Does anyone but me use old 35mm cameras anymore?

Got my Minolta 35mm SLR with some nice 125 Ilford B/W right on the shelf. It's old but it's one great camera.
 
I havent shot film in quite a while
i first learned to shoot with a Pentax Me Super (it was and still is my father's camera)
when i moved out of home i bought myself a cheap digital, and when it got stolen, a Canon 350d, got a bit better at photography and now i run a almost top of the range canon 1dmk2n and my wife has a canon 40d.
i love digital for the ability to take hundreds of photos (im a motorsport photographer on weekends, camera tech during the week) and then delete the really bad ones, and it only costs me a couple of bucks for the dvd to write it too afterwards.
i do have an Olympus OM-2 that was given to me by my wifes uncle, so far i have only put one roll of film through it, i really must give it another go
 
I have and still use a Zeiss Ikon Contax 2A, which cost back in 1951 over $600 including the extra cost carrying case. Had to add a light meter, and optional lenses, and would hate to think what that would be corrected to todays inflation damaged dollars. Have had to send it back for shutter repair, (after 48 years of use). The great old lense are what set these apart from most, and some time ago, I took my Son's Pentax along with my Contax on a trip, as he wanted some special pictures, on his camera. I dropped off three rolls of film at a local quality developer, and when I went to pick it up, the owner was brought out, asked what camera the 2 rolls of film had been shot with, and attempted to purchase the Contax, sight unseen, more or less to get his hands on the lense. I have optional Nikon lense to fit it, and while good, are not as sharp.
 
glockman99 said:
...... I also bought (and received) a very nice Nikon Nikkor AI 43-86mm f/3.5 lens to go with my F3HP, and that is one of the most SOLID, smoothest lenses I have ever held in my hand!......QUOTE]

I know what you mean about that being a smooth lens, I had a chance to use one of them for a quick roll once.

I have a 35-105 macro Nikkor that I use on a FG20. The zoom range is IMO, just about perfect for general use. I would say that it gets used 95% of the time.

Bruceter
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Here's my old Olympus from the 1960's, half frame 35 mm, still works fine and needs no batteries.

I also have:

- A Nikon Ftn from 1968 with 50 mm and 43-86 zoom (yes, smooth) lenses, the frame counter doen't work but otherwise it's fine.

- A somewhat newer (early 1990's IIRC) Minolta X-9 with 35-70 zoom lens.

Truth is they don't get used much anymore, (have been borrowed by relatives and friends occasionally).

Luis


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One thing I noticed about the older camera equipment is that when it's all put together as a "system", it weighs a TON! I have my Nikon F3HP, Nikon MD-4 Motordrive, Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4 lens, and Nikon SB-16A flash unit (on a Stroboframe bracket) put together, and I swear, it must weigh 20 pounds!...Heck, just the (12) AA batteries alone (8 for the motordrive, 4 for the flash unit) weigh more than the Canon Elan IIe, with 70-300mm lens, that I had a couple years ago.:D.
 
Have you thought about picking up a Nikon N6006 or N8008 for the occasions you'd want a motor drive?

I kind of want to get a good manual focus lens for my F3 now, but to be honest, I like the camera a lot more than I like the film.
 
Jennifer_B said:
Have you thought about picking up a Nikon N6006 or N8008 for the occasions you'd want a motor drive?

I kind of want to get a good manual focus lens for my F3 now, but to be honest, I like the camera a lot more than I like the film.
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I actually have a pair of the excellent Nikon N90s cameras, but I still like my old F3HP better. I'm not sure why, as the N90s can go full manual, but the F3HP just has that "feel" to it that the others don't.
 
glockman99 said:
...Heck, just the (12) AA batteries alone (8 for the motordrive, 4 for the flash unit) weigh more than the Canon Elan IIe, with 70-300mm lens, that I had a couple years ago.:D.
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I found that the lithium AAs, as well as speeding up flash cycle time, weigh less than regular ones. Made a noticeable difference to the weight of camera w flash.
 
macdo said:
I found that the lithium AAs, as well as speeding up flash cycle time, weigh less than regular ones. Made a noticeable difference to the weight of camera w flash.
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I think I'm going to look into some 2700 AA rechargeables...Those can also be pretty light in weight.
 
glockman99 said:
I think I'm going to look into some 2700 AA rechargeables...Those can also be pretty light in weight.
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NiMH cells are significantly heavier than other AA cells

Some weights from Energizer's data center (just as one example)

Lithium AA 14.5g
Alkaline AA 23g
NiMH 2500 mAh AA 30g

I still use NiMH's extensively for their convenience, environmental impact, cost, etc.... but weight is one of their drawbacks, not one of their benefits
 
ThinkOfTheChildren said:
NiMH cells are significantly heavier than other AA cells

Some weights from Energizer's data center (just as one example)

Lithium AA 14.5g
Alkaline AA 23g
NiMH 2500 mAh AA 30g

I still use NiMH's extensively for their convenience, environmental impact, cost, etc.... but weight is one of their drawbacks, not one of their benefits
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Dang...I need less weight, not more...However, I DO like the way the weight of the F3HP & motordrive (with those 8 AA batteries) makes the camera "settle in" to where I can take a pretty sharp hand-held photo down to a pretty slow shutter speed. Some of the newer, light-weight cameras tend to "bounce around" alittle too much for me.
 
Well, I went and bought ANOTHER old 35mm film camera...A Nikon FA (black body) as a "back-up" to my Nikon F3HP...I even bought a Nikon MD-15 to go with it...Another couple good buys at "the 'Bay"...:).
 
glockman99 said:
Well, I went and bought ANOTHER old 35mm film camera...A Nikon FA (black body) as a "back-up" to my Nikon F3HP...I even bought a Nikon MD-15 to go with it...Another couple good buys at "the 'Bay"...:).
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I have bought a couple of lenses, a flash gun, and hotshoe adapter for my old Nikon F Photomic Tn. The lenses were marked "for parts or repair". I fixed the one tele-zoom lens. The wide angle-short tele-zoom is in pieces parts. I also got a 2X doubler lens that takes the 210mm zoom out to 420mm. I have also gotten a 2x doubler for my old Canon AE1-P. All EBay deals, and well worth the money.
 
Is the FA one of the Nikons that had a 1/8000 of a second as the fastest speed? A friend of mine was able to get a pic of the shot coming out of a shotgun with one of those. It made for a pretty cool pic.

Bruceter
 
Guys. don't get the high capacity AAs, just buy Eneloops
Those high capacity 2500/2700mAhs have a serious problem of self discharging, sometimes as bad as totally discharging in 48 hrs.

Anyone doing 120 or 4x5?
 
I just bought some Tri-X 400 for my dad's old Yashica-D. Gonna play with it at some friends' wedding tomorrow. The closest lab to me that'll mess with 120 is about 45 miles away, though.


On a side note, we found one of my dad's old reports from his photography class when he was in high school. He got an A+. :cool: :D

622dfab9.jpg
 
Bruceter said:
Is the FA one of the Nikons that had a 1/8000 of a second as the fastest speed? A friend of mine was able to get a pic of the shot coming out of a shotgun with one of those. It made for a pretty cool pic.

Bruceter
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No, "only" up to 1/4000...It does flash-synch at 1/250, 'tho, where my Nikon F3HP is 1/2000 for top shutter-speed, and only a 1/80 flash-synch.
 
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