I started out with a Nikon FE2 and a couple of Nikkor AI-S lenses. I learned how to use this camera and how to take care of my equipment with it. I bought different focal length lenses and different cameras learning by taking lots of pictures. 35mm film was it! Or that’s what I thought… I was all in with film and the Nikon system and I still am to this day. A local lab processes and scans my film. I add it here in the appropriate pages and I continue to use this web site to track my progress.
35mm film photography is fun but sometimes frustrating and expensive. At times my pictures were out of focus, other times the processing sucked. One local lab blew a few of my favorite images and suggested that I “embrace the imperfection of film photography.” It was disappointing to work so hard at getting a good picture only to have it ruined at processing. Other times my photos were slightly out of focus because I was tired from hiking or simply just missed the sharp focus. The additional cost of film and time it took to get back the results contributed to my decision to look into digital photography. The photographs were instantly available with a low cost to learn ratio.
I researched and purchased the D780. I could use all of my AI-S lenses! I did not own one single auto focus lens at that time. I began investigating auto focus lenses and I bought the AF-S Nikkor 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 G ED VR FX which was a really nice lens to start digital photography with. I liked the results and wanted more. My research led me to the AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f3.5-5.6 G ED VR FX, a lens that did nearly everything. I loved that lens but I also secretly hated it. It was hard to learn what focal length I wanted, it just did it with a twist of the zoom ring. It just worked so well for everything but it was only good at replacing my decision at what focal length to use, the opposite of what I wanted in choosing a lens for a certain application. I sold it. It served its purpose yet now, I understand its purpose and it is a fantastic lens for what it was designed for. I just didn’t want a one lens kit. I now understand the application for that lens and miss it, really, but not really.
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| The quiver killing AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f3.5-5.6 G ED VR FX |
I found that I liked a certain type of Nikkor lens, they had many of the qualities of the AI-S lenses. All metal construction and like many say, “built like a tank.” The new G lenses aren't like that. They are made of plastic. They seem cheaply made but wow! The performance in them is amazing. There is a type of lens before the G series that I really enjoy and I wrote a little bit about them and there is a link to a dedicated page below. After review, I bought a small point and shoot camera. Sometimes I don’t want to carry a serious camera. The L35 AF is a sweet vintage Nikon with a sharp 35mm f2.8 lens that takes cool pictures. It is small and unobtrusive, and I love the vintage style, I’m a tourist with it.
Anyway, my lens kit is always changing. I love wide zooms, they are my favorite lenses. I also enjoy the telephoto Nikon 80-400mm AF-S f4.5-5.6 ED VR N G FX and the Nikon AF-S 200-500 f5.6G ED VR for options in longer focal lengths. Zoom lenses have improved so much over time but I still enjoy shooting with a prime lens too. The AF Nikkor 18mm f2.8 D is a favorite.
All of these lenses listed work with the my F6. That’s my favorite 35mm film camera and the cool thing is, I can manually focus them all if needed. I aspire to master the F6, I love the look and feel of film photography.
Speaking of film photography, recently I purchased a medium format camera, the Mamiya 645 1000s and I use a Mamiya M645 Sekor C 45mm f2.8. I meter the camera with a Sekonic L398A. That’s a whole other story to tell, I’m still learning how to set up photographs with this system. Already I’ve taken a few good shots with it. Medium format photography is contemplative. I can tell that the process of it is improving my skill set. The viewfinder, the lens, shutter speed and aperture is all manual, no internal light meter that sets shutter and aperture, I have to calculate that by measuring from my light meter and inputting into my camera. I am learning by doing.
That’s a brief overview and the lenses that I’ve bought, used, sold and still own. I’ve learned many valuable lessons on my own by using so many different lenses and it’s those hard earned lessons that have made my photography worth it.
I write about what I’ve learned by using my site to review my progress. Check out Photography Basics, It’s an article I wrote that embodies my review. I re-read and add or subtract to keep focused on what is important.
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Photography Basics is a page I wrote for self review.
This is a link to a reference page for identifying lens details: Nikon Lens Versions and Serial Numbers + Nikon Nikkor Lens Patent Database
Manual Focus
Nikkor 15mm f3.5 AIS
Nikkor 20mm f2.8 AIS
Nikkor 20mm f2.8 AIS
Medium Format Lens
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