rjpillers

Mauro,

Thanks for all the effort. Information like this is always useful. I primarily use color film these days, with a little P&S digital ready at all times to catch the kids doing the kids' stuff.

I look forward to the time I can ditch the film equipment. I'm hoping that digital full-frame sensors will achieve the dynamic range of film (or better) at a reasonable cost (under $1000) within the next three years. Possible? What do you all think?

Jamie

John,

I use a Bessa R3a and have a -5 nearsightedness. But no problem! The diopter lenses that Nikon make for their FM camera bodies (the models with the round eyepiece) fit the Bessa perfectly. Reason.... both the FM bodies and the Bessa bodies are made by Cosina in Japan. :-) My -5 diopter lens cost me around $30. Now I can see the 40mm frameline without my glasses perfectly.

David,

I also use a D40x. Unfortunately, if we want a fast prime wide-angle lens that will auto focus on the D40x, the only lens available is the Sigma 30mm f1.4. That lens does not get great reviews due to its problems focusing in low light... which is the reason I'd want a fast prime in the first place! So I'm waiting... and waiting.. for Nikon to come through with a couple of wide-angle prime AF-S lenses. Maybe in our lifetime... maybe not. :-/

Jamie

Magda,

go for an old pre Ai or Ai 55mm Micro-Nikkor. The D40 is a joy to use with these old lenses, and they produce outstanding images... and they're REALLY cheap these days. Regarding your concern about the D40's compatibility with older lenses... in an odd twist, the D40/40x/60 bodies are actually compatible with more lenses than any of their "big brother" Nikon DSLRs!

As I've said elsewhere on photo.net, the combination of the D40/40x/60 small lightweight body with an older manual Nikkor is a real joy to use. Not having the meter is no big deal. Just take a test shot, check the LCD, adjust aperture or speed, and shoot away... for a LOT cheaper than a big heavy body + auto-focus zoom + too many bells and whistles that take your thinking away from the subject! Have fun.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I've been having a great time with my new D40x and a couple of old Nikkors (50/2 and 28/2.8). This combination of manual focus and the lightweight D40x body feels "right"... like back when I had my Pentax OM-1 in college, but without the film loading hassle! :-)

I'm looking forward to getting one of the Voigtlanders so that I can try out the D40x meter. And I've ordered a KatzEye screen to help out with the focusing. Now... if Cosina would just come out with something like a 24mm or 28mm lens... that would be sweet.

Cosina/Voigtlander has recently come out with two interesting lenses, the SLII

40mm and 58mm. They're manual focus lenses with CPU chips that allow metering on

Nikon DSLRs.

I'm wondering if anyone here on photo.net has tried one of these lenses on their

D40/40x/60 and if so, what you think. I have Voigtlander lenses for my film

rangefinder camera and find the lenses to be outstanding, both in build and

image quality.

Also, does anyone know if these new Voigtlander lenses allow use of the

D40/40x/60 meter? As you know these bodies' meters only work with AF, AF-S, or

AF-I type lenses. The advertising for the Voigtlander lenses (see

cameraquest.com) seems to suggest that the CPU chip on these lenses will allow

use of the meter, but its not clear if they mean the D40/40x/60 bodies are

compatible as well.

By the way, if you haven't already tried it, the D40/40x/60 are really cool "old

school" cameras when you use an old pre-AI, AI, or AIS lens. It takes you back

to the world of all-manual everything. Kind of nice to be thinking again about

exposure and focusing. And the lenses are CHEAP on the used market. :-)

Gene,

You've inspired me. I've got a nice old Nikon F3 with a Nikkor 50mm/2 sitting in the closet. I think I'll get it out, load it up with some film and go out to see what the neighborhood looks like today. Unfortunately, I'll have to do without the snow, here in Oakland, CA. :-(

Edward,

Thanks for the interesting insights. I'll pay attention to your suggestions when I try out my scanner on some Tri-X I'm about to expose.

Jamie

Thanks everyone for the advice. Based on your comments, I'll first get myself farther up the learning curve using Portra film and Lightroom. Then I'll do some side-by-side comparisons with Tri-X.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond. Three cheers for photo.net!

I'm still low on the digital darkroom learning curve, so please excuse any

non-sense I may come up with here.

I use 35mm film cameras primarily and I usually use Kodak's Portra films. I have

the film developed and a CD made to use as a digital contact sheet. When I find

something I like, I scan the negative with a Coolscan scanner, and then print on

an Epson R2400.

Occasionally, I find an image I prefer to print in B&W. So I simply use PS

Elements to subtract the color from the scan, and then print (with the usual

fussing with contrast, etc.) But lately I've been reading the photo.net forums

more, and every so often I read a comment saying something like "There's nothing

close to a B&W print from a Tri-X negative...").

Here's my question: Do you think I will see any substantial difference between a

B&W print made from a scanned, inkjet printed Tri-X negative or a scanned,

inkjet printed Portra negative? Or, alternatively, is it possible that the

"digitizing" process reduces any benefits the Tri-X negative might hold to

something inconsequential?

I use Tri-X and Portra here simply as place-holders for any B&W or color

negative film you might have experience with. And assume, for sake of a

simplified discussion, that I'm actually high on the learning curve when it

comes to scanning and printing either film.

I also just got the D40x (to take pictures of my daughter) :-) I'm also thinking about getting the 50/1.8 lens. However, we can't auto-focus with it on our D40x. Since the D40x's viewfinder isn't great in low light, it could be a bit difficult to manually focus a lens indoors. So I may wait to see if Nikon is planning to come out with any AF-S prime lenses this year (watch the news that comes out of the big PMA show in Las Vegas at the end of January). AF-S lenses have the built-in motor, so we can auto-focus with them.

By the way, I'm also thinking of getting the SB-400 flash. Ken Rockwell (www.kenrockwell.com) gives the SB-400 a nice review. I think its size is more suitable for the D40x, rather than the SB-600.

Have fun with the camera.

Don,

Thank you for the answer. I looked at the on-line manual link you provided and indeed it says that I can turn off the photo display! Thank you very much for the information. I hope I can return the favor to photo.net soon :-)

Jamie

Rene',

Thanks for the response (at 2:15 in the morning!). What do you mean by when you say I can "hide the pictures"?

Jamie

I just ordered a D40x and a question just occurred to me that I hope someone

here can help me with. Can the LCD screen be turned off so that it doesn't

display the picture just taken. I like to do a lot of candid photography indoors

and I'd like to keep the LCD turned off so that its light doesn't draw attention.

Regards,

Jamie in Oakland, CA

Thanks, everyone for your spendid responses. Based on those, I'm leaning toward trying out

the Packard shutter option... just to try one out. Sheldon, thanks for the reminder about the

lens' limitations regarding depth of field. Using the lens that way (wide open) out in the

landscape may press me to look for a different kind of subject matter... and new adventures!

Thanks.

Jamie Pillers

I have a very nice Schneider Xenotar 150mm/f2.8 lens that I'd like to use on a camera I'm building. The

lens has an aperture diaphragm, but no shutter. After much research, I think I've found that this lens may

have originally been mounted in a now rare Compur 2 shutter. I've looked around on the internet for

several months now and have not seen one for sale. S.K. Grimes quoted me a very hefty price to remount

the lens in a Copal 3 shutter. Then it occurred to me that, given the simple nature of this camera I'm

building, I could go 'old style'... using my hat and a small aperture for a shutter. But I thought I'd give the

wonderful photo.net forum folks a shot at this before I give up and go 'old style'.

Is there some other way of shuttering the lens besides the Compur 2? I think I've read somewhere about

old cameras that used some sort of gate as a shutter device. Can anyone out there steer me in a useful

direction? Thanks ahead of time for your thoughts.

Regards,

Jamie in Oakland, CA

I'd like to find a prime lens equivalent to a 24mm or so for my D80. It appears I only have a couple of

choices... the Tokina 17mm or the Nikkor 16mm "fish-eye". I'd appreciate it if some kind photo.net

member could tell me if the "fish-eye"-ness of the 16mm lens would go away on the D80. Would it

provide 24mm-type images?

Thanks for any help.

Regards,

Jamie in Oakland, CA

Thanks everyone for your excellent responses. This is the information I was looking for.

I'm just returning to photography after a 10-yr hiatus. Its really great having you photo.net

folks out there to help me knock the rust off.

Jamie Pillers