Bill Smith's Photography

 This in reality was shot before the Streetpan 400 rolls but I went all Tenent on you guys, so there. On a crisp and very rare sunny morning before the clouds moved in, I got out to shoot a roll of Kentmere 400 running up the start of Frugal Film Project 2023. I popped a yellow filter on the Nikkor H 50 F2 lsns and love what I got, also I played around with the Nikkor Q 135 F2.8 lens and wow, it's sharp glass, and I plan to use this lens a fair bit over winter 2023.  Camera: Nikkormat FTn, Nikkor H 50 F2 lens, Q 135 F2.8 lens.  Film: Kentmere 400, Ilfotec HC 1+31. 

  One lens I pack this time around I don't use all that often is my Pre Ai Nikkor 135 F2.8 lens. My usual default for telephoto is the Nikkor 105 F2.5 which is a legendary focal length in the Nikon manual focus lens line up. The 135, flies a bit below the radar and having seen the results in the ice build up photos, part of me wants to get an Ai 135 F2.8 lens for my kit, just in case.  Yup, did a count and got four rolls of Streetpan 400 left. I'm going to be glad when I finish them off...... Camera: Nikkormat EL, Nikkor HC 50 f2 lens, Q 135 F2.8 lens.  Film: JCH Streetpan 400, D76 1+1. 

 I got one of my dream cameras, the Nikon FM3a, the last manual focus camera Nikon made in house (the FM10 was made by Cosina). My brother and I are both camera collectors and film shooters, he bought this FM3a about a year or so ago, and wound up selling it to me as he just wasn't using it enough. I was on the lookout for a chrome FM3a and things just came togther.  Nikon only made the FM3a for a few short years before culling their film camera line down to just two skus, the F6 sort of pro body and the FM10 for the student market. I remember the camera being discontinued and thought it was a dumb move because you want o keep a legacy camera in the line up. Discontinuing the F60, F80, F100, that wasn't a surprise, the world was going pixels at the time.  So, how is the FM3a in the hand. Think a more refined FE2 but while that camera had one mechanical speed. All the shutter speeds on the FM3a are mechanical if the batteries die, you can go Sunny 16 in a pinch. The other ...