mrjallen

Very informative discussion, which I have valued.

So what's a poor fellow to do who also has hungry mouths to feed? I can't afford an autofocus f/1.4 lens of any focal length.

I've just begun using GIMP, which is freeware. You can see multiple YouTube and and regular web pages with pointers for using it.

First off, thanks for linking to that thread. It was absolutely fascinating reading. Second, I have never developed any film of any type before. This upcoming foray into processing film at home will be my inaugural attempt. With 10 rolls of C-41 that have accumulated over the past year, I decided to develop myself rather than send out. With ten rolls ready, certainly I'll have a few keepers that I can then scan in. Every weekend for much of the past number of years, I've followed this forum. I just haven't had the time, or made it, to participate. Ultimately, I hope my son will take an interest in it, as well. He's the creative one!

My 9-yr-old son and I shot two rolls of XP2 with this yesterday at a couple car shows. I hope to develop the film next weekend--my first ever attempt. The chemistry kit is en route from freestyle right now. Nikon FE2 with 50mm AI f/2

Chulster, just ignore the bloviations of that loquacious sesquipedalianist. I have a copy of the 50mm f/2 AI that, to my amateur eyes, produces beautiful. images.

Regarding OP's question, I have no plans for mirrorless, as much as I might enjoy such a system. I am just now in the process of upgrading from a D40(!) to a D7100, allowing me to more effortlessly use my manual focus lenses and my one AF-D lens. The AF-D lens came free with an N90s, which I'm also enjoying. Moving from early 2000s technology to 2013 technology will give me much better low light, flashless capability, at half the cost of my original D40 purchase.

It's neither classic nor manual, but I used a Nikon N90s yesterday, and I even let my two young kids have a turn at using it!

Polaroid 600. I collected enough green stamps (actually branded Quality Stamps, as I recall) from my mom's grocery store trips, and then she helped me paste them into the little books. We took those to the exchange store to get the camera.

How about a 20 dollar N8008? It's built tough enough that even a teenage boy can handle it, costs less than an F80 or F100, and offers a blend of the features of both early modernity and the late Pleistocene. If the back is already sticky, just borrow some of the lad's skateboard tape for a field-expedient repair!

Once the 7200s are on the shelves and the price of the 7100 drops, I might finally be persuaded to upgrade from my D40!

That's good news on the D7000 price drop. Can't wait for it to get down to $100 so I can upgrade from my D40! :)

I got an N8008s from KEH about 1.5 years ago for $28. It looks brand new, and it works great with my manual lenses. The metering is superb. At the time, I considered an F90s. I can't recall now what swayed me to the 8008, but I'm glad I got it.

<p>I am also shooting some film these days, and I like the look it gives. With my local Costco no longer processing and scanning film at $5 per roll, I now have to use a local lab that costs $15 per roll. At this price, I might be better off just to get a scanner, saving the pro lab for only those shots for which I would like a nice print.</p>

I believe JDM posted a link to your website a few weeks ago. I followed the link and have since looked at nearly every photo on the site. It's one of the best sites I've been to.

I still use our Nikon D40 weekly. It's our only DSLR. I have been thinking of upgrading to a D90!

One of the most enjoyable posts I've read!

<p>And one more pic looking up the valley toward the ridge below Sunshine Peak.</p><div></div>

<p>I found that shoebox. Now, I've got to sort a pile of negatives to find the ones worth scanning. </p> <p>Here's a pic taken with the T4 when camping above treeline on the way up Sunshine and Redcloud Peaks around 2003.</p><div></div>

<p>Somewhere in the house, there is a shoebox. Inside that shoebox, there are dozens of mountaintop pictures (negatives and prints) taken over several summers in the late 1990s in Colorado, as I made my way up a number of mountains to their peaks. Perhaps I'll find that box sometime.</p> <p>In the meantime, the below shot represents my favorite--a view from the peak of Mt. Sherman. There had been complete cloud cover the entire hike up. While on the peak, I saw the clouds break. I took a couple of shots, one of which came out nicely. Unfortunately, this is a bad scan of the print, not of the negative...{now where is that shoebox?}<br /> <br />Probably Kodak film from Walmart, scanned either by the REI mail-in photo service or some competitor.</p><div></div>

<p>Costco recently quit developing/scanning in my area as well. Their scans were great. </p> <p>I just used a local independent lab for the first time, and it costs 2.5 times per roll more than Costco. I'm trying to build up the nerve to try my hand at developing at home, but the time needed would compete too heavily with my family commitments and other hobbies. Even so, I'm going to look into it a bit, per the encouraging comments from Randall and Bruce above.</p>

<p>Here's one from probably a year ago, but I just got the film developed recently. Nikon FE2, 50mm f/2AI. Fujifilm C200, developed and scanned locally.</p><div></div>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/17856098-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="643" /><br> Nikon FE2, Nikkor 50mm f/2 AI, Fujicolor C200. Developed and scanned at Costco.</p>

JDM, thanks for posting that link. It's one of the best and most interesting websites I've seen.