Digital Photography - Need Advice

[Werewolf]

I've had photography as a hobby for a long time (like since '71). My equipment is all 35mm and consists of a Nikon F2 (bought that sucker in 1972 - still works like a champ), a Nikormatt and a Fujica. Each of these is 30 years or older. I've got a wide range of lenses (also 30 years old) as well as various attachments.

BUT! It is time to go digital.

I'm looking at the Nikon line of digital SLR's (gotta be an SLR and since my 35mm Nikons have worked flawlessly for over 30 years I'd prefer Nikon). There's a lot to choose from and I know squat about digital and what specs count and what specs are just glitter.

I have a bellows attachment for my Nikons that I use where you put a slide in (every thing I do is done in color on slide film) and then copy it (most everything I print is in black and white). Is there something similar for digital so I could move some of my past work to digital formats.

Are the old Nikon F2 lenses compatible with the new Nikon SLR stuff? If not what would be a good starting set of lenses that cover the range (35mm equivalent) of 28mm to 200mm along with a Macro lens?

What Nikon SLR would y'all recommend? I'm not terribly concerned about price but would like to keep the camera with one lens to below $1000 if I can. Any online camera dealers where one can get a good deal?

Inquiring minds want to know...

[mtnbkr]

I like the D70 (there's a new D70S out, but I haven't seen it).  However, at your price range, you'd either need to catch a good sale or drop down to the D50.  The D70 is similar to the film based N80, the D50 is like the N75.  Same sensor, but fewer features, IIRC.

I don't know about their digital cameras, but I know there are issues using older lenses with newer Nikons like the N80.  Older nikon auto cameras don't have a problem.  I'm not sure if the digital bodies are affected or not...

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d50.htm

Chris

[garrettwc]

Wolfie, get the D70 with the 18-70mm kit lens. Get it from http://www.bhphotovideo.com and you should ring in right around $1000 or so after rebates.

Go to the website mtnbkr posted and go to this "How To" section. Everything you ever wanted to know about digital and the specs to look for (and which ones are salesman BS)

Getting your slides digitized? That's easy. You could do that long before digital cameras. All you need is a film scanner. Again, Ken Rockwell provides good answers: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/scanrex.htm

[Werewolf]

Thanks Guys...
Will check out the links. Looks like Good places to start...

[Werewolf]

Well - I did the research and it seems that the D70S is one of the best if not the best Digital SLR on the market in it's price range. The fact that it's a Nikon too is a big plus for me.

Went out and bought it this afternoon. Best price I could find on the internet with the 18-70mm lens was $1199. The camera store I got it at sold it to me for that price. I picked up a 256Mb CF card (made by transcend - it's what the camera store guy gave me - $39 - not on Nikon's approved list - will that be a problem?) and a UV filter (I always keep some kind of filter on my lenses).

Battery is charging now as I peruse the Bible sized owner's manual - Geeeez - ya gotta be a rocket scientist with an IT department just to turn the darn thing on - well not really - but it is way more complicated than operating my F2.

Tap-Tap-Tap - when's that darned battery gonna be done...

[garrettwc]

This thread is now worthless without pics

Only way to know about the CF card is to try it and find out.

Geeeez - ya gotta be a rocket scientist with an IT department just to turn the darn thing on - well not really - but it is way more complicated than operating my F2.

Put the manual down and play with it a little bit before reading the manual. It will suprise you how intuitive it actually is. Nikon did their homework on making it user friendly. Also, there is a DVD tutorial for sale at the camera store link I gave you that will teach you some of the advance features in a simple step by step method.

[Standing Wolf]

I've discovered the proverbial "hard way" that skipping the Nikon manual is a lot like skipping the Photoshop manual: once you finally read it, you're going to feel awfully stupid for not having done so a long, long time ago.

[garrettwc]

Well I didn't really mean skip it entirely. Just meant to point out that the D70 is user friendly enough that you could at least get a quick start without reading the manual.

[mtnbkr]

Based on the couple minutes I spent with one over a year ago, you could start out as easily as turning it on and making sure it's set to full auto mode.  That's how I started with my N80.  As I grew more comfortable with the idea of an automatic camera, I started customizing the settings and learning features.

Chris

[Brad Johnson]

You will quickly find that your new digi will help you polish your skills to a great degree. Being able to see and immediate (albeit small) result of your shot has helped me greatly. After more than two decades as an avid amateur photog, my dragged-along-kicking-and-screaming switch to digital has opened my eyes to a whole new realm of possibilities.

If you REALLY get into photography, your next purchase should be a copy of PhotoShop or some other pro-level photo manipulation software. It is the perfect addition to your new digital tool. Like some others have said, I didn't read the manual before beginning and had no idea the power of the tool I had at my fingertips.

Taken on an older Canon 300D (Digital Rebel - 6.1 Mp)...

For a full size image of the pic below, click here

[don]

The Nikon D70 has had some problems and Nikon has repaired them at no charge.Sorta like a recall.

[Werewolf]

This thread is now worthless without pics big_smile

Working on it...

Not terribly satisfied with the preprogrammed modes though Auto works OK. I thought I could preset white balance in the auto modes but it seems only in P/S/A/M modes can that be done. I'm old fashioned I guess I prefer the A mode and letting the camera pick the shutter speed unless it's low light or moving subjects.

I've got a few quicky nature pics and a pretty good portrait of my grand-daughter and one of my grand-sons done while just foolin' around. The Show me your Cowboy Action Rig thread on THR has a quick pic of mine done on the D70 (crappy background and crappy lighting).

One thing I'd like to figure out how to do is keep the color mode in IIA but it only stays there if I'm in P/S/A/M mode. As soon as I revert to one of the pre-programmed modes color reverts back to mode I I think.

I know what S/A/M are for but WTF is P for?

[don]

Werewolf, P mode stands for program mode. In this mode the camera sets the shutter speed and the aperture.
S=shutter priority; you set shutter speed camera sets aperture
A= aperture priority;you set aperture camera sets shutter speed.
M=manual you do it all.