Very new to the 35mm photography i've played around with advanced P&S & a few mini-DSLR's, i've recently brought myself:

A Vivanco VS-33 Tripod
Lowepro TLZ1 Gortex Carry Bag
Nikon F55 Camera with a Nikkor 28-100mm 1:3.5-5.6 G Lens
12 x Kodak Pro 35mm
6 x Vista 200ISO & 6 x Kodax Standard 400ISO

i recieved this all today and have already wasted 3 or 4 films snapping around my local city looking for different shots, just to see what the different settings produce on film before i start using good or reasonable film.

Anyway, i realise that i am going to need a lens with a lower aperture for action shots, despite what i was told this camera take shots suprisingly quickly, and has a very good shutter speed from what i have seen.

What would you all recommend for me to get lens wise? Preferably not to expensive..

The lower the aperture the better really, and obviously the bigger the zoom, the better.

Ie whats a "good quality" lens thats not too expensive, that would suit my camera?

That's a pretty good zoom that you've got - I used to have it until I trashed mine. I replaced it with an f2.8 zoom which is pretty much as fast of a zoom lens as you'll find. I have this lens (http://thkphoto.com/products/tokina/afl-04.html) which is f2.8 throughout it's zoom range, so it's less than a stop faster at the wide end but a little more than a stop faster at the long end (which is 80mm).

It's really not all that much faster, but sometimes it helps. What I mean is that you won't see a dramatic difference with it over what you've already got - you'll have to get prime (non-zoom) lenses to get much faster than it. I'd keep the 28-105 and maybe add a 50 f1.8 which can be had for under $100USD. In low light situations, you'll really need to use faster film like 800 or even 3200 b&w.

What kind of problems are you having, can you post a sample?

Oh i'm not experiencing any problems, i have yet to have any film developed from this camera as i only recieved it early today.

I have just brought a 135mm 1:2.8 Prime lens M42 & an adapter for £26 ($43 odd) brand new off ebay with no reserve :) Which i presume from i've been looking at will be a nice addition for the price.

I am completely new to the whole scene of 35mm, my other half and i our taking a once in a life time trip to Captiva Island off the calafornia coast, and visiting miami in a 3 week trip as a gift from a family member, from what i have read about the island it's incredibly beautiful and is abit of a dreamworld of stereotypical palm strees lining the shores e.t.c

anyway, i want to have a good set of equipment to take with me to capture this holiday, i also typically take alot of photo's of sport (action shots) which i have yet to do with this camera and see the results.

What do you mean about 800 film or 3200 b&w film?

i presume you mean ISO 800 / 3200?

Doesn't an ISO 800 create a grainy texture on the photo?

What do you mean about 800 film or 3200 b&w film?

i presume you mean ISO 800 / 3200?

Doesn't an ISO 800 create a grainy texture on the photo?
Yes, yes and yes. If you're in low light situations, using fast film is sometimes the only way to get any shot. The general rule is to use the lowest ISO speed you can get away with, but ISO400 neg film is really good and there isn't much ISO100 even available anymore (probably because of this). There are some ISO160 pro films, but unless you're taking them to custom labs you really won't see any difference with them (at a mini lab they aren't really any better).

ISO400 should handle most all of what you need but you might want to pick up a couple rolls of faster film if you think you'll need it. Have ISO800 and faster hand checked at airport security if possible (although the rule may be ISO1000 and higher). I hear that the Fuji 1600 color neg is useable too (again, versus not having a shot) but I have no personal experience.

Color neg films (well, really b&w neg too) don't work well if underexposed. Two stops of overexposure will give you a much better print than just a little bit of underexposure. Since fast films are already grainy, it's more important to be careful with exposure. I usually set ISO800 films at ISO400 (or the next setting faster, can't remember the exact number) or ISO400 at ISO250 on my camera so it automatically overexposes the film a little bit. It's kind of an insurance policy, in a way.

I have used Kodak's T-Max 3200 and Ilford's Delta 3200 black and white films, usually setting the camera to expose at ISO1600 which ends up with a lot less grain (although this is part of the appeal of these films, it's a different look). They're not general-use films, and I would experiment with them for the first time on anything important. Ilford Delta 3200 is less grainy in my experience, but Kodak has a really great look to it. Try them sometime if you have a good b&w lab that you can deal with.

The problem i face here is that my camera (although a good starter camera for me) does not have the option of manually setting the ISO. The camera automatically runs the film @ ISO200 if the film doesn't use any DX or DXn, although most films do, and then it autodetects it and sets the ISO accordingly. Hence, if i buy ISO800 i will have to run @ ISO800.

Really all this information is interesting and no doubt worth knowing, but i have no intention at the moment to utilise such things as ISO3200 negatives, i would just like to have the information & knowledge behind me so that i can utilise my camera in the best way possible, producing the best quality shots i can.

Hence the questions :)

can you get ISO600 negatives?

Silly question:
If i want to take black & white photo's, do i use B&W film, or can i, i presume take them on standard negatives & have them printed in B&W?

Also what do you think of the lense choice? reasonable for the cost? - i was just going on the basic knowledge of what you guys have given me over the last few days as to aperture and the different types of lenses..

I've never seen ISO600 film before - ISO640 would be 1/3 stop slower than ISO800 so maybe at one point in time something existed, but not sure on that one.

Don't worry about the ISO3200 stuff for now - it's a lot of fun but a whole different world. Wait until you get used to "normal" films first.

Nothing wrong with the F55, and the fact (that I didn't know) that it can't change ISO speeds. There are companies that make DX code stickers to fool the camera, but don't worry too much about it. Just get to know how the camera meter works and if you're in a situation where you think you might have underexposure, then use the camera on "manual" mode (assuming you can do this). Check out Kodak's book series on photography and you'll learn a lot about exposure.

If you're not doing B&W yourself or using a lab that specializes in B&W (I'd really recommend neither at this stage of the game) then I'd recommend the C41 (color process) black and white films. Kodak has one that I think currently is called BW400CN. I've had great luck with this type of film as long as the lab knows how to print it. A "better" lab like one at a camera store would probably be a good choice, the one-hour places sometimes end up with a color cast on the prints.

This isn't always true - you may find a decent one-hour and a horrible camera store lab. I know of one of each where I live, but it took some trial and error. Generally, camera store labs should be better than grocery stores... At this stage of the game, I wouldn't spend the money on high quality labs. You'll learn a lot from just shooting a lot of film and having it processed at a reasonably good inexpensive lab. If you have a budget, you'll go much farther with this route than shooting less and paying for more expensive processing. Some of the stuff I mention is good to know about (IMO) but may be of more use in the future, like the ISO3200 films, developing yourself, etc. Now get out there and shoot! :D

Just 2 corrections to this thread

Steve... he owns a 28-100G kit lens, not the more superior 28-105 ;)

and

Roots.. Captiva is just beyond sanibel island (which is over the causeway from Ft Myers) in FLORIDA , unless California has a Captiva island too. You are correct that the area was amazing when I was there, but a hurricane went over that area a few years ago and did major damage. You will want to see DING DARLING on Sanibel ! Even non nature people appreciate eagles, osprey, wading birds close up and ALLIGATORS too ;)

Captiva is WORLD RENOWNED for the shells on the beach and the beaches are as picturesque as they get IMHO.

So with that said....

Bring alot of film, because the area is going to demand alot of images.

Might I suggest getting a 70-300 zoom and use 400/800 iso film for action images from a tripod :) The 70-300 lenses are not too expensive, but are just as "fast" as your current lens(which BTW is capable of great images too)

My suggestion with important images on film(family images, vacations....) is to use a GOOD quality lab to develop and print your images.... not all labs are the same :)

Thanks very much for your responses, i realise captiva had a hurricane go over it : )

It's also just reopened and had $15Million just on the beaches e.t.c spent to make it like new because of the money it earns as a resort.. :) it won't be the same but it will still be good.

Steve... he owns a 28-100G kit lens, not the more superior 28-105 ;)
Oops... The 28-105 is a big step up, I hear. No personal experience with the 28-100 but the 28-105 is a very good lens for the money. This lens and the 50 f1.8 are a pretty good setup other than a 70-300 like Paul mentions. Nikon has two different versions - the "G" lens which is probably on par with the 28-100 you have, and the "ED" lens which is also good - probably comprable in quality to the 28-105. I've used the "ED" and was pretty impressed with it.

I am not joking about how beautiful that area was. If it is only half as nice, you will still be quite pleased. The sunsets are simply amazing too !

I recieved my camera 2 days ago, since then i've brought:
Sigma 135mm f/2.8 Prime Lens (New)
Sigma 70-210 f/3.5 (New)
5 NeoPan 100 B&W

Some women on ebay was apparently brought them for xmas but doesnt have a camera, and listed both sigmas in the wrong section & miss spelt, no one bid on them, i missed the chance as i was too late bidding so i msged her and she sold both Sigma's including 12 month warranty unopend & boxed for £50 ($89) including delivery. (how good at haggling am i : P )

Good eh?

Photographed and processed some of the Neopan 100, man that stuff is so fine grained! - The pictures come out gorgeous, took some great one's of my girl ;)