Never trust a person who replaces perfectly good leatherette with snake skin. grin.
Cesar Matamoros II wrote:
Being that I went to Roatan recently... I use a Nikonos V with SB101 strobe for underwater photography. It was a relearning experience of estimating distances since it is a rangefinder. I do enjoy the extra shooting distance the strobe gives me. Reminder - when using a strobe, close your eyes when you press the shutter button :-)
My 645n is used with no rhyme or reason. If I am basically snapshooting then it might stay home. Though, on occasion I have taken it as my only camera. I relish using it with its bright viewfinder and it makes me think that every shot should be memorable being that I have less shots per roll. But then again, I make sure I never am without plenty of film. My lens lineup consists of FA 45/2.8, FA 75/2.8, FA Macro 120/4, and A* 300/4. My most used lens is the 45. The least used it the 300. It was such a deal that I had to buy it and have it just in case my photography goes in that direction.
My 35mm useage is varied. The least used are my two S1a, SV, and Spotmatic. But of these the Spotmatic sees the least useage. I like using them with a handheld meter. Oh yeah, I also picked up an S3 (?) from a PDMLer not too long ago. I have assorted lenses from 28mm to 300mm. I use them for all sorts of shots from action sports (volleyball being the last use) to people photography, landscapes and 'artsy' shots. I tend to like taking B&W with the screwmounts, go figure. For K mount the MZ-S and LX are used the most. The MZ-S has the advantage of the built-in flash. This is a compact camera that has been toted with a couple of LX in a fanny pack with no problems. As for the LX, I have five of them and the two snake-skinned ones see the most use, but I use the others regularly. I truly enjoy the LX the most and is the one camera I would grab over all the others to go shoot. A couple of them are nice enough (compared to my most used) that I try to be more careful about where I use them - less apt to be tossed unprotected in a bag. My ZX-5 only sees use when doing triathlon finish line photos rotating with the MZ-S. Of course there are a couple of LX and a winder available as a back up. A recently repaired and CLAd MX is going back into the mix of shooting here soon. Though it will be tough to leave an LX behind. I shoot everything with these cameras. I have six other K mount cameras that only get dry-fired occasionally to keep them in working order. This includes my original Super Program. I put a roll through it the other day. It is a nice camera and has a history with me, but it just does not compare to an LX. If it weren't for the LX, I would definitely use my other cameras more. When doing weddings I usually cart my MZ-S and three or four LXen. My most used lenses, surprising me since I don't use autofocus much, are the FA* 24/2, FA Limited 31/1.8, and FA Limited 77/1.8. I will toss a 50/1.2 in the mix on occasion. When doing action sports like rugby and football my A* 300/4 is the lens of choice. The least used is the M 200/4 and FA Macro 100/2.8. I have thirteen K mount prime lenses. The zooms have pretty much been collecting dust, to include the Reflex 400-600/8-12.
Digitally I used to use a Nikon CoolPix 950, then 995 when the 950 took a tumble. But since getting the Optio S they are mostly idle. I do use the 995 when I want to manually set the exposure and when doing certain macro shots. The Optio S has been with me almost all the time. I have had it for about five months and have taken almost 2700 shots. It is basically my P&S to document my travels and such. Even if it just one picture, it helps to remind me of people and places.
Enough rambling, if you have stayed on long enough...
C�sar Panama City, Florida
