Need a bit of help

[muso]

Hey everybody. I recently got a couple of older camera's off my grandfather, and have decided I would like to get more into photography. At the moment a bit unsure of what to do whether these camera's are worth using or grabbing a digital slr. Any assistance you could offer would be great.

Thanks

1.

2.

3.

4.

 

[Battou]

Use them, definately, Yeah you'll spend some money on film and processing but that is spread out over time, as opposed to bypassing the "hand-me-downs" and spending a fortune on a new camera and lens's to get similar digital equivalent equipment to what you alredy have.

Image quality should be just fine with the older equipment. As long as the equipment there was well maintained, the only issue you should face is scanning really.

 

[Coldow91]

I would go ahead and use it.

 

[Helen B]

The top one is a Nikon F2. That is a very high quality, all-mechanical camera - some of us think that it is one of the best mechanical 35 mm cameras ever made. Depending on condition, which lens is with it, and the exact model, you could get about US$250 to US$350 on eBay. There is a Wikipedia article here.

If you tell us what is written on the front of the Nikon lens, we could tell you more about exactly which lens you have.

It is manual focus and manual exposure. It will work without batteries - the batteries only power the exposure meter.

Best,
Helen

 

[muso]

Thanks for the help everyone.
The lenses are as follows
1.DIA 58mm UV
2.Prisma 62mm UV
3.DIA 25mm UV

And the other camera is a "Praktica", if that helps at all.

 

[Helen B]

Thanks for the help everyone.
The lenses are as follows
1.DIA 58mm UV
2.Prisma 62mm UV
3.DIA 25mm UV

They look like the filters, not the lenses. The front of the Nikon lens should have 'Nikkor' written on it, and some other information.

 

[muso]

Sorry about that, hope this sounds better.
1. Auto 12 Tele Raynox 3.5/200mm 58
2. Kaligar 1:2.8 f=28mm
3. Nikkor-S.C Auto 1:1.4 f=50mm

That's all the info i can see on there so i hope thats it.

 

[Helen B]

That is a good standard Nikon lens. It is multi-coated, and if the glass isn't scratched it will produce excellent pictures.

If you want to learn how to use a manual camera, your Nikon F2 with 50 mm f/1.4 is hard to beat mechanically and optically. If you want to sell it and put the money towards a digital camera, then the F2 and 50 will raise substantially more than the Praktica outfit.

Don't try to clean that Nikkor unless you have learned how to clean a lens without damaging it. It is remarkably easy to scratch lenses by careless cleaning.

Best,
Helen