The price to performance of used cameras is absurd. My view is that digital photography tech hit maturity in 2008 with the release of the Canon 5D Mark II and Nikon D700.
There is an overwhelming amount of professional gear out there at rock bottom prices. Consumer gear can be a blast when it’s cheap enough. The right camera for a style of shooting is going to be better than whatever the newest camera happens to be. (Unless you’re doing sports/action/wildlife. AF tech is getting absurd.)
Third Party Battery Paranoia
I have had batteries fall apart, fail within months, and with a capacity far below what’s on the label. It’s difficult to find good quality third party batteries.
There is an easy way ANYONE can inexpensively capacity test camera batteries. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to capacity test camera batteries. It is a simple DIY project that only requires, ~$30, a screwdriver, and pair of wire strippers.
Picking Out Vintage Lens Winners
All lenses aren’t equal, especially when it comes to vintage and early digital camera lenses. Modern lenses will give you images that are razor sharp corner to corner. Vintage lenses can set themselves apart by how they render, the color you can get with them, interesting bokeh, or other characteristics not valued by current photographers.
On the other hand, many vintage lenses are not good. Their performance may not be good enough to set them apart from other lenses. Worse, as time has gone on some lenses have defects such as haze, fungus, balsam separation, or degraded grease, that will render them worthless because of the difficulty in repair.
I’m somewhat indiscriminate in my purchasing of gear, so I get a mix of good, bad, and average. The lens reviews will help you find a lens worth owning. These are popular film cameras that recieve frequent lens questions.
This guide will show you how to load film into your Nikon FG and make sure the camera is functioning properly. If this is your first time using your Nikon FG, make sure to read through the before you load film section.
Before You Load Film Check the Batteries The Nikon FG has an electronically controlled shutter with a mechanical 1/90 sec (M90) backup. In order for the shutter to operate at all shutter speeds and for the light meter to work, the FG needs good batteries.
This guide will show you how to load film into your Nikon N4004. Before loading film, it is important to make sure the camera is functioning properly so a roll of film does not get wasted. If this is your first time using your Nikon N4004, make sure to read through the before you load film section.
Before You Load Film Check the Batteries The Nikon N4004 requires batteries to operate as it is fully electronically controlled.
This guide will show you how to load film into your Nikon N50. This will also show you how to make sure your camera is functioning properly so you don’t waste a roll of film.
If this is your first time using your Nikon N50, make sure to read through the before you load film section.
Before You Load Film Check the Batteries The Nikon N50 requires a battery to operate as all functions are electronically controlled.
This guide will show you how to load film into your Nikon N65 and how to make sure the camera is functioning properly. If this is your first time using your Nikon N65, make sure to read through the before you load film section.
Before You Load Film Check the Batteries The Nikon N65 requires batteries to operate as it has an electronic shutter and built-in motor-drive.
The Nikon N65 uses two CR2 batteries , which can easily be found in stores and online.
This guide will show you how to load film into your Nikon N90 and how to make sure the camera is functioning properly. If this is your first time using your Nikon N90, make sure to read through the before you load film section.
Before You Load Film Check the Batteries The Nikon N90 requires batteries to operate as all functions of the camera are electronically controlled. It uses 4x AA batteries.
This guide will show you how to load film into your Nimslo 3D and how to make sure the camera is functioning properly. If this is your first time using your Nimslo 3D, make sure to read through the before you load film section.
For more information on the camera, you can see the Nimslo 3D camera page.
Before You Load Film Check the Batteries The Nimslo 3D has an electronically controlled shutter.
