Gary Naka

I was not able to determine if the B+W 60mm 60E filter is a bayonet or threaded filter. My Hasselblad lenses have a bayonet filter mount, not threaded. So that "Hasselblad" reference on those eBay listings does not make sense to me. Though it could be for a different series of lenses than what I have. When you have a captive market, you can do almost anything you want. As for the Nikon Pola filter As I remember, and trying to remember 40 years back is pretty hard, the Nikon polarizer is big, to accomodate the coverage angle of a 24mm lens, without vignetting. Back then, the 24 was the widest lens that still used a 52mm filter. A "normal" 52mm polarizer would vignette. Think of the Nikon polarizer like a combination of a 52mm to 60mm step up ring + 60mm pola filter. The filter+hood set would be used as follows: 24 = just use the polarizer, without the hood. 35-55 = filter + rear/white hood section 85-200 = filter + both rear/white+front/green hood sections I don't remember how it worked on a 28. It may have been the same as the 24.

Bay 60 = Bayonet mount, not threaded I think I have a Bay60 to 67mm adapter. 67mm filters are easier to find and cheaper than Bay 60 filters.

Tough choice. Sony is on "I think" their 4th generation of cameras. That gave them a lot of time and several generations of products, to iron out the bugs and advance the product. I have a couple friends with Sonys, and they said same as what was mentioned here, the camera is great, but the UI stinks. I have not handled a Sony, so I cannot comment first hand. Nikon and Cannon are on their 1st generation of FX/FF mirrorless cameras. Granted they had decades of SLR and dSLR experience to build on, plus smaller mirrorless, so their 1st gen FX mirrorless is pretty good. But as was mentioned, why Nikon only put ONE card slot in the Z6/Z7 is a puzzle. My D7200 has TWO card slots. As much as many complained, I am glad that Nikon ditched the F mount for the Z mount. The F mount had gotten really difficult, with the various lens to body coupling methods, and which mount worked with which camera and lens, compared to the one Canon EF mount. While I moved from DX to m4/3 (for weight reduction), a Z6 at a good price would be VERY tempting.

Addictive collecting.

Networking. Find groups to connect to (potential clients) in the market you are after. Example, doing comp work for a school concert may lead to sales of individual pictures of the students. Though sometimes you will be bucking someone already doing that for that school. And some schools may have an exclusive photo contract with a particular photographer, which will freeze you out. So look at other opportunities; churches, sport clubs, dog clubs/shows, etc. Gud Luk

That was what we had and did not have at the time. Today I have two focus-scopes. So, I can focus at final stopped down aperture. I don't have to focus wide open.

You can put the 63 on an Omega turret, and the turret can rotate. I think the 50 projects back too far. If you don't use a turret, then that does not apply.

Without using a grain focuser, the 50/2.8 El Nikkors were the easiest to focus with, because of the bright image.

If your hand is used to handling the F, and you have other Fs, then adding a different handling F2 to the mix will confuse your hand. Example, to change film, on the F the base plate and back removes as a unit, on the F2 the back swings. Muscle memory is important when you change film quickly, and different handling is not good. Is the front of the prism seated and locked? If the front is up, the lens may not couple to the meter pin on the prism.

Only if you don't get one of the CHEAP reels. I've seen some when I was in high school where the surface of the wire was NOT smooth. It was matt looking and when I ran my finger nail over it, there was definite friction. This was very different than the smooth Nikor reels. And they did not load as easily as the Nikor reels. So if you buy out of the used bin at shops or camera shows, you HAVE TO look carefully at the surface of the reels.

Ooops, I got the D810 and 850 confused. The 810 is the 36MP camera.

Why are you considering upgrading to FX? If it is Image Quality, consider this. MOST DX cameras are limited by the lens, not the camera. I have the same 18-140 as you. When I used the 70-200/4, I was surprised at how MUCH better the image was. At the same focal length, I could see more details in the image shot with the 70-200. This told me that the DX camera was capable of a lot more quality, but could not deliver it, because of lenses that did not have the optical quality to match the sensor. So put some GOOD glass on your D7500, and you may not have to upgrade.

Full frame is full frame, it does not matter dSLR or mirrorless, it is still a 24x36mm sensor. #1, no. 100mm lens / 35mm DX normal lens = 2.9x magnification 100mm / 50mm FX normal lens = 2x magnification. Same lens on a FX camera will give you less magnification and a wider view. #2 That depends on WHICH FX camera you select. A D750 at 24MP has essentially the same resolution as your D7500, but a D850 at 36MP has more resolution, and a Z7 at 47MP even more resolution. #3 The DX lens will generally (but not always) have a smaller image circle than the FX lens. This means that on a FX camera, the image will be vignetted in the corners, so your usable image rectangle will be smaller. This seems to be lens specific, some do, some don't, some will have vignetting at one end of the range and less/none at the other end, some will wide open and less as you close down. THIS is one of the major concerns of upgrading from DX to FX; that you likely have to replace ALL your DX lenses with FX lenses. If you run a FX camera in DX mode, why even upgrade to FX? You are not getting the use of the entire FX sensor, which to me is the reason for going from DX to FX.

In high school, the Swiss Army knife was my constant companion. Always had it with me in the darkroom for opening crimped commercial film cartridges, because the bottle openers were constantly missing. Today, I'm not sure what the schools policies are for carrying knives.

As long as the changing bag has enough room, it really isn't too much different than doing it in a darkroom. Just do not use anything sharp in a bag, or you could have a hole in the bag. I use a childrens round tip scissors. But I normally tear the film with my nails, easy once you learn the trick of folding the film first. And a can opener without a sharp point, to open the film cartridge. It just takes a bit of practice. Since you did it before, it shouldn't be hard for you.

I personally think it is "what works" for the person using it. Each system has its pros/cons. I like SS reels, but I also know that it is hard to learn and for some, plastic is the way to go. Same like a manual transmission car, I can drive one, but I would much rather the simplicity of an automatic, especially in heavy traffic. Same with shooting a camera in M mode. I do it, but not exclusively, I also use PSA. Which one I use depends on the shoot.

With the proper sprocket holes :eek: HOW did you manage that? I gave up on the idea of 70mm because no one made film with the proper sprocket holes. Then 220 went and disappeared also.

The Nikor 20 frame reels had thicker wire, so were less likely to bend when dropped, than the 36 frame reels that used thinner wire. Back in my day, the 20x reels were pretty common. All the shops had both 20x and 36x reels. I always wondered WHY would someone buy a 20x reel and be stuck only able to develop 20x rolls. With a 36x reel I can load both 20x and 36x rolls. Many/most Nikor reels do not have a label, so it can be hard to tell real Nikor reels from copies. Some copies were good, others were just JUNK. If you are looking in a box of misc reels, it can a Nikor reel or a copy. IF it in a Nikor tank, the odds are better that it is a Nikor reel. But after 40+ years things can get mixed up in the used bin, and someone may have put a brand X reel into a Nikor tank. OUCH $45 for a Hewes SS reel. I will keep using my 45 year old Nikor reels. They work just fine. @maddalice as others have said learning to load a stainless steel reel is difficult. And harder when you are trying to do it from a book or YouTube, vs. having someone next to you to help you. Tip: Except for the Hewes reel with the hook for the sprockets, I do NOT use the clip on any of my 35mm or 120/220 reels. My experience has been, unless you have the film perfectly centered under the clip, when you roll it, the film is likely to kink when you start to roll it on, And once you kink the film, it is REAL HARD to unkink the film and get it on the reel. In fact, we used to simply cut off the kinked part of the film, and accept losing those frames. I put the end of the film into the center, hold it there with my finger as I start to roll it on, and go from there. If you don't develop often, it may be easier to use a plastic tank/reel. The plastic reel is easier to learn to use. But even with the plastic reel, you still NEED to practice. At my local community college, I was the only one in class to use the SS reel. Everyone else use the plastic tank/reel. Since you use a changing bag, I hope it is a BIG one, with something to hold it up. The longer your hands are in the bag, the more they sweat, and put moisture vapor in the bag. That moist air getting on the film and plastic reel will make it harder to use, as the film will stick to the damp plastic. That is why the comment about plastic reels need to be DRY to use. The BIGGER the bag, the more air in the bag, so it can absorb more moisture from your hands, giving you more time to load the reel.

Beside blackout blinds, depending on the window construction, you could build a slide in blackout panel. Aluminum foil on the outside is pretty good at reflecting sunlight. The more sunlight you can stop, the easier it will be for the blackout curtains. Maybe blackout curtain to pull across the telco gear, while you are using the room as a darkroom. Think about ventilation. While there are low odor chemicals, I would still like to get the stale/smelly air out, and fresh air in. Depending on where you live, you can find used enlargers for cheap or even free, if you patiently look for it. Mine was pretty cheap. But after I got mine, I saw a listing of one for FREE. Just "come and take it away." ARGH Obviously the easiest is if you can just leave the enlarger in place. But that is not always an option. So, depending your situation, an easy pack-away enlarger (like a Durst 600 or 605) is nice if you have to clear the space, or one on a rolling cart, so you don't have to disassemble, just push it out of the way.

Not so easy, this is under the house, where construction is needed. Right now the "floor" is bare dirt.

Luckily I did also. But unluckily, the darkroom is still a LONG way from completion.

Those "cap keepers" are a good idea, but they do not work in practice, for me. The cap hanging from the lens just gets in the way, when I am shooting, so I removed them.

"light bulb" Get a butter knife. Heat it on the stove. With the narrow blade edge, lightly touch the back of the cap, just enough to SLIGHTLY distort the back surface.

I found my rear caps variable. A cap may be loose on one lens and tight on another. :confused: I usually do not know if it is loose, until the time when I swap lenses, move the rear cap from lens A to lens B, then find the rear cap does not stay on lens B. :mad:

My cousin showed me his OM1, and I thought it was like a toy, compared to my Nikon. 4-1/2 decades later, I see the wisdom of the smaller lighter cameras. I'm past the point of being able to carry the gear kit that I used to. So it was 'trim the kit,' go with lighter gear, or stop shooting. I decided to go with the lighter gear (Olympus m4/3), for most of my shooting. I still use the Nikon D7200 for field sports, because the Nikon 70-200/4 and my hand work together well. My hand just works the zoom ring without me thinking about it. And the zoom ring is light and EASY to turn, just like how zoom rings should be.