hjoseph7

I also have the Nikkor 180/2.8 ED and the 105/2.5 that I don't think I'm going to part with unless I go blind(knock-on-wood). If I remember correctly, I got the 180mm as part of a package deal with a Norman 200C power pack in great condition. I paid peanuts for both items on eBay. I think the seller just wanted to get rid of that stuff. Come to think about it, a lot of my past purchases were for equipment that I always wanted, but could not afford, until the Digital revolution. Although the Minolta IIIF (circa 1980) is not the most user friendly Light Meter in the world, at least not as user friendly as my Sekonic L358, it does allow for Spot Metering with a dirt cheap adapter. The Spot Meter adapter for my Sekonic almost cost as much as the light-meter itself ! Another good thing I stumbled upon, is that the Metz P50 power pack that had been sitting there for years(10+ years), still works and can power my 2 Metz 50 Mz5 handle mount flashes, no problem. When I tried to power them with the more modern P76 power pack, it didn't work for some reason ? I thought it was the cable, but it seems like the extremely hard to find cable is actually OK ! Nobody uses handle-mounts at weddings anymore because with the more modern digital cameras you can boost the ISO to your hearts desire. However, they do come in handy for bouncing off the wall & ceiling, large groups, plus it's a higher quality of light. If you think 'Expensive Hobby' then you might not feel as many regrets. Who cares if your equipment is dated as long as it works and does what you want it to...

This post is for people like me, who purchased Photo equipment thinking they might need it someday only for that purchase to become a bust. What I mean is, I got tons of equipment that I purchased that is still in my dungeon collecting dust. At the time of purchase, I thought it might come handy someday, but things did not work as I planned or imagined, so I never got to use them. I hate to put some of this stuf on eBay, some of which I have already done, but what is the sense of keeping it ? Today while digging in my dungeon I found some old equipment that still works, such as a Minolta Auto Meter IIIF which was state-of-the-art back in its day, but has since been replaced. Also, a Metz P50 power pack which I have no Idea why I purchased it, until I did a Google search and found an old review I had written back in 2011. This power pack has also been replaced. Some people sell their stuff as fast as they upgrade, but I tend to be sentimental given the effort I put in to purchasing the item. Maybe I would be driving a Rolls Royce right now if I had not purchased some of these useless items. Do you guys ever have regrets like these ?

** UPDATE** I finally found one on eBay in excellent condition for less than $150, shipping from Japan !

** UPDATE** I finally found one on eBay in excellent condition for less than $150, shipping from Japan !

I usually turn the camera upside down, meaning the lens openiing pointing at the ground. I try to avoid changing lenses in windy weather, but that's about it. Sometimes the dirt gets in there while the camera is inside the bag.

Fascinating...

Taken with my iPhone... Actually I had to really hit the saturation dial in Photoshop more than I'm accustomed to with this image. The original image was totally washed out..

I did mention that the Menu was a little jumpy in that you have to be very carefull when selecting a function on the Menu, or it will jump to the next function. Maybe they took that into consideration ? You figure though, the way the Main Dial is placed on the 6D, it is very easy for dirt and crud to slip into the crevices, especially when you are constantly using it to get the exposure in Manual Mode. I tried blowing some compressed air through it but that did not work.

Something happened to the Main Dial on my Canon 6D. The dial is very hard to move and is practically stuck in place. I asked Canon for a quote on how much it would cost to fix it. They sent me back a quote for a whopping $350 + shipping ! I looked on ebay and KEH and saw some Canon 6D's selling for about the same price that it would cost to fix. I have a temporary work-around though. Since I'm required to shoot 'manually' at f8 on my job, I use Aperture-priority, set the aperture to F8, then I use ISO to manipulate how much light is getting through. So far I have not received any complaints...

"That said, NG has always been an excellent, informative, educational and especially vital source for showing us the World’s sheer Humanity- from the comfort of our very own toilet seats (!! ha ha !!), or perhaps, our living rooms." I'm not really sure what caused their downfall ? Other magazines seem to be doing fine and some are even thriving. National Geographic offered a unique view of the world in that they photographed far-off, distant, exotic places that no one would think going to, or have the means to get to. Is there such a magazine now ? Did the world wide web have something to do with people losing interest in far-off, distant and exotic places ? Maybe it was the news-stand cost of the Magazine which wasn't cheap ? NatGeo hired some of the best photographers in the world and the equiment they used for assignments was top-notch. They even mentioned what equipment was used on some assignments. I got a letter from them the other day being that I subscribe to their quaterly History Magazine, but I threw it away by mistake with the rest of the junk mail. Sure wish I knew what they had to say. Probably that my subscription would end by the end of the year. In any case, according to their website, for 2024 and beyond, they will be focusing on their Digital Subscriptions(never knew they had one). Some subscribers will still receive a hard-copy at the end of the month. Occasionally a "special edition" hard-copy magazine might appear at a a news-stand. Not sure how thety are going to pull this off since Disney the Parent company laid every body off. I can imagine now having to log into a computer while on a long Flight instead of just picking up a copy at the airport news-stand. Maybe this exceprt might give you a better idea of what is going on: Disney is the parent company of NatGeo. Disney bought National Geographic in 2019. In just a few years they managed to run it to the ground, as usual. "Disney CEO Bob Iger announced a $5.5 billion plan to cut costs across the company in February. The entertainment goliath has since fired 7,000 employees in multiple rounds of layoffs. One of Iger’s priorities is to turn around struggling streaming service Disney+.

Correct, you can still use them in 'S" shutter-priority and I think 'P' mode ? So far I have accumulated the 50mm f1.8 D, the 85mm f1.8 D and the 105mm f2.8 D to work with my F4. All I need is the 35mm F2, but right now I have other priorities. I actually purchased the 50mm and the 105mm for my DX (D7000) a few years ago when they were much cheaper than they are now ! I purchased the Nikon F4 last year as a Christmas gift to myself. The problem with the 35mm DX is that it will produce vignetting on an FX camera like the the F4. So I have no choice, but to get 35mm f2. Forget about Sigma, or Tamron not really interested. The 'D' lenses really look nice with their apertures scales and all, especially on the F4. I'm looking forward to taking the camera with all 4 lenses on a walk-about around town with my Casio digital watch, my leather messenger bag and pretend it's the 1980's again...

The Sigma is a newer lens and better for sure, but take a look at this review: https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/35f14ais.htm

There are also Nikkor 35mm f1.4 lenses selling for less than $150 eBay. This lens is so good that Nikon is still manufacturing it ! I always wanted this lens, but the price of $800+ on B&H kept me away plus it was manual. Currently it is down to about $450 on B&H. Now I'm not sure which one to get, the 35mm f2 D, or the AI-S 35mm f1.4 ??

Maybe that explains it FX vs DX. I have the DX 35mm f1.8. I think I paid maybe $100 for it in excellent condition. I was looking to purchase the old version the FX version so I could use it with my Nikon F4, but the prices are surprisingly high, $250 and up plus shipping, mostly from Japan. The prices at KEH are not any better.

Why is a Nikkor AF 35mm f2 D selling for twice even 3 times as much as the Nikkor AF 35mm f1.8 G on eBay/Used market. The 1.8 G is the newer version of the lens, is faster and supposedly sharper according to some reviews. So what is the big deal about the older 'D' version ?