Merco_61

The problem with 3:2 is that it seldom, if ever, occurs in nature. There is a reason why paintings are seldom 3:2. It is either too oblong or not oblong enough.

Large format negs are usually either 5:4 or some kind of panoramic format and professional medium format 6x4.5, 6x6 or 6x7. 

3:2 before 35 mm was mostly snapshot cameras like the box brownie and the folders. The reason for the 6x9 format was probably that you got 8 frames from the same roll film as the 12 frame square format Kodak A without anything extra going to waste.

I think that the familiarity with the format from using the box brownies made it easier to accept the small cameras, even if they were expensive.

Time to bump this again.

What browser do you use? I just downloaded the files without a hitch using Safari on Catalina.

BTW, why do you *need* to update the firmware?

 

I just picked up a cheap Nikon 40mm f/2.8DX Micro to use with my DX cameras when copying slides and negatives. I really haven't even had a chance to try it out. But the AF-S 35mm FX lens that I have is a gorgeous lens with creamy bokeh,  so that's what I'll be using. Once the rain stops anyway. I almost took it and my D7k to the polls yesterday but I'm glad I didn't. We got hit by a major rain squall which, in spite of my umbrella, left me soaked to the bone.

 

--Ron

I tend to forget about the DX MicroNikkors as I have had them both and never bonded with them. The FX 35/1.8 is a favourite.

You might remember these threads, some years ago...

https://www.nikonfor...g-july-16-2017/

https://www.nikonfor...-march-18-2018/

I would much rather have a focal length of 40-45 mm, but Nikon have never made even a fastish 45 and the pancake 45 needs a film era focusing screen to be easy to use. 

The whole idea behind a challenge like this is to set a theme for going out and shoot. To me, it doesn't matter if someone uses a fast prime, a slow prime or a zoom to achieve a focal length equivalent to, say, 40-60 mm on film or FX. I wouldn't be surprised if I use a Holga 58/8 triplet some days and the fastish 50/1.8 some, with something like a 50/1.2 or a 50/1.4 in some version or other some days. If I can find it, even the Voigtländer 58/1.4 might see some use. There are a moving box or two with lenses in I haven't unpacked yet... I moved house on August 1.

What flash do you have? Does it need a transmitter in the 10-pin contact or in the hotshoe?

The focus ring on the screw-drive AF lenses feels awful compared to a lens made for manual focus. The 35/2 Ai-s has a bit too short focus throw for my taste, an Ai or an old Ai'd version is easier to focus precisely with their 190 or 195° throw rather than the 120° of the Ai-s.

The 35/1.4 Ai is a bit temperamental, but it draws the OOF areas beautifully. 

Nikon's 35-s have always been more interesting to my eye than their quite bland 50-s, with the exception of the f/1.2 versions. My favourite 35-s are the 35/2 O-Nikkor and the 35/1.4 Ai. The O is, of course, pre-Ai and needs to be converted to use on Ai bodies, but most of them have been converted either with a conversion set or by milling the original ring.

What version is the misbehaving 18-55? Is it AF-S or AF-P?

What version is the 70-300? AF-S, AF-P DX or AF-P FX?

Send it in. The mirror box in a DF/D810/D750 is a sturdy piece of reinforced plastic, but the lens mount is mounted using self-tapping screws that can cause damage to the mirror box when the camera is dropped. The same kind of drop would probably have bent the metal mirror box in the D300/D700/D800, making for a more expensive repair.

The D850 has almost a stop better dynamic range available at low ISO when you bin the pixels for print. This might be significant, or not, depending on your style.

If you like to shoot with a wide-angle, a superwide like a 14 mm is only moderately wide in its coverage when cropped to the DX format. Some of the best ultrawides for Milky Way and northern light shots on FX, such as the Samyang 14 mm have no equivalent on DX as the 10 mm from the same manufacturer shows significant CA.

For wildlife, the D850 can be cropped to the same AOV as the D500.

If you don't shoot much ultra wide, the D500 might suit your needs better, but the FX advantage at the wide end is very real. Only you can know which suits your style of nature photography better.

An F2A is one of the three Nikons I have had that became an extension of my hands from the start. The other two were the SP and the F4. Unfortunately, I had to sell off the F2 and the SP as well as my collection of S-mount glass some years ago when I needed new studio strobes.

I never bonded with the F2AS or the F2S I had, but I always liked match-needle better than LEDs for the light meter.

Do you have a multimeter so you can test the voltage of the battery?

If I remember correctly, it is the outermost slots that will give the 10.8 V nominal voltage of the full battery. Both the chamber and calibration lamps blinking in sequence might mean there's something wrong with the battery, usually either a deep-discharged battery or a dead cell. If it is a third-party battery, there might be something screwy with the battery monitoring circuit.

What I have dreamed about since the D700 days is the D700 ergonomics and build quality, but with a bit higher resolution, say 16-20 MP and the capability to take voice memos to annotate the files to help my memory out during post processing. This camera, supplied with a grip that can take a larger battery could easily be priced in the middle between a D850 and a D5 without scaring me off as a customer.

Does it release the film advance if you fire it on M250? M250 is the only mechanical shutter speed in the FA. All other are battery dependent.

If that works, you probably have oxidized battery contacts. Try to clean them using de-oxit gold or something equivalent. 

Does the meter work?