Hello,
my name is Albert, I live between Paris and Kiev where I work (and where I purchased a Soviet-era camera, a FED5, but that's another story). I joined your community because I am currently changing my gear and I have a question regarding Nikon FF DSLRs and manual focusing: I shoot film, not exclusively, and one of the reasons for doing so, besides the sheer fun of using old gear and processing film, is the experience. One of my film cameras is an Olympus OM2-n, with a TTL light meter, no autofocus, and a split-screen + microprism. Using this camera is pure joy for the slow type of photography I do: composing, selecting the depth of field on the lens, adjusting shutter speed, using the focusing ring of the Zuiko lens until the point where it is just right, pressing the shutter. This is an experience that I describe as nothing short of spiritual when I get lyrical and which I am not able to reproduce with my DSLR, a Canon 6D, because the EOS system really doesn't want you to focus manually. The focusing ring of the EF lenses is uneasy to handle and very few Canon EOS cameras accept natively a split-screen. One of these who do is the Canon 1V, a film camera, which I have but the lens issue is the same, obviously. Having said that, one nice thing about the 1V is that in manual focus mode it will tell you when and where you are in focus. As much as I do not like the lens moving by itself and taking decisions for me, or having to select focus points by clicking buttons and rotating wheels, I find this assistance unobtrusive.
Anyway my conclusion is that if I want to try to reproduce this film experience with a digital camera I have to change lenses, with the only alternatives I know for lenses designed for manual focusing on Canon EF mount being Zeiss (expensive) or Samyang (bulky). Because I find that the 6D's main selling point is the full-frame but everything around it is just so so, I intend to change the body too. At this point I am perfectly happy switching to another system.
One thing that I find attractive with Nikon, at least on paper, is that it is still possible to use Nikkor manual focus lenses on a modern DSLR. Looking at Nikon's website, several AI-S lenses are still available for sale. I am aware that for a split-screen I will have to use a third-party focusing screen, but that's a compromise I will have to make.
So, for those of you kind enough to have read me so far, my questions are:
- Do you use manual focus Nikkor lenses such as the AI-S on modern day Nikon DSLRs and are they pleasant to use? Do they however exchange information with the body, e.g. do they forward EXIF information on aperture? This one is a minor point for me, but nice to have.
- Which FF would you advise in this context, if it makes any difference? I was thinking of the D750. The Df would be nice, but it seems expensive.
Hope I haven't been too long and boring.
Sincere thanks in advance for your replies,
Albert
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