Minolta X-570

There isn’t much to dislike about the Minolta X-570 35mm SLR. It’s an easy to use, aperture priority film camera that accepts affordable and quite wonderful Minolta SR lenses. I paid about a hundred bucks for this copy with the 45mm f/2 lens. 35 years since new and who knows how many owners later and this Minolta performed exactly as it was supposed to during a Sunday afternoon of shooting. But it left me wanting for more.

Released in 1983 and a few years after the popular X-700, the X-570 was marketed as a less expensive alternative to the X-700. While the X-700 offered various modes of auto-exposure, the 570 is a simple aperture priority or manual mode camera. From the late 1970s through the end of the 80s, there was a huge market for amateur and advanced amateur SLR cameras. Affordability was the key though and to hit the right price points, camera manufacturers began to abandon metal in favor of plastic bodies and parts. For sure, the X-570 is made of lots of plastic and it is light. It feels sturdy though, crafted from super tough ABS. Despite the plastic, Minolta put a lot of thought into ergonomics—the X-570 feels great in the hand.

I very much doubt that Minolta was dropping their expensive Acute-Matte focusing screens into these cameras, but nevertheless, the viewfinder in the X-570 is Acute-Matte bright and sharp with a nice red LED read out of shutter speeds down the right side of the finder and f/stop display at the bottom. I find the split image focusing on Minolta SLRs to be one of the best of this vintage of camera.

I picked a lousy day to put the X-570 through its paces on the Kortum coastal trail near Bodega Bay. The air was thick from smoke from the wildfire burning in Butte County. Many people I met on the trail that day were wearing masks. I probably should have worn one too. I used Kodak Pro Image 100 film.

Trailhead

Man’s best friend

There’s an ocean out there…somewhere… through the smoke

Geodetic marker shadow selfie

Goat Rock through the smoke

Rock climbers often do practice climbs here

As I said above, there’s really no reason to dislike the Minolta X-570. It did everything I asked it to do, despite the smoke, lack of color on the trail and poor choice of film stock for the day. The camera was light and easy to carry on my hike. With the 45mm f/2 lens, the camera could easily slip into a large coat pocket. It would be great for street photography.

In the end, the X-570 just didn’t do it for me. Cameras are highly personal and I just didn't bond with this camera. It’ll be for sale soon for what I paid for it. I’m sure someone will love it.

The Joy of Photography in 2018

As the final days of 2018 click down, I find myself feeling very optimistic about the state of analog photography. That certainly was not the case back in 2010 when I was getting serious again about film and cameras. Seemed at the time every week brought another sign that film photography was nearing rapid extinction.

I watched videos of construction crews imploding the massive factories at Kodak Park and a CBS Sunday Morning story on the last roll of Kodachrome. Fujifilm was pulling the plugs on this film and that. And some crazy ex-Polaroid employees were trying, in what at the time appeared to be a futile effort, to resurrect the recipes for instant film.

Over at my local camera shop, they moved the mostly empty film display cabinet from its place of importance at the main counter to an obscure corner of the store near the picture frames and eliminated the darkroom department altogether. Online, you had to dig real deep on B&H Photo’s web site to find the place to order film. It was hidden behind a symbol of a memory card.

In 2010, I honestly thought I’d shoot my way through a few great cameras until fresh film was no longer available. Then, just as Dwayne’s Photo Lab in Kansas processed the last roll of Kodachrome, I’d send my final rolls off to one a few remaining labs, put my classic cameras on a shelf and feel grateful that I was able to enjoy the last gasps of the analog film era.

And then, something wonderful began happening.

I had wrapped my head around the notion that most analog photographers were like me—aging baby boomers who were trying to revisit their youth by using old cameras and listening to vinyl records. As I started to poke around the internet, I discovered photography blogs written by all sort of people young and old. There were You Tube videos with camera reviews and user experience videos, produced mostly by folks decades younger than me and with an excitement for film photography that was intoxicating! There’s something very fun about watching a millennial discovering a Canon A-1 for the first time! Flickr film groups were multiplying rapidly.

As I became more connected to the online analog photography community, I discovered camera repair technicians dedicated to keeping film cameras working as new. And over the last eight years, those technicians have gotten far busier. When I sent my first Nikon F2 off to Sover Wong in the UK for repair, I had it back in a bit over a month. Now, Sover has so many Nikons in line for repair he has started a ticketing system! Pentax guru Eric Hendrickson has Spotmatics and ME Supers lined up in queue too. I even read he has a young assistant he is mentoring in the fine art of mechanical camera repair.

Back in 2010, eBay was the best source for buying old film cameras. Now, there are dedicated Facebook groups as well as great online camera shops like Victory Camera, fStop Cameras and Blue Moon Camera & Machine. Blue Moon also has a great in-house repair department that I highly recommend. KEH Camera has been around for years and they’re still one of the biggest and best sources of used gear. And last time I ordered film from B&H Photo, the film canister icon was back on the home page!

And even as Fuji pulls the plug on my beloved Acros black and white film, Kodak has brought back Ektachrome slide film and introduced Tmax 3200 black and white. And the instant film folks I mentioned earlier proved everyone wrong by bringing back Polaroid film and even a new Polaroid camera with the Impossible Project, now renamed Polaroid Originals.

My local camera shop hasn't moved the film display cabinet back to front and center, but it’s full of film now. 35mm, 120…even Fuji and Polaroid Originals instant. And my friend behind the counter tells me their stock sells briskly.

Digital imaging has replaced film for consumers and most professional photographers, but film has not met the quick demise people were forecasting in 2010. Instead, analog photography is settling into its own little niche that appears to be growing at a slow but healthy pace. I am pleased by this and happy to be part of a diverse and growing community of analog shooters.

Change

I don’t like change. I love routine. An orderly manner to things. A predictable rhythm. I’m certainly a creature of habit.

As much as I abhor change, it has been the one constant in my life. And while I still can’t embrace change like I should, I do admit that whenever I’ve come out the other side of it, things have mostly been better.

It’s always nice when change is of your own choosing and not forced upon you. Many, many times in my past, it was forced upon me. This time, I’m more or less in control of it.

So there’s change ahead. I’ll be writing about it soon and my photography will certainly reflect it.

Agfapan APX

One of the best benefits of writing this blog has been connecting, either in the comments section or offline via email, with all sorts of interesting photographers who have shared tips and tricks. I’ve learned so much and become a better photographer because of my readers. Thank you.

I’ve also been able to buy a few cameras that have eluded me and passed on a few of mine to blog friends who got great deals on pampered gear. I’ve even been offered some expired, hard to get, rare and unusual film stocks to try. Such was the case when a Bay Area friend opened up his freezer with an offer to buy some expired Agfapan APX 25 and 100 speed 35mm film as well as a few bricks of Kodak Plus-X 125 film.

The Agfa film has various expiration dates ranging from 1998 to 2010. The Plus-X expired in 2015. While I’ve shot many rolls of Plus-X over the years, this is my first experience with the Agfa films. I loaded one roll of the 1998 expired stock into my Pentax MX and fired off some test shots around the house.

I don’t do a lot of post processing, but decided to throw this last shot into Lightroom for a flip.

While my subject matter in these shots leaves much to be desired, I am impressed with the rich, inky blacks this film is capable of. This film has inspired me!

I’m sorry now I didn’t pay more attention to Agfa films in the past. I am very grateful however for my friend who decided to part with some of his stash.

Darkroom

I’ve had two darkrooms in my life. The first was a makeshift affair I cobbled together in the basement laundry room of my parent’s home in Upstate New York. It was simple and crude, but adequate enough for me to learn to develop black and white film and make prints on a 1950s era Federal enlarger that was a hand-me-down from a friend’s father. When I left home, my mother was happy to have her laundry room back.

My second darkroom was built in the mid 1990s in my suburban Phoenix home. Carved out of some space in the third bay of a three car garage, it was a dream lab complete with a real darkroom sink, air conditioning, sound system, archival print washer and an amazing Omega ProLab enlarger. I spent many hours under the glow of safelight in that desert darkroom. I lost the darkroom and the home to a divorce in 2000.

I’d like to have another darkroom someday, if only to go through the exercise of designing and building the space…maybe spending some rainy days holed away inside. I think some of my work deserves to be printed.

In the meantime, I enjoy seeing some of the darkrooms that photographers are working in on the various Facebook darkroom groups I am a member of. That’s where I came across Adam Bartos’ book Darkroom.

It’s a large, coffee table book containing many interesting images of darkrooms and darkroom equipment…fascinating for darkroom geeks like me. I can almost smell the stop bath!

Velvia & Me

I can’t even imagine how many rolls of film I’ve exposed since the early 1970s when I first took up photography as a teenager. Many hundreds? Thousands? I have no idea. I do know that I could count on two hands the number of rolls of slide film I’ve taken during that same time. And I think it’s always been one of the various versions of Fujichrome Velvia.

While my Dad always did marvelous work on Kodachrome years ago, guessing exposure on his Kodak Retina rangefinder, I’ve never been happy with my Velvia images, no matter how simple or sophisticated my camera was. Slide film isn’t forgiving at all, so I know I’m mostly to blame. I should work on becoming a more competent photographer and learn how to meter correctly when shooting color positive film. Perhaps Velvia and I just don’t get along well. That possibility will be explored soon when I try out some new Kodak Ektachrome 100 I just ordered.

I’ll figure it all out. Or maybe I won’t. I’m head over heels in love with Kodak Portra 400 and get very satisfying and consistent results with it. I might just be a color negative film guy. And that’s okay too.

Here are some recent snaps from a roll of Velvia 100 I’ve had frozen for a while.

Town Square Sonoma, CA. Pentax ME, SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7 on Velvia slide film

Red Mustang Sonoma, CA. Pentax ME, SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7 on Velvia slide film

Sidewalk Book Cart Sonoma, CA. Pentax ME, SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7 on Velvia slide film

Between two buildings Sonoma, CA. Pentax ME, SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7 on Velvia slide film

Cliffside trail Fort Ross, CA. Pentax ME, SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7 on Velvia slide film

Near Fort Ross, CA. Pentax ME, SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7 on Velvia slide film

On the Call House Trail Fort Ross, CA. Pentax ME, SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7 on Velvia slide film

Possibilities

A camera and film I just can’t make my mind up about…the Canon A-1 and Kodak’s Pro Image 100 film.

I’m a traditionalist when it comes to camera controls. Aperture on the lens barrel, shutter speed dial on the top of the camera just right of the pentaprism. It’s what feels natural and comfortable for me. The Canon A-1 was one of the first cameras to introduce a front mounted thumbwheel to manipulate settings. I’m still getting used to the thing. So with both rolls I’ve shot in my A-1, I’ve shifted the camera into its automatic Program mode and just let the machine do all of the thinking for me. And during this latest outing, that was a very good thing. It allowed me to enjoy the Canon’s big, bright viewfinder and watch this 40 year old camera compute shutter speed and aperture through its brilliant LED display. More importantly, it did what a great camera is supposed to do…get out of your way and let you enjoy photography! I think if I spent several months shooting nothing but the A-1, I would bond with this camera.

As for Pro Image 100, a film stock available only outside of the US, I’m starting to think that it has possibilities. An interesting, subtle color palette. And it has tasty grain for a 100 speed film. I didn’t like the grain at first, but it’s growing on me.

Analog photography takes time and the more time I spend with this old camera and this interesting film stock from Kodak, the more possibilities I see.

Growing on me

I picked up my Canon A-1 this weekend and realized that it had a half shot roll of Kodak Pro Image 100 in it. I can’t recall the last time I had used the Canon, but with 18 unexposed, it seemed perfect to take with me on my Sunday afternoon walk on the beach.

I’ve been on the fence about this camera since I bought it, but today it felt just right. I don’t know, something clicked—no pun intended. I put the A-1 into program mode and got some shots that I might have otherwise not. I’ll drop the film off at the lab tomorrow. Anxious to see the results and what the first 18 frames contain.

I had considered selling the A-1, but I am glad I didn’t. It’s growing on me.

The Best First Film Camera

I get into the office around 6:30 each morning. I find I can get a lot done early, before my staff arrives, the phones start ringing and before the start of endless knocks on my office door. By nine or so, I’m ready for a break and sometimes, if I have a roll of film that needs developing, I’ll slip down the street to the little camera store near me. They open at 9:30.

One day last week, I had two rolls to develop and scan, so I slipped through the Starbucks drive-thru, got a hot cup and popped into the photo shop. As I was being waited on, I couldn’t help but overhear a conversation going on over at the used camera counter about which was the best film camera for a newbie analog shooter. A young man from the junior college was on a mission to get a 35mm film camera for his photography class and he was asking questions as he held a Nikon FG to his eye. One of the clerks motioned for me to come over… “this guy has like a hundred film cameras, let’s see what he says.” For the record, I don’t have a hundred cameras, but I’m always happy to join a conversation about film photography. And I had a nice cup of coffee to sip on.

A lively discussion began. Almost all of the folks who work at this particular store are over 50 and while they’ve all moved on to digital photography, most had shot their share of analog cameras. Since it was early in the semester, the used camera case was fairly well stocked with a variety of affordable film cameras. Everyone had an opinion or two…or three about the best starter camera. I found out a few days later that the student did buy a camera that day and I’ll tell you which one at the end of this post, but as a service to anyone in the same situation, here are the notes from our coffee conversation, best I can recall.

OLYMPUS

Olympus OM-2n with 50/1.8 Zuiko

Everyone was fond of the OM-1/OM-1n and OM-2/OM-2n SLRs from Olympus. The OM-1 bodies are getting pretty old and they need a battery conversion to work with modern power sources unless you want to carry a light meter. If you can find a converted and CLAd OM-1, it wins. If not, the OM-2n is the Maitani masterpiece to get. Also worth mentioning that the kitted Zuiko 50/1.8 was the winner in the Olympus glass part of the discussion.

CANON

Canon A-1 with 50mm f/1.4 Canon FD lens

My Canon experience isn’t very deep, so I could only offer up the original F-1, F-1n and A-1 as my suggestions. The TLb was brought up as being a good, simple picture-taker and you can’t have a Canon film camera conversation without the the AE-1 coming up at least once. In the EOS line, it was recommended to stay with the single digit pro bodies if possible. I have not shot any of the EOS film cameras, so I couldn’t weigh in here. I love my Canon F-1n. It’s never been serviced, the meter is spot on, it’s beautiful to look at and those Canon FD lenses are inexpensive and amazing! And my Canon A-1 is a very competent picture taker once you get used to its controls.

NIKON

Nikon FE2 with 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor lens

Here is where the conversation got interesting. Nikon’s line of truly great film cameras runs pretty darn deep and availability is always good. Everyone was in agreement that the Nikon FM, FM2 and FM2n were pretty good choices for a fully manual SLR to really learn on and grow into. The FE and FE2 were close seconds and at just $30 without lens, the FG that the student had in hand wasn’t a bad choice either, although I’ve heard that the build quality of the FG isn’t up to par with many of the other F series cameras, but I don’t know that for a fact. And all of these cameras are easily and affordably serviced at a number of places if needed. The Nikkormat/Nikomat and Nikon EM cameras are pretty old, but many of them are still taking beautiful photos today, so if you can find a good one from a dependable source, they might be an option too.

Nikon’s pro bodies are hard to beat and they are still affordable (although that might change given the resurgence of film photography). The original F is wonderful to shoot, but these are 50 plus year old cameras so finding one that doesn’t need at least a minor CLA is getting more and more difficult. I’ve owned two and the meters were dead in both. They had black body F in the used case that day with a working but finicky meter. The F2 is probably my favorite camera of all time. It’s an assembled-by-hand, metal and glass masterpiece that uses modern batteries. Every analog photographer should shoot an F2 at least once. And even though the F2 was built to handle extremes, every one I have ever owned required—or at least deserved a CLA. In the F2 line, the F2A or F2AS are probably the ones to look for if only for lens compatibility. The Nikon F3 is an incredible camera and there was one in the case for $169. Nikon sold the F3 for like 20 straight years! It’s hard to imagine a digital camera today staying in production for 20 years! That says volumes about the F3. The student was seriously considering the F3. I’m particularly fond of the Nikon F4 for sentimental reasons and love mine, but it’s probably too big, too heavy and too complex for someone just starting out in film photography. Same with the F5. And the F6 is just way too expensive. Some other more modern Nikons to recommend: the N90s and F100. The N90s was a 1990s marvel and the F100 was nearly the last film Nikon. Both are good choices if you want an auto-focus body. I told the group that I enjoyed shooting my F100 on my recent vacation.

PENTAX

Pentax Super A (left) with SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4 and Pentax MX (right) with SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7

Pentax often gets overlooked in favor of Nikon and Canon. I have to admit that I did the same for many years until I tried a Pentax ME Super. There are a wide variety of Pentax cameras to choose from, but you have to make the choice up front between two lens mounts; the M42 screw mount or the K bayonet mount. M42 is the earlier Pentax mount. At the time, it was also called the “universal” mount, so there is a wide variety of Pentax and aftermarket lenses available in this mount. The Pentax-made lenses are called Takumars and they are just amazing lenses! AMAZING! M42 Takumar lenses mount to the Pentax Spotmatic series which includes the Spotmatic SP, SPII, 500, 1000 SPF, ES and ESII. Most of the early Spotmatic cameras require “stop down” metering, which means in order to take a light meter reading through the lens, you must manually stop down the lens to its taking aperture. It’s one extra step in the picture taking process, sounds harder than it is and, with practice, become second nature. Almost all of us around the counter that morning had owned or at least used a Spotmatic. I was the only one STILL using one. I love my Spotmatics and I think stop down metering is a great way to learn more about photography. You can buy a Spotmatic for around $30 and Eric Hendrickson in Knoxville, TN can make it like new.

Move over to the Pentax K mount and you can select the KX, KM, K2 or the all time favorite student camera—the Pentax K1000. The camera store guys would’ve recommended a K1000 right out of the gate that day if they had one in the case. The K1000 is a great starter camera—simple and straightforward. That’s why the minute one arrives in the shop, it’s quickly snapped up.

Pentax kept the K mount when they introduced a new line of smaller SLRs—the M series. Designed to go head to head with the Olympus OM, there are a number of Pentax M bodies including the MV, MX, ME, ME Super, Super Program and Super A. Any of these M cameras would be a great starter and could be the only film camera you’ll ever need. Top of the line camera body in the K mount is the LX, which some call the best SLR ever made by anyone—but that’s a whole other coffee discussion! Almost every one of the SMC Pentax K mount lenses for these cameras are fabulous and best of all, affordable! There were two ME Super cameras in the case that day with the popular and awesome 50mm f/1.7 lenses attached.

MINOLTA

Minolta XD with 50/1.4 MD Rokkor-X lens

Only two of us around the photo counter that day had experience with Minolta and both of us with one of the XD series SLRS (XD, XD-s, XD-7, XD-11). In my experience, if you can find a good one, any of the XD cameras are good and Minolta’s lenses can hold their own against most any other brand. The X-700 and X-570 are also good choices. I like my XE-7. It was designed and built during a time when Minolta and Leica were all cuddly. It has one of the nicest sounding shutters of any camera I’ve ever used, but I know when it dies it’s dead for good because I cannot find a single person anywhere who will CLA it. That’s a shame. Some people swear by their SRT series Minoltas. I’ve never shot one. The auto focus Maxxum cameras were also mentioned.

HIS CHOICE

The junior college film student, I later found out, left the camera store that day to think about it and came back to make his selection. He chose a Nikon FE and kitted it out with a 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor manual focus Ais lens. I think he made an excellent choice. I had seen that particular camera in the case a few days before. It was a nice, black body version like the one in the old ad below. The FE will allow him learn photography by shooting in full manual mode with the added benefit of aperture-priority automation when he wants to lighten his workload. Nikon’s center-weighted metering in this camera is bullet-proof. The 50/1.8 lens, in all of its variations, has historically been a great performer. I’m really not certain if we influenced this young man or confused him, but he walked away with a great camera and we all enjoyed the conversation.

What camera would you have recommended he get?

Magazine ad circa 1981

Change

By mid-September, the rush of tourists has died down along the stretch of coast I call home. Usually by this time, and always by the first of October, the sky opens up and the fog relents. I always giggle to myself when I see folks shivering on the beach in July and August, waiting for the marine layer to lift enough for the sun to slip under and warm the sand. It’s a cruel trick Northern California plays on its summer visitors. That sun doesn’t start appearing until about now and had they planned their beach visit for Halloween, the warm sand would’ve felt just right between their toes.

I’ve wandered the same stretch of beach with my cameras for nearly a decade now, paying attention to the subtle and not so subtle things happening around me. Where there used to be a deep calmness in my soul, I now feel a stingy uneasiness. Something is not quite right. The sky isn’t smiling down on me yet. Maybe it’s the fierce fires that have burned inland and all around me the past two years. Or some shift up in the jet stream that’ll right itself all on its own. I fear it is something more.

I made the most of this unusual September with weekend walks, exercising my Pentax Spotmatic and MX cameras. I had Kodak Portra 400 in my Spotmatic and some very expired Agfa APX 100 in the little MX.

A dull and dreary middle of September day. Pentax Spotmatic with 50mm f/1.4 8-element Super Takumar on Portra 400 film

Pentax MX, SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7 on Agfa APX 100 film expired 1998

Even on a gloomy day, a dog will make the most of it. Pentax Spotmatic, 50mm f/1.4 8-element Super Takumar, Portra 400

This little guy was just happy to walk along side me. Pentax MX, SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7 on Agfa APX 100 film expired 1998

I did find a little color! Pentax Spotmatic, 50mm f/1.4 8-element Super Takumar, Portra 400 film

The Leica R6: Mostly Unloved

It's easy to jump on a bandwagon--root for the winning team, rave about a popular restaurant or join in on a fad. On the other hand, it's lonely supporting the underdog, trying a hole in the wall dining spot or setting your own personal style.

Such as it is with the Leica R6, one of a series of SLRs that Leica introduced beginning with the SL and SL2 in the 1960s and culminating with the oddly shaped R9 in 2002. Scour the internet for reviews on any of these cameras and you'll find slim pickings. While cameras like the Canon AE-1, Minolta X-700, any of the Nikon F series, Pentax M42 or K mount bodies or Leica's M rangefinders have legions of devoted followers singing their praises, with the Leica R series...you'll hear mostly crickets.

Let's face it, Leica was not known for building great single lens reflex cameras. The company wandered down that road only after it became apparent that Japanese camera manufacturers were capturing the imagination of photographers (and the marketplace) with a quickly evolving line of well designed and easy to use SLRs. After the SL and SL2, German designed and built manual everything tanks, Leica teamed up with Minolta to release a series of perfectly capable camera bodies with varying degrees of technology that mated to a limited but quite extraordinary series of Leica-built R lenses. The R3, R4 and R5 cameras had electronically-controlled shutters and auto exposure metering. None of them sold well. By the time 1988 rolled around, Leica decided to return to what they knew best--a fully manual minimalist mechanical camera. At this time, it was far more economical to build a camera with an electronic shutter rather than the clockwork mechanism required for a shutter independent of electricity, so when the R6 hit the shelves it came with a price tag that put it out of reach for the advanced amateur and pro market it was intended for. When you consider the fact that Nikon was rolling out their revolutionary auto focus F4 at the same time as the R6, it's amazing Leica sold any of these cameras at all.

Unpopular and unloved. An underdog. A perfect camera for the Fogdog Blog!

Leica R6 Chrome with 50mm f/2 Summicron

Truth is, I tried an R6 once before. I stumbled across one early on along the path of my rediscovery of film photography. At the time, the R6 was not appropriate for me, either because of my skill level or for whatever hair I had up my ass at the time. I shot one roll, wasn't impressed and sold it. It wasn't until I read a review on the Leica R5 on Casual Photophile and emailed the author to see if I could buy the article's subject camera that I got to thinking about my relationship with the Leica R series. After an enjoyable weekend spent shooting the R5, I got the itch to revisit the R6 and see how I felt about it, only now through the lens of a few more years experience.

Despite the low volume of Leica R cameras sold when new, there always seems to be an ample selection for sale on eBay. Having had quite a bit of experience with Leica over the years and knowing the pitfalls of buying a bad one, I opted for the safer route of reaching out to Ken Hansen, one of my trusted sellers, to source my R6. Ken had one of the largest and most respected camera shops in New York City for years, has been an authorized Leica dealer since 1976 and now buys and sells out of his home in Manhattan. There is no better choice anywhere for Leica and you won't find a more knowledgeable, honest or responsible seller than Ken. I emailed him and to my delight he had a mint R6 on the shelf for a very affordable price!

I'm not certain now what turned me off about the R6 when I tried it the first time. Looking through my archives of camera shots, I was shooting an Olympus OM-2n quite a bit then. I had also just been introduced by my friend Jim Grey to the wonderful Pentax ME, so perhaps those two, small, joyful cameras clouded my experience with the Leica SLR. In any event, when the box with the Ken Hansen label arrived, I opened it with the intention of giving the R6 a more thoughtful test drive the second time around.

First, the specs. There is nothing revolutionary about the R6, especially when you consider where the competition was at this point in time. Mechanical shutter with speeds to 1/1000th--(Leica would later introduce a R6.2 version of this camera with speeds to 1/2000th). TTL metering with a choice of center-weighted or spot. A very simple metering display in the viewfinder, similar to the Leica M6 rangefinder, two arrows and a center dot. Adjust aperture or shutter speed until just the dot lights up and you have proper exposure. That's about it. Minimalist and...wonderful!

The camera is smaller and lighter than I remembered and felt comfortable in the hand. A thumb rest on the back film door cover helps in handling. Having used many many different film cameras over the years, it became apparent how thoughtfully well designed the R6 controls are with everything falling naturally in place and all of them being just the right size. Leica was working hand in hand with Minolta during this time and you can easily see bits and pieces of the best of the Minolta XE and XD in the R6. With the craftsmanship of Leica and the brilliant minds of Minolta--how could you not have a winner?

Shutter speed dial, metering switch, ASA selector and other basic camera controls are robust, feel sublime and are perfectly intuitive without reading any instructions. Film advance is silky smooth and the shutter sounds wonderfully authoritative.

Everything you need. Nothing you don't.

I paired my R6 with Leica's signature standard prime, the 50 Summicron. For Leica newbies, all Summicrons are f/2 lenses just as all Summilux lenses are f/1.4. The Leica Summicron R 50 deserves its own blog post, but nicely rounds out the shooting experience with perfect focus feel and delicious aperture clicks. The R6 has a big, brilliant viewfinder with various focus screens available. My R6 came with a grid screen that I intend to replace with a split image screen as soon as I find one. Even without split image assist, focusing is easy and sure with the R6 and the Summicron.

Leica suggests loading film into their R series cameras a bit differently than most 35mm cameras. Open the film back, thread the film leader into the grooves of the take-up spook first. Then pull the film back across and drop the cartridge into place. It sounds odd, but it works! I chose Kodak's Pro Image 100 film to test my R6. Film speed is set manually. The R6 doesn't read film speed off the film canister...of course.

I took the R6 for a hike along the Kortum coastal trail near Bodega Bay. I love this bluff-top trail because it winds along the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean and can be joined at multiple locations along the Pacific Coast Highway so you can take a short or all day hike. It's mostly flat, but there are some hilly sections that'll provide a hardy work out if you're up to it. There are also lots of spots for coastal picnic.

The trail head at Shell Beach

To protect sensitive wetland areas, parts of the trail feature elevated boardwalks.

The trail winds close to the cliffs over the Pacific.

The Kortum Trail is part of Sonoma Coast State Park. Typically, there are rock climbers using this rock for practice.

I moved in closer and sure enough...

The marine layer is your constant companion along this trail.

What I love about Northern California, almost the entire coast is protected and open to all!

Vegetation that grows out of cracks in rock always interest me.

I found some late summer blooms!

Is there really a difference in a Leica camera compared to others? I know some say this is an overblown myth and that people make way too much of the Leica mystique. I will say this and it's only my personal opinion from having used several different Leicas...there is. Drive a Chevy or a Honda and then take a BMW or a Mercedes for a spin. A car is a car, but the German cars just "feel" different. There's a thoughtfulness to everything. Even the turn signal actuation has been carefully thought out, the feel of the knobs and levers. It's the same with Leica. Thoughtful, inspired design, well engineered, over built, special. I believe every photographer should at least try a Leica rangefinder or a more affordable Leica R series camera. Even just once.

As for the R6, I'm glad that I decided to revisit this mostly unloved camera. For me, the true test of an old camera is whether or not I am willing to invest in having it serviced. I believe every vintage camera you intend to keep and use regularly deserves a CLA. As I write this, my R6 is on its way to DAG for some spa time. This time around, it's a keeper.

Traveling Light with the Nikon F100

I always over pack for trips. Weeks ahead of my departure date, I begin to agonize over which suitcase to use, what clothes to pack, how many pairs of shoes I'll need and whether or not I'll be able to iron things that get wrinkled. And no matter how much I think about it beforehand, I always end up having way too much in my bag and wearing only half of what I've brought.

The same holds true for my camera gear. On each of two consecutive trips back East to see family, I packed three different cameras and ended up shooting only one. 

So as I began to plan a 10 day trip around the Northwest--the longest vacation I'd taken in nearly 20 years, I was determined to pack smartly and lightly. I did my research, devouring content from travel blogs written by savvy world wanderers. You Tube reviews became my best friend. After all the research, I settled on a simple plan: One bag, radically different clothing choices and one camera.

The Bag: A GR2 backpack from Goruck. I'd honestly never owned a backpack and never considered living out of one for 10 days, but the more I read, the more I realized that a backpack made really good sense. You're forced to consider each item you pack. The limited space encourages thoughtful organization. And if you buy the right backpack, you can carry it on an airplane, skipping the dreaded baggage check and claim all together. I narrowed my search down to a half dozen, then three and finally settled on the GR2. The Goruck packs are not the cheapest, but they're designed and built (in the USA) to military specs and will last a lifetime. I couldn't find a negative review anywhere and most people just raved. 

Clothing: Merino wool shirts and socks. Travel pants. Travel underwear. A light windbreaker. My biggest revelation during this process was that I was not only packing too much, I was packing the wrong stuff. Cotton and many synthetics wrinkle when packed. On the other hand, Merino wool hardly wrinkles at all and if it does, a few quick shakes when you pull it out of your bag dismisses most wrinkles immediately. And while you can get one or two wears out of a cotton shirt, a wool shirt resists absorbing body odor. You can honestly wear one Merino wool t-shirt for a week straight, give it a sniff and it smells just as fresh as the day you put it on. Honestly! I chose a few short sleeve and one long sleeve t-shirt from Woolly. I packed two pairs of North Face Motion travel pants, my lightweight North Face windbreaker, wore my Van's sneakers and packed an additional pair of lightweight hiking sneakers. And two pair of travel briefs did me just fine over the 10 days.

The Camera: Deciding on the camera gear I'd bring was a difficult decision. I had sent my Pentax ME off to Eric Hendrickson for a CLA with the intention of taking it on the trip. I flirted with taking my Pentax Spotmatic with the 8-Element 50. My Nikon F2AS was calling out to me from its camera bag. And my nifty Minolta XD was certainly small and light. In the end, I decided on the newest of all my film cameras, my Nikon F100. While not the smallest or lightest of my SLRs, it felt like the most dependable of all my camera bodies and auto film loading would be nice while changing rolls on the go. I also treated myself to a brand new Special Edition Nikkor 50/1.8 AF-S lens from B&H Photo and packed six rolls of Kodak Portra 400 in the GR2. I let the F100 read film speed off of the canister and set the camera to autopilot for the trip, insuring days of carefree snap shooting.

Nikon F100 with the Special Edition 50 (released with the Nikon Df digital camera)

I took the Amtrak Coast Starlight from Oakland, CA to Seattle, WA. Here are some shots from around Seattle.

The very first Starbucks at the Seattle Public Market. The line went around the block.

The Space Needle has gone through extensive remodeling inside.

Seattle's Great Wheel

I'll be posting more shots soon from Portland and Salem, OR as well as the few days I spent in Vancouver and Victoria. I won't bore you though with endless vacation pictures.

Some takeaways...the F100 performed admirably--what a great camera! I carried the Nikon on my shoulder almost constantly with a Think Tank strap and the camera never got in my way. The 50/1.8 AF-S is one of Nikon's sharpest lenses with super fast, silent autofocus. Portra 400 really does well at its box speed. I usually over expose by a stop, but you really don't need to with this exceptional film. And I didn't miss hauling around extra cameras.

I learned that I can live for 10 days out of one single bag. It was nice walking on the plane for the return flight to SFO with my pack, stowing it easily and not having to wait at baggage claim. I loved the GR2 so much, I bought a smaller Goruck Echo to use as an every day carry. Merino wool definitely is the ultimate travel clothing. I could have packed even fewer shirts and have been just fine. All the online research really paid off. One bag traveling really reduced stress before, during and after the trip.

The Last of My Acros

I'm getting down to the last of my Fuji Acros film and that makes me a bit melancholy. Acros is a fine grain, dependable and easy to use black and white film that's never let me down even when my camera's meter is off a bit, as is the case with my Leica R5. The Leica is going in for meter calibration and general CLA later this year. Before she goes in for some spa time, I loaded up some Acros and took a walk through the displays at the Pacific Coast Air Museum at the Sonoma County Charles M. Schulz Airport.

It was a warm afternoon. Wasps love old airplanes and I was chased away when I got too close to this old radial engine.

There are a number of world class wineries not far from the airport. Couldn't resist stopping to get off a shot or two and buy a nice bottle of wine for dinner.

Shooting the Leica 60mm Macro-Elmarit-R f/2.8

I've become a fan of macro (or Micro in the case of Nikon) lenses. When you can really snuggle up close to your subject, it opens up a whole new way of seeing the world. With all of the advantages of macro lenses, there are some disadvantages. Some are quite large and heavy.  And some are pretty slow, like my f/4 50mm Macro-Takumar. That's why I was pretty excited when my good friend and Leica guru Ken Hansen told me about a Leica 60mm Macro-Elmarit R f/2.8 lens he had for sale. I am pretty familiar with most of the lenses available for the R series Leica bodies, but I had never heard of this one. As a Leica dealer for over 40 years, Ken knows what he's talking about, so when he told me that the Macro-Elmarit was a superb performer, both for macro photography and as a general walk around lens, I was sold!

Leica R5 with Leica 60mm Macro-Elmarit-R f/2.8

Leica's R body SLR cameras are not as well known as their M rangefinders. And while photographers have varying opinions on the cameras, almost everyone agrees that the Leica R lenses are every bit as good as their M counterparts, both optically and in build quality. When the lens arrived, it had that familiar Leica heft, silky smooth focus, perfect aperture actuation and an appearance of something that was crafted with pride and care. Being a photographer and not a collector, the real proof would be in the shooting. So I mounted the Macro Elmarit on my Leica R5 body and boarded the Smart Train at the Sonoma County Airport for a Sunday afternoon ride down into Marin County's San Rafael.

Arriving Downtown Santa Rosa station

The station in San Rafael through the train window

It was a partly cloudy day. I was using Kodak's Portra 400. I set the Leica to 200 ISO and used the aperture priority metering mode. A nice walk through downtown. Care to come along?

Back home, I experimented a bit with the macro capabilities of this lens. I am going to try a tripod and some better lighting to get in closer and use a higher shutter speed next time. However, this lens has possibilities for sure.

And of course, the end of roll selfie.

I enjoyed using this lens a lot. Like all Leica lenses, it is a joy to handle and use. It is pretty close in size and weight to the 50mm Summicron-R lens I own. At f/2.8, it's plenty fast. It is very sharp at infinity and if I want to get serious about macro photography with it, I need to tripod mount the camera and get serious about my lighting. I own two Leica R bodies, this R5, which offers various manual shooting modes plus programmed auto-exposure and a manual mechanical body, the R6. This Macro-Elmarit will find a permanent home on one of them.

For Sentimental Reasons Only

I saw this old Kodak darkroom timer for sale on eBay a few weeks back for $10 and clicked the BUY IT NOW button, purely because this thing brings back pleasant memories for me.

I've loved photography all of my life. It's been the one constant through good times and bad. I've occasionally wandered away but not far from it. I've had my own darkroom twice, the first one in the basement of my parent's home when I was a teenager and the second (my dream darkroom) in my home in Phoenix. I always enjoyed darkroom work, especially printing. There's something quite pleasant about spending an afternoon tucked away under the glow of a red safelight with some favorite music in the background. These days, I process my own black and white film in the kitchen, but I'd sure love to have a full darkroom again someday.

Kodak not only made film and photographic paper, they also manufactured processing chemicals and all sorts of supplies for home darkroom enthusiasts. They sold this mechanical, wind up timer for years. I've had several and sold them along the way as life dictated. 

I've always liked the classic looks of this timer. Crisp industrial design that still looks sharp today. I use my iPhone to time my film development. I think I'll put this on my desk at work. It makes me feel good...for sentimental reasons.

The Driving Experience

I've worked as a marketing person in the retail automotive industry for nearly three decades, so while I'm not over-the-top passionate about cars, I'm pretty familiar with most of the brands sold in America. Over the years, my jobs have allowed me to drive most every make and model. On one of my jobs, I had the perk of having a demonstrator, a new car that I got to drive for 5,000 or so miles before turning it in for another. That was very nice!

With all those miles and the experience of different cars under my belt, I've discovered what I like and have settled into owning just one brand: BMW. I am not wealthy. I drive used. Cars that I search carefully for and then maintain properly. My current BMW is the newest car I've ever owned -- a 2014 Certified Pre-Owned 328i that cost me less than a comparable Accord or Camry. I enjoy driving my 3-Series. It makes even the most mundane commute pleasurable. Everything about the car is right for me. The way it handles. The layout of the cockpit. Visibility. Familiarity with controls. Fit, finish and feel. 

I think that's why a lot of us shoot old mechanical film cameras. At least, that's why I do. There are certainly more modern devices to take pictures with, but it's the experience of driving these old machines that a DSLR, mirrorless or even smart phone camera can't duplicate.

I wish I could say that I've found one camera that satisfies me as much as my 328i does, but the truth is that there are several from the film area that are stand outs. I've recently received a number of emailed comments to this blog asking my opinion on various film cameras, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on those cameras that for me, offer the ultimate driving experience.

Mechanical Nikons

Nikon F2 Photomic

It's hard to beat the Nikon F2, the last hand assembled Nikon. The F2 is a big, heavy, all mechanical, brass and glass machine that is pure picture-taking wonderfulness. You'll see different versions of the F2, but only the finders change. The body remained the same throughout the production run...because Nikon got it so perfect. Depending upon your driving style, you can select from one meter-less or four different metered finders for the F2. Find a decent F2 and then send it off to Sover Wong, the F2 guru, for a CLA and you have a camera for life...and then some! Runner up to the F2 for me is the Nikon FE2. I've regretted my decision to sell my FE2 some years ago. Good news is that I just bought another and sent it in this week for CLA.

Minolta

Minolta XD (Japan) XD-11 and XD-7 in the US

Minolta gets a bad wrap online, but they were one of the most forward thinking camera manufacturers during the film era. Most people like the X-700, but my two favorites are the XD and the XE-7. Both of these cameras came out during the period in which Minolta and Leica were dating, so you'll find Minolta engineering and Leica manufacturing and vice versa. The XE-7 has the nicest film advance of any camera I have ever tried and the XD (XD-11 and XD-7 in the US) is super small and packs every metering mode you could want. Minolta glass is pretty nice too...and very affordable!

Olympus

Olympus OM-2n

All of the Olympus OM single digit cameras are nice (OM-1, OM-2, OM-3, OM-4). Double digit Olympus bodies were designed to be more affordable and thus, build quality is not as good. My favorite is the OM-2n with just the right amount of automation. Driving the OM-2n is pure joy! This camera is super small with jewel-like quality. The OM-3 is a collector camera and prices are sky high. My OM-4 was a battery hog. I liked my OM-2n right from the start and loved it after I had it CLA'd back to factory specs!

Pentax

Pentax Spotmatic SP

Oh my! So many choices. Any of the Spotmatics are superb! And those early Takumar lenses are just spectacular! I am using exclamation points early and often in this paragraph because I just can't say enough about these cameras. I especially love the SP without the dedicated flash shoe and the SPF with open aperture metering. In the K bodies, I just adore my K2. It comes in second behind the Minolta XE-7 in the silky smooth film advance category. And the sound of that Copal shutter will make you weak in the knees. All of the M body Pentax cameras I have tried are awesome! Love my ME, ME Super and MX. For an ultimate Pentax driving experience, try the LX!

Canon

The Original Canon F-1

Never thought I'd like shooting a Canon, but the original F-1 and the new F-1 turned my head around. Both of these cameras are lots of fun to drive. The original F-1 has a sublimely satisfying shutter sound and the new F-1's gun metal finish is beautiful! Canon's FD lenses are very affordable and are great performers. Runner up to these pro bodies is the Canon A-1.

Also worth mentioning, mostly because of the Zeiss lenses made for it, is the Contax RX. I've tried several Contax cameras and the RX is my favorite C/Y mount driver. In the Nikon electronic bodies, the F4 is amazing and the F100 is the nearest you can get to a digital experience in an analog camera. In instant photography, there's nothing quite like the Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera. Today, there are several technicians restoring these cameras to original specs. It's a blast to see your picture pop right out of the front of these amazing cameras!

After careful shopping and with proper service, there's nothing quite like driving an analog camera. These are my top picks. I'd love to know yours.

Acros

Fujifilm recently announced the discontinuation of their Neopan Acros 100 black and white film. This is sad. While I haven't shot as much Acros as I have Kodak's black and white films, I've always been very pleased with the pictures I've made when I've used it.

Acros is still available for a decent price from a number of online retailers. I will probably buy a brick or two and stash it in the freezer before the prices get insane.

Here are a few shots on Acros using my Olympus OM-2n camera with 50mm Zuiko f/1.4 lens. These pictures were taken on a walk near Jack London State Park in Sonoma County, CA.

Lake & Water Tank, Sonoma Co. CA

Water Tank & Shadow, Sonoma Co. CA

Tree, Sonoma Co. CA

Film Rewind: Nikon FE2

The process of reducing the number of cameras in my collection has stirred some memories for me of cameras that I sold and later regretted. One such camera is the Nikon FE2.

The FE2 was the first camera body I purchased after returning to film photography in 2010. I caught a severe case of G.A.S. after buying the FE2 and never really gave the camera a fair shake. I sold it to help finance a Sover Wong service on a Nikon F2 I think.

I've since come to appreciate simple aperture-priority SLRs like the FE2. The FE2, and the FE that preceded it, had a simple analog match needle exposure display in the viewfinder, which I love. As I recall, my FE2 was just the right size and weight, especially with a 50/1.8 Nikkor out front.

Even as I reduce the number of cameras I own, I might deviate from my mission just a hair and go on a hunt for another nice FE2. With nearly a decade of hardware experience under my belt, the FE2 might feel just right now.

Have you parted ways with a camera you wished you had kept? I'd love to hear.

The chrome body FE2 I sold. What WAS I thinking?

Nikon FE2 top controls. Sweet and simple!

Photographic Minimalism

I'm sorry I haven't posted more here. I've been putting in more hours at the office and that's disrupted my photographic and blog content output. It's slowly getting better and I should be back to more regular posting soon, but I did want to tell you what I've been up to. Besides working that is.

As I approach the end of my fifth decade, I've become obsessed with de-cluttering my life. Some call it minimalism. Whatever it's called, I've realized that I simply have too much stuff and all that stuff means more decisions. More stress. I looked in my closet recently and realized that I never wear 70% of what is in there. So, one Sunday afternoon, I pulled out the abandoned clothing, packed it up and carted it all to Goodwill. My closet looks better, someone will get some use out of the perfectly good stuff I donated and the Goodwill receipt will come in handy at tax time. I'm also looking seriously at how to simplify my wardrobe choices moving forward. I'm not ready yet to do the Steve Jobs uniform, but I'm looking to more thoughtful minimalist choices.

Since I've been spending so much time at the office, one day I took a fresh look at my work space and realized how much clutter I had around me. I purged the bulletin board that hangs over my desk of all but the essential items (amazing how much stuff hanging there wasn't remotely relevant) and organized the stacks of papers on my desk into tidy little job folders that get filed away when the tasks have been completed. 

I realized that during the day, I'd write notes on various scraps of paper, on Post-It notes, a legal pad or whatever was at hand. Trying to find a phone number or some reminder I had written to myself in all these different places was not only a bad use of time, but it was creating unnecessary stress. So I've started disciplining myself to work out of one Moleskine journal, listing my tasks there for the day, checking off the tasks as I complete them and doing all my note taking on its pages. I carry my Moleskine to all of my meetings and it goes into my briefcase each evening. It's amazing how much more organized I am with this simple daily journaling.

My goal of simplifying everything is extending to my photography hobby as well. As hard as it was to part with, I've sold all of my Leica gear. Most of it had appreciated considerably over the years, so off it went with the profits now resting safely in the bank. I also sold off my medium format gear, which I hardly used, as well as numerous cameras that spent too much time snuggled in their camera bags. I'm not a collector, I'm a photographer and these cameras need to be used, not hoarded.

As I write this, I think my goal here is to whittle down my gear to only those cameras that I find real joy in using. And I'm discovering that those cameras are, for the most part, simple, small, minimalist machines. It has certainly been fun to shoot all of these different cameras over the years, but now I think it's time to concentrate on and really get to know just a few and write about the keepers.

A few Sundays ago, I grabbed one of those simple little machines and headed out for a walk on Goat Rock Beach in Jenner, California. Here are few shots made with my Pentax ME Super and the slowest of the Pentax standard prime 50s, the f/2. The gray, overcast day was not kind to my Kodak Ektar 100 film.

Life is a circle: The Nikon F100

Nearly nine years into my rediscovery of film photography, I can safely say that I've learned a few things. I'm pretty sure that I am becoming a more competent photographer technically. My choices of subject matter and composition skills are getting better. I think I'm developing my own personal style. And I've experimented with a wide enough variety of hardware to know what I like and what I don't.  Experience and more self-awareness has prompted me to re-think a few cameras I dismissed over the years.

Early on, maybe 2010 or so, I picked up a Nikon F100 camera for cheap on eBay. I don't even recall what prompted me to buy it. Besides putting some batteries into it, fitting a lens and dry firing it, I can't find any evidence that I ever ran a roll of film through it. I do remember, around the same general time, my interest shifting to 1970s vintage mechanical SLRs and selling the F100 for a bit of a profit, investing the proceeds into one of my first Nikon F2 bodies. 

Sentiment was certainly a big part of my initial attraction to the F2. It was the camera I lusted over as a teenager, staring at it through the glass display case at Tuthill's Camera in Binghamton, New York and in the pages of Modern Photography. When I finally got my own F2 nearly four decades later, it started me on an enjoyable journey of trying many of the legendary cameras of the film era, which today are so very affordable.

From time to time though, I've thought about that F100. Most recently, a travel piece in Casual Photophile, featuring some great shots done with the author's F100, gave me the nudge I needed to acquire again and finally shoot the Nikon F100. Life is indeed a circle.

Nikon F100 with my 50mm f/1.4 AF-D Nikkor

Of all of the film cameras I've looked for online, my F100 hunt didn't take long. Arriving late in 1999 at the dawn of the digital era, Nikon sold lots of F100s and my theory is that photographers didn't fire off many shots in them before trading their F100 in for a DSLR. Today, for just a few hundred dollars, you can find a pretty minty F100 on eBay and for a little more, one like mine that was still in its original box. I have a few prime Nikkor AF-D lenses for my F4 that are right at home on the F100, so it didn't take me long to take the Nikon for a test drive.

Nikon's pro F5 had been out for about three years when the F100 arrived on store shelves. Billed as a less expensive but still plenty capable pro-sumer camera, the F100 packs most every feature found on the F5 in a smaller, lighter package. That's the first thing I noticed when unboxing my F100--the camera feels great in the hand! Small-ish, light and with a nicely recessed hand grip. With my 50/1.4 AF-D lens mounted, the F100 is superbly balanced.

If you are a film photography enthusiast, the F100 offers up most everything and anything you could want:

• Manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority and programmed auto-exposure modes
• Choice of 3D Matrix, center-weighted or spot metering
• Shutter speeds to 1/8000th of a second
• Auto film loading and built in motor drive (up to 5 fps)
• User-custom settings
• Accepts most every Nikkor lens ever made 

The F100 is powered by four AA batteries. This is nice. You can find AA batteries most everywhere. Ever since the F4 I think, Nikon cameras have offered an auto film loading system that is pretty much fool-proof. Open the back, insert the cartridge, pull the leader across to the red line, close the back, push the shutter release button once and the film winds on and advances to the first frame. If you are new to film photography, this very feature might be a good reason to buy an F100 era Nikon film camera. It's hard to mess up film loading when the camera does most all of the work.

I loaded some Kodak Portra 400 film into the F100. The camera automatically reads the DX code from the film canister. You can override this feature if you want, but for my first time, I let the camera do its thing...shoot at the box speed and set the camera for full programmed auto exposure. Off to the nearby Bodega Head hiking trail head where a small crowd had gathered to do some whale watching.

And fellow photographers with their big zooms at the ready.

Texting someone? Or uploading a great smart phone shot to Instagram?

These were the last of the spring wildflower blooms on the north coast. I've been on this same trail since and they're gone for another year.

You can see a fellow hiker up in the very top left of this shot. It shows the scale of the place. I am very fortunate to live so close to an awe-inspiring hiking spot.

With the F100 set to do all of the heavy lifting, I was free to click away and enjoy the hike.

The F100 performed without fault. Matrix metering nailed every shot, even under mid-day bright sunshine. The camera's big viewfinder (with built in diopter correction) is extraordinary with exposure information clearly readable even in the brightest light. I hiked three miles that day and the camera was comfortable over my shoulder on the Think Tank gripper strap. 

I've only played around a little with a Nikon F6 in a camera store, so I can't competently compare the F100 to Nikon's last pro film body, but I will go out on a limb here and say that I think the F100 might be the best ever Nikon film camera. The F100 is a powerful machine, certainly the culmination of everything Nikon learned during the analog era. Best of all, they offered all this picture taking technology in an AFFORDABLE package. That, in my opinion, is what makes the F100 the best ever Nikon film SLR.

As a final footnote, even if I had shot dozens of rolls in my first F100, I don't think I would have come to this same conclusion then. Shooting my way through the Nikon F2, F3, F4 as well various Pentax, Olympus, Canon, Contax and Minolta film cameras, I think, has made me keenly aware of what an achievement the F100 was for Nikon. It is a truly great camera!