lee_brand

Scott - actually, I am not rabidly "pro film" - are you "pro digital? I use both media and am sufficiently open minded to see the pros and cons of both. I stand by what I said in that digital is far more of an "interpretation" of what was photographed because of the numerous conversions that take place. From image to camera, to Photoshop, to PC Monitor and ultimatly to the printer. There is limited standardisation involved in these steps - for most camera/PC users. Colour slide film needs one conversion and colour neg two conversions. With most commercial film this can easily be controlled in a standard and consistant manner. This is disadvantage also - you have limited creative latitude (compared to digital) - but sometimes you need a verifiable representation of the subject - forensic work is probably one of the more obvious examples.

Hi. I have a Program A and Super Program, and they work OK. Not my first chice for Macro work but I am sure they could do the job if pressed into service.

 

My suggestion would be to consider the purchase of a M42 lens - Pentax if possible. Then you use a M42/PK converter. They are not that hard to come by - should be AWITP in the UK. The M42 stuff is good and very reasonably priced. You could also look out for the M42 bellows (or T mount) that would then be usable on the A series Pentax.

No - it cannot be done. You either learn to shoot film or you use a digital interpretation of what it may look like.

 

You would never never use Oil paint to improve your watercolour technique. It may help your overall "painting" skills but they are not the same. If you asked if shooting digital would help your photography skills then my answer would be an uncomplicated "yes".

Cheapo rangefinder? You have gotto get a Leica M! If the digital proponents have got it right then these are about to get really cheap really soon!

 

But seriously, you may also consider s small (in size only) SLR? Two come to mind - Pentax ME or MX with a 50mm 1.4 lens. The reason I suggest this is because it is not very much bigger than the Canon QL's, Yashicas etc but the lens is nice and fast. Also the metering is better and they do not use old 1.35 volt batteries. You can hold it in the palm of your hand but I guess it is not totally unobstrusive. A minox (35mm) or XA would be better in this regard but they are getting a bit long in the tooth now.

Wow. Lots of opinions. Before you get totally blown away by all this techno speak, figure out what you want to do with a camera. What do you plan to take pictures of, where do you want to take pictures and what do you want to do with them? Do you wish to take photographs or do you wish to play with cameras - there is a huge difference!

 

The crusaders for digital/silver are never going to beat or change each other. Digital will prevail by default in the end - thats just the way the World is going.

 

The choice is yours to make - buy a Canon T90 for next to nothing and shoot 35mm with one of the best "pro" cameras ever made. Or you can buy a N90S and do pretty much the same using a semi-pro Nikon that is still very relevant today. You can go and buy any number of new digital models - D30, D70, etc but you are going to have to take a lot of shots to pay back the capital cost against the cost of the processing. The more you use it the cheaper it gets. Or you can elect to adopt a "hybrid" system where you stay with the older cameras (at bargain prices) and then only pay to develop the film (negligable here at around $2) and scan the stuff you like using a middle of the pack neg scanner.

 

I currently favour this approach. Not because it is the "right" approach but because it just happens to fit my current circumstances. The only reason I dont use a D70 is because I cannot justify the purchase of one right now - I have tons of old stuff that is still doing the Job and I have a huge investment in older glass - Nikon AF and Canon FD. The glass is critical! The camera remains a fancy light tight box!

 

My best portraits are still out of a Mamiya C220 only because of the good lens and nice big fat negative! You cannot really tell the difference between the images produced by the Canon or Nikon using comparable lenses and I am pretty sure that a D70 will be much the same - If someone would give me one to test I could confirm this!:-)

 

My point/s are - there is no "right" answer. You must focus on the objective rather than the tools and that each person has different circumstances, requirements and style. You can cast around for opinion and then consider your options but I would be very hesitant to take any of the responses (including this one) as the "correct" and authoratitive answer!!

 

Good luck!

Lee

I have noticed that my N90s behaves differently with different lenses. The Nikon lens works spot on. The Sigma lens hunts and does not operate as crisply as the Nikon. Does yours give you this problem with a Nikon (D) lens?

I would say that you forget about a DSLR and go with an old MF as suggested. My favourites would be Canon F1, Ftb, Nikon F4, K1000 etc.

 

If you do go for something a bit more electronic get yourself some decent storage - like those plastic crates that the Nat Geographic guys use to float down the Amazon!

I use a Tokina 500/8 mirror occasionaly. It's not my favourite - you need lots of light and fast film to get decent results.

 

I also have a number of old FD mount telephotos - for the sake of comparison a 400/5.6 Tokina, which appears to produce much better results (in general) than the mirror. My point is - look around for older telephotos before you buy a 3rd party mirror. There is some pretty good Pentax glass out there (around 400mm) which may be a better bet. Depends on your camera though - you may not be able to mount an old screw mount telephoto?

I think it's pretty dangerous to generalise. My experience is pretty much the same as the other posts but I have also come accross some real cr@p. Marexar and Kiron are top of my list and I also had a RMC Tokina 80-200 that self destructed but it may have been abused by it's previous owner. The best advise is undoubtably to try before you buy - unless you are only paying a couple of dollars? As far as a fixed 100mm lens is concerned there is nothing (in FD) to beat a SSC Canon - my opinion.

Some really good answers. Cannot say that I really disagree with any.

 

I think that there is another element that bears more mention though - The camera that you are using needs to become an extension of your hands, fingers, eyes and brain. You must not have to even think or feel for controls - when you get to know your camera so well that you dont even have to think about what particular control to manipulate, you instinctivly interact with the thing then you can take great photos. As someone else said - it no longer gets in the way!

 

Now if you regularly use 4 different bodies - T90, FTb, Super Program and digital P&S (like I do) you will probably never reach the "instictive" stage with any single machine?

 

My argument obviously assumes the same technical standard lens, timings etc!

I strongly support Kelly's view. Cameras must be used - if only every couple of months and I would never vacume pack it. I keep mine in a steel cuboard with fresh Silica that I refresh regularly. I live at 5000 ft ASL so its pretty dry here. Film cameras need excercise - in fact the Canon T90 is known for giving shutter trouble if it's not used every once in a while. If "long term" more than 3 or 4 months then rather pack it in a bag with silica but get someone to put the baterries in an cycle it every 2 or thre months.

 

I have a significant number of old MF cameras and a couple that I have left for years have given me problems when I wanted to use them.

Hi Daniel. I answered your other post. The F1 only needs the battery for the meter - nothing else. The 1.3 volt battery is a bit tricky to get hold of in South Africa and there has been a lot posted here on Photo net about alternatives. Search on "Mercury batteries". I believe that new ones are pretty much banned in the USA. I have used 1.5 but it throws the meter off a bit and you have to compensate with the ASA. I could not say if this has caused any damage - it worked OK on my F! but I would not generally recommend it :-)

Hi Daniel - I live in South Africa and they are often a pain to get hold of.

The old F1 is a classic and although I dont use mine much I would not like to part with it - it a 1976 Olympics "special". Great camera - tough as nails and similar weight to a baby grand piano. Only problem (irritation actually) is the mercury batteries. I would not use it as a "workhorse" type camera today though. There are far more convenient bodies out there for FD lenses - T90, T70, AE1-P, A1 etc.

Clean the battery contacts well and leave it on for a while. It may come to life after a time.

I have not had this problem with a K1000 but with a Minolta XD11 and a Pentax Program plus. There are a couple of things to check -

 

The film rails. There was a burr on the XD's rail that was pinching (and scratching) the film. A knife sorted that out.

 

Lube in the transport mechanism. The program A was very dry - the moment you put strain on the winder the mechanism siezed up. A touch of grease and drop of oil sorted that.

 

A tight pressure plate - uncommon because it loosens with age. Check it out anyway?

 

Tight rewind shaft. You have covered it already.

 

If it tears the sprocket hole then the problem may either be on the rails or on the "can" side. Have another look at the rewind shaft. It may seize up if it is at a slight angle?

Best one I have used is a Ricoh S1 - looks like the GR1 and offer a optional Panorama mask.

I am very particular about keeping my lenses clean - not so my wife (who takes better photos :-)) Sometimes the front filter gets so gummed up its a case of throwing it away or dipping it in the bath. Thats what I do - I wash it with dish soap and fully immerse it in water. After it's dried a bit I clean it with a lens pen. Filters are easy to clean - thats why we use them right?

 

In the rare cases where I come accross a lens without a filter I adopt a similar approach (without the immersion!). Dust off the loose stuff with a brush and then wash the front element with surgical spirit and lens tissue. I flood the lens so that the chances of scratching it are reduced? After this I finish it off with a lens pen. Then I go and find a filter for it! Try not to do this to often but so far the coatings are all still there and there are no scratches?

Hi. It has been said that you will really make it if you are 75% businesswoman and 25% photographer? I just sort of got started with commercial stuff and I bought kit as I went along. For portraits you need 1 and then 2 studio flashes, flash meter, then some reflectors etc etc. I would never suggest that you go and buy all the stuff that you might need in one bash. As you work the thing you soon get to figure out what you really need?

I have one - they sometimes suffer from "lazy mirror" cycle - in other words there is a noticable delay as the shutter fires - the mirror takes a while to get out of the way before the shutter starts to open. I am told that it is the air dampers on the mirror that need lube. A lot of use has made the problem better. Other than this it great camera - mine works fine, but the delay is a bit disconcerting.

I have a 500/8 Tokina mirror. My experience is that you need to understand the limitations of these lenses and stay within them. If you do this then the results can be pleasantly surprising. If you dont then the results can be very poor!

 

You need to keep the speed high so you need plenty of light. Even with a tripod I try to keep the speed at 1/1000, so 400 film is a requirement as is a dose of nice bright sunlight. I think that they are much more prone to shake because of their light weight.

 

As an alternative I use a 400/5.6 which produces better shots more often and was also quite inexpensive - in FD mount. The single stop gain does make a difference?

I would second the sun trick - fungus doesnt like sun. Take the lens off the camera! Leave it for a couple of days. Watch the spot - it should not make a hell of a difference to your photos if it is very small. It is seldom worth taking the lens apart for a tiny spec of dirt - but if it starts growing then that is another story...

Best advice you have already. One thing you might want to watch though - how did it get there? Be carefull with getting more dust into it over time. Keep it in a bag when you carry it around and be careful where you use it?

I think a second body is a must - but it really depends on the kind of work that you do. I use a T90 as my main unit and a AE1-P as the "spare". If I want to do any macro or "detail" work I use an FTb.

 

I am a bit obsessive about the T90 - but it does have three little problems - no MLU, no sync cord connect and no standard remote connector. Also it is a very "tall" (and heavy) beast so I dont think that it is ideal for detail work. The Ftb, although heavy semms to work bettter. I also have an old F1 (Olympics 76) but dont use it that much - the meter is a bit out.

Hi. I have worked in IT for 20 years. I find that there is often a general assumption that whatever cable connects to devices is the only interface between them. Not so - there is the PC's data bus, PCI bus, USB bus and the BUS within the scanner itself. The fact that the wire interface between the two units runs a a gizillion Hertz does not mean that the thing is going to be faster - it often meants that the bottleneck is not there - it moves somewhere else.

 

You may commonly find that scanners can only read information at a maximum speed - for a given resolution. It then matters not a jot what you use to connect it with - the line waits for the scanner! As stated previously - even if the scanner can keep up with USB the PC may not be able to. One of the "slowest" things in a PC is the hard disk. Especially the older ones. So the line waits for the disk.