pro photographers weren't sold on film because glass plates are perfectly straight & rigid, where film can bend in & out of plane just a bit, throwing off perfect focus. The larger the format, the more that is true. There is a guy now making dry plates as a retirement hobby turned cottage industry, and I've been experimenting with them. They seem to be about the same resolution as film to me. The plates are ISO 3 if you're curious. Wet plates (1850-1882) are ISO 0.5. I only shoot these with period lenses, and mostly in my 1905 Century Camera Co. Model 46 4x5, with Wollensak Velostigmat 6 inch (150mm) lens mounted in a gorgeous polished brass Volute shutter. Kent in SD

The 80-200mm is easily your weakest link. No doubt about that. Sell and buy either a used Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 (either VR-1 or VR-2) or a Tamron 70-200mm f2.8. The difference in focus speed will astonish you. If you have money left over, sell the D300 and buy a used D7200. Buying an expensive camera and then not having lenses for it is a big mistake. Kent in SD

The biggest issue to overcome is shadows on faces, or faces hidden behind someone else. You have to check each face and have people adjust their position. Take a number of shots so you can clone in a face if you mess up. The little Nikon SB flash can do the job, but you'll need about four of them, radio triggers, and at least 8 ft. lightstands. The light needs to come from slightly above, to help throw shadows down. Kent in SD

I'm not interested in this lens, but am still planning on getting the 14mm f.8 Sigma. Mostly I want it for astro. I do have a 24-14mm lens though! It takes 77mm filters. It's the Nikon 24mm PC-E! It's a standard 24mm, it's a shift lens when doing architecture or waterfalls, and when I need something REALLY wide, I simply make perfect three shot stitches with it. It's one of Nikon's most versatile lenses. Kent in SD

LOL. For the really expensive stuff I tend to wait for a century. Yes, I have two lenses made in the 1840s, and four made in the 1850s. One (an 1851 CC Harrison Petzval) is used on both my D800E and Chamonix 4x5. Ancient lenses are a lot of fun to learn and use.:) Kent in SD