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Some years back it was my good fortune to aquire a Nikon F3, motor, 85mm f1.4 Nikor, and a 100-600mm Vivitar. Unfortunatly my photographic skills are laughable and I find the practice involved to be expensive.I know nothing about digital other than, I think, taking bad photos is free. What do I need to make the switch to digital or is it even a good idea.
Vic
Follow Ups:
Vic, let's look at things in a sensille manner. If your photo skills are laughable with a Nikon film camera do you really think they will be better with a digital camera. You now have one of the finest cameas made. Believe me, your skills will not change just because you bought a digital camera. I do a lot of shooting, both with a Nikon N6006 and with older cameras, such as Argus C3, made in 1949, Walz Envoy, made in 1948 and Praktica, made in the fifties. I get excellent pictures with all of them. Why you ask. I read many photography books and studied, studied and then I did more studying. It is not the camera that takes a good picture, it is the photographer. Get down to your Public Library, check out a lot of photography books, study not only the text but the photographs. Then and only then will you take good pictures. May you have good luck.
Gene
I apologize for not making my point clear. I don't expect the gear to improve my composition skills I'm counting on a great deal of practice to do that. You can read everything about surfing but your still going to be a kook until you actualy start dropping in. For me, the same goes for photography. I find it to expensive to buy and develope the quantity of film I'd like to use on a daily basis. At the same time I've grown fond of the optics I already use. My thought was to simply get a suggestion on a digital body without doing all the research.I'm happy that you've found a way to become an excellent photographer. Thanks for your response.
Vic
Dear Vic,Now I see what you're saying. IMO, looking to somehow combine/update your equipment into the digital realm will be expensive--more expensive than the film and processing you pay for now. If it were up to me, I would invest in a dedicated digital camera (look at the Canon, Nikon or Olympus lines for reliable choices). Digital offers many, maany features that differ from "analogue" camreras like the F3. You can play around with lightning, composition, even add some digital effects on the spot--to say nothing of what you can do on your computer with the right software. (Of course, you can also scan your 35mm photos onto your computer and do the same thing, but it's a step removed from what you are able to do on location with digital). It's my opinion that one can improve one's photo skills more quickly with digital because you can see, immediately, how your experiments will turn out. HOWEVER, the photos themselves can't compare to a well-printed film picture--at least not at a price most of us can afford.
Understanding composition and how your equipment works seem to me to be the most important things I've learned in improving my pictures. Whether you choose to learn these lessons on your fine 35mm or on a digital camera is up to you. You might just want to look for a good photo class if the digital look doesn't really intrigue you and you are happy with your manual equipment. Good luck.
Vic,None of the Nikon digital cameras and few of the AF models will use your present lenses. You would also lose the benefit of mirror lockup for your 100-600 lens. Flash is also not real compatible.
So, I think your best bet would be to get a decent fixed mount digital to learn about the technology. Whatever you buy today will be way out of date a year from now. The technology is still in the rapid development phase and is changing weekly. Nikon, Olympus, Canon, Fuji, Sony all make great digital cameras.
When I bought my N80, I kept my FE-2 because it still works with all the AF lenses (but not vice versa) and it has lockup. Unless you want double inventory, you need to look at compatibility. Also, the digital sensors have surface charge and make great dust magnets. So it's not a good idea for most of us to change lenses as it lets dust into the body. It's a good argument for a fixed mount digital camera.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Of course, your F3 is a classic, and if it's in good condition you should be able to get a decent price from selling it. Check Shutterbug to see what the current asking price is for like cameras, or check some of the used equipment at sites like B&H Photo.As for digital, it depends a lot on what you want to do with the photos after you have taken them. For example, if you want to just print them out on a good photo quality ink-jet type printer or only view them on your computer - most of the digital cameras that have a 2 megapixel imager will be adequate for prints up to 8x10 inches.
If you want to make larger printed photos (up to say, 11x14 range), then you need an imager with more resolution like 4 megapixels. At the high end, if you want to duplicate the resolution of 35mm film using real photographic paper, and have the print made on something like a LightJet printer, then you need a camera such as the new one from Kodak based on the Nikon N80 that has a 13.7 megapixel imager.
As far as quality of equipment, at the lower end they're all pretty good, and it comes down to form factor (user ergonomics), lens optical zoom range, and "features" that you may find useful.
Thanks for the response. The Nikon N80 13.7 megapixels and I can use the lenses I already own?
It will take Nikon mount lenses. However, if your lenses are older and do not include the automatic exposure linkage required by the newer Nikon cameras, you will have to send them to Nikon to be modified. Then, yes the lenses will work on the N80 in a manual mode.The 13.7 megapixel camera is marketed by Kodak because they make the solid state imaging device. It uses a specially made version of the N80 body that only is sold to Kodak. The nice thing about this new camera, is that the imaging device is the same size as a 35mm frame so the lenses give the same angle of view (magnification) as they do with 35mm film.
For the resolution and performance of the camera, it is "affordable" at around $4 - $5K. The original Kodak cameras based on the N90 body (5-6 years ago) with far less resolution cost around $10K. You can see the camera on the Kodak website - www.kodak.com under the digital imaging section.
How is it you didn't know that Codacke didn't make that sensor. Shame on you. That's somthing, I, really needed to know (sarcastic tone of voice). Is it just me or have I fallen into an area that's even more gear driven, anal, male, than the audio side?Again thanks for the usable info.
Vic
P.S. I work for the other Rochester based company and that is the correct original spelling for the film giant.
I'm pretty sure that no camera based on the N80 body will take AI or AIS lenses. You need the electrical contacts of an AF lens to work with the N80 body. There is a guy in Charlotte NC that can convert some MF lenses to work in manual focus on AF bodies. He adds a contact and a chip. But unless your lenses are very valuable and in mint shape, it's usually easier to just peddle them and get new glass. In any case Nikon does not do the conversions, nor do they do non-AI to AI conversions anymore.
Kodak makes many solid state sensors, and I assumed that they had made this one also. However, the sensor is made by another company exclusively for Kodak. The company making the sensor says that they will discuss making a "like" sensor for anyone else. I'm not sure what that means other than Kodak has an exclusive purchasing agreement for that sensor. It would be interesting to know what type of volume you would have to guarantee in order for them to make a sensor.***"Is it just me or have I fallen into an area that's even more gear driven, anal, male, than the audio side?"***
It certainly has the potential to be gear driven, although you don't have to fret over power cords, interconnect cables, or whether tubes really are better than solid-state. Some people only collect cameras and never use them (Leicas especially). Other people think they can buy a good photo with better or different equipment. While others like to be "seen" with their equipment (equivalent to them of owning a Ferrari).
Me? I think photo equipment is just a tool. But like tools, you can't fix everything with only a pair of pliers. I have many different cameras because I do a lot of different types of photo work. Like, right now, if I wanted to photograph outdoors I would use my Nikonos because of the snain (snow/rain) falling. I could comfortably take photos without any regard for the equipment being ruined by water, or having to take an assistant to hold an umbrella or other special measures.
I would suggest that you not look at photography as an art, but more of a sport - and have fun with it. It can be whatever you want it to be. It certainly provides a way to explore many different things from the world in general to your definition of self within a certain time and space. Whatever you do, make your pictures the way you see things and don't worry if they meet classical visual composition standards - that is the absolute least important thing in a photo.
You only have to remember the following "rules." There are only two types of photos - the interesting kind and the boring kind. Just don't make the latter.
The new Kodak 13.7 MP camera uses a CMOS sensor made by http://www.fillfactory.com/ working with Kodak. They offered the same deal to any other camera companies wanting to make a similar arrangement.They are using control subsystems from the N80 Nikon camera (autofocus, metering, etc.), but the Kodak camera is their own body and frame design.
It will be very interesting to see one. I understand that some of the dealers in New York have had visits from the Kodak representatives who showed up with several samples for folks to play with.
Tim
Insanity is performing the same process repeatedly, hoping for a different outcome.Albert Einstein
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