Author Topic: Hello from Southern England  (Read 2405 times)

Bob.S

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Hello from Southern England
« on: September 07, 2020, 10:00:40 »
So, Why am I here?......Even I am not too sure and I have my doubts!   I have been coming and reading the pages here for some time, I'm not really a 'joiner' of groups and I'm a dissillusioned photographer Who has really given up on serious image making for many years....I have been pleasing my inner eye with snapshots and mundane record shots for my several other interests.   The trouble is; I have always been an 'image maker' for all these years since I started at age 11 with the Kodak 11A 'Box Brownie'.... quite a long time ago now.    Later, I was actually trained as a technical photographer before 'life' horrors hit me unexpectedly.......

The whole world is clicking cameras, mostly to produce more and more rubbish images that mean very little, to anybody!   My dentist has many expensive cameras and thinks he's a photographer.......Unfortunately, I have to help him pay for his illusion....    We are bombarded from morning to night with a great mass of visual 'stuff' so why on Earth should I want or need to add to this tsunami of rubbish?........'don't really know the answer..... I just like to make photographs, preferably large ones that are well composed, nice and sharp with lots of depth of field, points to catch the eye and lead the viewer into and thru the  image until they see what I saw,..hopefully! 

So why now?...why Nikon?   A couple of years ago my wife went shopping for a new camera to replace the M4/3 Panasonic that had been a 60th birthday pesent and which was so badly designed that she never did get her head around it's complexity.    By luck she saw and aquired a Nikon D3300 with small zoomlens and has not looked back...the thing NEVER misses any shot that she makes and performs beautifully with no problems or hassle....She is quite a good photographer and this so-called 'entry' model is her perfect tool, always in her bag.    It was only a matter or time until I started to borrow her camera and I found that the D3300 is brilliantly well designed for making images without getting in the way or needing any real input....you compose in the finder, press the button slightly to briefly see a fandango of tiny red lights which do something then push down smoothly and you have a perfect image!     Since this event, my images have been getting more intersting and more serious.....

So, I'm thinking that it's time to clear out my cupboard.....gather up all those film cameras and lenses and get them sold off,...sort out the half dozen tripods...check out the electronic flashes.......and perhaps aquire my own Nikon,...but, which one is the right one for me?

Hugh_3170

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #1 on: September 07, 2020, 10:09:06 »
Welcome.

Don't sell anything, especially the lenses and tripods, until you figure out what you wish to acquire in the digital world.  Many of yesteryears lenses can be beneficially repurposed on todays digital camera bodies.  The people on this site can help you here.

Here is just one example:  https://nikongear.net/revival/index.php?topic=9620.msg161998;topicseen#msg161998
Hugh Gunn

Bob.S

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #2 on: September 07, 2020, 10:24:57 »
Hugh,..thanks!   And yes, I did already see that topic with great interest as I have been surmising that my 180 Sonnar, Biometar and particulary my 50mm Flektagon might work well on full fram nikon, especially with stiched images.....

Erik Lund

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #3 on: September 07, 2020, 10:45:56 »
Welcome to NikonGear! Enjoy ;)
Good luck revitalizing your photographic journey! 
Erik Lund

Hugh_3170

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #4 on: September 07, 2020, 12:45:14 »
Bob, you have some interesting lenses in that lot.  Definitely don't sell them until you appraise how well they suit your needs on whatever digital platform you go with.

Seek out the posts of Dr Klaus Schmitt (formerly KDS135) who posts on this site.  He has successfully repurposed many film era camera, projector, and special purpose lenses onto digital bodies.

Hugh,..thanks!   And yes, I did already see that topic with great interest as I have been surmising that my 180 Sonnar, Biometar and particulary my 50mm Flektagon might work well on full fram nikon, especially with stiched images.....
Hugh Gunn

Airy

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #5 on: September 07, 2020, 13:39:23 »
Welcome!

Concerning rubbish output: photography has at least two purposes, one lies with the output and it had better be good, and the other one lies with practicing. To be compared with martial arts, where the kicks (or cuts, or ground-hittings) are no palatable outputs anyway.

Concerning cameras: they should not "stand in the way", hence your wife's taste for the D3300 and my taste for the Df. But I started experimenting with a century-old view camera, and I guess I'm going to appreciate the long liturgy that ultimately leads, if faithful and observant, to a single picture (not even a reproducible negative!). That's also a way to enjoy photography, maybe.

It is possible to go through crises, but impossible to get bored here :)
Airy Magnien

Jakov Minić

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #6 on: September 07, 2020, 15:23:19 »
Welcome, Bob.
You will most certainly receive enough advice on your future gear.
Free your mind and your ass will follow. - George Clinton
Before I jump like monkey give me banana. - Fela Kuti
Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem. - Woody Allen

Birna Rørslett

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #7 on: September 07, 2020, 18:15:47 »
Enjoy NG  and our lively, yet to-the-point discussions and do share whatever results you come up with. Ad by all means don't sell off existing equiment without learning what those lenses can do for you.

 A D3300 is pretty competent, I'm using the older D3200 for much of my scientific photography :)

Bob.S

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #8 on: September 07, 2020, 20:11:31 »
Thanks for the friendly greetings everyone!

Birna,........So the big quesion for me is;......if I shot an image with the D3300 and managed to borrow a Z6 to shoot the same scene, what would be the level of improvement that I could readily see in side by side A2 prints?

Birna Rørslett

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #9 on: September 07, 2020, 21:17:39 »
That would depend on the lens mainly. And your general technique, of course. 24MPix would need some post-processing anyway to get an outstanding print in A2 size. Entirely doable, but mind the processing steps.

For images that should end up as large prints, better technique means better final outcome. Thus, pay attention to the light, scene contrast, lens used, what aperture the lens is set to, and for the utmost support, a good tripod is a godsend.

DX vs FX often is a moot point these days as both system can produce great images. With the FX, noise tends to be better under control, though. Sometimes there is ever so slightly better dynamic range in the RAW file. However the choice of lens can remove most of such benefits, whether they are for real or just imagined.

Bob.S

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #10 on: September 08, 2020, 09:05:50 »
Birna,...Thanks for interesting reply! (Which I have noted).....You use a considerable collection of Nikon bodies, how do you determine when to use the FX 'Z' bodies?....Thanks for this help!

Erik Lund

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #11 on: September 08, 2020, 09:35:03 »
Not to take the words out of anybody's mount ;) But just for information I case anyone missed it; We have a dedicated thread on the Z system where there is a lot of really amazing information gathered already
 
https://nikongear.net/revival/index.php?topic=8075.0

But feel free to continue here as well of course ;)
For my part I just jumped at the opportunity adding a Z7 at a reasonable price and really enjoy using it! Highly recommended!
Erik Lund

Birna Rørslett

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #12 on: September 08, 2020, 11:01:27 »
Birna,...Thanks for interesting reply! (Which I have noted).....You use a considerable collection of Nikon bodies, how do you determine when to use the FX 'Z' bodies?....Thanks for this help!


Simple. If I need the electronic silent shutter for the project, I select the Z body that suits best for the given purpose. Meaning usually Z7 for for high-resolution macro, Z6 for anything else. Both systems then run off A/C. The Z50 is just for taking with me for fun shooting. I have no A/C adapter for it (however for my D3200 there is one).

Bob.S

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #13 on: September 09, 2020, 08:57:42 »
Birna,........Thanks for your last helpful post......I may have more questions later, sorry!

Erik...........Thanks, yes, I have looked at the 'Z' stuff several times,....I'm on page 41 of the 89 pages and will be working on it for a while yet!

Birna Rørslett

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Re: Hello from Southern England
« Reply #14 on: September 09, 2020, 09:03:34 »
You're welcome, Bob. However, if you have specific questions, I suggest these be posted to the appropriate board on NG.