Just given a Nikon F100 Body - Looking for a lens

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chelt_strobist

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Matthew
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Hi All,

I was round at my dad's last night and we chatted about my interest in digital photography for a while. After a bit of taking the mick out of digital, "your not a real photographer unless you shoot film", all in jest I might add, he gave me his one of his film cameras a Nikon F100.

Now, I have never shot film, as I am just trying to get to grips with photography, but I thought, well, I'll put this safely to one side and learn to use it once I have a better grasp on the principles and am shooting decent digital images.

But, before I do any research into the F100 and film, can any suggest any lenses to keep an eye out for that would go well with the F100 as he only have me the body. I have only ever looked at lenses for my D90 and know never little at this stage about old film cameras. I mostly shoot portraits, studio and environmental and well as some landscapes, so I think I want to keep my eye out for some lenses to cover a nice wide angle, prime up to about 150mm. Any suggestions.

Cheers
Matt

He said I could have his Hasselblad as inheritance!!!!! and only when I can use a film camera LOL.
 
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Wow, that's a nice camera to receive. Pretty much rated as one of the top modern film SLRs, near enough (even by those who aren't Nikon fans).

From the sound of it, you need maybe a zoom wide-angle to cover the low end, and a prime, possibly a 105mm to cover the portraits part. What lenses do you use on your D90 at the moment?
 
You lucky b*gger the F100 is a cracking film camera. Obviously any of the old Nikon lenses will work on your camera perfectly and the primes are all very good. Possibly look for a nice 24mm for landscapes and a 105mm for portraits.

Andy
 
freecom2 said:
Wow, that's a nice camera to receive. Pretty much rated as one of the top modern film SLRs, near enough (even by those who aren't Nikon fans).

From the sound of it, you need maybe a zoom wide-angle to cover the low end, and a prime, possibly a 105mm to cover the portraits part. What lenses do you use on your D90 at the moment?
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I have had a quick look online and the write ups on the F100 are good. I had no idea he was going to give it to me. My dad never progressed to digital, either fearing computers or loving traditional method of film production.

Me, I have never really considered flim, therefore am very honest in saying I know nothing about film.

I have a Nikkor AF 50mm f1.8D, then several DX Lenses, including the newer VR 18-55mm f3.5-3.6, and 55-200mm f4-5.6. As I said I am just getting into photography so have been learning digital and the principles of photograhy first.

I thought about keeping my eye out for some good lenses for the F100 so I can use it in a while.

Matt
 
The kit lens (if there was such a thing) was the 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 which is a half decent lens with a nice zoom range, along with a pseudo macro facility and light weight. Look to pay £100-130 second hand.

The F100 is a cracking camera, still use mine alongside my D700 as they're similar in size and layout and the lenses are completely interchangeable in terms of fit and focal length:)
 
Good options might be:
  • 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D AF Zoom-Nikkor (with 'macro' mode)
  • 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF ED Zoom-Nikkor
...or, at the expensive end:
  • 24-85mm f/2.8-4D AF Zoom-Nikkor
  • 35-70mm f/2.8D AF Zoom-Nikkor
...or, just one or two primes :)
 
The Nikkor 28-80mm f3.3-5.6G and or D is recognised and a real sleeper lens and it,s performance is rated in the top ten Nikkor lens ever by KR.http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/10-best.htm

You can find them for under £40.00 in excellent condition on ebay or put up a wanted Addy in the classified forum.

That would be my recommendation. I have one G type and would not swap.(y)

PS. Keep this quiet
 
The Tamron 28-75mm is a lens that is worth a look if you can get it at the right price. I bought the Nikon 35-70 f2.8 to replace the Tamron, but it turned out that the Tamron was every bit as good as the Nikon so I ended up keeping it as well.;)
 
It's a dangerous and expensive path to embark on. I was relatively happy with a EOS450D digital camera, but fancied a compatible film camera as well. So I bought a EOS-3 body, and promptly realised that only the 50mm f1.8 would work with it. So far the film body's cost me

17-40 f4 L
24-105 f4 L
70-200 f4 IS L

and then, because it seemed a bit of a shame to put those lovely lenses on a plastic camera, a EOS 7D, and i'm waiting for the announcement of a successor to the 5Dii to get a full frame digital.

Madness, that's what it is, Madness!
 
F100 is a superb camera. I made a good profit on mine but really regretted selling it.
I'm looking for the Canon equivelant but not entirely sure it exists.
 
They're a great camera, I added one to my Nikon collection and I'm very pleased with it.

As others have said just keep your eyes open for decent primes or one of the better zooms, at least you know you'll never lose money on quality Nikon kit.
 
fixedimage said:
F100 is a superb camera. I made a good profit on mine but really regretted selling it.
I'm looking for the Canon equivelant but not entirely sure it exists.
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Don't think it does, tbh... maybe you should set your aim a little higher and get the EOS-3 (more of a F5 equivalent) :shrug:
 
Just had a look on ebay and an Eos3 would be a fair bit cheaper than what I sold my F100 for.
I don't actually have much call for a body of this type now, most of my film goes through one or other of my Ricoh compacts or I have a couple of Konica SLRs and a Vivitar SLR.
An Eos3 with my 17-40 would be too bulky to get used much.
 
fixedimage said:
Just had a look on ebay and an Eos3 would be a fair bit cheaper than what I sold my F100 for.
I don't actually have much call for a body of this type now, most of my film goes through one or other of my Ricoh compacts or I have a couple of Konica SLRs and a Vivitar SLR.
An Eos3 with my 17-40 would be too bulky to get used much.
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I freely admit I'm not that au-fait with the nikon range, and didn't realise that the F100 was one of those ikkle diddy camera's :LOL:... Obviously, a big slab like the EOS-3 isn't applicable in that case. I would recommend having a look at the EOS-30 though. It's pretty much the same size as a 450D, but a bit lighter. It's got the last generation of canon's film AF - pretty much the same as the EOS-3 and EOS-1v, but with 7 AF points rather than the 45 points of the pro. cameras.

To be honest though, I doubt that any camera's going to be all that compact with the great lump of a 17-40 bolted on the front of it. I love my 17-40, but it's a big heavy bit of glass, and I have to say it doesn't balanve very well on my EOS-30 - I far prefer the 28-105mm USM as a kit lens with this camera.


Canon EOS-30 by The Big Yin, on Flickr

oh - and freecom2 - this is F&C - can we please leave the Canon / Nikon rivalry at the door! I personally couldn't care less about that sort of thing, and I enjoy shooting with pretty much any make of camera - the sole reason that I tend towards Canon rather than any other, is that I've got a rather heavy investment in that particular lens system. Nikon make some lovely old cameras, and i'd quite like to get hold of a couple, but the prices that the glass commands mean that for a once or twice a year shooter (which is what pretty much all my 35mm cameras aside from the EOS-3/30 are) it's beyond my "toy" budget.
 
Or... you could just bang some of the DX lens on it and stick some practice rolls through. Just be careful on the wide end because you'll get a bit of vignetting.

Also, I have the Nikkor 28-80mm f3.3-5.6G... and it's the best kept secrets alive... Actually, I think part of it's unpopularity is because of it's slightly odd thread size at 58mm (not your standard 52mm for more modern Nikon lens). But it's one of my sharper lens so easily the best bang for buck lens I've purchased to date.
 
TheBigYin said:
I freely admit I'm not that au-fait with the nikon range, and didn't realise that the F100 was one of those ikkle diddy camera's :LOL:... Obviously, a big slab like the EOS-3 isn't applicable in that case. I would recommend having a look at the EOS-30 though. It's pretty much the same size as a 450D, but a bit lighter. It's got the last generation of canon's film AF - pretty much the same as the EOS-3 and EOS-1v, but with 7 AF points rather than the 45 points of the pro. cameras.

To be honest though, I doubt that any camera's going to be all that compact with the great lump of a 17-40 bolted on the front of it. I love my 17-40, but it's a big heavy bit of glass, and I have to say it doesn't balanve very well on my EOS-30 - I far prefer the 28-105mm USM as a kit lens with this camera.


Canon EOS-30 by The Big Yin, on Flickr

oh - and freecom2 - this is F&C - can we please leave the Canon / Nikon rivalry at the door! I personally couldn't care less about that sort of thing, and I enjoy shooting with pretty much any make of camera - the sole reason that I tend towards Canon rather than any other, is that I've got a rather heavy investment in that particular lens system. Nikon make some lovely old cameras, and i'd quite like to get hold of a couple, but the prices that the glass commands mean that for a once or twice a year shooter (which is what pretty much all my 35mm cameras aside from the EOS-3/30 are) it's beyond my "toy" budget.
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It's not that the F100 isn't small, it's pretty much the same size as a D700 if you know what that's like? Bigger than a 5D mk1 I'd say. It's more that my needs/wants have changed. I actually think that was one of the reasons I sold my F100 actually.
 
Well, if the F100 is similar in size to the D700, theres not a lot in it between the EOS-3 body then... I happily switch between a 7D and the EOS-3, the EOD-3 being maybe 10mm taller and wider, but a little thinner. They are both big old lumps to cart up an down a full days worth of mountains though - which is precisely why I picked up the EOS-30. Despite my saying it doesn't balance too well with the 17-40L, it is a pretty excellent combo. for up in the hills (a weatherproof lens, and a body that only cost £25, so I don't feel too bothered using a ziplock bag for weatherproofing, and it's nearly a pound less weight around my neck! :LOL:)

Having said that, for longer hill days, I'd love to find a film camera equivalent of my Canon G11 - half decent 28-140 zoom, full PASM modes, housebrick style build quality and fit in a shirt-pocket. Don't want much do I... maybe the Moon on a Stick while I'm at it :LOL:
 
TheBigYin said:
Having said that, for longer hill days, I'd love to find a film camera equivalent of my Canon G11 - half decent 28-140 zoom, full PASM modes, housebrick style build quality and fit in a shirt-pocket. Don't want much do I... maybe the Moon on a Stick while I'm at it :LOL:
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You can get the G11 in your shirt pocket;), I would not like to meet you down a dark ally:LOL:, must be a very big shirt.:)



.
 
medwaygreen said:
You can get the G11 in your shirt pocket;), I would not like to meet you down a dark ally:LOL:, must be a very big shirt.:)
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Yeah, sadly the Nickname wasn't given in an Ironic way. And I'm not talking about a suit-and-tie kind of shirt, more the rufty-tufty out walking on the hills type shirts, which do tend to be a bit more practical on the pocket front ;) And then of course there's the 3 back pockets cycling shirts... :LOL:
 
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medwaygreen said:
The Nikkor 28-80mm f3.3-5.6G and or D is recognised and a real sleeper lens and it,s performance is rated in the top ten Nikkor lens ever by KR.http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/10-best.htm

You can find them for under £40.00 in excellent condition on ebay or put up a wanted Addy in the classified forum.

That would be my recommendation. I have one G type and would not swap.(y)

PS. Keep this quiet
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That's interesting, I picked up one off ebay with my N80 and the barrel distortion is huge. Was going to get rid of it but might have to dust it off and have another play.
 
Wow guys,

Thanks for all your comments and posts. It has been really helpful to me.

Certainly plenty to think about. I don't want to go and splash the cash about yet, I am only just getting my head around the idea of shoot film.

You've given my a lot of advise to consider whilst I continue with my digital.

Matt
 
The F100 is a very nice body, lucky you!

I've got an old 28-85mm f/3.5-4.5 that I no longer use. There's some marks on the front element but they don't show up on any images. I was trying to flog it for £40 delivered earlier in the year. It's a nice lens, let me know if you're at all interested and I'll send you some pics.
 
Hi All,

Just picked up used AF 28-85 f3.5-4.5, and a AF 28-70 f3.5-4.5 D, for next to nothing, £60 for the pair (had to by them as a pair from a local seller and seeing as they were both around £70 ea online I didn't complain. Both in incredible nick, obvious usage signs for an older lenses, but no real marks on the body, and the glass has no marks at all.

Tried them both out on my D90 and really pleased with them both. I haven't done a sharpness test yet against each other, or against the new 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens I have gathering dust with my D3000, but on the face of it both lenses have 2/3rds to a full stop on the 18-55 at relative focal lengths.

I will probably find the newer 18-55 has a better sharpness, but I am impressed with both lens for a film camera at least.

Matt
 
Like you chelt I was given a Nikon body, an F90 in my case, and had to start learning about Nikon lenses. Eventually I opted for the Nikkor AF-D 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 as a starting point and I think it's great.
 
Born in York said:
Like you chelt I was given a Nikon body, an F90 in my case, and had to start learning about Nikon lenses. Eventually I opted for the Nikkor AF-D 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 as a starting point and I think it's great.
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Yeah, I didn't want to splash the cash because I won't be using the F100 for a while, but thought it would be nice to get a reasonable lens for it. Just a funny quirk of mine really.

Happy with the lens I got, great condition, dirt cheap, and just run a test against the 18-55mm I have.
 
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