cgarrett

Michael, Central Camera on Wabash would be able to help you out, they always seem

to be heplful and I know for a fact that they have a bunch of those Nikon tweezers

lying around with the used focusing screens.

removing an FTn top plate is pretty simple, I replaced mine with the top from a

junked body when it got dented. You really only need some eyeglass screwdrivers, a

clean workbench (harder to lose the little screws), and a soldering iron if you want to

keep the flash sync intact. It takes some care to do it properly without scratching the

camera up, but I did not find it difficult, and I did it without any prior experience. It

was nice to have a bench grinder nearby when I took my FTn apart, because there are

a couple screws that require special screwdrivers with notches in them and such that I

didn't have access to, but was able to McGiver them out of an x-acto knife with an old

blade on it.

^but black and white film's sensitivity to UV light makes using a UV filter or skylight

filter (which is just a stronger, slightly tinted UV filter to bring out warmer tones)

necessary when shooting outdoors. If you are going to buy a UV filter, keep in mind

that a lens is only as good as the glass you put in front of it, so don't cheap out. A

multi-coated filter and a lens hood should prevent most flare.

high grain and high contrast are the defining characteristics of HIE, and you will be

hard pressed to get away from that.

On a mac, you can use your D70 in USB mass storage mode and it will show up on the

desktop like an external hard drive. With the Jump-drive and D70 plugged in, you can

just drag and drop the images onto the jump-drive (no programs required).

the reason that your pinhole attempt isn't working is because you are putting the

pinhole in front of a normal lens. A pinhole functions as a lens itself, and requires no

other lenses. Unless you are willing to take apart the camera, you won't be able to use

it as a pinhole camera.

I am trying to take full advantage of my D70's features by using custom curves, but I

don't have Nikon Capture. Do I need it to load pre-made custom curves onto the

camera, or can I do it with Picture Project or some 3rd party program? Nikon's website

has very little on custom curves, strangely enough, and I couldn't find any info.

I would really like to check out the number of shutter actuations on my used D70,

how could one go about getting to it? As for Nikon quality, my dad's Nikkormat FTn

has survived a few years in west Africa with the Peace Corps (including one

motorcycle crash), crossing the Sahara, 20 years as a family snapshot camera, and

once I got ahold of it I used it from Photo 1 through Photo 4, with plenty of drops and

bumps along the way. The camera is still going strong, as well as the Nikkor 50mm f/

1.4 and 135mm f/2.8 that accompanied the camera. I don't think my D70 and G-

series lens will ever see that much milage before becoming paperweights.

If the D70s is all it's cracked up to be, then the price of the original D70 will drop

even more (just something to keep in mind).

I would go for curtain #2, the D70 kit lens is fantastic from what I have heard, I wish

that I had gotten it in the first place for my D70 (which is a great camera, by the way).

As for the FM3A, I have heard good things, and being a very satisfied FE user myself, I

can only imagine that it would be even better while retaining that MF Nikon SLR feel

(something that is sadly lost in the D70). With the price of MF Nikkor primes hitting

rock bottom, you could put together a great setup without breaking the bank. The

D70 kit lens will be all you need for normal shooting, and is the best low-cost option

for having a wide lens even with the 1.5x crop factor.

I took this picture on my Nikon FE with a .25x Phoenix super-fisheye converter (which

cost me around $50) on a 28mm lens, which made it a full frame, 7mm lens. On my

D70 with the same setup, the fisheye effect is definitely pronounced, just not full-

frame (the corners are vignetted, but that is all.

<img src='http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/3175688-md.jpg'>

As you can see, the cheap glass of the VERY thick fisheye filter (about 2.5 inches)

makes for a lot of distortion at the edges, but since fisheye shots are a bit of a

gimmick anyway, it isn't so bad.

I really have never had any trouble with the batteries dying on my FE, except when I

leave my motor drive on for a few days by accident.

The Interslice kit comes with a great set of instructions that guide you through each

step, and the guy who sells them will supplement it with more specifics if you tell him

what kind of camera you are planning to re-foam. I have used my small kit to refoam

a Nikkormat, an FE, and a Holga, and the variety of foams and pre-cut pieces

provided ensure that you have the right stuff for the job. I recommend it highly.

I've got a jury rigged B shutter and tripod mount, so I think I will be OK. BH does have

the macophot film, so I will definitely give this a shot.

I second the gossen luna pro. plenty of them on ebay cheap, and

it is more capable than most modern lightmeters (low light

capabilities, cine speeds, Lux readout, and other features you

will never use). The histogram method isn't too bad, and the

sunny 16 is always there if it's sunny.

I have a FE2 screen in my FE, and it is a lot brighter. getting rid of

the split image focus aid was a plus, too. The Beattie

Intenscreen is even brighter, I would imagine, but at a price.

don't disregard the 28mm f/3.5 AI Nikkor, it's a great lens that won't break the bank.

I've had one for the last year, and the fact that it is both AI and has a coupling prong

lets me use it on all of my Nikons (Nikkormat FTN, FE, and D70). If you are looking for

a camera, have a look at the FE. I was skeptical of its battery reliance when I was

upgrading to it from my Nikkormat, but it has yet to fail me once (except for the one

time that I left my MD-11 on for a couple days, which drained the batteries). If all else

fails, there is still the M90 mechanical shutter speed to fall back on. The long shutter

speeds and apeture priority mode are especially nice for night shots.

If you're really worried about theft, maybe you should use a Holga (the gaffer's tape

would come in handy). If you need to use the Nikon, I have seen pictures of Nikons

with fake name stickers on them to make them look like knock- offs, but I do not

know where to get them. You would be suprised at how different a nikon looks

without the nameplate showing. Maybe you could put scotch tape over the silk

screened logos, then tape over them with the gaffer's tape (test it out on a beater

first...).

wow, thanks for the detailed responses. I will be using fast and medium speed primes

(a 28mm f/3.5 Nikkor, a 50mm f1.8 Series E, and a 135mm f2.8 Nikkor), so this may

prove to be my achilles heel. I am young and have good eyesight, so I will give it a try

(I haven't even set eyes on my camera yet so I don't want to make any hasty

judgements). If all else fails, I guess I can scour eBay and KEH for a decently wide 3rd

party AF zoom or maybe a Nikkor if I can find one in the $100-200 range, and any

suggestions would be helpful.

(I hate to post another D70 question, but a search didn't turn up what I needed to

know, so here it goes...)

I am in a bit of a crunch for cash, but I was able to scrape up enough cash to buy a

used D70 body and I am waiting impatiently for it to arrive. Since my other camera is

a Nikon FE, I have a decent array of AI and AI'd Nikkor MF prime lenses that I plan to

use with the D70 (along with a handheld meter) until I can get my hands on a good

AF lens. Unfortunately, I have heard that it is very hard to obtain decently sharp focus

with MF lenses on the D70 because of the viewfinder's size, brightness, and lack of

focusing aides. Is this true, or am I just misinformed? Thanks.

Has anyone tried using infrared film in a Holga? I am wondering if the light

leaks in even a well-taped Holga would be too much for the sensitive film. I

have heard of people selling 120 rolls of Kodak HiE that they have rolled from

large format film, and I think that infrared Holga shots would be amazing (if

anyone knows of a good source for 120 or 220 rolls of IR film, please let me

know). Thanks.

are there any 3rd party companies that could make a digital back for a FE/FM3A? I

would think that you could pay someone out there (probably a lot...) to fabricate one

for you. Of course, this is all speculation.