Topic: Inherited Cameras and Lenses: Can I use them with Digital bodies?

[NOLAfishwater]

So I made some progress on my foam replacement. I was able to cut 2 pieces to fit the ends of the door but did not affix them with glue. Gonna take the camera back to Ritz and get the professional's opinion about the foam that I used. Here are a couple of pics.

Foam at the hinge


Foam at the end of the door where the lock is


Type of foam used from AC Moore

[NOLAfishwater]

Good news, I made out o.k. with my first round of pictures. No light leaks. Wooo hooooo. Honestly, I have to say that I am fascinated with the fish-eye.  Gonna shoot a roll of film over the next few days.

[Frank in JC]

Honestly, I have to say that I am fascinated with the fish-eye.  Gonna shoot a roll of film over the next few days.

One tip: Get close to your subject.  That's the most dramatic way to use one.  They focus extremely close, especially when you shut down the aperture.  Fisheye photographs of landscapes, where you're far away from everything, tend to be boring if all you see is sky and land.  Everything else becomes reduced in size, and the further away, the smaller. 

Oh, and portraits are generally a bad idea unless you're trying to have a laugh at someone else's expense!  If you do, make sure they have a sense of humor and aren't the vain type.

[cwfen]

I used to shoot a lot of skateboarding photos, and I really liked the fisheye for the up close, on the coping kind of shot... Definitely works best for "in your face" kind of shooting...

[NOLAfishwater]

anyone interested in buying any of this equipment?

[bugg100]

This would make for an awesome existing light concert shooter with a digital body, like my D70...

Nikkor-H Auto 1:1.8 f=85mm serial#262317

This Robert Belfour set is the style I like, existing light with a Tokina AT-XIII 28-75 (autofocus) and a 180 f 2.8 Nikon manual focus AI lens.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joeatwallyjoememphis/RobertWolfmanBelfour

That foam on the contax looks good, BTW.

[stirinthesauce]

Keep all that stuff, Louie.  Just for the simple fact that if you shoot B&W, there is nothing like film.  Plus, you have sentimental value.

I have a canon ae-1 with a fisheye, 35mm1.8, 50 1.8 and 100mm 1.8, all canon lenses.  This isn't going anywhere.  I haven't used it in 3 years but, I've been getting the itch to do some black and white with it.  Plus, it was my Dad's so there is sentimental value. 

[Jimna]

Keep all that stuff, Louie.  Just for the simple fact that if you shoot B&W, there is nothing like film.  Plus, you have sentimental value.

I have a canon ae-1 with a fisheye, 35mm1.8, 50 1.8 and 100mm 1.8, all canon lenses.  This isn't going anywhere.  I haven't used it in 3 years but, I've been getting the itch to do some black and white with it.  Plus, it was my Dad's so there is sentimental value. 

thats what i was thinking the whole time i was reading this.  it very cool to use your dads rig.  not all of us get to share something like that with their dad.  hang on to it, pass them on some day to lill' louie.

so whats the next step with film in todays day and age?  scanner? 

[NOLAfishwater]

guess I need to buy photography for dummies  looks like I will be holding on to these for the time being.

[bugg100]

Louie, if you want to learn the in and outs of SLR shooting, skip the dummies book and got to ebay for this out of print book:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NIKON-NIKON-SCHOOL-GUIDE-TO-DIGITAL-SLR-PHOTOGRAPHY_W0QQitemZ190233430542QQihZ009QQcategoryZ29961QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-Guide-to-SLR-Photography_W0QQitemZ160017481815QQihZ006QQcategoryZ29961QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

In this short book, you will read about the camera and how to use its manual controls via having a helper, a roll of film, a notebook, and your camera......  No bullshit, some of the simple stuff here  isn't covered effectively in MANY better and bigger books. No Nikon specific on most of the the info , by the way. It's SLR specific........

Joe

[NOLAfishwater]

don't know if those books would be pertinent to my set up since I don't own a digital SLR. are my old cameras considered SLR?

[bugg100]

yeah BOTH of your camera are Single Lens Reflex.  The lens part is obvious right.... no rangefinder "lens" (really just a window on the body) like all compact point and shoot cameras use to triangulate focus.  The reflex part is about the pentaprism on top making the image "correct" left to right when it reflects back to the eyepiece.....

Buy the book, do the excercises, and if you don't find it useful I'll buy it fro your cost + shipping to me, I need a new one. My last of 3 became more of a loan than I intended.