 Michael |
nikon vs. canon - n80 / elan 7ne Hi, im a beginner looking to buy a decent slr film camera. im planning on using it for concert, macro, and try some nature stuff as well. I was looking into the N80 or Elan 7NE. personally, I like the Elan because it's eye focus feature sounds like it'd come in handy for low light stuff. also, I like that theres tons of canon lenses to choose from. but which do you think is the better camera for my purposes? anyone use these either of these two cameras? also, is it worth it to get the 'better' metal mount lens rather than the plastic mount lens the elan comes with? ive been told the metal mount 28-90 is faster, quitier, and sharper, and it costs a hundred dollars more. does it really make a huge difference? or should I just find a longer used lens? also, if I switched from film to digital and used the film lenses on a digital canon, would there be any huge problems or would the image still come out the same? is it fine to use a film lens on a digital? thanks for any advice
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Tom |
Hi Michael, I can't comment on the Elan 7E, becasue I never used it. But I have owned a Nikon N80 for about a year now and think its a great camera. The autofocus on the camera is fast and smooth. Like all of today's cameras, it has a dizzying amount of features, matrix metering, dynamic autofocus , automated bracketing of exposure etc. The vast majority of that stuff I don't use, as I've learned to trust a gray card and to shoot manually (which you can do with the n80). I've found that "program" mode on the N80 does quite a good job in most situations. As far as lenses go, I own 4 for the camera, all Nikon: the 28-85 G zoom and a 70-300mm G zoom (both of which were very inexpensive and have the plastic mounts) and two more expensive "D" lense-a 50mm standard and an 80mm portrait lens, which have the metal mounts and feel alot more sturdy. However, I can see no discernable differences in image quality among the lenses, and I've shot prints, slides, consumer and pro films. A rep from Nikon confided to me that to 99% of the people out there would not be able to discern a difference in image quality. So if you want to save a few $, the standard 28-90G (plastic mount) will serve you well. You can always move up to more expensive lenses later (and Nikon has plenty of those). The only knock I have on the camera is that it does not have a built in PC flash socket, which one needs if you use off camera flash (which I do). So I had to buy a little accessory piece that plugs on to the hot shoe in order to plug in a flash sync cord. Otherwise, its a great camera. You can't go wrong with it. Tom
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Diane T. Phillips |
Hi Tom, I found your answer very informative. I have a N-75 as well as a non working N-70 and therefore am considering an N-80 as a back up camera. Could you please explain what you mean by "using a gray card". thanks
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Thomas J. Nadramia |
Hi Diane, Using a gray card is a foolproof way of getting perfect exposure in your photographs. Have you ever taken a picture of a person on the beach, with their back to the sun, and got only a black silhouette in the photo? Or ever take a picture of snow, and its looks a bluish grey in the print. That is because the average light in the average scene has been determined to be 18% gray (meaning 18% of the available light is reflected). So all camera meters and film (color and B/W)are calibrated to produce an exposure that will result in a photograph with 18% gray reflectance. This works fine in most average scenes, but get a very light, or dark scene, or one with extreme dark, and your meter can be easily fooled into giving you the wrong exposure. A gray card is exactly what it says- a gray card. You simply place the card in the same light that is falling on the subject, take a meter (your camera's meter will work just fine) reading of the card--and then use the same settings for your subject. You can buy a gray card for a couple of dollars at any good photo store or from the online camera stores (B & H, adorama, etc). In a pinch, the back of a Caucasian hand, or green grass, or the cardboard found in shirt boxes,is a close approximation of 18% gray. Using a gray card is the same as using a "incident" meter, which is also described int he article below. The New York Institute of Photography (where I took a course) has an excellent explanation of the use of gray cards on their web site. The web address to that explanation is below. Just copy and paste it into your browser. http://www.nyip.com/tips/tip_graycard.html
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Diane T. Phillips |
Tom, Thanks SO much for that info. I actually understand what you are saying and will be looking into getting a gray card. I checked out the NYIP site as well and sent for more info. on their course. I also agree with your assesment of the Nikon Lenses. I own a 28-80G, a 28-200D and a couple of Quantaray lenses as well. I can't tell a difference in the Nikon's, but the Quantaray are rather obviously inferior.
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