Hi guys, I'm new to the forum so a little about me though not new to photography.
The last time I seriously handled a camera was probably back in 2010 ( my D200 and Fuji S5 pro) and the reason for the long break was all down to life getting in the way but I knew that one day I would pick up where I left off as I've always loved photography, having started with a Yashica TLR which I bought used back in the mid-1970s.
I learned just about everything I know about photography with that camera, even how to shoot action shots and it was a great grounding for me.
I used to develop and print my own film and photographs and always had a darkroom right up to about 15 years ago when I first discovered digital. I was into people photography and used to specialise in portraits and boudoir glamour. Monochrome was my favourite.
I actually used my first digital camera ( Konica Minolta bridge camera ) initially as a substitute for the polaroid backs on my Bronicas which saved me lots of money at that time as the little camera was capable of very accurate manual exposure with a flash sync socket so I could set up both the exposure and frame the shot with studio lighting before transferring the settings to my Bronicas which meant I got more keepers out of each roll of film.
As there was no such thing as auto-focus on the Bronicas, everything was shot in manual with a hand held meter or using the Sunny 16 rule outdoors with a Metz flash for fill. The Sunny 16 rule still holds good today.
With few exceptions even when shooting with the D200 or Fuji S5, almost everything was shot in manual-everything mode with a Gossen meter for the exposure..
The other day I dug out my D200 and Fuji S5 pro and they both appear to still be functioning well enough. I still have a reasonable set of usable lenses which I suppose were the pro lenses of the 1990s.
I have the ubiquitous Nikon 50mm F1.4 of course a great lens apart from the chroma issue at wide apertures, the useful Nikon 35-70mm F2.8 which is probable still one of the best portrait lenses I've used and ultra sharp if you can get a good copy A Nikon 20-35mm F2.8 which I love using, a Nikon 85mm which is sharp and a great portrait lens for not very much money but the bokeh is not so good and then I have one of my all time favourites, my Nikon 80-200 f2.8 which is sharp right from the 2.8 throughout its entire focal length. It doesn't have image stabilising but it's a fantastic old fashioned pro lens
I have a couple of DX lenses, a Tokina 12-24 which is actually great for tight work and a Nikon 16-85 which I purchased for use as a walkabout lens but never got to use so I have just about all the lenses I need.
I also have a set of early Nikon mount manual lenses which I often used on the D200. It was fine for me as I was used to setting everything manually. The old manual 75-150 was an excellent lens if you could find a good copy as was the old 80-210, again if you could find a good copy of course,
I was so used to shooting film that when shooting with a DSLR, I'd always rather spend time using setting up the shot with a hand held meter for exposure and manual focus and frame the shot before pulling the trigger. That way I'd shoot just enough really good keeper shots than shoot hundreds of mediocre images and have to scroll through them to find a few passable shots, though I suppose it's each to their own.
Today I took the plunge and mounted my 80-200 onto my D200 with its motor drive after charging up the batteries which surprisingly still work. I then put a new battery into my old Gossen meter and stepped outside of my front door and took some shots at various focal lengths and I have to say that it all came back to me and the results were pretty impressive for such an old camera although at 800 ISO or above the noise is a bit noticeable but at 250 ISO they were very good.
My Fuji is a bit better than the D200 in lower light so we'll see how I get on with that when I take it for a spin tomorrow.
The Fuji S5 pro was always a good 'people' camera and used as a backup or even main camera for wedding shooting by many pros.
Today I noticed with the heavy 80-200 which doesn't have any stabilising, I was a little shaky with my D200 at first so I think it will maybe take a little while to get back to the steady hand low shutter speed shooting I used to do but I'm sure I'll get back into the swing of things as time passes.
One thing that surprised me was my old Gossen meter with the incident slide engaged still gave absolutely perfect exposure readings just as it always did, not bad considering its age and the fact it hadn't had a battery in it for 12 years which is good as it means I don't have buy a new one.
I still have my Bronicas and lenses so I might dig those out and even get out my developing gear with new chemicals and use the huge 5 x 4 Chromega enlarger with every conceivable extra that's just stood in my spare bedroom doing absolutely nothing. All I need is a bit of blackout curtaining and I'm all set.
Anyway, first things first, I'll start using my D200 and S5 cameras and see where I go from there.
If anyone wishes to chat about cameras the old days, I'm always up for it.
Tony