New to photography: Is this a good choice?

[mdc017]

I've decided to get started in photography. I've always loved taking pictures and admiring the work of others, but I've never been serious about photography.

I'm here to ask if a future purchase I'm planning will be a good one. I'm planning on buying the following items: (I plan to do 35mm film)

1) Nikon N80
2) Nikon 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6G AF lens
3) Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6G AF lens
4) Plustek opticfilm 7200

I figured I would get a negative scanner so I can just send the film out for negatives instead of prints and save some cash. They'll also go straight to my computer which is a huge plus too.

I'm basically asking for you guy's opinions on my choices. Chances are you know more than me and can help me out a bit.

I'd also like to know what kind of B&W and color film is the best. Especially for concert situations.

Thanks.

 

[Don Simon]

Hello there. That sounds like a very good set-up. The 28-80mm and 70-300mm will cover a lot of situations and will be better than a single lens covering all that range. The N80 is a very good body, and at the moment the prices of film cameras has dropped a lot. Here second-hand N80s are going for around £100 and you should be able to find one somewhere around $100-150. Similarly those lenses can probably be bought used in good condition for a good price, so don't feel like you have to either buy new or buy a 'package' (they aren't always as good value as they seem). As for getting a film scanner, good idea and consider that if you decide to develop your own black & white film you won't have to send anything out and will have more control. I believe the Plustek had some good reviews; you might also want to look at the film-scanning flatbeds from Canon or Epson but the Plustek being a dedicated film scanner probably does a better job.

 

[mdc017]

thanks for that info. I'm getting factory demos of the n80 and both lenses for $329. it's an excellent deal to me.

and the plustek scanner is fairly cheap too. it's less than $200 new. that suprised me. most other digitizing scanners are in the hundreds to thousands of dollars. it's got a 7200dpi which will allow me quite a bit of detail.

any advice on my film questions?

 

[Don Simon]

"Concert situations" I imagine will be low available light. IMO that means either use Kodak or Ilford ISO 3200 black & white film, or use an ISO 400 black & white film, set the camera to treat it as ISO 1600 and then ask the folks developing it to 'push' it to ISO 1600. Without a tripod you will need that high sensitivity (even with a tripod you will probably need it to avoid just capturing blurred movement). To be honest for this sort of situation I would also consider looking at a faster (larger maximum aperture) lens, something like a 50mm f/1.8.

For more general uses, standard Fuji or Kodak colour negative film would be good to start with; as for black and white try various Ilford, Fuji, Kodak or Agfa films and see what you like.

 

[Mike_E]

ZaphodB is right about the 50mm f1.8D. It's about $!00 new and will be one of the sharpest lenses you'll have for a while. Doing shows is a struggle with exposure from the word go!

For color, i would use a Fugi with the 4 color layers (400,800) and depending how dark it is push it 1 or even 1 1/2 stops. Be sure to tell whom ever is developing what you've done. They'll charge you a buck or two more but 1600/3200 speed film is expensive and a biatch to keep from fogging. Fugi's 4th layer film is also color balanced very well too so you don't have to worry about daylight or tungsten lighting or what ever.

I don't shoot b/w any more because every thing goes into digital and I just turn it into b/w there. (I really don't shoot much film any more either)

mike