"Father Kodak" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 14:39:58 GMT, "Norm Dresner"
wrote:

[snip]

SO ... I have to decide whether to repair, replace, or upgrade. I
definitely want (and many times "need') to have two film bodies in
addition
to the digital and I need to be able to use older/non-automatic lenses
(like
a 500 mm mirror or a 55 mm AIS macro or the PB-4 bellows) with the film
bodies in Aperture Priority mode. The N90/N90s does this flawlessly as
does
IIRC the F100 and the F5/F6, but the N75 that I had for about 6 months did
not and I got rid of it, partially for that reason.

Norm,

You seem to be about a "year ahead of me" in your photographic
experience and I'm hoping I can learn something from your experience.

I own 2 Nikon F2 bodies, a motor drive, and eight Nikon lenses, only
two of them D-series. The others include a 500 mm f8 mirror, and a 55
mm Micro Nikkor, plus a PB-4 bellows and PS-4 slide copier. I'm also
coveting a PC lens, but haven't decided yet whether the 28 mm is worth
the extra scratch over a 35 mm.

I also own an N90s body, and I really like tt he exposure/focus
automation,. but not enough to stop using my F2 bodies.

I'm also planning to get a full-frame digital body when Nikon has it
available. (Caution: rumor here. on a web site, I read that Nikon
will announce their full-frame digital camera at Photokina late next
year.)

So I'm wondering why you would need _two_ film bodies in addition to
the digital, when the digital gives you the ability to change ISO
ratings. Also, do you have any problems because of the 1.5
multiplier effect on lenses on the digital body?

Father Kodak

Let's be honest. The D70 is only 6 MP and that's only at the low ISO
ratings. When the ISO is raised, the image quality falls -- only somewhat,
not drastically, but it's still degraded. ISO 100 color negative film is
"rated" at about 24 MP and 400-800 film runs more than half of that, still
considerably more than the D70 can deliver. Also, I feel that the dynamic
range of good film still exceeds that of the digital sensors.

When we were in Italy -- before the N90 died -- I had the N90 loaded with
400/800 film and the N90s loaded with 100/160. I switched between the two
depending on whether we were inside or outside of the churches and other
buildings. Fortunately, with my Bronica, all I had to do was switch film
backs.

Another reason that I'm still using film is the 1.5x multiplier on the
effective lens focal length. When I want really wide angle shots, the Sigma
14mm on the film body is better than anything I can get for the digital that
will also work on film bodies.

On other trips, I've loaded one film body with 400 color negative and the
other with Kodachrome 64.

Norm