Camera Talk

It took almost 40 days to finish a roll in our late spring. It was either too warm, too windy, or I had other things to attend, or just plain lazyness. The black Nikon F2, while a dream of a camera, sometimes seems too big and heavy. I need to get a plain prism for this one, as I did for my F bodies.

Do cameras increase in weight as one ages?

Usual subjects in the fishing boats dock of Buceo harbor. I was lucky to catch fishermen as they were returning, quite loaded.







Our president-elected had to wait almost a week to celebrate victory, it was a close election. The celebration event was scheduled very close to the fishermen's area, so I moved there to try some amateur photojournalism. There were lots of flags around in a very warm day with a burming sun, but the militants were there in force anyway.





Three more samples. Straight, narrow, wooden path to the beach



Favorite stairs to the muddy water



Soccer and company (the game looked quite professional, with shirts for each team).



Lenses 105/2.5, 35/2.8 and 50/1.4. Film was FP4+ in Beutler, scanned in Epson V600 flatbed.

Very nice indeed, Julio. Exposures must have been spot on as the beach sand in the last shot is retaining detail. Yes, cameras do get heavier as we age, but it doesn't take much ageing. I remember how relieved I was when I exchanged my F for an FE. My shoulder felt as though it had been relieved of a great weight. Looking back, however, I don't think that the FE would have survived the punishment that the F had endured up until then. It wasn't built to do so. I replaced the FE with a F3, but I didn't like the ergonomics of that camera. It was designed to be used with a motor-drive attached, which transformed the ergonomics but made it much heavier and bulkier. I regrettably never owned an F2.

Very nice photos, Julio, the fishes, the stairs and beach are my favorites:)

That soccer match picture is a gem!
well done

Thanks for the comments!

Graham, I agree on the trade-off of toughness and weight; real pro cameras must be heavier than flimsy amateur instruments, especially with SLR types. Regarding exposure, FP4+ and Beutler is so tolerant a combination that most exposure sins are forgiven. In the beach picture I got extra lucky with an overcast sky.

Those fish in the box are flounder, and the one outside is a corvina. Large animals, a good catch.

That camera is in capable hands, Julio. Good selection on the lenses too. I waited so long to get an F2 that it never even occurred to me that it could be overly heavy. I like a camera with some heft, as it's what I was used to in the earlier days.

PF

Thanks PF! The F2 is not really that heavy or big,

Maybe my problem is that I grew up on a Zorki 3M and then a Pentax K-1000, which are way lighter and smaller.

Back in the early seventies I went from a complete M42 outfit (Sears version of the Ricoh Singlex) to a Vitessa-L, then to a Nikkormat FTN. To me, the Nikkomat was more ergonomic than the F, while the F2 (which came along in 2011) was even better in that department. In my hands, everything on the F2 is in just the perfect place. And with that lens combo you used (I would add either a 28mm or 24mm) it makes for a very nice kit to run around with.

PF