sambo._.obmas

i've blatted off about 15,500 frames since last September when i got my D70.

i'm hopeing it'll last as well as the shutter in my F5, something around the 220,000 frames mark last time i checked.

if it packs it in at 50,000 frames, i will be muchos pissed off.

the F4 cost Nikon a lot of professional support. many pro snappers moved to the EOS-1. By sticking with "Traditional" controls, nikon lost support which only started to return with the release of the F90x (the F90 was subtly flawed)

why: ergonomics, thumb wheels and being able to separate the AF function from the shutter release.

enter the F5 - lots of formerly Nikon using Canonites suddenly sold up their white lenses and got back in black.

me? i stayed true to Nikon and fell in love with the F5 at first sight. bought one the first day they arrived and loved it.

ummm, i wouldn't buy either. get a digi.....

but: i have used an F5, a LOT, and still have one. great camera if a little heavy. you can also pick em up pretty cheap second hand. i'm not letting mine go for less than AUD$1200-, so will prolly never sell it. but at least i'll always have a great film camera to use.

i didn't even know nikon had made an F6.......

i have been a working press-photographer for about 13 years now and am firmly in the "A UV Filter On Every Lens At All Times" camp.

skylight vs UV: the only difference is spelling imho.

why: saves you a BUNDLE. being careful is one thing, but accdents can, and do, happen. you don't need to be in an elbow throwing press-scrum either.

it's getting close to time for me to replace the nikon 77mm UV on the front of my 80-200/f2.8 nikkor. it cost $125- odd dollars when i bought the lens and that was nigh on eight years back. the lens, btw at the time, was in the AUD$2800 range and is still pristine, so you do the math.

two caveats tho:

1 - buy a GOOD one, usually brand matched with the lens. a cheap filter will noticably bugger your image, but not so a good one.

2 - a UV filter will not save your lens if it gets kicked by a race-horse. a camera on a remote under the finish rails went flying a few years ago, smashed filter, smashed front element of 20mm lens and seriously bent chassis of F4 due to camera getting embedded in the bonnet of a car.