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How much time/money do you spend on photography?
- Thread starter jwolf6589
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That has nothing to do with the camera being designed to last. My Nikons will be every bit as functional as the day they were purchased, should I chose to dig something out of storage and go through the hassle and expense of finding compatible cards.
I have a couple of Nikon D1s from 1999.
The images are definitely lacking compared to even one generation newer cameras like the D2H(which has its own quirks) and especially the D2X. Cards can be fun to find since they're capped at 2gb(really 3gb, but I don't know of anyone who makes those) and the batteries weren't great when new much less now(although I do have a wall adapter for it). The controls are really clunky-it really does feel like a digital F5(with some F100 refinements added).
Still, though, the camera works and produces images. I've been tempted to start a thread just for the heck of it on early digital cameras. The images probably look as good as my Powershot 450(?) from the mid-2000s-the better glass does benefit them, high(er) ISOs are cleaner(even if not great) and I can use faster glass to avoid having to turn up the ISO.
The D1/D1H/D1X can also do something that at least newer DSLRs can't do(maybe mirrorless can-not sure) and that's sync at any speed up to 1/4000 or whatever their max speed is. Speeds higher than 1/250 in the D1 series cameras are fully electronic, meaning the shutter curtain(only one) opens and the CCD is "pulsed." I have actually measured the flash duration of things like my Norman strobes at it-there comes a point where fast flash sync isn't that useful as with the more powerful studio set-ups on full power, the flash duration is somewhere around 1/750 or so(it's shorter at lower power).
It's not like my beloved F2s where I can throw the most modern film in it and get images basically the same as what I get from my F6, absent newer lens compatibility. Also, the F2 doesn't even need a battery, but to work the meter I need two of what are quite literally the most common/popular button cells in the world. On the other hand, the time is probably ticking on the mainsprings on my Hasselblad Compur shutters...
If they are digital from that year they are ancient as film dominated in those days.
The D1 was targeted at a very specific market-photojournalism-and it was one of the cameras that basically killed film in that application almost overnight.
Within a year or so of Nikon releasing that camera and Canon releasing their equivalent, most newspapers had closed down their darkrooms.
These cameras were ~$5K, which was about half the cost of Kodak DSLRs which had really been all that was available previously, and more importantly they were as fast as the film cameras on which they were based and not any larger/heavier.
If you were someone shooting 30 rolls of film a day 5-6 days a week in your F5 or EOS-1V, a $5K D1 or EOS-1D was an easy decision.
I spend very little on photography as I'm not a professional. I do spend a lot on camera manuals though as they are BIG.
Actually I spend no money on cameras at all. I steal them from @kenoh man cave as he has so many he doesn't even notice!
Actually I spend no money on cameras at all. I steal them from @kenoh man cave as he has so many he doesn't even notice!
I spend very little on photography as I'm not a professional. I do spend a lot on camera manuals though as they are BIG.
Actually I spend no money on cameras at all. I steal them from @kenoh man cave as he has so many he doesn't even notice!
In the digital era, since 2012 for me, I have had (paid in Thai baht, given aproximate conversion to $US):
OlympusTough camera: end of the line on special for about $100. Was useful for some purposes, but had short comings for others...... It could take knocks so I continued to use it for some purposes (in water etc) for several years after I got my next 2 cameras, until it wore out after about 5 or 6 years.
Got a FujiFilm X10 in 2013, which cost about $600, including a leather case (which I am still using). Used it for taking action shots of sport for use on websites and in the local newspaper, and general use (travel, work etc). Discovered its shortcomings, main one being shutter lag. Had a problem developed with the optical viewfinder, so gave it to a friend for whom it was not a problem. Neither was shutter lag for her use.
Got a FujiFilm X20 in 2014, which cost about $700. Remedied most of the shortcomings of the X10. Used heavily until 2019, when it was effectively worn out.
Was looking to replace the X20 with a DSLR (FujiFilm XT3 or similar), but saw an X20 on sale for about $400, so snapped it up. Moved back to the land of my birth later that year, so mainly used it when motorcycle touring, including a road trip covering the length and breadth of the country. Had a problem with the optical viewfinder, so sent it in for repair. Despite their efforts, they could not fix it.....
But they offered me their ex-demonstrator X20 for $150, which I accepted, and it was delivered last week.
Add in say $400 for spare batteries, new SD cards, tripod and other bits and pieces..... all up I have spent a little under $2,500 on photography over the past 11 years. Money well spent.... and I have had photos published, albeit just in the local rag. I have not wasted a single cent on theology.
I have been tempted to get into a DSLR, which would expand my photographic horizons a bit. However, I would probably have to stump up about what I have spent in the past decade or so, in one hit, and would likely be coughing up more for another lens or two, and more. And land up with a whole lot more gear to fit on my motorcycle or bicycle.... Not quite ready for all that, but might do one day.
Prior to digital, years ago I bought a second hand rangefinder 35mm camera for about $50, plus another $15 for a light meter. Enjoyed using that for quite a few years, and learned quite a bit about photography. Then I got a small Ricoh rangefinder camera, which I used well and wore out.... and replaced several years later with a second hand one. Cannot remember how much they cost.
Storing prints, and negatives became a problem for me, living an itinerant life working seasonally in different countries. I gave up on photography for several years until I got a computer, and digital photographs came to match the quality of film.
OlympusTough camera: end of the line on special for about $100. Was useful for some purposes, but had short comings for others...... It could take knocks so I continued to use it for some purposes (in water etc) for several years after I got my next 2 cameras, until it wore out after about 5 or 6 years.
Got a FujiFilm X10 in 2013, which cost about $600, including a leather case (which I am still using). Used it for taking action shots of sport for use on websites and in the local newspaper, and general use (travel, work etc). Discovered its shortcomings, main one being shutter lag. Had a problem developed with the optical viewfinder, so gave it to a friend for whom it was not a problem. Neither was shutter lag for her use.
Got a FujiFilm X20 in 2014, which cost about $700. Remedied most of the shortcomings of the X10. Used heavily until 2019, when it was effectively worn out.
Was looking to replace the X20 with a DSLR (FujiFilm XT3 or similar), but saw an X20 on sale for about $400, so snapped it up. Moved back to the land of my birth later that year, so mainly used it when motorcycle touring, including a road trip covering the length and breadth of the country. Had a problem with the optical viewfinder, so sent it in for repair. Despite their efforts, they could not fix it.....
But they offered me their ex-demonstrator X20 for $150, which I accepted, and it was delivered last week.
Add in say $400 for spare batteries, new SD cards, tripod and other bits and pieces..... all up I have spent a little under $2,500 on photography over the past 11 years. Money well spent.... and I have had photos published, albeit just in the local rag. I have not wasted a single cent on theology.
I have been tempted to get into a DSLR, which would expand my photographic horizons a bit. However, I would probably have to stump up about what I have spent in the past decade or so, in one hit, and would likely be coughing up more for another lens or two, and more. And land up with a whole lot more gear to fit on my motorcycle or bicycle.... Not quite ready for all that, but might do one day.
Prior to digital, years ago I bought a second hand rangefinder 35mm camera for about $50, plus another $15 for a light meter. Enjoyed using that for quite a few years, and learned quite a bit about photography. Then I got a small Ricoh rangefinder camera, which I used well and wore out.... and replaced several years later with a second hand one. Cannot remember how much they cost.
Storing prints, and negatives became a problem for me, living an itinerant life working seasonally in different countries. I gave up on photography for several years until I got a computer, and digital photographs came to match the quality of film.
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