rick_helmke

What great great stuff. Please Gene, look into publishing this. It's the kind of photo stuff I love to buy and I'd spend good money on it.

Rick H.

I'm not sure this is strictly the place for it but since we're talking classics

here...I drove past Camera Service Center in Ozark, AL today. I knew they were

planning to wrap it up but there was a Salvation Army Truck out front and the

last of the display cases was being loaded up. It just caught me off guard.

Nothing else left in the store. I know, this is more common every day and after

all, Oscar is in his '80's and his wife may be as well. Still, that place has

been there, fixing busted cameras and selling all manner of cool stuff, for as

long as I've been involved in photography and that's been a while. One of those

things where you just KNEW it would always be there. Oh well, they will still

have a repair operation going. Good thing too, one of my motor drives is in

there waiting on parts. Sorry if this ought not be in this forum, move it or

delete as you see fit.

Rick H.

I've been thinking awfully hard about a D50 to throw in the bag with the 'big'

digital cams. The price for a D50 body is very attractive at $450. Is there any

reason to buy a D40 instead? I absolutely don't need the kit lens, I'm just

looking for a camera for the wife if she needs one or as a back way up body if

I'm having a really bad day. My AF lenses run the gamut in age from G glass

back to some pre-D equipment and I don't know that the D40 is compatible with

that stuff. I've used the D50 and like it, never set eyes on a D40. Opinions

welcome, thanks.

Rick H.

You should see the developing reel and tanks that were made for this. I'm not kidding. The reel is attached to the top of the tank via a threaded handle and the whole thing is lifted from one tank to the next to the next ie. developer, stop and fixer. I believe it took 2 gallons of each.

Rick H.

I'd go for an F2, any version. Bodies are widely available in your price range and they can still be serviced and repaired. The best part though is all of those pro-grade manual focus Nikkors you can pick up for a song. I've got good MF nikkor lenses in 80-200, 85, 50, 35, 28 and 18mm and three F2 bodies and have less than $700 invested. One of those F2's has an MD-2 on it. Back when that was a new camera I paid over $1200 just for the body and motor. One of the best parts about an F2 is what a great photographic tool it is. Try picking one up and then grab something like an N-80 or N9o and you'll see what I mean.

Rick H.

Rick H.

Sunbelt Conference Div.1 football.

Rick H.

I'd probably buy it. The price isn't too bad and you don't know what it's condition actually is until you see it. If she's willing to meet in person it's sounding better. As for the F4, it's my favorite camera ever along with the F2. I have a tough time deciding some days whether to pick up one or the other and often I'll just grab both. The technology of the F4, AF, metering etc. worked well in their day and work just fine today. I like the control layout on the F4 and really can't warm up to the whiz wheels on the new cameras. I would pick an F4 over an F100 every time and quite possibly over the F5 as well. Both are excellent cameras but I can use the F4 without thinking about the camera and I can't do that on the other two.

Rick H.

Well I don't want to be contrary but why not......I shoot most football, day or night, in S mode. I prefer to choose my shutter speed and I keep it at 1/320 or better. Anything less is just too slow. Daytime I'll use ISO 400 and 1/500-2000, whatever gives me the LEAST depth of field. That lens will give you enough DOF wide open that you won't want anymore. Have fun.

Rick H.

To me the D1 is a much cruder instrument than the D1x or H or the D2's. I had occasion to work with one recently and just decided I'd rather not bother. It's slow, the menu's aren't the same, it's slow, the screen on the back is awful in comparison, it's slow and a battery pig and did I mention it's slow? Spend the money on something more recent. The D1-X or H are much better cameras and not that much more expensive.

Rick H.

I have the 80-200 as a personal lens while the office gave me the 70-200VR for work. Having used both recently on current digital bodies I can tell you both are quite sharp and give you all of the good things you expect from an ED lens. The VR of course comes with that feature and a faster AF arrangement. It's especially noticeable at sports events and mean you truly can tell a difference. As for being a G lens, I'm not a fan of not having an aperture ring but I'm probably just old school. I want a lens that works with my D2 as well as my F2 and the G lens ain't it.

Rick H.

The last one has a shadow at the bottom I'd bet came from the photographer. Kind of spooky. Gene I think I enjoy these found film postings as much or more than anything on PN.

Rick H.

I've got the D1-X and am considering a D80 or D200 as an addition but not a replacement. For what you'd get for the D1-X I'd just keep them both.

Rick H.

Hell I thought someone had dropped my camera once too often. I have had this same problem with a D1H and a D2H. The D2H is my primary camera and I've noticed several times that in a burst sequence under high school football lights the WB and exposure are going all over the place. This has been true in different stadiums including some Division 1 schools. I'm shooting available light so flash doesn't figure in. It has been driving me nuts,different color and exposure shifts. I had not experienced it with a the 10D and 20D I used to shoot but I wasn't doing rapid seqences with them in these conditions. The D2H is a freaking rocket ship in comparison. I feel better about this issue now.

Rick H.

You can use flash but I wouldn't do it unless the light was truly awful or I had a slow lens. My formula using a D2H is HI-1 ISO, 320/sec or faster wide open with an 80-200/2.8 Nikkor. Here's one from last Friday night.

Rick H.

Uday that's the ideal but hardly the reality. Journalists have their own agenda's and points of view and all too often that finds its way into their work. I guess the simplest way to put it is this: I go out with a camera to record an event be it sports or news or a feature. Some of those photos find their way into the paper. That's journalism.

Rick H.

I would disagree with much of what's been said. A lot of newspaper photography is hack photography. You just don't need much talent to do it and God help us, there are some that just don't. That said, you will find plenty of challenges in this business and many many talented shooters doing superb work.

No, you don't have to have a degree. At least one of the shooters at my paper does not have one and the other I'm uncertain about. I do have a journalism degree and I suppose having a degree at all will open some doors but you aren't doomed without it.

I love doing this work. I've tried many specialty areas in photography and this is the one that does it for me. I don't care if I never shoot another wedding photo but I love being out on a Friday night football field or a Division 1 game on Saturday. I meet all kinds of people and go to all kinds of events, disasters, tragedies, you name it. The money ain't great and the hours often suck but I couldn't be happier.

Rick H.

Kevin I do this every Friday night of the season and sometimes Thursday and Saturday too. I've got the 300/2.8 on a monopod as you do and an 80-200/2.8 also. On a D2H I'm shooting available light without much problem at 1600 with 1/320 shutter speed.1/250 or less gives too much motion blur. Noise is there but not too bad. It gives a much better result to my eye than using a flash. Better depth to the photo and not so flat and toneless. I'd expect better results from the D200 in terms of noise. Well, off to the stadium, need to get a decent parking spot.

Rick H.

I don't know of anyone still shooting film and sometimes I think more's the pity. Still, most of the time digital just makes too much sense. The paper I just signed on with still has it's old darkroom in place though it hasn't been used in some time.

Rick H.

Get the best glass you can afford and make it the priority. The D50 is a solid little camera and has lots of potential. You'll see a bigger difference with the lens than you will with the camera. Sure, get a D200 later on but that lens will last a lifetime if you choose. Bodies will come and go.

Rick H.

Al I don't see a lot of illegal drug use though more than a few members of wedding parties have shown up happy. A year or two ago a bride, extremely organized, very wound up, so Type A it was absurd, let it get to her. I don't know what they gave her but her eyes stayed wide open the rest of the day but with pinpoint pupils, she maintained the exact smile and didn't say a word after 'I do.' Does that count?

Rick H.

You are exactly right, she is trying to get as much as she can for no more money and make you feel like it is your fault. Don't go down this road. She is likely doing this with other vendors as well. She has discovered at some point in her life that it works and it is your turn in the barrel. Don't fall for it, don't give away anything under pressure, just deliver what is contracted to the best of your ability. I wouldn't even encourage re-print sales, just put her in the rear view and move on.

Rick H.

Some interesting responses here and I'm glad the question has been asked. Living deep in the Bible Belt as I do, responses tend to be extreme. At most weddings around here there is usually either an open or cash bar and no one seems to care or there is no booze at all. I find that no one pays me much attention as long as I am doing my job. If I'm not where I need to be when a photo needs shooting then I look unprofessional. Missing the bouquet shot or the cake cutting makes me look like some hacker and I don't allow that to happen. Never once though in all the years I've been doing this have I been taken to task at any point for having a beer or a drink while taking a break. I don't try to be particularly discreet but don't make a big deal of it either. Of course it is up to each of us but saying it makes you look unprofesional makes me wonder if some of us aren't taking ourselves too seriously.

Rick H.

It's part of our contract as well, no other shooters, period. Of course, I don't enforce this and tell the bride from the beginning that once I've made my shot, Uncle Bob is welcome to do his. If he becomes a problem, I'm covered when I ask him, always politely, to stop getting in my way. Actually the contract states that we can leave the event should other shooters start becoming a problem. Would I do that? Of course not but if I need to get firm about it or bring in another family member to help deal with the problem, I'm covered.

Rick H.