Like most of us, I shot 35mm film for many years. My father had a Minolta XG-7 and I bought a new XG-1 in 1979 or so (yes, I actually saved up paper route money). My kit consisted of the XG-1 body and a 50mm f1.7 lens. I shot that until the mid 90s when I moved to a Minolta Freedom Zoom 150 35mm point and shoot. From there I went to a Canon digital point & shoot.
Fast forward to 2006 when our daughter was born, I discovered 'shutter lag'. My sister in law, who worked in advertising, was on the Nikon account. She told me about the all new consumer grade Nikon D40 digital SLR. I had her pick up the D40/18-55mm kit for me (at her cost, direct from Nikon). I shot this on AUTO for many years, purchasing a 55-200mm along the way.
In 2015 I got the 35mm film bug again. I dusted off my XG-1 and ran two rolls of film through it. Worked out great! I read up on film shooting and realized the all mighty Minolta X-700 could be had in good used condition fairly cheap on ebay. I ended up buying two x-700 bodies, a Minolta Hi-Matic F (point and shoot 35mm film rangefinder of sorts).
I now wanted a rangefinder, read up and found the Yashica Electro 35 series was pretty good and cheap. I bought a nice clean GSN on ebay for under $40. This camera works perfect and needed only a battery.
I then picked up a nice deal on a Nikon FE2 with a 50mm f1.8 for about $100 on a facebook camera group. Since then the FE2 has been my goto 35mm SLR and the GSN my second camera.
After shooting various rolls of color and B&W film through both, I realized I wanted a GOOD 35mm film camera. REsearch led me to the F3. Tried and true, a professional camera with everything I wanted. The first Nikon with the famed red stripe as well. My shopping consisted of ebay and craigslist. I started looking around at Etsy as well, it was there I scored a nice, working F3/T body for only $100. SCORE! These sell for much much more on ebay for sure. Paired with my FE2, Nikon 50mm f1.8 & 28mm f2.8, I am now shooting my first roll of film through the F3/T this week. Hoping the pictures come out just fine as I move forward.
My plan is to sell off the two X-700 bodies, retire my original XG-1 to the showcase. I may keep the Hi-Matic 7 as it is in excellent condition and is not worth much anyway.
Planned purchases include;
Nikon eyecups for both the F3/T & FE2
DW-3 waist viewfinder for the F3/T
Picked up the AS-f flash mount for the F3/T
Shopping for a Nikon 35mm f2.5 Series E lens
My current film kit consists of the Nikon F3/T (50mm f1.8 & 28mm f2.8) and Yashica Electro 35 GSN
The FE2 is a backup
Here are my 35mm film images as shared on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/michiganclassics/collections/72157649945674614/
Fast forward to 2006 when our daughter was born, I discovered 'shutter lag'. My sister in law, who worked in advertising, was on the Nikon account. She told me about the all new consumer grade Nikon D40 digital SLR. I had her pick up the D40/18-55mm kit for me (at her cost, direct from Nikon). I shot this on AUTO for many years, purchasing a 55-200mm along the way.
In 2015 I got the 35mm film bug again. I dusted off my XG-1 and ran two rolls of film through it. Worked out great! I read up on film shooting and realized the all mighty Minolta X-700 could be had in good used condition fairly cheap on ebay. I ended up buying two x-700 bodies, a Minolta Hi-Matic F (point and shoot 35mm film rangefinder of sorts).
I now wanted a rangefinder, read up and found the Yashica Electro 35 series was pretty good and cheap. I bought a nice clean GSN on ebay for under $40. This camera works perfect and needed only a battery.
I then picked up a nice deal on a Nikon FE2 with a 50mm f1.8 for about $100 on a facebook camera group. Since then the FE2 has been my goto 35mm SLR and the GSN my second camera.
After shooting various rolls of color and B&W film through both, I realized I wanted a GOOD 35mm film camera. REsearch led me to the F3. Tried and true, a professional camera with everything I wanted. The first Nikon with the famed red stripe as well. My shopping consisted of ebay and craigslist. I started looking around at Etsy as well, it was there I scored a nice, working F3/T body for only $100. SCORE! These sell for much much more on ebay for sure. Paired with my FE2, Nikon 50mm f1.8 & 28mm f2.8, I am now shooting my first roll of film through the F3/T this week. Hoping the pictures come out just fine as I move forward.
My plan is to sell off the two X-700 bodies, retire my original XG-1 to the showcase. I may keep the Hi-Matic 7 as it is in excellent condition and is not worth much anyway.
Planned purchases include;
Nikon eyecups for both the F3/T & FE2
DW-3 waist viewfinder for the F3/T
Picked up the AS-f flash mount for the F3/T
Shopping for a Nikon 35mm f2.5 Series E lens
My current film kit consists of the Nikon F3/T (50mm f1.8 & 28mm f2.8) and Yashica Electro 35 GSN
The FE2 is a backup
Here are my 35mm film images as shared on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/michiganclassics/collections/72157649945674614/
