Sending an old-timer to the spa...

[desmobob]

I'm getting ready to send my old Nikon F2S to the shop for a CLA (clean, lubricate and adjust) spa treatment...

Back in the early 1980s, when I was a newly enlisted Navy journalist at the joint-service Defense Information School on Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, I was trained on Canons. This bummed me out a bit as I had already become a Nikon fan in high school. But when I arrived at my first duty station, I was delighted to find that the photo lab was stocked with Nikons. The Public Affairs Office was issued a Nikon F2S, with the infamous Nikkor 43-86mm f/3.5 zoom attached. It was the later version of the lens and not anywhere near as horrible as its reputation (I guess the original version earned the bad rep).

That camera was every bit as tough as it was reputed to be, which I learned after having the neck strap come apart and watching the camera bounce down a concrete stairwell. I retrieved it, reattached the DP-2 metered finder which had separated during the tumble, and proceeded to shoot a couple of rolls of Tri-X with no issue.

My all-time favorite camera quote is on the F2 from Ken Rockwell and more than hints at its robust nature:
"The original Nikon F from 1969 put Leica in the coffin, and the F2 was the camera the almighty himself used to hammer in the nails."

(photo from the excellent Photography in Malaysia website)

Many years after the Navy, when I had already grudgingly switched to digital cameras, I bought a nice F2S for old time's sake. I also picked up a Nikon 43-86mm f/3.5 zoom for cheap so I'd have the combo I used back in the day. I haven't used it; just fondle and admire it occasionally. I decided I'd have a CLA done and use it to shoot some film but I never got around to it. This week, I'm bringing it to the camera repair shop and I'm looking forward to doing some shooting with it this spring!

 

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[pa plateau hiker]

Great! Shooting film is fun. My cameras of choice were Pentax. Now I use Canon film cameras. 99.5% of my pictures is with film. The only time I use digital is if I want to post something online.

 

[desmobob]

It's sad that shooting film has become less convenient. The local CVS pharmacy still does C-41 processing but you don't get your negatives back! I guess they just give you prints and a CD with low-res scans of your negatives.

When digital and film were still co-existing, I bought a very nice Nikon slide and negative scanner ($$). It is now obsolete and they no longer offer software updates for it.

Not being able to scan my negatives or slides really cuts down on my desire to shoot film. Do you scan your negatives and slides? If so, what do you use?

 

[pa plateau hiker]

For years I sent my 35mm film away to be processed. The quality was so-so. After awhile the quality was crappy, and was I not satisfied with the finished print. I had enough room to build a darkroom to develop and print. Since then I've gotten into medium and large format.

 

[desmobob]

I used to shoot a lot of B&W in 35mm (and sometimes 120 from my Kiev 60) and develop it in the kitchen, then use either my Nikon Coolscan or a negative scanner on my flatbed to digitize the images. All I needed was a dark bag and some Hewes tanks/spools. Printing was done on my home printer.

Without having the Coolscan in operation, it wouldn't be as easy... I'll have to start looking around for slide/negative scanners.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Your Kiev probably cost a small fortune back then. Used ones are probably dirt cheap now. Anyone wanting to get into film photography/darkroom work would have an excellent chance of picking up good used equipment. Chemicals and paper are fairly cheap.

 

[hvacker]

You might know but if B&W is OK it doesn't require a darkroom. Just a roll tank and a changing bag. Scan the negs in and that's it.
I use a Canon scanner to bring them into the computer. I have a CanoScan 9000F. It does negative, positive and prints. Fairly flawless.
Darkroom prints were just too much time. The fastest color print I had done was using Agfa process and those chemicals are no longer available. Just as well as a print would take a long time, about an hour all told. Kodak was even longer only to find a need to do it over.

When I was at my photography shop I asked if they got a lot of old darkroom stuff. He said the going price was $25/pickup load. Sad but progress takes no prisoners.

The camera I used most was a Rollie-flex with a rather rare 2.8 Schneider lens. I might still buy a 6x7 Mamiya or a Pentax. Something about a large negative. I wouldn't go back to a wet process except for the film end.