Which Nikon?

dana44 · Mar 13, 2007

Yea, Looking into getting a Nikon... But which one? I hope to get something an Auto-exposure setting so I can play with the aperture without worrying about fussing with the exposure and messing up rolls of film.

So which Nikon should I get... And what's the best lense for it?

Soeren · Mar 13, 2007

Hmm AF, MF or the best of both? Whats your subjects? How good are your eyes? Whats your pricerange?
For static things you Come a long way with manual focus so the FE and FM line will do. Some swear by the F3(HP) which has interchangeable wievfinder etc. The HP finder is larger and brighter so its easier to work with.
I have a FE2, F90X and a F100. The finders in the AF bodies are much better than the FE2 finder so they are easier to focus manually too. The AF is quite fast in both F90X and F100 though faster in the F100. So the FE(2), FM(2(N)) or an AF body like the F90X or F100 would be my sugestion. Some say the F100 is the best film body ever made. As For lenses see this site.
http://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html. Which lens to choose depend on you choice of subjects but a good one could be the 50mm prime ( Im not into zooms)
Cheers
Søren

Soeren · Mar 13, 2007

Just checked your posts. Why another camera? Why not use the ones you got already and make some pics?
Cheers
Søren

dana44 · Mar 13, 2007

Soeren said:
Just checked your posts. Why another camera? Why not use the ones you got already and make some pics?
Cheers
Søren

Took the Canon back... it broke, Needed the money to.

The Kalimar died.. The shutter got broke.. The Minolta.. well, it's MIA.

dana44 · Mar 13, 2007

Soeren said:
Hmm AF, MF or the best of both? Whats your subjects? How good are your eyes? Whats your pricerange?
For static things you Come a long way with manual focus so the FE and FM line will do. Some swear by the F3(HP) which has interchangeable wievfinder etc. The HP finder is larger and brighter so its easier to work with.
I have a FE2, F90X and a F100. The finders in the AF bodies are much better than the FE2 finder so they are easier to focus manually too. The AF is quite fast in both F90X and F100 though faster in the F100. So the FE(2), FM(2(N)) or an AF body like the F90X or F100 would be my sugestion. Some say the F100 is the best film body ever made. As For lenses see this site.
http://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html. Which lens to choose depend on you choice of subjects but a good one could be the 50mm prime ( Im not into zooms)
Cheers
Søren

My eyes are good, I like AF.. but can use MF. My subjects vary.. most of the time i am doing portraits... So I want a decent zoom lense with good aperture so I can get the Focus FX I want.. (Ex: Person in CLEAR SHARPNESS, and the background blurred)

I am usually outdoors... so a flash really isn't needed, but would be great.

Price range?? Hmm.. I really don't want to spend no more then $300

Soeren · Mar 13, 2007

If you want limited debth of field you need a fast tele, something like a 85mm 1.8 (2.0 will do) for portraits, a 135 f/2.8 wont be a miss either,
or the 180 f/2,8 and If you have the money and can find one the 105 f/1,8.
That should fullfill your tele needs. You probably still want something with a wider angle so the 50mm (again) and a 28mm either the 2.0 or the 2,8 AIS (20cm focuslimit) gives you good image quality. A package with either of the 28mm's the 50mm f/1.8 and a 85 or 105mm and the FE2 or FM2 is light compact and good quality. My first Nikon was the F90X and I quickly added up so I had a 24mm(Sigma) the 50mm and a 105(Sigma macro) although the Sigma were quite good they didn't give the image quality of similar Nikors.
I now have the 20, 50 and 85mm AFD Nikors and though I miss a 28mm they do almost everything I want from them. I'd recommend you stick with a three glass kit for liteness and ease of operation.
Cheers
Søren

Paul Howell · Mar 13, 2007

[
I am usually outdoors... so a flash really isn't needed, but would be great.

Price range?? Hmm.. I really don't want to spend no more then $300[/QUOTE]

A N 8008 with standard mid range zoom, 28 to 80 will under $300.

Paul Howell · Mar 13, 2007

Paul Howell said:
[
I am usually outdoors... so a flash really isn't needed, but would be great.

Price range?? Hmm.. I really don't want to spend no more then $300

A N 8008 with standard mid range zoom, 28 to 80 will under $300.[/QUOTE]

You can also add N 65, 75 or 80. All seem to be dirt cheap at the moment.

Richard Kelham · Mar 13, 2007

Paul Howell said:
You can also add N 65, 75 or 80. All seem to be dirt cheap at the moment.

Probably because they are about due to expire?

An FE2 with a couple of reasonably fast prime lenses should do what Dana44 wants NOT a zoom as even an expensive one (one that will more than blow your budget) will only give a max aperture of f2.8, plus a whole load of distortion...

I find AF cameras hard to focus in manual mode due to the plain screen. This especially a problem with wider angle lenses. Come to that I'm not overwhelmed by their capability in AF mode either.

Richard

Paul Howell · Mar 13, 2007

Richard Kelham said:
Probably because they are about due to expire?

From I read at Nikon the only film camers still in production are the FM 10 and F6, which is the reason that they are very inexpenisve.

It seems that a FE2 body alone is about $250, add a couple of primes and you are well over $300.

I dont like AF much myself but a good clean N 75 or 80 is a lot a camera for the money.

On the other hand a Nikormat with non AIS lens will last forever.

dana44 · Mar 13, 2007

Richard Kelham said:
Probably because they are about due to expire?

An FE2 with a couple of reasonably fast prime lenses should do what Dana44 wants NOT a zoom as even an expensive one (one that will more than blow your budget) will only give a max aperture of f2.8, plus a whole load of distortion...

I find AF cameras hard to focus in manual mode due to the plain screen. This especially a problem with wider angle lenses. Come to that I'm not overwhelmed by their capability in AF mode either.

Richard

You and me both... I hated using my Canon in MF mode... I prefer to have a MF camera body.. with an AE setting if thats even possible...

Paul Howell · Mar 13, 2007

dana44 said:
You and me both... I hated using my Canon in MF mode... I prefer to have a MF camera body.. with an AE setting if thats even possible...

The FE, FE2 FG, FG20, and Nikormat EL are all MF with AE and Manual setting.

mawz · Mar 13, 2007

As is the FA, the most capable AE body in the MF line.

Jim McD · Mar 13, 2007

N90 and N90s have been on several websites lately for $125 or so. It is a terrific camera with more capability than you may ever use. It is well constructed. You can go from fully manual to fully automated, with a bunch of places to rest in the middle.

snegron · Mar 13, 2007

If you want to hold off and "splurge" a bit more, consider the F3. Solid construction (will probably still be around years after the last roll of film is sold on ebay), great ergonomics, very accurate metering. I have purchased a few great F3HP's at KEH.

copake_ham · Mar 13, 2007

Actually, I think this "Which Nikon Should I Buy?" thread comes up about every 9.3 days!!!!

Couldn't the OP have done a site search first and have discovered all that has been said, and all that will be said in this particular thread?

film_guy · Mar 13, 2007

Why not get a F100? From what I heard from my Nikon buddies, it's one of the best modern Nikon bodies available, and they're cheap too since everyone's getting into digital nowadays.

Thanasis · Mar 13, 2007

Paul Howell said:
Richard Kelham said:

I dont like AF much myself but a good clean N 75 or 80 is a lot a camera for the money.

On the other hand a Nikormat with non AIS lens will last forever.

Click to expand...

I cut my teeth on the N75 (or F75 as it is known here) and it is a great camera. You can get one 2nd hand very, very cheap these days. The only problem is that it's a little small and bit plasticky and the metering selection is a bit convoluted in the various modes.

Stop me if you've heard this one before, but the F5 is still me favourite 35mm SLR ever! Really good AF, flexible metering options (matrix, spot, centre weighted)). Drawback? No matrix metering with AI lenses. :-(

Seele · Mar 14, 2007

Dana,

if you look at it from a different viewpoint it could be another one of those thousands of "which one should I get" threads, where each reply is like "this model works for me so get it" etc.

But to be realistic, you need to ask some basic questions.

Why Nikon? It might be the "reputation", or the perceived final product quality, etc. But you have to think in terms of the sustainability of your tools: viability in tems of expansion and repair, how well you can use it as a tool, etc.

Then you have to make sure you can stick to your requirements: very often you get something that suits your requirements and them a week later you say, "wouldn't it be nice if it had that function?" and you're back to square one. I see this every other day, and it can get very frustrating too.

My advice (after several false starts)...

Get the camera with the minimal feature you can live with, which is sustainable. In that sense it seems like a FE or FE2 would be quite sufficient. There are differences between these two models, and operation-wise I actually prefer the FE. But of course keep an open mind, YMMV.

timeslicer · Mar 14, 2007

Nikon FA with a 105 f2.5. Beautifully balanced and relatively lightweight. Top quality, and now thanks to digital very inexpensive.

Snapshot · Mar 14, 2007

I owned/own an FE, FA, F801 (N8008), F90x (N90s) and F100. Although the F100 was technically the most advanced and durable of this cameras, I really enjoyed my F90x the most. Considering the cost of picking one of this units is very inexpensive, they are now the best deal in town.

cancidas · Mar 14, 2007

depends on the need.
fm2 , if you want full manual control

dana44 · Mar 14, 2007

timeslicer said:
Nikon FA with a 105 f2.5. Beautifully balanced and relatively lightweight. Top quality, and now thanks to digital very inexpensive.

Dead Link Removed

you mean that?

and the lense:

Dead Link Removed

Paul Howell · Mar 14, 2007

dana44 said:
Dead Link Removed

you mean that?

and the lense:

Dead Link Removed

The camera body is listed as a FA, but it looks to me like a F 2.

Seele · Mar 14, 2007

So it's been said that Lens & Shutter of Vancouver BC had a huge stock of new FM10 cameras late last year; just a thought.

Which Nikon?

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