Comments on: Nikon FM: compact and rock solid, a good risk-all backup camera for Nikon users

By: dave harris

dave harris — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:19:00 +0000

I think there is a place still for film and not just medium format. 35mm is very much alive. In my own field of astrophography nothing beats a long time exposure with a fast film for star trails and meteorites. to do the same on digital successfully one needs expensive specialist equipment with cooling devices to prevent noise. there is an art to getting the correct exposure and developing and printing that is far more satisfying than manipulating digital images on a computer. Long live film!

By: Dave Brown

Dave Brown — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:09:12 +0000

I agree that Contax, leica, nikon and olympus film slr’s as mentioned above are great cameras but digital has surely taken over. I must say there is a special quality derived from b&w film that is IMHO not matched by digital but in general – come on guys we are talking 20 plus megapixels becoming the norm. The only film camera I would own now would be medium format the iconic Rollieflex. If you are a tradionalist or romantic then film will be forever in your heart – but digital is superior in every other way and is getting better and better

By: xtalfu

xtalfu — Tue, 25 May 2010 02:25:08 +0000

I wish I had one.

By: xtalfu

xtalfu — Tue, 25 May 2010 02:01:13 +0000

Thank you for your comments.

Nikon, Leica. What about Olympus? The manual focus OM System is dead, but some of the cameras (the OM-3 ad OM-4T) are still extremely sought after. I started using an OM-2S a few months ago. More about it and the Olympus system in a few days.

By: damien haricksa

damien haricksa — Sat, 22 May 2010 23:12:46 +0000

I am a Leica R6.2 user. This is the best SLR I have ever used. Superb optics – a brilliant viewfinder – all mechanical shutter speeds a mirror lock up facility and spot metering. I love the OTF flash facility and the compensation. I have to say the optics are superb, but I have used Zeiss lenses also and would say they are at least equal to Leica. Yes there is nothing quite like a leica – but I think there are camera body / lens combinations out there that are equally good. The Nikon bodies are amazing in terms of build quality and prospective durability and using them with the best of the Nikkor and zeiss lenses are a combination hard to beat.

By: dave harrington- fish

dave harrington- fish — Sat, 22 May 2010 22:53:50 +0000

The FM3A Nikon is a great camera. So well built. Has all the important features. Full range of mechanical shutter speeds and mirror lock via the self timer. To my mind spot metering is not necessary. TTL flash is great and remember Zeiss lenses can be used. Yes I could purchase a contax but can they now be repaired – all electronis apart from the B setting and 1/50 sec mechanical in the case of the contax RTS 11. The Nikon bodies are brilliant and coupled with zeiss optics are a fantastic combination.