First SLR, have i made the right choice?

[Roots]

Hi all,

I'm rather new to the whole photography scene, i first got into photography when i was taking photo's for websites i was designing, using point and shoot APS's, then i moved to digital, then i brought a high end P&S (Cybershot T33) which was v.nice, then i brought a Fuji S5600 Mini-SLR digital camera which was very nice.

I've been through quite alot of digital cameras just out of interest really, and have got to the point where i am taking some very nice manual photo's. (as manual as u can get with digitals)

anyway, i sold my S5600 with the intention of buying an SLR, of course i then realised that digi-SLRs are very expensive, or atleast out of my range. So i was playing around with some cameras of a colleague whom is a professional photographer for the F1 scene and he suggested a Nikon F55 35mm SLR camera, now i found one second hand and have brought it for £100 Including delivery (14 months old), and is in very good condition, i have brought it through a local photography shop and it's in the post atm.

I was wondering does anyone have any opinions of this SLR camera at all? i realised that its a "beginners SLR" but any opinions or experiences would be much appreciated.

[photophorous]

Hi Roots,

I think the F55 is sold as the N55 in the US. I have an N75. I'm not sure of the specs on the N55, but I suspect it is very similar. Your autofocus will not be super fast, but that's not a big deal unless you shoot a lot of action shots. My N75 lacks a B shutter setting, for long exposures, which is kind of annoying. You can buy a remote control that will let you hold the shutter open indeffinitly, which is probably worth buying if you want to do long exposures or minimize camera shake. My N75 also lacks a mirror lock-up feature. I've never used such a feature, but I've read that it will help make your landscapes or telephoto shots sharper, by minimizing shake from the mirror flap. That's most important at slower shutter speeds, and a good sturdy tripod goes a long way to overcome that. It probably won't be an issue for you. Those are really the only gripes I have, and they are not big.

The most important thing is to buy good lenses. This camera body may not be something you'll use for a long time, but the lenses you buy will work on any other Nikon SLR body, and I think the DSLRs too. The body is relatively inexpensive. I'm sure you can learn a lot, and take some great shots with your F55, and when you're ready to upgrade, you'll still have your lenses.

Good luck!

Paul

[Speed]

I agree with Photophorous, you have a great starter camera. I started with a Nikon N80, and now I have a F5 as well. And as Photophorous mentioned, invest in good lenses. They can be used on more advanced cameras (F100, F5, F6), and even the digital SLR's.

[livin4lax09]

welcome to the beginning of a very fun time. But be prepared to save your money. I know I started out with a beginners film SLR, and before long I was convinced I need a DSLR. So I saved up my money, and got a digital rebel. Now, I've outgrown that, and I'm saving up money for a 1d. But your camera will be just fine for learning on. It's very good to learn the fundamentals on a camera that doesn't have all the bells and whistles on the higher level cameras. Sometimes its also better to have a slower AF, and a slow frame rate, because it helps you learn how to pick your shots better. Good luck with the recent purchase, and I know you'll have a blast. Next comes the dark room It's a blast.

[Roots]

Thanks for all the replies guys, i've read some very good reviews on the camera.

It comes with a Nikon 80-100mm lense i believe.

I was wondering, i was reading a few reviews of the camera and it said it has a quick shutter speed for fast shooting of action shots (example: sports), i do take alot of photo's of Rugby as my younger brother plays high division rugby.

Could you enlighten me at all as to what settings / lens are best for action shots?

I mainly take scenery shots or action shots, one of the main events i wanted to buy this camera was because i am going away with my girlfriend to an island called Captiva in the gulf of mexico, covered in golden beaches, dolphins, palm trees and some of the best sunsets you can imagine to witness.

Basically i am low on cash due to the holiday and sold my other two digi cams (T33 & S5600) to go towards it, i realised what a stupid idea that was and needed another one.. obviously a film camera SLR is better than a crappy digital camera, and will forfil my need for a more manual camera.

Also what type of film should i use? My friend said for the type of shots i'm looking for i should think about buying a few Velvia films - what would you recommend?

[another view]

I wouldn't recommend Velvia for action shots - far from it. The original Velvia 50 (which won't be available for long, may already be gone) is horrible with skin tones and very slow in speed at ISO50. Some people expose it at ISO40, and you're not going to stop a lot of action with film that slow. The new Velvia 100 is supposed to be better with skin tones but it's still not that fast at ISO100.

If you do want slide film, it will depend on the light that you're shooting in. Most slide films are ISO100, so trying the Velvia 100 might be OK but I was always a Provia 100F fan, personally. Provia also comes in 400F but it's expensive and hard to find. Excellent film - almost impossible to tell the difference between 100F and 400F and you get the advantage of two stops.

Backing up a bit, the settings are determined by the light level. ISO film speed really is sort of one of your exposure settings, but you can only change it by changing the roll of film - unlike shutter speed and aperture which can be changed for every shot. If you have enough light at ISO100 to use the shutter speeds and apertures you want, then use ISO100. If not, then you'll need a faster film. Kodak publishes some good books on understanding exposure. If you'd rather use neg film (print film) then most films are ISO400 anyway. Some situations call for faster film than this, and I've used black and white film up to ISO3200 but you're best to use the lowest ISO speed you can get away with to get the best results.

Here's an old rule of thumb - the Sunny 16 rule. Your shutter speed will be the inverse of the film's ISO speed at f16 on a sunny day in summer (not a cloudy day, not at sunset, not during winter when the sun is low...). It's not as bad as it sounds - if you've got ISO 100 film then you would be at 1/125 (closest shutter speed to 1/100) and f16. If you want to stop action, you'll need a faster shutter speed so you might use 1/500. With this, since the shutter speed is two stops faster, you'll need to add two stops of light with your aperture - which would be f8. Hope this makes sense...

[Roots]

So by standard i should use F16 with ISO100 if the lighting is as you say a very clear sunny day.

I believe i have put my foot in the deep end of it..

Perhaps you could enlighten me as to a more all round setting i should use or all round ISO..

Realistically i'll just be starting to use the camera with simple person / scenery shots, but i want nice person / scenery shots, then as i get more used to the camera i can play around and learn more about action shots e.t.c

an ISO200 / ISO400 seem to be the most readily available any opinions? and what manufacturer / model?

[livin4lax09]

if you're going to be shooting some sports, you're going to want to carry some 100, 200, and 400 film. 400 more than anything else. 100 will be good for sunny days, and you will be able to get some very high shutter speed to freeze your action quite well. ISO 200 is better if it gets a bit darker. 400 will be your best all-around film. when things get quite a bit darker, you can push your 400 film to ISO 800. Just make sure you let your developers know that you did so, and tell them to push the film in processing to compensate to ISO 800. When you shoot sports, you'll want to shoot with the lens wide open. set the biggest (lowest f number) aperture that you can set, and adjust your ISO and shutter speed accordingly. Sometimes things will be too bright even for ISO 100 to handle, so you'll have to compensate by using a smaller aperture. I understand this stuff can be confusing, and if you're confused by anything I just said, let me know.

[Roots]

Could you explaing about aperture / "the f number"?

This is all much appreciated.

[livin4lax09]

aperture is how wide the lens opens. The f stop determines the aperture, and the lower the f number, the wider the lens opens. I forget the actual equation, it's something like "lens length/width of aperture=f-stop" or something like that. Lenses with a f/1.8 open much more than lenses with an aperture of f/5.6. did that make more sense?

[Roots]

Yes thanks very much

So why are different apertures suited to different photo's? ie: say a light day, or at dusk e.t.c

IE: why would you use (for example) f16 for xxx and f5.6 for xxxx

[photophorous]

Hi Roots,

The wider the aperture, the more light the lens lets in. A wider aperture allows you to use a faster shutter speed. Faster shutter speeds are usefull to stop action, and to prevent blurry images, due to camera shake.

The aperture also effects depth of field. Depth of field is really just the depth of the area which will be in focus. If you focus on your budy Joe, who is 10 feet away, at a large aperture (small f#) the back ground and forground may be blurry, while Joe is still clear. If you use a small aperture (large f#) it will all be in focus.

I recommend you shoot some practice rolls to see what different shutter speeds and apertures do. Pick a scene where your subject is in the middle, and there is a definite foreground and background, and shoot that scene at a range of apertures, from high to low, taking notes. Do the same kind of thing for different shutter speeds, taking pictures of a few subject in motion.

That will give you a good idea of what different apertures and shutter speeds do. Even if you already know the theory, actually seeing it helps. Then it's just a matter of using the combination that gives you the correct exposure and the desired effects.

Good luck, and have fun!

Paul

[another view]

So by standard i should use F16 with ISO100 if the lighting is as you say a very clear sunny day.

The other guys have it pretty well covered, but think of it as an equation. This exposure will let in the right amount of light to properly expose the film, but I rarely use this method. I do use it to double check my camera's meter reading, knowing that it should be close to this - and also to figure out what film speed I'll want to use.

If f16 at 1/125 and ISO100 film is the proper exposure based on the amount of light you have, there are a lot of other options to consider. 1/125 won't stop a lot of fast action, so if that's what you want you might use 1/500 and compensate by opening the lens two stops to f8. Or if you need 1/1000, use f5.6 as your aperture. Usually you won't have this much light to work with so the shutter speeds start dropping quickly. Suddenly you're at f2.8 and not stopping action - this is the time to break out faster film.

If you're using neg film, always err to the side of overexposure - it can handle two stops of over exposure much better than one stop under. IOW, you might think of it as the "sunny 11" rule and plan to overexpose one stop.

[Roots]

Thanks alot guys, all this information is really appreciated

I've brought some test rolls of ebay in bulk, 5 x iso 100 / iso 200 & iso 400 Kodaks for £10 including delivery (27 Exposure). So i'll have a play around with it

- I'll post back some pictures i take if they are any good

- 3 months till i goto the gulf of mexico, captiva island & miami, so going to take about 300 exposures with me for the two weeks.

[livin4lax09]

another word on the f stop thing.

If you're shooting sports, always shoot with your lens wide open. aka a low f number. it allows better background blur, and helps to isolate the subject, which is what you're going for in sports.

[ajuk]

I started with a Fuji 610 Digital, I now use a selection of manual focus 35mm camera and a few P&S film cameras I got really cheap, I am also looking to get an F80 to somwhat replace my OM system, one thing I wouldn't do is sell my digital camera, so I would not have recomended you to sell yours, As for the N55, I have not used one but I an not sure if the AF will be sufficient for what you want.

Oh yeah and stay away from Kodak consumer film, use Fuji or Kodak pro.