Silly new topic - But I'm so excited....

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Lil Judd
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Silly new topic - But I'm so excited....

Post by Lil Judd »

my very first Nikon was a Nikon FM which was released in 1977. I bought mine in 1980. It was stolen out of my apartment with my then three lenses. I bought a new one about seven months later. It was stolen on a plane while in the care of my mother-in-law. :-( I bought another Nikon, a pro level camera, but I can't remember the model. Sold it when I got the Nikon N50. I sold it after I got the D200. Then I got a 50mm f/1.2 with which a N90s came along. I bought my D300 which is my main camera now. But I've not ever gotten over the loss of my original Nikon FM....

After many thoughts & thoughts & thoughts on the issue I finally decided to buy one on eBay. I found one near mint for a reasonable price & it has just arrived. I am so excited. I've put the 50mm AiS f/1.2 on & loaded a roll of film. My first shot is of my daughter. Tomorrow I may get a chance to go out to photograph. I will bring it along.

I remember the FM as a great camera, with excellent build. I had forgotten how well it's built. I am very pleasantly surprised at the FM - even after my D200 & D300. I'm looking forward to some fun shots with my new old Nikon FM where everything is manual. Back to basics.... ;-)

Just needed to share with other Nikon people....

Lil :-)
Lil :-)
Wishing you Golden Light & willing subjects. My ever evolving galleries can be seen at http://lilknytt.zenfolio.com/
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Re: Silly new topic - But I'm so excited....

Post by aclphoto »

Congrats on your new (old) camera!

I remember those days... film, darkrooms, AHHH.. the smell!

Post some of your photos so we can all enjoy your dip back into the past!

Unfortunatly, I sold off my film gear about 3 years ago when I felt (for my needs) that digital was better than film. I kept 2 F5s from that collection just for B&W at weddings... sold them about a year ago when I got my D3. My take on it is that if it sits in the closet for more than a year... I sell it.

Anyway like I said... Congrats!
Judson Crossland
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Re: Silly new topic - But I'm so excited....

Post by Guy Van Hooveld »

congrats with the new (old) toy... the FM is one of my favorites too... I perfectly understand your feeling. And those good old primes are just fantastic as well, but to be honest, when I want to shoot film, I now prefer to put a Velvia in my F5 and go shooting...
Guy Van Hooveld
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Lil Judd
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Re: Silly new topic - But I'm so excited....

Post by Lil Judd »

Thank you Judson,

I will once I get some. I was starting to explain to my daughter & she looked at me with an interesting smile. :-) I told her how easy it was & I could see she did not agree. :-)

I will post when I get the roll developed.

I normally would agree with you about if it sits on a shelf..... But I want to have a FM I get to keep. now, the N90s may well leave no matter how good that camera is. :-)

Thanks

Lil :-)
Lil :-)
Wishing you Golden Light & willing subjects. My ever evolving galleries can be seen at http://lilknytt.zenfolio.com/
Lil Judd
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Re: Silly new topic - But I'm so excited....

Post by Lil Judd »

Thank you Guy,

I will get some Velvia for the FM. I just have some regular film right now. That's all my camera store had in when I bought it.

Glad to know others understand what I'm talking about.

Lil :-)
Lil :-)
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aclphoto
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Re: Silly new topic - But I'm so excited....

Post by aclphoto »

Lil Judd wrote:Thank you Judson,

I will once I get some. I was starting to explain to my daughter & she looked at me with an interesting smile. :-) I told her how easy it was & I could see she did not agree. :-)

I will post when I get the roll developed.

I normally would agree with you about if it sits on a shelf..... But I want to have a FM I get to keep. now, the N90s may well leave no matter how good that camera is. :-)

Thanks

Lil :-)

:-)

The N90s was my first SLR... (I'm a young buck :-) I didn't get to live the FM days...

I got it back in the mid 90s... Loved that camera though... it made me ALLOT of $$$ with weddings back in the 90's... I went digital in 2001 (I think) with a D100... then went sraight to a D1x... D2x and D200 then I went for the D3 series... D3 and a D300... I don't think I'll get a D3x... My main focus is sports and weddings...

Anyway I was just checking back to see if you got your roll developed yet... :-)

There's nothing like 35mm B/W...

Gotta Love it!
Judson Crossland
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Re: Silly new topic - But I'm so excited....

Post by Lil Judd »

Judson,

I've not had a chance. I feel horrible about that. I could run to a close place, but they do a pretty average job of it. And we're just had a ton to do. I'll try for this week.

Lil
Lil :-)
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Lil Judd
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So not so happy with the result of my first roll...

Post by Lil Judd »

OK I know I went out in bad weather. I know I had a 400 ASA film roll and I know I was only testing the camera. But I'm a tad sad with the result....
Now I know there may be many reasons things look the way they do - but I'm still a tad sad...
I requested feedback on a board where I know there are a lot of people still shooting film. I told them - some shots are extremely grainy. I mean really bad. Shots are very pale - bad colors not at all what I'm used to from Nikon.... Some shots are too dark (probably me) but the weather was strange that day.... The CD they scanned in for me is absolutely horrible.... :-( Not worth the $ 5.00 I paid for it. There's dirt on the scans, but not on the prints.... Not that the prints look like anything either....
My concern however is at least two faint lines going horizontal across the shots. In some shots more visible than in the others.
Now I'm figuring it probably needs service & I'm hopeful this one place I know of will do it for me. They do Nikon, but I'm not sure if they'll service an old FM.
The horizontal lines have been my major upset. After I finally gave in & scanned in a few of the shots with my own scanner & uploaded to my site, the guys on the site have decided that it's not me, it's not the camera, it's the printing lab who've done a lousy job. The FM may be underexposing a tad, & I'm working on that to work it out. I may feel service is in order. That's if I can get to a place who'll service it for me.

Here are two shots showing the lines. Watch the top - two straight horizontal lines from one end to the other....

Image

Image

Best wishes for 2009 - I wish for you Golden light & willing subjects :)

Lil :)
Lil :-)
Wishing you Golden Light & willing subjects. My ever evolving galleries can be seen at http://lilknytt.zenfolio.com/
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