Building The Perfect Lens System To Shoot Film
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- čas přidán 9. 01. 2024
- Are you shooting more film than ever and want to build the perfect manual focus SLR system and wonder which lenses you should get? Let's review some options for this perfect system and I'll show you the system I built. Maybe something similar would work for you.
It doesn't matter which brand of camera you shoot with, it's the lenses that make the system, so let's build the perfect system, whether you're shooting weddings, portraits or looking for an everyday user for street work.
Rob Skeoch is a career photographer, working for five newspapers and wire services before joining the team at Major League Baseball for 17 seasons and the NFL for 14 seasons. Then he was a national manager for the camera group at Sony North America before going back to shooting.
Now he shoots for gallery shows around the world, mostly portraits and street work. For 35mm shooting he uses a Nikon F3 and a couple M-mount Leica cameras and shoots mostly Ilford film.
HP5 FP4Pan F Ilford Zeiss ZM Distagon Summaron Biogon Leica Leica R6.2 R6.2 R6 Nikon Nikon F3 Nikon F3T Nikon FM3A Pentax Pentax LX Pentax MX Canon Canon F1 Canon New F1Minolta Minolta X-700 Olympus Olympus OM4 Olympus OM3 Olympus OM4T Olympus OM3T Contax Kodak Fiilmprocessing darkroom black and white b&w developing film at home developing black and white filmdeveloping 35mm filmdeveloping roll film loading film developing reels loading 35mm film on reel loading 35mm film loading 35mm into development tank #blackandwhitephotography, #filmphotography, #blackandwhite, #filmprocessing, #film,, #bw, , #filmisnotdead, #blackandwhitephoto, #filmcamera, #35mmfilm, #leica, #nikon, #darkroom, #darkrooms, #film, #filmcamera, , #leica, #leicasociety, #ilford, #120film, #rolleiflex #rollei, #gitzo #kodak, #streetphotography,, photo, photography, picture, 135mm lens, 35mm film, black and white, rollei, ilford, portrait, #nikon, #canon, #pentax, #zeiss #distagon #18mm #zeisslens #leicaphotography #leica_world #leicaimages #leicalens, #leica_camera #leicam6 #nikonf3 #nikonfm2 #canon_official #minolta #olympus
I moved back to film last summer (2023) and went with a Nikon FM, (debating if I should have got the F2, but I'm happy) For lenses I got a 35mm F2.8, 50mm F2, 85mm f1.8, and 105mm F2.5. I've been very happy with my decisions.
Nikon had the benefit of kind of making everything all the time. As an OM shooter there were just a lot of later lenses that were both faster and sharper, at every aperture. My personal 50/1.2 is sharper than any 1.8 I ever owned including the very last MIJ version, at least in the center where it ever mattered to me. The f2.0 lenses from Olympus were almost always better than the 2.8/3.5 versions at any aperture except for vignetting. In terms of what I would carry around, 28mm/f2.0, 50mm/f2.0 auto-macro or 50mm/f1.2, 90mm/f2.0 auto-macro. The 90 is a bit big but probably the best lens the system ever produced for general purpose use. Just bought into Nikon for digital with 28 and 40, likely going to add a 105mm 2.5 to that. Funny, those first two are definitely "price point" lenses but on a 24mp full frame they are distressingly sharp to someone with a lot of very expensive vintage glass lol. <$300 dollar lenses, and maybe the plastic wont last forever, but damn are they sharp.
Would you mind to share why you didn't choose the 58mm f1.2 and the 105mm f2.5? Thanks for your informative videos!
I love range finders so my kit is a Leica M6 28mm Elmarit 2.8, 50mm Summilux 1/4, and a 90mm Summicron f/2
My usual carry setup is quite similar. FM2N, 24mm 2.8, 50mm 1.4, 105mm 2.5, 200mm f/4. I have an F3, but the FM2N has become a trusted friend.
In 2020 I picked up a F3 HP with MD4 and 105/2.5 ais at a bargain price. I have since added a 24/2.8 ai (I like the longer focus throw compared to the ais), a 50/1.2, a 200/4 and a later generation 43-86/3.5 for snapshots. When I started photography back in the Woodstock era, common lens advice was to go with a standard, then half and double to acheive your trinity. I guess I followed that advice just to connect with my past.
I've flirted with 35mm for so long, that I've finally found a system that works for my style of shooting. Previous, I was a nikon shooter, having everything from the 16mm fisheye up to the 300mm F4, and of course, the F3. The final kit was an F3 and F100, 40mm Ultron F2, 85mm F1.4, 80-200mm F2.8, and the 300mm F4. I realize dthat I really didn't enjoy shooting my SLR as much, now I shoot my Leica, 21mm F1.4 voigtlander, 28mm F2.8 voigtlander, and 40mm F1.2 voigtlander. I have duplicates of these focal lengths with different apertures, but these three are the ones staying with me while I sell the rest.
I have the Nikon F3 and FM3A with 55 f2.8, 105 f2.5, 28 f2.8, 20 f3.5 and a samyang 14 f2.8. I found that most of the times I just carry the two bodies with 20mm on one and 55mm on the other. When shooting architecture I will add 14mm to this. When I carry only one body and one lens it has to be the 28mm which is extremely versatile and I add 105 to it if I want something longer. Works well like this for me as I am a mostly a good light shooter when it comes to 35mm film SLRs.
I simply use the lenses and bodies, bought Eons ago! Nikkor105mm f2,5; Nikkor 28mm f3,5: Nikkor 35mm f2.8: added used Nikkor 35mm f2.0, 55mm Micro Nikkor, Nikkor135mm f3,5 and an old 200mm Asahi Takumar specially altered to Nikon F mount! Most bought in 70's and 80's!
did you have two camera bodies? I don't have 50 years experience like you but it seems four/five lenses and one body means a lot of lens changing. can you speak to that?
Great selection! I also like a lot the old K type lenses.
Looks like we have a lot in common, my favourite lens is a 35 mm F1.4 which I have. I had the F2 for years and eventually gave it to my son. I agree with all your recommendations and I actually have all those lenses including the 135 F2, it’s a lens I wouldn’t use with others. I would go out and be using it by itself. The Bokeh from the 135 and the 85 were just unbelievably dreamy. Surprisingly the 24 F2 is also a beautiful lens which is nice to isolate your subject With a wide angle.The F3 was my dream camera which never materialized so I got an old Nikkormat EL and an FE with a motor drive. Now I use all these old timers on Z5 which gives them image stabilization and many of them I have chipped so they communicate with the camera. That’s why I have stuck with Nikon over the years because everything is still useable. Thanks for sharing your recommendations. Regards Gerry
Back in the day I've had all those lenses you have on the table with exception of the 35mm. For that I've used 35-70mm f2,8 AF. Yes, auto focus lens on a completely mechanical camera (FM2) but it worked.
I've been a Pentaxian since the early 80s. My setup for film photography is my beloved Pentax LX with the quite modern Pentax 31mm F1.8, the old and proven Pentax 50mm F1.4 and a new Samyang 85mm F1.8. As long as I have a lens for the Pentax K-mount with an aperture ring, I can use it on my old Pentax cameras - Thanks for your advices - Holger
I've been getting into photography in general for the past couple years, but i really wanted a set up that wouldn't take up too much space when i traveled.
Good info. Thanks.
Great video
Legendary special effects lens for Nikon, is the Nikon 105 DC (de focus control)… what a lens… what optics, and dual aperture for special haloed effects… and pin sharp when used with the primary single aperture… that lens is amazing!
Great video I just stumbled across.
I love the Nikkor 24 mm!