rickaubin

I gone several times in the past couple of years with just a Stylus Epic. I agree with others that a big load of gear walking through the parks will be a real pain. If shooting digital--a compact should suit the purpose or an dslr with a single, moderate wide angle lens. Also go for something water resistant (camera and carrying case).

 

Rick

With Father's Day close at hand, here's to those four beautiful

words, "I love you, Daddy."<div></div>

You've got some great advice so far with several good points. My vote is for the FG. You can one through KEH for under $100. I got a bargain grade silver model for $89 about six months ago. To me, this is one of the most inexpensive ways (if price is your top priority) to get to the Nikon MF glass you desire.

Not exactly a poor optic, but I have been using a Spiratone Portragon lens on my Nikon FG. It has a very soft signature that was "engineered" into the lens. I got it used from a friend for $25 and I'm having a lot of fun using the softness to my advantage.

Based on price, the 85 wins hands down. Depends on what you want to shoot. I thought about the zoom, but didn't have the cash for it. What I wanted was a portrait lens. The 1.8 just made the most sense for me. It joined a small collection, very similar to yours (24/2.8 and 50/1.4) of fast primes.

Michael: Thanks. I really didn't think the FG was that smart--I just didn't know if thte contact broke past 37 or so.

 

John: It felt like I rewound a whole roll--it didn't seem like less than that. Though I'll bet the film did foul somewhere along the way. I'm getting the film developed as we speak and I'm loading a new roll tomorrow. Time will tell.

 

BTW, I had a 50/1.8 ais lens mounted that night (wide open). The next day I pointed it into the bright sky with the lens wide open and the shutter set to 1 second. It still indicated an underexposure despite the bright spots that appeared in front of my eyes for several minutes after.

Thanks for your replies.

 

Jim: I'm definately gonna try to start a new roll and see what happens.

 

Robert: The lens cap was definately off and the lens was at 2.8. The shoot started off fine. I was shooting a basketball game. The meter indicated 1/30. After a few shots I noticed the arrow blinking. I tried removing the batteries, tried aiming the camera at a bright light source (if it was in fact underexposure) and even removed and replaced the lens.

This is the second FG that I've owned with a meter problem. In this

case, the bottom arrow is blinking instead of the recommended

shutter speed. The selected shutter speed is indicated solid as it

should be. I know the FG has some protection against shooting with

an empty camera (the M90 speed used until the film counter is at 1,

for example) so I'm wondering if I caused this. I was bypassing the

film advance by holding in the rewind button and advancing the crank

to do double exposures.

 

I'm wondering if the brain inside the FG was still counting even

though the counter was not (and is currently on 32). I'm well beyond

40 exposures on that roll (with doubles on about 7 frames). It is

worth noting that the shutter seems to be working properly. I set it

to 1 second and the shutter didn't revert to M90.

Another vote for the Olympus Stylus Epic. Small, light, and sharp.

The N80 does indeed reset to DX upon loading a new roll of film. To answer your question, Robert. I shoot my 400 speed film at 320, which I believe is the next step down from 400 when setting manual ISO on the N80. I've had great results using a slight over-exposure. I've never used a full stop though.

I received this email from Lexar shortly after sending the rebate to them. I checked the Claim ID at the website and found out my order was being processed. I'm not holding my breath, but at least I got a positive answer.

 

Dear RICK AUBIN:

 

Thank you for your purchase of a Lexar Media product. We have received

your Lexar Media rebate and are processing your claim. Please allow 6-8 weeks

for processing. If you would like to check the status of your claim online,

please refer to www.rebate-zone.com/LexarMedia. Your Claim ID is XXXXXXXX.

Again, thank you for your patronage.

 

This is an automatically generated email that is unable to accommodate replies.

Please be aware that you have not been added to an email list.

 

Lexar Media Rebate Center

Customer Care

Spring for the 50/1.4 AF. I know, it is quite a bit more. But you'll be surprised how much you gain with a 2/3 stop increase.

Thanks Mike. The auto function fault has me puzzled too. I was hoping to avoid the pain of exchanging the thing, but it sounds like the way to go. I was just looking for a cheap beater for nightclubs and such. Hopefully the next one will be OK.

I just read the thread below concerning a Nikon FG meter problem.

Under certain circumstances the the meter flashes 60 and 125 and

won't work properly.

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0055FG

 

I just encountered the problem myself having just acquired an FG

from KEH. I rewound the film, opened the door, and then played

around with the empty camera. Sure enough, after a couple dry fires

and cranks of the film advance, my meter flashed 60 and 125. This is

a safeguard in the camera to prevent the user from exposing the film

before frame 1. I opened the back again and it was fine. Then I

discovered a revelation. When I turned the film speed dial to A, the

meter fouled again. Open the back, it was solved. Repeated several

times, same results. Anyway, I reloaded the film and shot ten shots

in metered manual with no fouling of the meter. Looks like going

into the A priority mode fouled the meter. I did not try P. I still

have time to return the camera for another one, but I wanted to

check to see if there was something I could about it. I typically

use it in manual mode, so if it keeps working in manual I'm not

going to bother returning it for another. Any advice?

<div></div>

I've got a Lubitel 166U with a fairly soft lens that is fun to use. The plastic on it is so cheap that it should sport the recycle symbol found on 2-liter Coke bottles.

 

Much older, is my Petri 2.8 Color-Corrected Super. It also has a soft lens, but it has that great mechanical feel of the 50's. It is all metal--right down to the lens cap.

 

They are both a great departure (albeit a meterless one) from my reliable modern-day wonder.

What earns the XA the number one distinction?

Hate to sound like a broken record (well, scratched CD)...

 

Fuji Superia 400 and 800.

Me and my daughter before a show at MGM Studios. Don't know what she is pointing at--probably saying to herself, "Sharp, pocketable, 35/2.8, hmm..."<div></div>

I still laugh when I read a gripe about G lenses. The N-80 we all praise (with the on-camera aperature control) really seems like a match for the G. And speaking of the N-80, just think what would have happened if Nikon had listened to the opponents of AF, AE, auto film advance and the like--we'd be recommending the FM2Z.

 

Good luck with your decision, Attila. You've got some fine responses.

OK Photo.net--can we make it easier for the out-of-country folk to subscribe?

 

By the way, I sent a check when I first subscribed instead of using PayPal. It took some time for the check to make it through the system, but here I am.

I've got the 1.4, but I'll be honest--at the time I thought the more expensive lens had to be superior. And while I have often read that the 1.8 has the sharpness advantage, I can't count the number of times I've used my lens wide open and taken advantage of the 2/3 extra stop.

 

However, if I had to do it over again, I'm not sure which I would pick. Not a big deal since I can add the 1.8 for a hundred bucks and have both.

 

Boring focal length? No way. You just have to learn how to use it.

35mm is too expensive? An N80 and a 50mm lens at B&H will run you about $400. You can get a ton of film and processing for $1600.

Damn, now I have to get that FM3A and figure this out. Thanks a lot, Al. Now where did I leave that NAS card?

The infamous normal lens.