I am in the market for a used SLR and I have a few questions. I understand thread mount lenses are old style,is this true?I have 2 thread mount lenses,but I am not really considering them for the camera body,just wondering. Is there a particular brand of camera that has a real good selection of used lenses? Do all camera bodies have a built in light meter? Do all cameras stop down to the same number or is this something I should be aware of? What lenses are recomended for model photography?I have a 50mm lens and it seems to get close enough to the subject. Does the focal length(50mm)mater to the clarity of the back ground scene,or is that the F-stop? I was into photography a bit in highschool,but have forgotten alot of what I used to know....(only 10 years ago!) I have a Praktika camera body that is over 20 years old.It was my dad's and he was looking to upgrade when he passed away 20 years ago,you know this thing is old.(it doesn't work now anyways,and is not worth reparing.) maybe someone could point me to a website that would have this info? Ohh,I guess I should mention the cameras I was looking at were from the big 4,(Nikon,Cannon,Minolta,Pentex) they were in the 250-350 dollar range(CDN) and were manual everything.
Let's see if I can be of any help... 1.) No major manufacturer uses screw mount lenses anymore, so by that measure, they could be considered obsolete. Of course, if they still work for what you need them for, there's nothing wrong with using them. 2.) I think there is more used Nikon gear on the market, but Nikon gear tends to sell for more than other brands. If you have no brand loyalty and are on a budget, I'd suggest Minolta because there seems to be a decent selection of used equipment at great prices. (I am partial to Nikon myself, so if you decide to go the Nikon route, I can be of more help picking out exact equipment.) 3.) Not every camera made in history has a light meter, but if it doesn't this will probably be noted at the time of sale. 4.) As long as two lenses list the same aperture, they will be the same aperture. There is no difference between f/8 on a Nikon and f/8 on anything else. 5.) The best lens you can get for model railroad photography is a macro lens in the 100mm range. (Vivitar sells a new one that will it most mounts for around $100 that is supposed to be excellent.) A stock 50mm lens will work well enough for most shots, however. 6.) I believe you're referring to "depth of field" with your comments about the clarity of the background. There are two ways to increase DOF, use a wide angle lens or use a smaller aperture. Both will cause more of the background to be in focus. ********** In my opinion, your best bet would be to pick up an old manual body (Nikon FM or FM2 would be perfect) and a few lenses to get started.
I agree! Minolta seems to have a great deal of equipment available. They may even have a "bayonet" adapter that will receive your old screw-in lenses For maximum depth of field, a "pin-hole" lens adapter is your very best bet. But, I'm not sure that there are any such commercial lens' on the market. Most make their own from an old lens or by other means. It seems to me that MR magazine had an "how to" article some years ago. Anyone remember when?
Having shot with Lou Sassi (yes, the guy who takes half of the photos in MR) I'll mention a couple of quick things. He, too, is a Nikon user (as am I) and he has been doing some shooting with a high-end Digital SLR - Nikon D100 maybe? Now for a depth-of-field, crank that aperature all the way up (ie make it as small as possible, high aperature means small pinhole in lense), and adjust the timing accordingly. This is where you get into bracketing, 10 seconds, 12 seconds, and 8 seconds if you calculated 10. This way you can select the best exposure of the three. Model RR photography is much different than shooting the real thing.
Corey, what Nikon equipment are you using? I just switched from Pentax to a Nikon N65 and have yet to use it for railfanning, but am sure impressed with the other stuff I have shot.
I currently use an N80, and I have a Tamron 28-80 AF and a Nikor AF 75-240. Used to shoot with a Nikon N50, but something happened to the shutter, so I broke down and invested $400 at the beginning of this past summer for the N80. I still shoot everything manually, btw, I just think it meters a little better, and the automatic bracketing is nice for night exposures. I need to get some of my shots of the CP Holiday train in Saratoga, NY scanned. It got there after dusk, and the opened shutter makes the sky look great.
