Digital Cameras - What's Everyone Using?

I had been using a MFT Kodak S-1, an entry level camera, until about a month ago. It was a good camera, not great, good. There were some hiccoughs
with the firmware. For example, couldn't shoot in RAW, but I could shoot video with any of the digital filters that come with it. Both of which are
wrong. The kit lenses were great until the front lens coating began to delaminate. The 400mm telephoto is only ok. My Zeiss 8x30 monocular blows it
out of the water with a fraction of the glass the 400mm has. Could go on all night.

I'd like to make a more serious purchase this time around. Full frame is a must, as well as interchangeable lenses. I've been debating getting a
Nikon D850. Sony is out of the question. Any input on what you shoot with would be greatly appreciated. And, yeah, photography & tractors go great
together.

Mike

I have a Sony A100 & a Sony SLT-A55V. Both are digital SLR cameras. The reason I have Sony
is I originally had Minolta cameras and all my lens fit the
Sony cameras. I have several Minolta film cameras that are basically
worthless now.

Isn't the A100 Sony's first DSLR? I am interested in hearing about how they've held up.

Mike

That was one of the first cameras that they made after
they purchased Minolta. I haven't any problem with either
camera.

The Canon 5D mark one two three four etc. Are full imager and go from aroud 16 up to 50 meg. My 7D takes great shots and in RAW it pushes 18meg. Many MANY years ago knew a guy with a 4X5 Linhof. . Boy did that thing make photos! They have 6X9 too. Digital backs for them start in the severa thousand price range and have so much output you need to plug it into a pretty powerful laptop just to use it. There are videos of guys using hand made cameras with X-ray film. Something ike 11x17?. Crazy super photo geeks. By the way...if your meter conks out you can use the "Sunny 16" rule. On a sunny day, with ASA or ISO film of 100, you use 100th of a second at f16 apature. The shutter speed and film speed match up. One time at the college illustration lab they got a batch of super fine grain copy slide film. Trying to remember if it was ASA 6 or 8 speed. In broad daylight and a steady hand it took fantastic ultra dense color slides. Works amazingly well. Sunny 16 is pretty much what those old box cameras used. For nice sunny days you had smaller holes so less light went through the lense because you only had one shutter speed being around a 50th of a second. Actually those old Civil war glass plate cameras were down there in that ASA 6 sensitivity area. My how we have progressed.

X ray camera.

I use my samsung phone camera a j3v,does fine for me in a cheep phone

Me too, J3. Don't leave home without it.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC FZ 70
I had the fz35 now use the fz 70
point and shoot 20-1200 optical lens with bells and whistles galore
point and shoot family of cameras
large body like a full sized 35mm and my big mechanics hands fit it well
still kicking, it has hit the ground probably a couple good ones

hangs from a zaguto lanyard from my belt (B&H)
I get 12x18 zerox laser prints of high quality at the printshop for less than $1.50ea
I distribute my art all about town freely
newer version FZ 80

Canon PowerShot A560. Had it for years and still does better than any phone in the family.

> Full frame is a must, as well as interchangeable lenses.

Obviously you're a much more serious photographer than I'll ever be, but are you certain you need a full frame sensor? That eliminates a lot of very good APS-C and Micro Four-Thirds cameras. And of course full-frame cameras and lenses are bigger and more expensive those for the smaller formats.

Another thing to consider is whether or not to go mirrorless rather than DSLR. The mirrorless cameras are more compact, and I think the advantages of a digital viewfinder outweigh the disadvantages.

For many years I've preferred compact cameras to SLRs. The finest camera in the world doesn't do you any good if it's sitting at home when you need it. I use a Fujifilm X10 and have been really happy with it. But obviously it's not a system camera.

My wife wanted a good camera for Christmas a couple of years ago. Based on my experience with the X10, I bought her a Fujifilm X-T10 with a couple of lenses. This is a midrange mirrorless APS-C camera that looks like an SLR; Fuji offers similar pro-grade cameras in their X-T1, X-T2 and X-T3 cameras, plus a number of other models that don't look like SLRs.

The Fujifilm X-series cameras and lenses are constructed of metal, very solid and look good. My only complaint about the X-series is that the lens selection is a bit limited compared to Nikon or Canon, but they continue to add new lens to the X system.
Fujifilm X series

I'm using a Pentax X-5. Takes fairly descent pictures but you can't put a telephoto lens on it.

I use a Sony sure shot for stills. It has the ability to do videos but I don't. I have a Sony video camera but the charger became stored in an unknown place somehow. Not being able to grip a lot with my left hand it would be hard for me to use it anyway. I have bought several cheap body cameras which all have their short comings. Some make any thing but a close shot look distorted. The one I used for this below needs shot in bright outside light. This was shot in late afternoon with clouds. It came with head, wrist bands and other mounting attachments. I used a tri pod.
Here

Five years ago, we went on a tour to D.C. Our SIL said it's time to get rid of all that Minolta equipment you've carried for 40 years and handed me a Sony 3000 with an 18-55 and a 55-210 telephoto. They've been great! And a lot less to carry! I sold the Minolta to a college student who was tickled to find all of it in one stop!

a Canon T6 with a Sigma 18 - 300 zoom

Sony A6000. Very fast focus and 11 frame/second burst shots. A scene selector toggles between presets for different scenarios. Most of the time mine is on sports setting that will stop hummingbird wings in motion, and at 24 meg resolution you can zoom in and see the individual feathers. File transfers are made over a built in wireless LAN. I can also remotely trigger the shutter with my Iphone. I have to wear my glasses for the electronic viewfinder, but I absolutely love it.

In my limited travels here and there, I would say it is a rarity these days to see very many people using an actual digital "camera" ..... phones are used for the most part. I would be willing to bet that 99% of all the photos that are taken these days are taken on cell phones. I have a flip phone that I think can take photos but have never learned how. I have been using a Canon 560 (same one that someone else mentioned in this thread) since 2006. Believe it or not, I sometimes feel that people stare at me when I use it .... ha!

I am using a Canon S100 for the last 10 years or so. Not a bad camera, it shoots raw and has gps. But when changes focus the mechanism feels "rough". Not sure if it is working correctly or has some sort of issue. Anyone else notice a roughness in their cameras autofocus?

Yes they do fine dont they? Lots cheeper too

My truck just came out of the big truck bathtub

Sony Cyber Shot DSC 828. Carl Zeiss Lens Focuses to 1.5 inches THis is a Segrave 12 cylinder sports car made by the fire truck company employees for the company owner. It is one of one. Jim

Samsung Digimax.

I have four or five, some I bought used, like new, on EBay. When I was doing real estate inspections, I always carried a backup camera. It would have been the pits to be a hundred miles from home on the job, and have camera problems.

I found those Samsungs to be almost indestructible. I had one on the end of an 8' camera pole one day, using the timer function to take photos of a roof, when I slipped on ice and fell. The camera came down from a height of about 14' and landed on a concrete sidewalk. All that happened to it was the battery door popped open. It still worked normally. I did take the precaution of using my backup camera for the rest of the day, but went back to using that one after I found there was no harm done.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3, Leica lens 28 mm wide angle, 10X optical zoom, has way more settings than I ever use. Use it in the "Simple Mode" mostly. Battery (Li-ion) doesn't hold charge as long as I think it should.

I've got a Fujiflim X-S1 Top of the line, brand new in the soft carrying case. I've never used it ,cost over 600.00 Don't need it as I'm in a wheel chair! would take 385.00 for it! look it up,it's loaded...

I did do the research. The only thing that kills it for me, is the lack of interchangeable lenses. I have a lot of glass, expensive & other, that I don't plan on making into shelf queens yet. Would have been a great camera for me otherwise. I do thank you kindly for the offer.

Mike

Don't know what you have against Sony. I've never had an issue, used their cameras for years. I have had an a5100 the last few years. Got a used bundle reasonable, plus a couple other lenses, and I could get adapters for others to fit if I wanted. Small size was a factor, I wouldn't want a high dollar camera in the tractor, pasture etc. Sony also makes the sensors for some of the other manufacturers. So different requirements than you. You said Nikon d850? Its sensor is manufactured by Sony. Looks like $2400+, good camera for sure.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4326372#forum-post-61746064

I have rented an A7r II & an A7 III & I will list a few issues with Sony & those cameras. Let's start with the fact that they are a diversified
Japanese electronics company that has their equipment made of Chineeseum. Kind of reminds me a little of Kodak (who was actually was a camera
company, now just a name... they even hold the patents on the first digital camera developed back in the 70's. They opted to mothball the project
for fear it would put them out of business. They cut their own throat there). The Nikon sensor IS in fact Sony, you are 100% correct on that.
However, the sensors are made on optical steppers provided by..... Nikon. The ergo's on most Sony full frames are rather clunky, the grip is too
close to the lens & the bodies tend to run on the warm side. The v-grip does make things a bit better. The battery, say on the A7 III has reasonable
longevity, but if you charge from the USB cable/port, there's a risk of burning up the board should there be a surge for whatever reason. USB
charging is also rather s-l-o-w. To keep this kind of short, lets move on to the lenses (the 3F's will take some time to write out
(functions/features/firmware)). Most all Sony lenses are Cosina, even the Zeiss branded ones. As a matter of fact, most Zeiss lenses are outsourced
& very few are made in Germany. And lastly, there warranty/repair/return support outright sucks. I can say they take excellent video. Hopefully that
holds true for your A5100. And, sorry, not a diaper review fan. Too many schills pushing products & the concept of peer review is crap.

Mike

I checked it out a little on the 'net & that's a sharp looking camera. No interchangeable lenses, though. How's the video on it?

Mike

That does sound like a rather durable camera. Hopefully you survived with minimal damage too. Are you using the A6 or A7... or both?

Mike

From my point of view, you'd have to own a company to afford all those plugs! Wow, is that neat. Are those exhaust pipes wrapped in Asbestos?

Mike

I had an A75. Great little camera. Many of the pics I posted on this site, early on, were taken with that camera. It technically did have
interchangeable lenses, too. A 2x tele & a wide angle. RAW & GPS would have been handier.

Mike

Those compact Canons are great cameras. I had an A75 until it died, then I bought a second one (used) in beautiful shape. Lasted a month before the sensor pooped out on me like the last one. I also went to a flip phone for pictures, after that. Then I got a smarty phone. I can still use the old wide & zoom lenses from the A75 on it. Good stuff.

People always stared when I had my digital camera, but I seemed to disappear when I have a film camera along or they look at me like I'm the Walking Dude. Go figure

Mike

I've noticed a lot of people have the smaller Sonys. It almost sounds like they make a better "pocket camera" than pro. You say it also does wireless
transfers, remote shutter & has a viewfinder? A viewfinder is quite important in my book. Hmmm. The research continues.

Mike

How do you like the Sigma zoom lens?

Mike

But..... but but.... the Minolta!!! What model & lenses did you have?

Mike

Which camera did you use for the video? It is a bit dark, but turned out ok.

Mike

It's a bummer about the fixed lens. It seems like a good working & good looking camera.

Mike

Yep! Agreed! Those old PowerShots were awesome cameras. My A75 lasted a good six years before the sensor pooped out. I thought that wasn't too shabby.

Mike

(quoted from post at 21:08:07 08/23/19) Let's start with the fact that they are a diversified
Japanese electronics company that has their equipment made of Chineeseum. Kind of reminds me a little of Kodak (who was actually was a camera
company, now just a name... they even hold the patents on the first digital camera developed back in the 70's. They opted to mothball the project
for fear it would put them out of business. They cut their own throat there). The Nikon sensor IS in fact Sony, you are 100% correct on that.
However, the sensors are made on optical steppers provided by..... Nikon. The ergo's on most Sony full frames are rather clunky, the grip is too
close to the lens & the bodies tend to run on the warm side. The v-grip does make things a bit better. The battery, say on the A7 III has reasonable
longevity, but if you charge from the USB cable/port, there's a risk of burning up the board should there be a surge for whatever reason. USB
charging is also rather s-l-o-w. To keep this kind of short, lets move on to the lenses (the 3F's will take some time to write out
(functions/features/firmware)). Most all Sony lenses are Cosina, even the Zeiss branded ones. As a matter of fact, most Zeiss lenses are outsourced
& very few are made in Germany. And lastly, there warranty/repair/return support outright sucks. I can say they take excellent video. Hopefully that
holds true for your A5100. And, sorry, not a diaper review fan. Too many schills pushing products & the concept of peer review is crap.

Mike

Click to expand...

I'm just going to explain my reasoning (yes, I do understand yours too). China manufactured. ~Many if not most companies have stuff made or parts sourced in China. A person might not like it (I reeeallly don't), but qc is up to the company, and if it meets spec., products are fine. Although I dislike Apple products, the os, and using them, many don't share that opinion. One thing, you don't hear much about with them, in general, is poor quality from being made in China. I wanted a cheap, light, chainsaw to backup the big expensive one. I picked Makita. Yep, China. Why? I saw some pros not only review it, but disassemble it. I saw the parts, and I heard how well built it was (the exact model I got). In over a year of hard storm cleanup, I'm using it more than the big one. Peer review? Sure, but accurate and good info, and I wasn't spending $700 on a second little saw when I could spend $200 for a decent one (coupons plus sale). Not that it matters, my a5100 says Thailand (I know that's not the case with other models), and the Sigma on it says Japan, I don't have the other lenses out here to look (other than pretty much any review I read raved about how good the main one I got is for the price). I also have access to Canon and some others, but I don't get around to "pro" shots much, so I never got an adapter. My point with the Sony sensor, companies work together for things. If Nikon uses Sony for part of one of the main things, they must be capable of a quality product. Ergos are subjective, entirely. If you don't like holding a Sony, then that's it, they're out. Much like my Apple dislike (but I also don't like the company, in addition to usage). Things like that and your Sony dislike are personal experience based, and understandable. Most reviews I see comparing DSLR or other, say that you can choose between Sony, Canon, Nikon, and get a good camera, even in many cases hard to tell the difference in picture without REALLY digging into it. Choices come down to personal preferences, all make good cameras.

Battery charging, I guess I could see that. I didn't see if there was a wide failure rate as I'm not in the market for this model. If there is, definitely out (or the annoyance of an external charger). I have been considering going up to a newer "a" series, but will look if the others have something comparable in the future. I also have a p&s, far handier in the pocket for something quick (I don't often "set up" shots).

Warranty. Can't say personally. In 19 years, several thousands of pictures, with a couple years of an additional Canon product in there, I've never had to use their support at all. I got a Sony card because it gave me a couple hundred dollars off of something about 10 years ago, and got points with it for a few years, got a tv for almost nothing 7 years ago, it's still ok too. I never saw much about that during my initial research a couple years ago. My used camera, I got a Squaretrade warranty just in case (it was a reputable store on ebay so I could get the warranty on used). I did with another product, under a week and no hassle I had a replacement.

Forum. Like I said, not in the market, and I know you can Google. I just did a quick look what the camera was, saw that right away, mainly the video, saw that it went into fairly detailed comparisons. As to the forum itself, most are full of "experts", including this one..., but I usually sort through that stuff without thinking much about it. In general, with a product, if there's a severe issue, like say, banding, it would turn up in the discussion and a person could look into it more (at a site of one's choosing).

(quoted from post at 22:03:40 08/23/19) I've noticed a lot of people have the smaller Sonys. It almost sounds like they make a better "pocket camera" than pro. You say it also does wireless
transfers, remote shutter & has a viewfinder? A viewfinder is quite important in my book. Hmmm. The research continues.

Mike

Click to expand...

I don't see many people saying that their "pro" are much worse than other brands, other than the personal preference thing that's been mentioned. Of course some years the competition will leapfrog, or something new comes out that needs to mature a little.

My a5100 has an app, it syncs with a smartphone. You see the viewscreen picture live on the phone screen, and can control the zoom if available, other options, take pictures, and transfer to phone. I saw that option on some regular ~$200 cameras too, a few years ago.

Mine does not have an viewfinder, which was an issue, of course. However, it was also $200 less than any a6000 I could find at the time, same bundle. And it takes ~basically the same pictures. Probably when I had a viewfinder as the main one, less than 1% of pictures were with the camera held to my face (higher, lower, out a window, etc.). It also has a daylight setting. It eats the battery, but the screen is plainly visible in full sun. So, personal preference, not a big deal and I don't miss it much. But, viewfinder is preferable, of course, especially on a high dollar item.

Cowranch, Good Morning!
After sleeping on it, I had a thought. It wasn't fair of me to hold Sony to "perfect standards" after owning an entry level MFT camera. I knew
about the issues pertaining to the S-1 before I purchased it. When I went to research pro Sony cameras, I got caught up in the hype (read: thought &
expected them to be bullet-proof). When I went to research the hot camera body issue that occured (in Springtime temps), I came across a complaint
about someone's board flashing over due to the USB charging setup & the lack of any help from the warranty department & it went down hill from
there. I was wrapped up in the hunt for everything wrong with these cameras & that may have jaded my views. So, to be fair, I will try out an A6000.
Sony has to have some good cameras, or they wouldn't be making them.

I have no issue with Sony products being made in China, Taiwan, etc. My issue is Sony is not a camera company & should not profess to be, as they
are essentially another "Conglomo" buying up companies to slap their name on. I'd see some true semblance of Konica/Minolta if that were the case.
Like Avco did with New Idea, Tenneco with Case, etc.

One more thing about China. There's something to be said for a country that has electronics stores the size of a Costco & I would sure like to check
out those places some day. The factory tours would really have to be something to see, too!

And one quick closing remark for this post:
You challenged some of my views & caused me to reconsider,
Thank You!

Mike

P.S. I don't know if I'll have the time to rent a new camera for a month or so, but I hope you will check back occasionally to see what I may have
to say. Also have to register a watermark, which may take a minute.

One of the great features of the Kodak S-1 I had was it's smallness. Tough little guy that actually had a metal body & was put through its paces. I think my Sears 135 was the biggest I would hang off of there without a built-in tripod mount on the lens. On the flip side, my Pentax Auto 100 lenses made the camera look big. I have a large reserve of older manual lenses & am not too concerned with collecting AF lenses. However, the AF lens(es) that I do get will be held to a higher standard, optically. The motor drives, well, I don't have a whole lot to compare to from my past. I will say the Sony lenses in the kit that I rented were amazing! Those are the only modern lenses, though. Hope to get a couple more cameras rented this fall.

Mike

When I get a minute, I'll research the FZ70. Currently looking at renting a GH5. I have too many manual lenses I'd rather not let sit around, so that's why I'm shying away from P&S. That & my CAT phone is my point & shoot.... & it's truly weather tight. I haven't found a DSLR that can boast that feature, yet.

Mike

I wouldn't know what to do, if I didn't have a camera on my phone. Is that a new 389? Don't know that hood is square enough for a 379. An excellent truck by any standard (& I'm a Navastar nut).

Mike

I don't mean to sound like Sony is the best either. I've just not had the negatives, and have suggested a few products along the years, and everything has turned out well. Like I said, I did have a Canon in there, well, still do, it still works. Kodak was my first actual one, took great pictures for a starter.

I don't generally go looking for negatives ~exactly. With most products, I know that it's a fact, more people will complain and report problems more than they will praise them, so results a person sees are skewed. Of course, like I said, if you see an issue mentioned repeatedly, then it needs looked into. Higher dollar item will get more scrutiny. But, an occasional ~something every once in a while is not always a concern, any brand can have an issue, or even a bad model, doesn't mean they are junk.

Taking into account they are not full frames, and the nature of their native lens availability (and possibility of adapters), the little a series are well respected, at least when I was researching. And the prices they still command today, shows people are willing to pay for them (just a few months ago was the first real dip I saw in pricing after all these years). I was thinking of getting a newer one with in camera stabilization, would make it a ~bit handier in some situations. But, other than thinking about it, not ~really a reason to switch.

What you're looking at, at the price, with my limited looking at it, I would probably also choose the d850, really. For video I like the p&s (the a5100 does great though), the zoom is more seamless and again the ease of quickly picking it up, taking it along, and generally it's things like wildlife, not close. Yes, not the quality, but "good".

Warranty business would be a concern. Of course, some credit cards automatically extend them for free and have their own process. And, although sometimes an extended warranty is a gimmick, if not too bad of a price, they can actually be worth their weight in gold, if a reputable company. I can't say that I saw a lot of issues back when I was looking, perhaps it's changed.

I don't know, when I look at about anything, I see more of the Ford vs. Chevy, IH vs Deere argument. You might have a worse transmission in one model, better engine in another, better location of controls in one, and in the next model year it might be the reverse. In the end, they all have "ok" models.

Another easily found random comparison https://www.lightandmatter.org/2017...y-a7r-iii-vs-nikon-d850-which-should-you-buy/

Renting? I've seen people do that, didn't look if that works online. I'm pretty sure there isn't a store that does that within probably 180 miles around here.

Anyway, I have a cow ranch, not a little one, not a big one, but it's what I do. I'm not a pro photographer, so probably it would be best not to pay any attention to what I say....

I do plan on getting into collodion & gelatin plates at some point. The whole process is slow & making your own is messy, but the results are incredible. And the longevity, WOW. Just don't drop the dumb things. Lol!

If you think ASA 6 is slow, try .6 ultra fine b&w copy. I'll have to dig out a roll later & post.

Mike

P.S. That Linhof has me droooooolin'!

> One of the great features of the Kodak S-1 I had was it's smallness.

If it's smallness you want, you won't get it with a full-frame DSLR. The Fujifilm X bodies aren't as small as your S-1, but they're close.

> I have a large reserve of older manual lenses & am not too concerned with collecting AF lenses. However, the AF lens(es) that I do get will be held to a higher standard, optically.

Hmm. If you're going to use the lenses you own, doesn't that kind of take you down the Micro Four-Thirds path? Or are you thinking to use an adapter? At any rate, Fuji lenses have been highly regarded for decades, and the X series are no exception.

(quoted from post at 22:28:07 08/21/19) <img src="https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto34223.jpg">

I had been using a MFT Kodak S-1, an entry level camera, until about a month ago. It was a good camera, not great, good. There were some hiccoughs
with the firmware. For example, couldn't shoot in RAW, but I could shoot video with any of the digital filters that come with it. Both of which are
wrong. The kit lenses were great until the front lens coating began to delaminate. The 400mm telephoto is only ok. My Zeiss 8x30 monocular blows it
out of the water with a fraction of the glass the 400mm has. Could go on all night.

I'd like to make a more serious purchase this time around. Full frame is a must, as well as interchangeable lenses. I've been debating getting a
Nikon D850. Sony is out of the question. Any input on what you shoot with would be greatly appreciated. And, yeah, photography & tractors go great
together.

Mike

<img src="https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto34224.jpg">

Click to expand...

OLYMPUS D-380 is a really good pocket camera, has a great lens!

You don't have to be a pro to have me listen. That link is quite interesting. I actually thought the AF was decent on the Sony A7R III, but I haven't
tried the Nikon, yet. Speaking of rentals, I went through BorrowLenses. They'll ship right to your door. They have an amazing selection & are
extremely helpful when choosing a camera, lens, etc. They do have an A6000. I think I'll grab that up & try it out before the D850 as it's a bit more
affordable.

I would also like to update my info about Sony sensors. The silicon wafer itself is Tower Jazz & final fabrication into the board by Sony. Then it
goes into a Nikon. The "news" was just released a few hours ago. Fancy that.

Mike

I'm not too familiar with the D-380, but I know Olympus makes a good lens. Initially, while shopping for a Micro 4/3 camera a few years back, I almost
went with an Olympus Pen E-P2 in stead of the Kodak S-1. It was a little more pricey, so I went with the Kodak. Not sure it was the best move as the
Olympus has a better track record.

Mike

I may end up sticking to MFT cameras. When my ex left me, she took the S-1 & left all the adapters behind, because manual lenses are "too hard to figure out". So I would have to get nine new adapters for whatever camera I get. That's going to be pricey for either the Fuji or Nikon cameras. It would be nice to have a new Fujifilm camera for my old Fujica lenses though.

Mike

A6000 is of course not going to be in the "pro" level, but I like 'em. They will overheat if you do "an amount" of video, folding out the screen helps to dissipate, recording to an external drive eliminates that. Known thing with mine too (innards are pretty much identical), doesn't bother me.

Also, the "kit" lenses aren't the best, 16-50 and 55-210 (or thereabouts, hadn't thought about them in a while). Pictures end up looking ok, but the camera auto corrects their limitations. I know you can figure out which lenses to try. I mentioned I had a Sony card for a while, one of the things I used points for was the 50mm 1.8 Sony, wasn't out of pocket $50 for that one. And I got a Sigma 30mm for not much with another deal. I like both. Not the high end stuff of course, but, point it at something, push the button, 99 times out of 100, you get a decent picture without messing with anything or thinking about settings, if you don't want. Don't have an actual macro one, but have some spacer tubes that are supposed to work great (yeah, forget the actual name, long day), haven't gotten around to messing with those other than briefly, once. Like I said, not really doing the high end stuff.

Might have to look more at that stuff, been raining, can't do much. Don't like to complain about it, never did like complaining about rain, but I'm like 1/4 done haying. Nobody has much up, cut for days, rained on. I was "luckily" in a path that got almost 6" today. After all the flooding and bridges and culverts washing out this spring, rain all summer, now this, culvert is almost washed out again. Fun times.

Thanks for the heads-up on the kit lenses. I know just from my limited experience with that type of lens from other manufacturers, they are usually
not the best. It would also seem that the longer the "throw" between minimum & maximum on a zoom lens, the poorer the image. Reminds me of using a
2x multiplier on a zoom or tele lens. The amount of aberration, ghosting, artifacts & haze can get crazy.

You mentioned macro. I totally forgot to try the Sonys on my bellows. Hopefully I won't forget with the next camera(s).

I'm also curious if you tried a tilt-shift lens on your A5100? Was going to with the Sony, but there weren't any available in E mount.

With the recession of El Nino, things are expected to be cooler & just about as wet this fall throughout most of the country. I don't know where
your 20 is, but you have my best for making hay. Washed hay sucks. I've had plenty of it.

Mike

> I may end up sticking to MFT cameras. When my ex left me, she took the S-1 & left all the adapters behind, because manual lenses are "too hard to figure out". So I would have to get nine new adapters for whatever camera I get. That's going to be pricey for either the Fuji or Nikon cameras. It would be nice to have a new Fujifilm camera for my old Fujica lenses though.

Yes, if you don't want to buy new lenses it will be a lot cheaper to stick with Micro Four Thirds. And I don't think the old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujica_X-mount">Fujica bayonet mount</a> is compatible with current <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujifilm_X-mount">Fujifilm X-series</a> cameras.

I've never used a lens adapter. Do the focal length, aperture and focus all remain the same with an adapter? I assume you have to use stop-down metering with an adapter.

BTW, I never mentioned why I like the Fujifilm cameras so much. They have old-school mechanical controls on the top of the camera, just like Nikon FM I started out with. So if you're in the habit of manually setting the exposure, it's very simple to switch to manual settings and set the shutter speed. (Aperture control is on the lens, where it should be.) And when running in programmed mode, there's a big exposure compensation knob right on the top making it simple to tweak the exposure (or accidentally change it, for that matter). I'm really surprised at how difficult it is to adjust exposure compensation on many DSLRs.

Mark
40+ years ago I purchased a cannon AE1. Later an A1. I have a suit case full on lenses. I learned I could use all the lenses on a digital cannon rebel.

I miss not being able to use long lenses and adjusting shutter and light. I gave everything to my daughter. I do like my camera phone. Willing to settle for less pic quality.

Today it would be a nightmare going through security with camera.

Decent camera correction plus an "ok" photographer can get an "ok" picture out of just about anything. Phones can turn out ok pics to look at. Me, not having a zoom (at least something other than standard view) drives me nuts. So very few pictures I take are that, walk around see something like deer in the distance, try to take a pic with the phone and can barely make out a dot. I remember some reviewers/users complaining about the kits, and a few saying not too bad, with the correction, all things considered. They do "ok" for me, I don't use them like the others though.

No, haven't looked at the tilt-shift. Like I said, haven't gotten into it much beyond basics. I do see "at least" one e mount, full frame, but of course it works on the little one. And tilt adapters look reasonable, didn't look if any of the adapters shift though.

The basic macro lens available was "ok" when I looked, not great, just ok. Was 30mm I think. The spacers were cheap, and did ok in testing, just haven't had the time.

Good Morning!
First off, none of my Fujica lenses are X-mount, they're all M42. I'm not a fan of wire control unless there's an airplane at the end of it. :V)

It all depends on what you are adapting to what camera. Usually the flange distance is unchanged with an adapter. If there is a change, you may loose infinity. Some adapters have a lens in them that acts as a teleconverter to achieve infinity. The adapters with speed booster (wide angle) type element reduce the focal length & increase the max aperture.

>I assume you have to use stop-down metering with an adapter.

Yep! On your digital, set it to Aperture Priority & let the camera do the work. On your film SLR, your digits do the work. Lol!

Mike

I still have a Canon EF and miss some features. I liked being able to select different lenses.
A. I did not like all of the chemicals needed to develop and print color or to process color. I think the digital cameras have substantially reduced industrial chemical waste in the photography business.

B. I was lucky to use about 1/2 of my shots.

C. I sometimes missed shots trying to get everything ready.

D. I did not like having to wait to have them processed or printed.

E. I really miss the two Vivitar 90mm macro lenses. One is continuous down to 1:1 image size. The other is a Series I 90mm macro lens and is probably the sharpest lens I own.

I have several Canon point and Shoot cameras plus a Panasonic.

1. Canon A620 4x optical zoom 7.1mp

2. A used Canon S10is. Cheap less than $100 10mp

3. A used Canon SX20IS. Cheap less than $110 IFRC 12mp

4. Bought new Panasonic Lumix FZ47 Fixed lcd display 12mp

The reason I bought the used Canons is I don't like the dedicated lithium batteries. These Canons use AA batteries available everywhere.
The Panasonic uses a Lithium battery and you are SOL if you don't buy extra batteries and aftermarket ones are Caveat emptor. I also sometimes misplace the charger.

The Canons also have an articulated LCD screen which I find very useful.
All of these suffer from one thing. The small sensor reduces the useful
shutter speed so shooting indoors can be a pita if you don't want to use flash photography. I think a full size sensor allows about 4x increase in F stop speed, but I am not sure.

I hope one day to buy a Canon Rebel so I can use my Canon and Vivitar lenses. They won't autofocus or stop down, but I think they might be worth the trouble to use manually.