Nikon F2 Photomic with 35mm Nikkor lens

Already having both a Nikon F and an F3, I have always wanted an F2 to complete the lineup of manual focus F series bodies. Tonight I got one. I saw a listing on the local craigslist for this 1977 model for a really good price and, after a bit of a clean up, here it is!

It has a DP-1 finder which makes it an F2 Photomic and it appears to be mechanically very sound; cosmetic condition is also very nice.

The F2 was the successor to the original Nikon F model and features a number of ergonomic and mechanical improvements. Launched in 1974 it took over where the F left off and became the leading pro camera for the world’s photojournalists. It’s fully mechanical shutter (the camera only needs batteries to power the meter), rugged build and ability to take all existing Nikon F-mount lenses made it a huge success.

The tri-F-ecta: the complete lineup of Nikon F series manual focus cameras (L to R - Nikon F Photomic FTn, Nikon F2 Photomic, Nikon F3HP)

I plan to run some film through the F2 this weekend and I’ll post the results as soon as I process them.

Olympus OM-1n with 50mm F1.8 Zuiko lens

In 1974 Olympus launched the first model in what was to become one of the most influential and successful camera systems of the next twenty years. The OM-1 was significant in many ways, but it’s most obvious difference compared to anything else available at the time was it’s size; it was tiny!

Although small, the OM-1 was a fully-featured single lens reflex body and was offered as part of one of the most extensive systems ever produced. This included a huge range of superb Zuiko lenses as well as some of the most esoteric accessories ever produced for a 35mm camera, particularly in the field of photo-macrography and micrography.

It was originally launched as the Olympus M-1, but the name was changed after a dispute with Leica who thought it was too close to it’s M range of rangefinder cameras. Some of these early M-1s did make it onto the open market and are now extremely rare and highly sought after by collectors.

My OM-1 dates from approximately 1978 and I still like to run film through it when I don’t want to lug around one of my larger, heavier cameras. The Zuiko lenses are very high quality and the results from this camera are always pleasing.

You can find these very cheaply on the used market; I paid $35 for this one at a local pawn shop and it is in excellent condition, both mechanically and cosmetically.

Go get you one!

Nikon F Photomic FTn with 50mm Nikkor lens

In 1959, Nikon launched the F single lens reflex camera and almost overnight revolutionised modern photography. With this model, they introduced the concept of a full system camera. Along with the camera body itself, Nikon also launched a full compliment of lenses, viewfinders, focusing screens, motor drives and about every other accessory a working professional could possibly need. It’s success was immediate, and overwhelming.

Prior to the launch of the F, rangefinder cameras reigned supreme when it came to the 35mm format. Leica, Contax and Nikon’s own rangefinders were the machines of choice for photojournalists and photography enthusiasts. The F changed all that and photographers who valued ruggedness, mechanical reliability and optical excellence switched to the new Nikon system just as quickly as they could get them.

The F ended up spawning a whole series of professional grade camera bodies, all the way up to the still current F6. The F series are also the direct descendants of Nikon’s D series digital cameras. In fact, put Nikon’s latest digital flagship model, the D3, next to an F and the resemblance is immediately noticeable.

This particular camera (I have two F bodies) dates from early 1970 and still performs amazingly well, a fitting testament to the engineering that went into this half-century old design.

One of the cool new features of CS4 is it’s use of your video card GPU to provide some very slick and useful viewing and navigation improvements.

Take zooming in and out of an image, for example. In CS4, in addition to the existing single-click incremental and drag zoom region options, holding down your left mouse button with the zoom cursor over the image now provides a very smooth and controlable stepless zoom. Describing this feature is not nearly as satisfying as using and seeing it. It is very, very slick! This GPU accelerated performance also delivers a much enhanced image scrolling experience too.

Another cool enhancement, particularly for users of pen tablets, is the non-destructive rotate view tool. This is pretty self-explanatory. Selecting this tool (highlighted in yellow in the screen grab below) superimposes a compass on the image and allows you to freely rotate it within the current view. You can also choose to rotate all open images and there is a handy button to reset the view when you’re done.

The rotate view tool in action

One final additional feature for now (I’m sure I will find others) is the new pixel grid. At zoom levels of 400% and greater, a pixel-level grid is automatically overlaid onto the current image.

The pixel grid overlaid onto an image

As I stated in the introduction to this series of articles, they are very much a work in progress and will be updated fairly regularly over the next few weeks. Look out for part two soon!

Well, it’s here and it’s great! I’ve had Adobe’s newest incarnation of their superb image editor installed for a few days now and I’m gradually getting round to exploring some of the new features. And there are lots of them! Some may not be immediately obvious, nor may they seem immediately useful, but the longer I spend using CS4, the more convinced I become that Adobe have outdone themselves this time.

Because of the abundance of new stuff, I’m going to split this write-up into various parts, focusing on each new or improved feature in the order in which I find/use/grasp it. Also, these individual sections will probably be updated pretty regularly as I get more familiar with the application.

I know there are already plenty of very detailed CS4 reviews online, but one more can’t hurt, right? Actually, if I’m being honest, the main reason I am doing this is to force me to learn this new version inside-out from the beginning. Although I’ve been using Photoshop since version 4.0 (on a Silicon Graphics o2 running IRIX), i’ve always been a bit lazy and only learnt the tools that I needed for a particular task. Hopefully writing this will change that by making me explore features and functions that I wouldn’t normally use.

Anyway, that’s enough of an introduction. The first part of this review will deal with the cool new viewing and navigation features in CS4. Look out for it in the next day or two!

As of December 1st 2008, I will be operating from Dave Moore Studios in the Old City. Consequently I will be closing the studio in Halls with immediate effect. Dave’s studio offers a great location in the Old City and excellent amenities and I am looking forward to the possibilities that this move offers!

Dave Moore Studios in Knoxville's Old City

It all began innocently enough. A listing on the local craiglist website caught my attention one morning late last year; “Hasselblad 500C/M, excellent condition - $400″. No picture of the camera, just a contact number. I re-read it a few times and then continued browsing the other ads. After all, having invested heavily in digital equipment over the last few years, and being more than happy with the results I was getting from that medium, why would I need a film camera? However, during the rest of the day, I found myself returning to that listing with alarming regularity…

Hasselblad 500C/M

A little background may be in order. My interest in photography was ignited by my father, himself a very accomplished photographer, when he gave me my first camera (I think I was about ten). It was a Polaroid Land Camera which took black and white instant film giving eight exposures per pack (if I remember correctly). Although it was little more than a plastic box with a lens, I loved that camera!

My Dad would bring home packs of film once or twice a week and I would prowl around the house, or the neighbourhood, clicking away at anything that took my interest, stopping only to peel apart the developed images. My fascination with photography was complete, although I sometimes think that my addiction was more to do with the fumes from the chemicals that were contained in a pod on each sheet of film than the images I was producing!

My interest in photography grew and grew. I would spend my pocket money on publications like “What Camera” and “Amatuer Photographer” and, after devouring all the articles, would pour over the advertisments from the big camera dealers, staring in wonder at machines I could never even dream of owning; Nikons, Canons and, more than any other, Hasselblads.

Ah, the almighty Hasselblad! Handmade in Sweden, with a level of craftmanship that was uncommon then and is downright rare today, it was the camera system of choice of a lot of the photographers whose work I admired; Bailey, Lichfield, Donovan, and the rest of the London “Brat Pack”. It was also outrageously, almost criminally, expensive! Back then I was convinced that although this was the camera I would most dearly love to own, it was also one that I never would.

This was in the late Seventies, and I’ve been through a lot of equipment since then, but my desire to own a Hasselblad and to experience in person the quality of the images that it can produce never diminished.

So, back to the craiglist ad. I called the guy later that day and met him after work to look at the camera. It had belonged to his father and although it had not been used for a while, everything appeared to function well and both camera and lens were in excellent condition. There was also a bag which had various film backs and accessories inside, along with the original boxes and manuals for most of the items.

It was love at first sight and there was no way I was leaving that meeting empty handed. So it was with a smile on my face (and an empty wallet!) that I made way home that night, and not even the grey, rain-filled sky could dampen my spirits!

Nothing beats a big print for impact

Or maybe the title of this post should be ‘Just Print”! The digital revolution has, without doubt, had the most profound effect on photography. Digital camera have become ubiquitous and, with the introduction of cellphone cameras with increasingly high resolution, most people now have access to a camera at all times.

One thing I have noticed from talking to friends who take a lot of casual shots with thier digital cameras, however, is that very few of them actually print thier pictures. With the popularity of social networking sites, this is somewhat understandable. The sheer amount of images uploaded to sites like MySpace in a single day is mind-boggling, and a lot of people will say that the ability to share thier shots with friends online was a driving factor in thier decision to purchase a digital camera.

Personally, I think this is great, and I upload photos to my MySpace account on a regular basis. For me though, I still like to print images too and, if it’s an image I am particularly happy with, I like to print it big! The cost of large prints has never been cheaper, and the quality avaialble from your local WalMart/Sams Club/Walgreens is suprisingly good. The impact of a large print is hard to ignore. The black and white in the shot above is 16″x20″, only cost $4.95 on sale from AdoramaPix, and looks amazing!

So go ahead, next time you take a shot you really like, get a big poster-sized print made. They make great gifts, or just use them to decorate an empty wall. And it’ll get you away from that computer monitor for a few minutes!