I like film...(open thread)

[stray cat]

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Thank you Marc!

[Ouroboros]

On 5/7/2021 at 9:13 AM, John Robinson said:

There is a certain irony in posting a shot here taken with the Nikon F2, given that many consider the F and then the F2 the cameras that sank Leica as a first choice for reportage.  I used Nikons for years before I discovered the joys of the light weight and superb lenses of the Leica Ms, starting with an M2 before the M8 arrived (put an M2 or M9 next to a F4 or D700 and consider which you would rather carry around all day).  I dumped nearly all my film-era Nikon lenses after testing them on digital with one exception:  the Micro-Nikkor 3.5/55.  Put this on a digital SL and you have something quite remarkable. 

I swapped the Nikkors for Leica R-lenses which are superb on digital and more recently -- after looking back and considering that film has a "look" that is quite different from digital -- on a Leica R5.  While R-lenses can be adapted to Nikon (try a Leitaxed Summicon on an F for a very interesting experience), the Nikkors can't go the other way on Leica film cameras which is a shame when it comes to the Micro-Nikkor.  Of course there are the Macro-Elmarits and I have to admit to not having tried one (compare the prices they fetch with good examples of the Micro-Nikkors), so all I can say is that if there is one Nikon lens to hold on to, it is the Micro-Nikkor. 

Which brings us full circle back to the dilemma (on a Leica site):  how to demonstrate what a Micro-Nikkor can do on film -- of which your shot is an excellent example?  Maybe the Nikon F and F2 are so iconic that they can be given an honorary title of the camera Leica should have built in the 1960s?

I could never let Nikon go completely after over 45 years of using them for work.  I still have a silver FE which is still as good now as the day it was when new and it pairs well with the later silver 45p ai-s f2.8 as an attractive lightweight walk-around camera despite the lens not being one of Nikon's best.

I tested my old Nikon ai-s lenses quite thoroughly to decide if any would perform well on enough on a digital Nikon D810 to be worth keeping as I like the build quality and consistency of feel of Nikon manual focus ai-s lenses.  They all did quite well and I have kept a comprehensive set that I particularly like using on film and digital.

The 24mm f2.8 ai-s is great with no real vices, the 50mm f1.8 ai-s series 2xxxxx 'pancake' lens is very good indeed,  tiny and incredibly sharp in the central area with no distortion  wide open, the still available 50mm f1.2 ai-s has a lovely softness and artistic quality at wider apertures and is very sharp at smaller apertures, the 105mm f2.5 ai-s an amazing lens, small and razor sharp in the centre at full aperture and at portrait-working distances.  To keep within the standard 52mm filter size of many ai-s lenses, I also kept the 135mm f2.8 ai-s my longest focal length and it also does very well on the D810 as a bonus.

To be truthful, whilst these older manual focus ai-s lenses do not match the outright imaging qualities of my later Nikon f1.4G AFS lenses in most cases, I prefer using the manual focus lenses for their portability, solid dependability and the way they render on both film and on the 36mp D810.  There is a softer 'feel' to the images that I find pleasing.  My wife also enjoys using them on an old ccd sensor Nikon D200, the colours  have a Kodachrome-like quality and black and white conversions are very nice , especially in good light at base iso. 

There's a lot of mileage left in older manual focus lenses like these, they also encourage a contemplative approach to photography that's more rewarding than simply having a desire to own the fastest, sharpest, most expensive and 'best' of everything that Leica makes.   Prices seem to be rising, but many of these older lenses from the former 'Big Five' manufacturers are still a relative bargain on the used market.   

Edited May 8, 2021 by Ouroboros

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[Sparkassenkunde]

I come back to this interesting place not far from our home every once in a while:

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Leica R7 - Adox Silvermax 100 (dev. in Rodinal 1+25)

[atournas]

Rainy.

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[Charles Morgan]

2 hours ago, Ouroboros said:

There's a lot of mileage left in older manual focus lenses like these, they also encourage a contemplative approach to photography that's more rewarding than simply having a desire to own the fastest, sharpest, most expensive and 'best' of everything that Leica makes.   

I'll keep saying it to anyone who'll listen, the manual Nikon SLRs such as the FE or the FM2n with any Nikon lens gets you a brilliant film experience for a sixth of the price of an M6, in this case the 35mm f2. 

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Edited May 8, 2021 by Charles Morgan

[bags27]

33 minutes ago, Charles Morgan said:

I'll keep saying it to anyone who'll listen, the manual Nikon SLRs such as the FE or the FM2n with any Nikon lens gets you a brilliant film experience for a sixth of the price of an M6, in this case the 35mm f2. 

 

My FE was my main camera for 2 decades and I have great affection for it. But I find I use it now mostly as a "weatherbeater," and I suppose that's because the M4-P just gives me more joy. I prefer the minimalist approach in which I determine or guesstimate exposure values, and don't think about it again unless the light changes significantly. With the FE, I'm always looking at the meter on the left of the screen and overthinking things. But it's a great camera, and I use the 24 f/2.8 and 50 f/1.8 as well.

[Jon Warwick]

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London Eye with 5x4 large format camera, using Acros 100.

It was conveniently an exposure of 2 minutes, which needed no adjustment for reciprocity!

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[Jon Warwick]

and moving from the city to the mountains, but still on 5x4 large format film (Provia 100 this time) ....a view of Mont Blanc .....

I had both images drum-scanned to a size where the files open natively with no resampling at around 60" wide for printing at 300dpi

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Edited May 8, 2021 by Jon Warwick

[atournas]

Dense.

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[bags27]

3 hours ago, Jon Warwick said:

and moving from the city to the mountains, but still on 5x4 large format film (Provia 100 this time) ....a view of Mont Blanc .....

I had both images drum-scanned to a size where the files open natively with no resampling at around 60" wide for printing at 300dpi

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Those are both wonderful, Jon.

I had read elsewhere that drumscanning doesn't really improve B&W negatives. I guess what I read is wrong!

[bags27]

M4-P 35 Lux FLE Kodak Gold 200 in Cinestill C-41

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[bags27]

ditto

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[stray cat]

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hinnomunjie i 2021

rolleiflex, 80mm, velvia 50

 

[bags27]

4 minutes ago, stray cat said:

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hinnomunjie i 2021

rolleiflex, 80mm, velvia 50

 

Wow, Phil: you are really cashing in on Golden Hour! What wonder contrast between deep shadows and golden fields. And the tires seem to fall separately into different Zones!

[stray cat]

1 hour ago, bags27 said:

Wow, Phil: you are really cashing in on Golden Hour! What wonder contrast between deep shadows and golden fields. And the tires seem to fall separately into different Zones!

Thanks so much Ken. I never noticed that about the tyres (Australian spelling) - Ansel might have to rename it the "Tyre System"! I have a feeling there are a few more tyre pictures to come.

[dimm]

Spring park, 2021

Leica M2-R, 35 Summicron v1 8-element, Kodak Portra 800 converted to B&W

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[leicamour]

Yellow tulip

Leica M6 - 75Summilux - Velvia

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Edited May 9, 2021 by leicamour

[leicamour]

Me and Vincenzo Bellini the great Italian Opera composer in the lake of Como.

Leica M6 -21Elmarit -Velvia

 

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[atournas]

Barge.

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

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