The NIKON Thread (Talk About Nikon Stuff here)

[philodox]

Yeah, after further reading I decided the same. The FM10 isn't anywhere near as robust as their earlier cameras and isn't even made by Nikon...

[dj_mocok]

Hayduke, generally speaking, with D80 if you go under matrix metering and using A mode, it's best to leave the exposure compensation at -.03EV or -.07 EV.

Usually it will give better result. But then again, at times you will have more varied lighting, if that's the case just adjust it accordingly. That's the only thing that I don't really like about D80, the metering can be slightly off . They can call it 'preserving highlights' or whatever excuse, but it's just not as accurate as, say D200 in my opinion. With D200 I hardly got this inconsistency unless it's really expected (bright backlight, dark foreground, etc)


But you'll get used to this very quickly anyway because it's only a few button press once in awhile. But I wonder how you could actually go home with so many incorrectly metered images? You didn't check it from the LCD as soon as you took one picture? I think it's a good habit to check your picture quite often because sometimes we can just do something stupid and keep taking pictures without realising something (eg. accidentally left the camera under M when it's supposed to be A - I did this quite often actually)

About auto ISO, I never turned this feature on. I personally would rather have control over ISO because I don't really want to use higher ISOs unless it's really necessary, and sometimes I'd rather retry the shot again than bumping the ISO. But if you haven't got all the time you can have then maybe auto ISO is better.

Also was there any specific reason why you were shooting at f/22? I think if your lens is pretty wide and you are shooting scenery, won't f/16 (max) is enough to make everything in focus? If it's because you need to slow down the shutter desperately I think it's better to use ND filter than stopping down like that.

Also for high ISO noise reduction, just set this to minimal because with high ISO. your details are sacrificed bad enough already, and you don't want to make it worse.

[philodox]

Sorry to spam your Nikon thread, but one more quick question. Are there any good camera forums that sell used gear? I've been looking around at some of the Nikon specific ones, but the volume seems to be quite a bit less than head-fi, and I'm sure there must be a forum out there that cators to crazy camera people.

[bigshot]

Originally Posted by philodox

Anyone have any experience with film [negative] scanners? I was thinking that if I can find one that is inexpensive but performs well, I could use it to 'develop' my pictures rather than taking them in to get done. Then my only expense is the film itself.

You still have to get the film developed. Many labs now send back your negs with a disk full of scans. I think Costco does this.

See ya
Steve

[bigshot]

Originally Posted by philodox

I'm sort of on the fence right now. The F2 is so cool, but I'm worried that if I get one it will break down and I'll be SOL.

The F2 is built like a tank. You can drop it on concrete and it will still work. I don't think it's possible to wear one out under normal use.

See ya
Steve

[philodox]

Originally Posted by bigshot

You still have to get the film developed. Many labs now send back your negs with a disk full of scans. I think Costco does this.

See ya
Steve

Really? I've been looking at scanners that just scan the negatives. I figured I could just pop the film out of my camera and scan away. Shows how much I know about camers.

[bigshot]

Originally Posted by dj_mocok

About auto ISO, I never turned this feature on. I personally would rather have control over ISO because I don't really want to use higher ISOs unless it's really necessary.

Also was there any specific reason why you were shooting at f/22? I think if your lens is pretty wide and you are shooting scenery, won't f/16 (max) is enough to make everything in focus?

Also for high ISO noise reduction, just set this to minimal because with high ISO. your details are sacrificed bad enough already, and you don't want to make it worse.

Auto ISO only cuts in if the shutter speed gets too slow to handhold. It really is best to leave it on, especially with the newest generation of Nikons.

Stopping down to the smallest aperture won't get you sharper pictures. The sharpest f stops on most lenses are the ones in the middle.

The higher the ISO, the more need there is for noise reduction. If it becomes a problem, you can shoot raw and turn noise reduction off in the camera- apply noise reduction in post processing to your taste.

See ya
Steve

[bigshot]

Originally Posted by philodox

Really? I've been looking at scanners that just scan the negatives. I figured I could just pop the film out of my camera and scan away. Shows how much I know about camers.

Exposed film has to be developed into negatives at the lab. Then you have the negatives made into prints, or scanned to digital. You really don't have to worry much about this. Places like Costco take care of all this for a few bucks a roll.

Here is more info on shooting film... Film and Printing

See ya
Steve

[philodox]

Thanks for the link, I've got so much to learn about photography... its a little daunting but rewarding in the end I think.

[OverlordXenu]

I would check out apug.org as they are a website that is completely dedicated to analog (film) photography, and they will be much more able to answer your questions than we can. Not to mention, there is much more to film than negatives.

I would start out with a few rolls of Ilford HP5+ 400. Find a good B&W lab to develop and scan them for you (I may have one in mind).

Personally, I would not trust 1 hour labs like Costco or CVS, unless you know what kind of work they do at your personal location. I've seen the way many of them handle film, and it makes me scringe. Not to mention their scans tend to be really ****ty.

Also, I shoot Ilford Delta 100 (processed into slides and scanned by DR5), Fuji Velvia (a local pro lab processes this for me), and Kodachrome. I have been meaning to try Fuji Astia, though.