Need to go digital, help me make a choice.....

S

shimo-kitasnap

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I'm finally ditching film altogether and I need to make a choice on what kind of body to get.

I have the 40cron, 90elmar c and a 21p skopar already. I really like their results but I was wondering if any of you here use DSLRs besides the RD-1 or M8 or whatever......

I also like to shoot low light and heard that even though the camera companies come out with more megapixels, this translates to noisy images at high ISO.

I've narrowed it down to this:

Epson RD-1, if I don't sell the M lenses.

Nikon D40, it's cheap and old nikon glass is cheap too.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 with the zuiko 25mm f2.8 pancake lens (almost bought the body on ebay today for $280).

As Rd-1 users, how is the high ISO performance?

All your thoughts will be greatly apreciated🙂
 
Awesome conundrum...

Awesome conundrum...

shimo-kitasnap said:
I'm finally ditching film altogether and I need to make a choice on what kind of body to get.

I have the 40cron, 90elmar c and a 21p skopar already. I really like their results but I was wondering if any of you here use DSLRs besides the RD-1 or M8 or whatever......

I also like to shoot low light and heard that even though the camera companies come out with more megapixels, this translates to noisy images at high ISO.

I've narrowed it down to this:

Epson RD-1, if I don't sell the M lenses.

Nikon D40, it's cheap and old nikon glass is cheap too.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 with the zuiko 25mm f2.8 pancake lens (almost bought the body on ebay today for $280).

As Rd-1 users, how is the high ISO performance?

All your thoughts will be greatly apreciated🙂
Click to expand...

Hi Shimo --

Sounds like you have a lot of fun in store for you. All the cameras you listed are unique and enjoyable to use. Coming from film, those cameras will yield a positive experience of digital.

The Epson will be hard to beat. You have great lenses.

Nikon D40 is a compact, serviceable camera with one-generation-newer CCD than the Epson. If you are accustomed to manual focus, you can enjoy some faster AI primes. No AF on the 35 D f/2, etc..

DMC-L1 and pancake 25 was nearly perfect. It captured beautiful images, but ended up feeling like a giant brick. Really awkward. Sorry. It really needs to be 20% smaller in every dimension. But for $300 I would snap one up -- that is a lot less than I paid or sold for -- and you get a more automated camera, AF, AE.

I'd maybe start with the Panasonic/pancake combo as it is so affordable and easy?

Or the Epson cause you have good lenses.

Good luck,

S.G.
 
I almost got it on ebay but then realized that that f2.8 was not enough for me and there were no super wides that weren't giant wide zooms. Also the 2x crop factor is a bit too much for using OM or any other film lens.
 
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shimo-kitasnap said:
What are coupling pins? I only really want to use manual focus lenses. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

I believe the D40 will not meter with AI/AIS lenses. With non-AF-S AF lenses it will meter, but will not autofocus. Also, you may want to look through one to see if you can focus manually comfortably.

Personally I like the RD1... but then I also have DSLRs so it's not my *only* digital camera. If I could only have one system I'd probably have to go with an SLR (but that's a basic RF vs SLR issue).

j
 
If you can live with no metering on AI lenses, the D40 isn't a bad camera. But given you preferences, I'd prefer a D300/700/900/3 level camera or maybe the new Canon 5D model over an RF. I love RFs and use them way more than my D200 but my RFs are film.
 
yeah and I still love that 40 cron I bought from you.

I used to use an canon P with a cv nokton and I used HP5+ and the sunny 16 rule. Most if not all shots worked out fine with some bracketing. I figure if I can get the nikkor 28/2, 55/1.2, and a 16mm f2.8, it would cover my favorite feilds of view with the 1.5x crop factor and I'd use the sunny 16 rule only with a digital body.
 
You will need to be aware that digital is less tolerant of overexposure than (negative) film if you're shoting meterless. To be honest, I'm not sure the D40 is really a good choice as it doesn't have the full backwards lens compatibility and you may (I'm not sure) end up trying to focus stoped down.

Some of the other Nikons may be a much better bet or a Canon 5D is bulkier and costs more but the 1st version remains a superb tool and the second looks like it will add some more useability. The RD1 is probaly a great camera, but at present my rf shooting will remain on film.

Mike
 
Canon is still best of the bunch for high ISO low noise, so if that is your bent, get something Canon. Also, Canon can take the most lens makes using adapters (think Leica, Zeiss, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus etc. etc.)... at least consider it...
 
The D40 is more backward compatible than many more expensive Nikon bodies in that it will accept older non-AI lenses. No metering, of course. Focusing does take some getting used to. I like my D40 a lot.
 
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