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film camera
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An old Nikkormat manual camera would be great, but if you want to use the autofocus lenses, get an N90. Are your current lenses D versions? If so, they might not work for film (vignetting.) In that case, get some second hand manual lenses and the Nikkormat. This shouldn't cost too much.
If you want to shoot infrared, why not buy a gently-used D70 or D50 and have that converted for infrared? A lot of people are doing that and it's a lot easier in many ways than messing with film and filters and such.... Life Pixel (http://www.lifepixel.com) and other places remove the "pass" filter from the camera and that makes it then ideal for shooting infrared. The nice thing about it is that you can shoot normally, no need for long exposure times and all that.
I'm in the same situation as mrkramer. I doing the opposite that most people do, switching from digital to film and have been doing a lot of reseach. The N90s seems to be a pretty good deal for its price.
With respect to G lenses, with the F90, they will only work in P and S modes, not on A or M.
If the F100 is expensive for you, maybe get a more consumer-oriented but newer camera than the F90, for some new lenses that you might buy.
You can get a good F80 for $150 too. It even works with VR, like the F100.
Compatibility chart
If the F100 is expensive for you, maybe get a more consumer-oriented but newer camera than the F90, for some new lenses that you might buy.
You can get a good F80 for $150 too. It even works with VR, like the F100.
Compatibility chart
I would also suggest an F80, as I own one, but there is an issue that no one else has raised.
If you want a film camera to shoot infrared film, quite a few of the newer Nikons use an infrared light to read film perforation, and as such, will fog IR film in the camera body.
If you look at the N80 (same camera as F80) on this list, it says specifically at the top of the specs page that it can't use IR, as would other cameras I would imagine, so any camera that doesn't say so should be fine. http://www.nikonlinks.com/unklbil/bodylens.htm
Heres a useful list of digital cameras that can do IR; http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=183234
If you want a film camera to shoot infrared film, quite a few of the newer Nikons use an infrared light to read film perforation, and as such, will fog IR film in the camera body.
If you look at the N80 (same camera as F80) on this list, it says specifically at the top of the specs page that it can't use IR, as would other cameras I would imagine, so any camera that doesn't say so should be fine. http://www.nikonlinks.com/unklbil/bodylens.htm
Heres a useful list of digital cameras that can do IR; http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=183234
If all you need is full manual focus and hand metering then all you need is a brick with and F-Mount flange on the front. That would be an F1. However you may like film. Scanned film still beats even the best Nikon DSLR in terms of image quality. Fuly modern film bodies start at under $200.
First off for IR you will NOT be using the camera's internal light meter how ever you may want to shot normal slide film too. I'd get a camera with a good light meter. If you can afford an F5 that would be the ideal. Lacking funds for the F5 hunt down an N90s (or F100) The F5 and N90s were top of the line Pro and consumer film bodies and they use the EXACT same lenses as the current digital bodies (except the DX format lenses will vignette) The F5/6 had the RGB meter like on the new D cameras, the N90 had a good matrix meter
If you want a manual focus body buy one that takes AIS lenses. AIS allowed for both "A" and "S" exposure modes. All AF lenses are also AIS so they will support all exposure modes mechanically.
If you don't need shuter priority exposure mode then any camera that used AI lenses. Going back futther to the F2, F or early niromats you would have to have your AF lenses monified (for about $35 each) to add those old non-AI "ears" for meter coupling
If you want to hand meter and hand focus which you realy have to with IR film. Then any Nikon camera will work but look for a good split prism focus screen.
One interresting camera is the N2020. It was Nikon's first AF body and was a kind of "bridge" it has the old look without LCD screens but was full AF but fully used the older AIS lenses too. These are dirt cheap on the used market. Good ones for maybe $85.00 But my choise would be the Nikon F4, F5, or F6. Something I could not afford when it was new
I still own an F2, N2020 and N90. The latter two would work for you.
It's a good time to pick up an FM, and whatever excellent lenses you need, quite cheaply. It is a bomb-proof classic camera, brass and glass, and when virtual film comes around (whenever), its price will rise again.