Looking for a digital path to film

semi-ambivalent · Apr 24, 2011

Hello,

I'm new here. I'm posting because we're doing some renovations on our house and I've decided to re-build a darkroom since I've been bitten by the film bug again. My son is 15 and is starting to become interested in photography but he, as he himself says, "wants instant gratification".

I have a couple Nikon Fs and an F3 and a mix of pre-AI and AIs lenses. I need suggestions for a Nikon digital camera that can use my lenses and has full manual as a fall-back mode but is cheap enough that, should his interest wane I've not lost a lot of money. (What I've learned is that it's easy to teach Photography; what's hard is teaching patience. Especially to a teen-ager.)

Thanks,

s-a

Bromo33333 · Apr 24, 2011

I think you may be wanting to go with a digi Nikon 'D' deries in order to use your lenses. But if you want some sort of instant gratification, why not just use the camera on your cellphone or a quickie point n shoot?

Then again ... I am a film curmudgeon.

mopar_guy · Apr 24, 2011

Welcome to APUG.

I find that with kids, it is best to provide an example and over time you may or may not have an influence. Also, darkroom work is very addictive and a kid who can make a black and white photo the traditional way has a skill that very few of his peers can match. Good luck!

jovo · Apr 24, 2011

Your son, like I did and perhaps you did as well, may only fully understand the allure of working traditionally when you build the darkroom, and he's there to see the image develop in the tray. It was magical to me, and I'm sure it may also be to him. When patience is rewarded with magic, it's a lot more tempting to be patient.

Someonenameddavid · Apr 24, 2011

Its not a digital forum, but what about a panasonic or olympus micro 4/3 camera with a nikon adapter
The GF1 or GF2 look sufficiently like a cheap P&S digi so the wife won't yell about "more camera junk" but you can use all of your Nikkors albeit in a mode that slows you down and makes you think about what you are doing. They are small.

However my next purchase will be a 2x3. Or 3.25x4.25 speed graphic if the price is right

David

fstop · Apr 24, 2011

The problem is even though manual lenses will mount on Nikon digital cameras you lose metering functions if not all of it.

I think starting with the D200 you can use manual lenses effectively. You would have to check on the amatuer cameras to see which ones will work with manual lenses.I would check them starting with the D70s.

No matter what you do, to fully utilize metering with manual lenses you are going to spend a considerable amount of money... probably more than you want to risk without knowing that there is a stronge interest.

CGW · Apr 24, 2011

Try to find a Nikon D40 body. No metering with manual lenses but who cares! Buy the kid a meter.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Apr 24, 2011

I think your son meant that he wants instant images plus instant focus. I dont think your F lenses will suit him plus I dont want to bring like that but I hated Nikon digital cameras images. They are as possible as far from the film look. May be you can think a polaroid camera and a impossible project film.
When he spends 10 dollars per shots , he would learn to be more cautious .
To be a subscriber to APUG costs 10 dollars and have thousands of best quality images at the gallery.
Show them to him and when he finds he could not create the same look with digital , he would go back to film.
I think he read somewhere these words but tell him not every good composed sentence does not mean true , I think politicians will be his best friends at the future.

Umut

bwrules · Apr 24, 2011

Rather than show pictures from APUG's gallery, I would show photo books of published photographers instead. Avedon for example.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Apr 24, 2011

Yes , Avedon , Cecil Beaton printed on paper would be impressed him.

LyleB · Apr 24, 2011

D70 or D100

I would suggest one of these for a relatively inexpensive digital body that can take advantage of some of your lenses. Either is available right now at KEH for about $250 in EX condition.

You didn't say what your budget is. These are older technology, so if the budget is bigger, then there are many other options, with prices to match.

I have a D40 and D90 and I use some of my old manual focus, lenses. Some have metering limitations, but most all post AI are usable.

Worker 11811 · Apr 24, 2011

semi-ambivalent said:
My son is 15 and is starting to become interested in photography but he, as he himself says, "wants instant gratification.

One of the things that most people don't like about film is having to send it out to be developed but we have our own darkrooms. We don't have to send our film out.

Depending on our setup and our skill level, we can go from taking pictures to producing finished photographs in a couple of hours. Sometimes even less.

Sure, if you use a digital camera, you can have your images on-screen in seconds and print them in minutes. However, if you want quality, finished photographs you are probably going to spend nearly as much time editing your digital pictures on the computer screen and printing out on a high quality digital printer as you would have spent in the darkroom.

Further, if you want really good quality digital prints you might even end up sending them out to a lab to be printed.

Or you could have just developed and printed the photos in your own darkroom.

The difference is that *YOU* get to be in control of the entire process, from start to finish, if you make your own photos in your own darkroom. Unless you want to spend quite a few clams on expensive photo printers and computer equipment to operate it, in terms of instant gratification, it all ends up being a wash. Doesn't it?

Damn! Where did my instant gratification go? I know it's around here, somewhere! :confused:

Shaggysk8 · Apr 24, 2011

Find a nice 15 year old girl that shoots film he will soon become interested

But knowing boys as being one, I would listen to my dad, I would build the darkroom and they will come.

Paul

jerry lebens · Apr 24, 2011

A second hand D200, D70 or D90 would all do the trick. So what, if the meter doesn't work, the overexposure warning gives you most of the information you need to make good digital exposures. Besides, focussing and adjusting the aperture manually are excellent ways of learning how to do it the 'old fashioned' way, it may give him a taste for film...

Worker 11811 · Apr 24, 2011

Shaggysk8 said:
Find a nice 15 year old girl that shoots film he will soon become interested

But knowing boys as being one, I would listen to my dad, I would build the darkroom and they will come.

Paul

Well, as the saying goes: Photographers do it in a darkroom!

elekm · Apr 24, 2011

To be fair, a 15-year-old boy today has way too many distractions, from video games to cell phones to YouTube -- all on-demand. And that doesn't even factor in girls.

To have to wait for anything is asking a lot of any teenager, particularly today.

Still, I think the D40 would be a good choice. And I also would show him how you process film. See if he finds it fascinating when you pull the wet negatives out of the tank. If the reaction is, "Hmmm ... interesting," I would go a low-cost route. If he expresses true fascination, then show him how prints are made.

Good luck with the darkroom. I need to process some film today from a Pentacon Electra.

ArtTwisted · Apr 24, 2011

for metering you need a D200 or D300, D300s or above, A used one of these would be a good way to go although its a rather large camera. Focusing with the small viewfinder is all but impossible accurately and fastly though, and im 19 with near 20/20 and a photography student and throw a fast prime on my d300 in manual focus and its hit or miss 50/50.

fstop · Apr 24, 2011

ArtTwisted said:
for metering you need a D200 or D300, D300s or above, A used one of these would be a good way to go although its a rather large camera. Focusing with the small viewfinder is all but impossible accurately and fastly though, and im 19 with near 20/20 and a photography student and throw a fast prime on my d300 in manual focus and its hit or miss 50/50.

The view finder on a D100 is no smaller than the F3 which I use for action shooting.

I would look for a D200, a D100 and hand held meter will cost as much as a D200. If you are going to add that much manual work you may as well get an old F with no meter at all.

Marco B · Apr 24, 2011

Can't this discussion be moved and continued on DPUG?

fstop · Apr 24, 2011

Why? The purpose of the thread is to find a way that leads to film.

mopar_guy · Apr 24, 2011

fstop said:
Why? The purpose of the thread is to find a way that leads to film.

Right. You cannot load film into these digital Nikons previously mentioned. For that you need a film camera.

David A. Goldfarb · Apr 24, 2011

All the cool kids shoot analogue these days.

www.lomography.com

blockend · Apr 24, 2011

If he wants an instant digital buzz, avoid DSLRs and their quirky dials and opt for a P&S compact. If he actually cares about dials give him a film camera.
I can understand youngsters wanting a picture quickly, but the best way is to carry a camera in a pocket, not haul a damn great DSLR around. It'll probably live on a shelf after the first few weeks.

fstop · Apr 24, 2011

blockend said:
If he wants an instant digital buzz, avoid DSLRs and their quirky dials and opt for a P&S compact. If he actually cares about dials give him a film camera.
I can understand youngsters wanting a picture quickly, but the best way is to carry a camera in a pocket, not haul a damn great DSLR around. It'll probably live on a shelf after the first few weeks.

P&S won't take the manual lenses he wants to use.They also don't train for using a film SLR which is the purpose of this exercise.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Apr 24, 2011

I had been bought few skateboard magazines and I really impressed with multi image record of a skate boarders actions. May be he wants to do that or a similar project in his mind.
There are many famous teen photographers in this business. Ask him that does he wants a video recorder , they are cheaper than the photograph machines and have lots of fun.
I think showing him Cecil Beaton will be equal to teach texas girls to how to act when they meet with the Queen Elisabeth , this is serious thousands of girls get education of that .

Umut

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