Intro.................

[Smitty001]

Hello, all. I'm a sorta newcomer, both to photography and to this forum. :-) I've been in photography off and on since '86 when I unknowingly took an intro to photography class in college. Little did I know, I would be hooked forever! ;-) To make a long story longer (just ask my wife, she'll tell you I love to make long stories longer... :-)), my Pentax Pn3 that I learned on, was stolen with all my gear in '96, and I finally replaced it with a venerable Nikon F3HP, only to have to sell it so that I could put a new windshield in my minivan so I could move. :-( I have just this year FINALLY found a used Nikon N80 and 50 mm lens, and so have been able to get back into a hobby I loved. I will be posting some pictures here and there, mostly to learn about my new camera and re-learn stuff that I have forgotten. WOW! Technology. *grins* I thought I stepped forward in time 30 years when I went from that F3 to that N80. ;-) See ya around. :-)

Greg

[another view]

Welcome to the forum, we're all here to share the knowledge. Too bad about the gear being swiped! Actually, F3's were available new until just recently (maybe some places still have them), but the N80 is a pretty amazing camera. It should keep up with you for whatever type of photography you are in to.

[Smitty001]

*laughs* Yeah, well, there are places that do still sell the F3s; that was the first thing I looked for, since all-manual cameras where what I knew and was familiar with. My looking lasted about as long as it took me to find that the average price was going to run me over $1,000. Something about still needing to feed the kids and keep a roof over their head, or something. ;-) What really impressed me about that F3 was the thing was doggone bullet-proof. I had rescued it from a friend who was going to Korea, and it had been sitting around his house after his wife threw it through a wall. There was a substantial dent in the metal housing that holds the prism and eyepiece, and there was a layer of dust an inch thick thorughout the innards because it hadn't been stored with a cover of any kind. But $125 later to get it cleaned up and such, and it was running like a champ. Still had the dent, but the metal case had done it's job and the prism was undamaged.
Oh, and one more thing, just a question. How do I get all those smilies to appear in my posts? And thanks for the welcome. :-) This seems to be a nice group of folks around here. :-)

Greg

[Charles Hess]

Welcome to the group. We'll look forward to seeing some images from your newfangled N80. My very first camera was a beat-up F3 with 50/1.8 lens. Traded it in long ago for another tank, the F4, but it was and is still a fine camera. The N80 has proven to be one of, if not the best, of the consumer film SLRs. I hope you enjoy the site...lots of good people and talented photographers here. :-)

[Chunk]

* Oh, and one more thing, just a question. How do I get all those smilies to appear in my posts?

You click on the one you want in the 'Smilies' box to the right of the message input box.

[another view]

Oh, and one more thing, just a question. How do I get all those smilies to appear in my posts?

Greg, I just went thru this. I'm a "regular" here but never figured it out why I could only post those anywhere other than in the subject line. Here's what you have to do:

Go to the top and click on My Account. Click Edit Options and go to the bottom of that screen. Change Basic Editor (or something like that) to one of the two other options. I use the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor and Chunk's screen shot is for the other one. Thanks to Lara for that info...

[another view]

it had been sitting around his house after his wife threw it through a wall. There was a substantial dent in the metal housing that holds the prism and eyepiece, and there was a layer of dust an inch thick thorughout the innards because it hadn't been stored with a cover of any kind. But $125 later to get it cleaned up and such, and it was running like a champ.

F3's are about the most durable camera on the planet, next to Garry Winograd's Leica. Doesn't surprise me too much, actually. Manual focus used cameras are pretty inexpensive on auction sites these days, and if you want another one you might be surprised that you can get an F3HP with the motor drive for about $350. Good camera, good workout.