The end of the line for the mechanical FM series is this just discontinued model. It has both Aperature Priority and ability to function without batteries (mechanical shutter) without AE. Needle meter, too.
Posted on 01/12/2006 9:22:00 AM PST by Jack Black
I think I remember seeing it selling for around $150 for a good condition FG.
I wonder what I'm going to do with all my equipment. I've got a couple of 4x5 views, a whole Mamiya Super 23/Universal system that I've owned since it was new in the sixties, and my trusty Gossens to tell me what's what on exposure. Plus my ol' favorite Fujica ST801 tourist camera that has never given me one bit of trouble since I bought it in 1974. Museum pieces, I suppose.
I like my new D50 but the Universal w/250mm f5 lens weighs about ten pounds. Man, that's real hardware.
I'll hang onto my F3, but I'm enjoying the results with digital.
Mamiya C-3. Lovely camera.
That is very well put.
"I'm in the market for ... a small pocket camera for spontaneous stuff ...(fit in pocket size)."
We've been pleased with the Canon SD100 (now, I think it has evolved to an SD300) for that purpose.
As for Nikon losing, for example, the low-end digital SLR market to Canon, I don't think so - at least not anytime soon. We just bought a Nikon D50 SLR, which had comparable or better specs and was easier to use than the Canon at the same price point. (It's also cheaper by several hundred dollars than the Nikon D70, with no important - to us - differences in features.)
"Mamiya C-3. Lovely camera."
Owned a C-33 for a short time about 35 years ago. Burglars got in one night and I never saw it again. The C-33 had that rapid film advance crank and it used to jam up on me. Lost a lot of rolls of film til they replaced the plastic gear with a metal one.
I agree that film has more warmth to it, and is the preferred medium on large prints, however, even though I own a Hasselblad system, I haven't used it in over 4 years. I haven't shot my Canon film SLR in an even longer period. But I've owned 2 different Canon DSLR bodies in the interim.
Balderdash.
I do professional advertising photography and its how I have put food on the table for 25 years.
Digital is here for pros and it makes film look pretty sad.
I use the 16.7 mp Canon 1DsMkII and it smokes my medium format Hasselblads. Its more than enough camera to print stunning double page spreads in magazines and brochures. It's fast becoming the standard choice for many professional photographers.
I have a 48 mp Betterlight scan back that trashes any film I have ever put through my 4x5 Sinars.
39 mp single shot backs are now on the market for MF cameras for 30K.
Film is gone.
Still sad to see film cameras being taken off the market, but given where digital is today, and where it will be in just a few years (rgb pixels?) its understandable.
One night in 1968 I had several rolls of Tri-X containing photos of Bobby Kennedy registering in Indianapolis for the Presidential primary. Earlier that year I had photos of George Wallace, which, like those of RFK, were wiped off and placed wet into a Bessler enlarger to make deadline.
I now own Nikon digital cameras and look back with more than a touch of nostalgia, wondering how it would have been to have had digital cameras back then.
I still do weddings and other events on film, but on a less frequent basis. The images end up on a CD after all is said and done. Life is full of ironies....
Do the Nikon digital cameras still change the effective focal length of the older lenses? That's on disadvantage that has kept me from buying one. It's kinda odd that your 105/2.5 is now a 85/2.5 or something.
Yep, I'll be there for sure.....made my reservations at the first of the week. The PMA is such an impressive trade show....some of those displays are incredible, and must run into the millions to make and maintain. Awesome show....hope you make it!!
The end of the line for the mechanical FM series is this just discontinued model. It has both Aperature Priority and ability to function without batteries (mechanical shutter) without AE. Needle meter, too.
You must have skipped this line, or "completely" means something else to you:
Importantly, Nikon's film camera business will continue with our flagship model F6(TM) and with the FM10(TM), allowing the Nikon brand to continue serving the two strongest segments of the 35mm film camera market. Both professionals and dedicated amateurs who continue to view film as their preferred format along with students in need of an economical camera to learn the fundamentals of photography will have ideal Nikon products from which to choose.
Oh, I fully agree with all of that. I was just saying that for many, that sort of equipment is not affordable yet. Sure, someday a 40MP back might be available for the same price as a 20D kit. But until then, very high-res is only open to a certain segment of users via film. The workflow of digital is so much better; I fully expect people to changeover as soon as it becomes economical for what they're doing.
I even have the sheet film back and paramender. It's a wonderful camera. I particularly like the ability to remove the view finder hood and work with screen directly. I have frequently used sheet acetate to design a shot beforehand and then match the subject to the drawing on the acetate as it lays on the screen.
Hopefully I still will be able to get sheet and roll film for it for some time.
All of my old lenses are not autofocusing, and my understanding is that they will damage the new Nikon digital cameras.
It's too bad. I have a F2, titanium body, full kit . . . original lens, motor drive, battery pack . . . all bids welcome.
I've got one of those!
People, People. Film is not dying anymore than digital being dead for the last 5 years.
There will be a natural decrease in film camera use, but for many, (like myself) I plan on continuing using a 35mm camera for the foreseeable future.
My biggest complaint about Digital is that after getting a digital camera I never bothered getting anything developed. Basically all those "files" I have to keep for all eternity on CD or a hard drive are just waiting to be deleted accidentally.
Film is alive, but there will be a period where the market for film cameras and development will settle into its permenant position.
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