Changes in times and technology, MF, AF, and these old eyes

[PatrickHMS]

Years ago, I could actually see the eye of a needle to thread it, while now I feel lucky to be able to see the spool of thread sometimes…lol

I used to love to experiment with shooting photos using lots of b/w and “pushing” ASA, available light, DOF, filters, multiple exposures, darkroom tricks, soft focus (Vaseline on a clear filter) and with all the split screen and microprism focusing screens that were available it was easy to imagine what the actual shot would look like, might usually bracket just to be sure, leave tons of stuff on contact sheets (or just develop only), and print the best of them.

Now, according to how the eyepiece in my camera is adjusted, and whether or not I am wearing glasses, many shots look like they are in focus in the camera, but not on the screen or PC monitor, while some shots that look out of focus in the camera, look just fine on the PC.

Guess this old guy is about to convert totally to AF and let the camera do the work from now on. Maybe, in my old age I am less discriminating, but when shooting in “A” or “S”, or even in Auto sometimes, maybe I have learned how to compensate with light (and where it is coming from) and composure, and seem to get as many “good” shots as I used to. Shooting digital, we all probably tend to take more shots.

In my film days, I used to have a good Nikon stuff - a 50mm (1.2 and 1.4), an 85mm, 35-70mm, 70-210mm, and a 50-300mm, and that seemed to be about what I needed for most of what I liked to do.

Just about decided to sell all of my film and AF stuff (Nikon F4, FM2, Nikkor lenses - 50mm 1.8MF, 24mm 2.8 D AF (just don’t use that focal length much) 105MM 2.8 AL-S MF, 35-70mm AF, and a Vivitar 70-210mm AF lens, and use proceeds to finish out my collection of AF lenses.

Guess I have gotten lazy, and find it so much easy to use zoom over primes (for fewer lens changes), and I have the 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 18-200mm covered with new lenses in the 3.5 aperture range. Also have one of those cheap little 28-80mm’s that is better than I ever expected it to be before I got it (closest I could come to a 135mm I used to like so much) so I guess I am covered in the 3.5 and up aperture range.

When I find an AF 50mm prime, and a fast (2.8 – thinking about the 24-85 ???) zoom I should be about done with glass and camera bodies for now.

I hate doing PP, and usually shoot in JPEG, only doing minimal tweaking when I absolutely have to.

I guess I find it amazing how much technology has advanced, while the basic principles of photography are the same as they were 40 years ago. Cost of film and processing could get expensive back then, while that part of it is cheap in the digital world, the cost of some of the equipment seems more than it used to be, and becomes old technolody sooner as newer generation stuff comes out.

I still find that there is some common thread in people who are attracted to photography that I find appealing in most cases.

Oh! to be 25 years old again…lol