[dewy]

Where is the film camera talk forum?!?!?!? Ahh well I'll ask it here
I have been offered a Nikon F60 35mm (film) SLR camera
Camera, 28-80mm zoom lens, new batteries, all boxes, receipts and manuals. Plus bag and 58mm ND glass filter. Excellent condition.
Last Used: Jul '03 (approx) for around $100-125. And I was wondering if this camera will be compatible with velvia film and what you people think about it? There are some photos of it here:
http://www.lamdesign.net/ForSale/F60/index.html

According to the manual, the camera can use any film from ISO 25-5000, as long as it's DX coded. "Film other than DX-coded film cannot be used" it says. Velvia is ISO 50 I think? Never used it, so I'm not sure... It should have the DX code, so it should be fine

I took some pics showing a couple of small cosmetic faults: The eyepiece rubber bit is a bit chewed-looking on one corner, the back film cover door part has a small area (on the left of the big reflection in this pic) where the texture has worn slightly from rubbing on my shirt/coat And the lens cap is slightly worn.

The camera is in very good condition, however it has collected some minor dust while it's been in storage. I decided not to clean it myself in case I damaged something.

All the original bits are here. Neck strap, viewfinder cover for long exposures, lens and body dust caps, packaging, all manuals, receipts and other paperwork.

This was my only camera from late-1999 until mid-2003 and I took around 4000 photos with it in total.

[shuttertalk]

Hey sounds good dewy! The F60 is one of the more serious models of Nikon's "amateur" range. It's been superceded by the F65, which you can get for 369 brand new online...

28-80 is a standard lens, and with bag etc. sounds like you've got a complete kit to get your started!

Velvia -- sure thing - it's made by Fuji, although it's slide film. i.e. you don't get prints from the shop - you get little slide thingies which you view either with a loupe or old fashioned projector. Still cool though..

[adam]

Where is the film camera talk forum?!?!?!?

[patch17]

what he meant by using only DX coded film, is that the camera automatically detects the film speed (ISO 25, 50, 100, etc.) based on the code (i.e. those black bands) on the film canisters. although i'm not familar with the operations of the nikon F60, i take it that there is no manual film speed selection feature for this camera.

you can probably use non-DX coded film but the camera will select a default ISO 100, no matter what film speed you have in the canister.

Velvia 50 should work fine, but if the roll is in from a self loaded batch, chances are the film canisters are recycled, hence the ISO codes on them would not be the same as the actual film, and there would be no way to override them.

[EnglishBob]

The only thing in Rolls in my house is in the bathroom

On a more serious note, since I bought the Digital SLR, it's kinda making me think of buying a film SLR.

[Toad]

Dewey:

As a Nikon film SLR user (I have a F100), I can probably answer most of your questions. DX film allows the camera to select the ISO speed automatically. Usually there is a menu based control for overriding this. All film for many years has been DX coded including the truly amazing Velvia (50 and 100 ISO).

Shooting film is a totally different gig from shooting digital. There is no instant feedback, and you need to be much more disciplined about what you shoot because every shot costs you money (unlike digital). I use both digital and film for different reasons.

I use digital for my experimental and abstract stuff where I am seeing something, but I KNOW that I am not shooting the final image directly. From there it goes into Photoshop - and you know....anything goes.

For my pro stuff, I use almost all film. If you use a pro film, it simply gives a better image than digital - much wider exposure latitude, higher resolution, contrast and saturation, with lower noise, grain. A film shot can be effectively enlarged to a much greater degree. Pro positive films (slides) are superior to negative films.

Film is a pain in the rear compared to digital. If you want to Photoshop a slide - it has to be scanned properly. I have a decent film scanner, but if I am using a slide for a pro job - I have it scanned by pros at a lab. Printing is also a multi-step process.

My advice: if you are serious about doing pro work in the near future - film is a necessary tool of the trade (for now). For fun and experimentation, I would save my $ and buy a decent digital camera. Just my 2 cents.

[dewy]

I tihnk I might let this one go, I still need some more practise in photography before I get into Film. Thanks for your feedback people, you have given me a lot to think about Mr. Toad.