Nikon F100 with MB15 grip.

A few years back when I had out grown my previous Pentax Z1 based system, I was talked into replacing it with either Nikon or Canon, which is a question that some people get very excited about. During my evaluation I found they are actually very similar, in my case Nikon won, this was not based on any real technical advantage, it was just the way the F100 felt in the hand, I just preferred it to the Canon I also tried. One thing with this body, you need to get the optional MB15 which improves the handling/balance especially with some of my lens, provides a vertical release, and speeds up shooting to 5fps. As for what I think of the F100, well, after several years of use, running hundreds of rolls though it, so far with only one problem which came right out of the twilight zone. All by its self my fairly new F100 decided to rewind the film at frame 19, very odd, and its not done it again. Other than that I find the F100 to be excellent, its tough enough so that I have not been able to break it (I am very hard on cameras), the metering is excellent, but did take some getting used to after the Z1, and the AF is quite hard to fool, again much better than the Z1. The only real criticisms I have are with the lack of a mirror lock up, no viewfinder shutter, and the cap for the cable release is very easy to loose, all of these are very minor and not worth the extra expense of going for a F5. [more]

Nikon AFS 28-70 f2.8

This lens was my first encounter with the new silent wave technology, which makes the AF almost totally silent, and as close to instant as possible without time travel. I have been using this lens for the majority of my shooting for several years now with no problems at all, its optically stunning, well built, well balanced with the F100 with the MB15. The only downside would be the size, weight, cost, and the power consumption of the silent wave motors. OK these are not really killer problems, but are worth letting you know about, and the cost is higher than most amateurs would want to pay. Now for the usual question, is the silent wave technology is worth the extra cost? Well I like it, even though for the type of shooting I do (architecture and landscape) the speed of AF is not really an issue, nor is the almost silent operation. That said I will in the near future be buying the 17-35mm f2.8 AFS. Hows that for avoiding answering the question :-) [more]

Nikon 80-200 f2.8D ED

This lens is one of those that more or less everyone who shoots Nikon owns. There have over the years, been many versions of this lens, the ones that some to mind are; one touch, two touch, and the newer AFS version, mine is the two touch (one ring for focus, and one ring for focus). I placed my order a week before Nikon shipped the AFS version which was more than a little annoying, maybe one day I will replace it with the AFS version or even with the very new as yet unavailable AFS/VR. Anyway, after years of use, I have found it to be excellent, optically superb, very well built, fast AF, well balanced on the F100 with MB15, and has very low distortion across the full range, which makes my life easier, no more having to always shoot centers for my panoramas. OK that was the good, now for the not so good; the supplied hood is next to useless, the lens is big, heavy and expensive, but well worth the weight and expense. Some final words, when you tripod mount this lens, use the bracket on the lens not on the body, to avoid any possibility of this big heavy lens stressing the mount on the body. [more]

Nikon 300 f4 IF-ED

This is one of my more recent lens additions, I went for this as I needed something longer than the 80-200 for some specific shooting. This lens is not even close to the latest technology, its been available since the beginning of time. Given the type of shooting I do, this lens has not had that much use, but I still have some comments, optically its good to excellent, the AF is real slow even if you use the focus limit ring, its big, very heavy, overpriced and has the lens cap from hell (one of those nasty leather boot things!). If I had my time again I would have gone for an alternative such as a teleconverter for the 80-200, and skipped this thing altogether. Anyway some last words, just like the 80-200 you will want to use the tripod mount on the lens every time. [more]

Nikon 50 f1.4D

This was the lens I ordered with my F100, its one of the most useful lens there is, good more general shooting etc, and being so fast its ideal for low light shooting. As for what I think if it, given that its been hammered for several years now. First the good, its optically excellent, very very sharp right across the range, its small, light and relatively low in cost. That was the good, now for the less than good, its not even close to the build quality of all the other Nikon lens I own, but its survived several years so far of my abuse, so it cannot be all bad. [more]

Nikon 28 f3.5 PC

I hunted for one of these special purpose lens for several years, before finding one a year back, even then I could not believe my luck, when I found it was in mint condition with not so much as a scratch on the mount. Anyway as for what a PC (perspective correction) lens is, its used for architecture photography and as the name suggests corrects perspective (buildings that seem to lean back etc). Now just like the 80-200 there have been several versions of this lens over the years, mine is the original, so I cannot comment on the newer ones. As for mine, its very well built all metal construction, and optically sharp. Before continuing on, some final words, before you go out and buy one of these (if you can find one) its manual focus, and needs careful use as there is no automation at all, you need to understand the manual controls on your camera to get the most out of any PC lens. [more]

Tamron 500mm f8 mirror

This lens is the only survivor from my old Pentax System, but even after it survived this, its not got much use with the F100. When using it with the F100 I found that the body in-focus indication to be almost impossible to use, and my eye sight is not up to focus by eye. Other than that this lens is very solid, optically just what you would expect from a mirror lens, and the adaptall mount does make it easy to use this with more or less any system, hence it survived my move to Nikon. [more]

Tamron MC4 1.4x teleconverter

This thing while its functional its not even close to the Nikon teleconverters in terms of build quality or optics, but is still usable. At some time in the future I will replace this with a Nikon 1.4x. [more]

Kenko Extension Tubes

I only picked these up a few weeks back so as yet not much in the way of comments as yet. If you are unaware of that extension tubes do, they are one alternative to buying a macro lens, the increase the magnification of your existing lens by moving the lens further from the film plane. [more]

Nikon SB28 Speed light

Lately I have not needed to use flash as mush as I used to, so not much real world experience to report on. All I can say is it works very well, my main uses have been; as fill flash while shooting things like statues etc, and for side illumination while shooting coins. As for the quality and ease of use, both are what you would expect from Nikon, its solid, tolerant even to my abuse, and fairly easy to use although you really need to study the manual several times to get the most out of your SB28. [more]

Manfrotto 055B tripod legs

I have a habit of being extra hard on tripod legs, I actually managed to destroy two in one year, but this one seems to be bucking that expensive trend, so far its lasted 2 years with only a few dents and scratches to show for it. These legs are relatively high end in the Manfrotto range, they are large, heavy, solid and very stable, which after all is whats needed in a set of tripod legs. The controls for the leg extensions are very tough, and show no sign of loosening or cracking even after years of excessive abuse. The only problem I had was the length of the center column, its far too long, and temps people to use it at full extensions which is not recommended especially with long lens. All is not lost this center column comes in two parts, so I just removed the bottom half which fixed things for me. Overall I am fairly happy with these legs, sure they could be lighter, but then again they are cheaper than carbon fiber. To be fair I am looking at carbon fiber legs at the moment, mainly to get the weight down, if I ever find some I like, expect this page to be updated. Some last words for you, if you need to carry these legs around regardless of the head you use, you will need to get the optional shoulder strap, believe me its worth it. [more]

Manfrotto 352 ball head

For 10 years I was using nothing but the usual 3 axis heads, until I destroyed the last one, anyway while in the store about to replace it, I was talked into trying a ball head by the expert in the store (the same one who put me onto the above legs). So for the past year and half I have been using this ball head, and have found it to be a different experience from what I was used to. My concern over these things was ball stability, but this concern has proved to be unfounded, the locking control is excellent, once locked its going nowhere even with my F100 and the 300f4 attached. While all this sounds good, all is not really that well, I can see myself getting a second head just for the panoramic shooting where a ball head is hard to impossible to level and so useless, other than that I am a convert. This head is both smaller and lighter than I was used to, both of these make it easier to carry around. Some last words, there are two version of this head, one with, and the other without the quick release plate, believe me you want to get the version with the plate, it makes your life far easier. [more]

Lowepro Micro Trekker 200 backpack

Call me stubborn, but I resisted the photo backpack for over 15 years, preferring the solder bag. This all changed when I made the move to Nikon, my new F100 plus lens etc, is much heavier that the old Pentax was, and my shoulder hated it. So during another visit to the local store, and trying all sorts of bags I settled on this pack, which really surprised me in that it took my; F100 with MB15, 27-70, 80-200, 28pc, 50 plus all the usual junk, in a very compact pack. As for how it feels to carry that lot about, its not bad at all, the shoulder straps are well padded and positioned for me, whats not so good is the chest strap which for me is too high, as is the waist strap which seems to have been designed for someone shorter than me, another irritation is the pockets on each side are in the wrong place, it would have been better if they where higher so I could attach my water bottle holder, and other things like a film drop lower down. One last gripe, as with most camera bags regardless of type, they "cry out camera bag steal me", although this pack is better and the Lowepro logo can be covered easily. To me all camera bags should not look anything special. [more]

Olympus C800L

This has been my sole venture so far into the world of digital cameras. In its day some 6 years back this thing was the top of the heap for non-pro digital cameras, but now its very limited, and in this case, less than healthy, with the auto-exposure system becoming odd over the past few years. I would like to replace this with something much better, that would also allow me to use my Nikon lens, but at the moment this means things like the D1, D1x, D100 and the new D2 which are currently far too expensive for me to justify.

Old Pentax System

For those interested, my old Pentax system contained the following.

• Pentax Z1 Body
• Pentax Z10 Body
• Pentax 28-80 f3.5-5.6
• Pentax 70-210 f3.5-5.6
• Kenko 2x Teleconverter
• Tamron 500mm f8 Mirror
• Tamron 28mm adaptall mount
• Manfrotto tripod with 3 axis head