joe_guzzi

The times and temperatures for D-76, D-76 1:1, and other Kodak developers are in the push processing chart on the top of page seven in the F-4017 pdf tech sheet.

I?ve been shooting girls High School soccer at night with Tri-X at 3200. I?ve just started using Microphen straight undiluted stock solution at 68 degrees for 16 minutes (Thanks Lex!), and so far it seems to be better than D76 1+1.

You select a micro lens focal length just like any other lens, it depends on what you will photograph and where. I bought and prefer the 60mm for orchid photography because of the shorter working distance. Orchids come in many different sizes but there aren?t too many times when I need 1:1. When I photograph a spray of flowers I?m nowhere near 1:1, the working distance would be too great with a longer lens, especially at an orchid show with crowded aisles and limited room.

I recently bought an N80 with MB-16 and I agree with Joel, the combination has too much flex to use on a tripod, especially with long lenses that don?t have a tripod mount like the 70-300. You can feel the flex in your hand when the N80 with MB-16 is mounted on a Stroboframe flash bracket.

1/250 flash sync rules out the N80. An N90s would be a nice primary camera as well as a back up.

It depends on what you?ll use it for. I like my Nikon AF 60mm f/2.8D micro lens for orchids. It does 1:1 on its own and will report effective aperture when used with auto focus bodies, handy if you use manual flash.

I have shot a few low buck weddings for my son's friends in need. I

used my N70 in manual exposure mode, a Vivitar 285HV Auto Flash

mounted on a Stroboframe Pro T flash bracket, the 35mm end of a 18-35

zoom, an AFD 60 Micro, and a 105 2.5 AIS.

 

I don't know what Metz flash you have but a guide number of 36 sounds

low to me, unless that is meters and not feet. You need to get the

flash off the camera, the Stroboframe Pro T gets it high enough for

group shots. I used 35mm for group shots and that is the widest angle

the Vivitar 285HV will cover on its own. Check and see what your Metz

will cover.

 

I would want to use the FE for the slightly faster flash sync but it

would be harder to hold than the F3 with a flash bracket and flash

attached.

 

I wouldn't get the F80 and TTL flash unless you need/want an AF

camera for other things too. I would get the few things you really

need; flash bracket, anti-twist plates & cord. Maybe a 35mm lens if

you always wanted one. With a 35, 50/60, and an 85/105 you can get

99% of the shots they will want.

http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/nikon_articles/other/compatibility.html

http://home.aut.ac.nz/staff/rvink/nikon.html

In addition, a lens hood offers some extra protection for the front element. I don't like to use a filter for protection and rely on a lens hood instead. Some lenses, like the AF 60 micro lens, have a deeply recessed front element so a lens hood isn't often necessary.

I have the 60 AFD Macro lens and I sort of wish I had gone with the 55 AIS because of the finer manual focusing. When you use an AF lens on an AF body the camera will display the effective aperture, handy when using manual flash. But you can read the aperture compensation off a chart, once you know aperture and flash distance you know forever. It is true the 105 offers a little more working distance but that will do you more harm than good. If you wanted to shoot bugs that move or other itty bitty things at or near 1:1 you'd want all the working room you could get. But your stated main interest is flowers; most flowers are bigger than bugs so you won't often be using anything near 1:1. Photograph a spray of orchids with a 105 and you'll be in the next room. From table top photography to a flower show with crowded isles the 50-60 mm focal length is the way to go.

I would be more inclined to spend the money a little differently. I would go for a used N90s for better build quality and 1/250 max flash sync. A faster prime lens or two will give better low light performance and quicker focusing, an AF85 1.8D would be my first choice, add an AF50 1.8D or AF35 2.0D as needed. If you already have 283's use one on a Stroboframe and eliminate the expensive Nikon cords.

 

For flash I use a 285HV on a Stroboframe, Pro-T, N70 in manual, AF60 2.8 micro, AS-15 PC hotshoe adapter, PC-31 sync cord.

http://www.lisp.com.au/~mmphoto/nikon/

 

http://www.nikonlinks.com/

I have a 105 2.5 AIS, I find the working distance is too great for indoor table top. I use an AF60 2.8 micro instead. I should have bought a 55 AIS micro...

You can also use that same shutter speed and aperture (print film) with flash. Try slow sync's cousin, rear sync.

I use a N70 with a Vivitar 285HV so I don't know anything about TTL.

 

Your F3 has 80/20 CW metering, the F4 and FM3a have 60/40, the N90s and F100 have 75/25. I just bought an old FE after using and knowing 75/25, now I'm learning the nuances of 60/40.

 

Do you want a spot meter? Mirror lock-up? How do you feel about wired shutter release cables?

I use two Vivitar 285HV's, one fired from a sync cord and the other by a Wein Peanut Slave.

 

A 285HV is similar to a 383 but has a three-position manual zoom head and removable sensor.

 

The little wein peanut slave works very well and is only twenty bucks.

 

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh3.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___61441___VI285HV___REG___CatID=646___SID=F2F36CCC6D0

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh3.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___63118___WEPN___REG___CatID=1736___SID=F2F36CCC6D0

http://24.237.160.4/files/photography/Nikon/Manuals/N70Book/

I like the Vivitar 285HV, four auto settings and basic manual control. It has a three-position manual zoom head that corresponds to 35, 50 and 105, and it will cover 28mm with the supplied diffuser. The auto setting work very well for fill or for the main light. You can use different apertures than it suggests in an auto mode or use different zoom settings in manual for fine-tuning.

Given those choices I'd buy the FM3a because I need/want a manual focus camera, and it has three features my N70 lacks. 1/250 flash sync, sort of mirror lock-up, and DOF preview. Once I had those three features then I'd like a F3 for the optional viewfinders and real mirror lock-up. In reality I don't care about TTL flash, or really need a manual focus camera with aperture priority. I intend to buy a FM2n, then maybe a F3 or an F with standard prism.

I don't own an F5 or any AF-S lenses but I do have five Nikkors that I bought new. In only one of the owners manuals (AF60 2.8D micro), under Important!, is the following line:

 

 

Important!

 

"Depending on the camera model, the lens cannot be mounted with the minimum aperture locked. Before mounting the lens make sure the minimum aperture is not locked..."

 

 

Remove the lens, set the aperture to f/8, remount the lens, cycle through the entire aperture range, then set to f/22 & lock.

It has been my observation that Nikon offers rebates several months after I buy a lens. I'm not sure what happened this year, I haven't bought one recently. For as long as I've been paying attention Nikon has offered rebates around the end of the year and there is no correlation between rebates and items being discontinued. If you buy online there most often is no sales tax, if you buy locally you're out of luck. In Florida there is no VAT and sales tax is 6%, hardly enough to worry about the tax on $300.

Soccer fields can vary greatly in both length and width, there is not one official size like good old American football. I'm able to roam the touchlines (sidelines) with a 70-300, 300mm gives me an arc that extends to the middle of all the fields I've seen. To me the ideal soccer lens would be a zoom that starts somewhere around 70/80mm, extends to 400mm, and is light enough to handhold without a monopod. At 300mm an aperture of 5.6 is too small and Depth of Field is very often greater than I would like.

Just knowing brass or stainless steel wouldn't tell you much of anything. You would need to know the specific alloy and heat treatment of each to even make any kind of educated guess. Brass can be harder than hammered hell and stainless can be ductile and some alloys rust. If that brass mount is silver colored it may even be hard chrome plated. I'd pay more attention to reports of failures in the field than what metal. It looks like five screws and it's off, it's probably the only major part you could replace yourself.

It sort of depends on the type of trip you're taking and how light you need to travel. For my kind of travel I fly, have a rental car, and heavily depend on a relatively light Bogen 3001 tripod with a 3262QR (Quick Release) ballhead. I mainly use three Nikon lenses, an 18-35, a 60 micro, and a 70-300D ED. The 18-35 is the most used by far, followed by the 70-300.

 

The best thing you can do is handle the camera and a couple of lenses to see the differences in focal lengths first hand. 28mm isn't really that wide for many things. If you're in tight confines it will be hard to get all of the building in the frame. A 24mm fixed focal length will be a little better in both distortion and lens speed, and will offer a wider angle of view. However, the most important thing when photographing building is to keep the camera level, square, and parallel.

 

For animals even 300mm can be too short unless you're in a zoo or a National Park. The differences between a 70-300 D & G lens, besides a couple hundred dollars, is the G doesn't have an aperture ring, metal lens mount, that one ED glass element, and build quality. Picture quality isn't bad at all but in the one side by side comparison I saw it wasn't quite as good as the D ED version.

 

The Nikon 28-80 kit lens is probably the best performing kit lens from any manufacturer. I have one from the previous series but don't really use it any more because of my other lenses. I did use it exclusively for several months and it worked very well.

 

I suggest you also consider the Nikon 28-105. The range at the long end is better for people and it's a better lens in all respects than the 28-80.

 

The little pop-up flash is better than no flash, maybe. I got along real well without a proper flash until I bought all the lenses I needed.

 

Don�t forget the other things, like a tripod and head, remote shutter release, circular polarizing filter, lens cleaning stuff, and a bag. A decent tripod is the single most important piece of equipment to enhance both picture sharpness and composition.

 

If you have the time before you leave I�d say get an N80 with only a 28-105 lens as this will be your most used focal length range. After getting familiar with it you�ll know if you�ll use 70-300 enough to spring for the D ED version over the G, if you really need something wider, something faster, or you can�t live without a flash.