I'm wondering what equipment is essential for 35mm? What do you think, do I need a tripod when I have a flash? And, is a Nikon F5 used worth 800?

Cameras. Lenses. Film. Darkroom. Chemicals. Determination. Patience.

Tripod--yes. Nikon F5--yes.

Determination. Patience. Practice. Vision. Those are far more important than whatever gear you're carrying. Quit being so anxious to upgrade your gear. Stick with what you have and make great images with it, use it until it becomes absolutely second nature to you. THEN worry about new gear if your current gear is not meeting a need you have.

Cameras. Lenses. Film. Darkroom. Chemicals. Determination. Patience.

Tripod--yes. Nikon F5--yes.
I'm going to ask for a good Gitzo tripod for christmas. This one: http://www.gitzo.com/Jahia/site/gitzo/pid/4765/cache/bypass?gitzoView=flatView&curLevel=1CAT&curFamilyId=NONE&curMarketId=MARKET%3AMKT1&actualPathCategoryKey=1CAT%3AAAA1%3A2CAT%3ABB59%3A 3CAT%3ACC13%3A4CAT%3AD440&productContainer_windowsize=10&ctnscroll_productContainer=10_10&kindOfProductCollectionRequest=productDetail&detailPid=5230

Sorry for the long link, and I'm getting the F5 when my Pentax spotmatic/SP 500 breaks. When do you think that wil be? I only dropped it once.

Cameras. Lenses. Film. Darkroom. Chemicals. Determination. Patience.

Tripod--yes. Nikon F5--yes.

You forgot => money

Steve

Tripod - yes. Couldn't have made some of my "visions" reality without one. Sometimes you need depth of field, and your shutter speed will fall too low to adequatly hand hold the camera.
Depends where you shop for that F5. Ebay can be a couple hundred $ cheaper, but that's sight unseen.
Would help if you gave us a list of the equipment you already have...then you can see if you really *need* anything. :-)
Jed

Would help if you gave us a list of the equipment you already have...then you can see if you really *need* anything. :-)
Jed
Pentax SP500/Spotmatic
35mm f3.5
55mm f1.8
105mm f2.8
Pentax Spotmeter V
Metz flash
Flash bracket.
Filters/film

Are you looking in particular for autofocus or manual focus? Battery dependent or all manual?

Are you looking in particular for autofocus or manual focus? Battery dependent or all manual?

Nikon F5

I got my pretty Nikon F5 for $409 US from keh.com a few months ago. $800 is expensive unless the camera is essentially mint.

The F5 is a lot of camera. It's big, and it's fast. For most photographers it's too large. Are you sure you wouldn't rather an F80 or F100 instead? I certainly wouldn't want to be saddled with my F5 every time I went shooting, even though there are times when I would rather use no other camera. I think the F100 is a better compromise if a person is only going to have one camera.

A good pair of eyes is essential. After that quality glass and a solid tripod [a monopod is also handy as it gives you that extra bit of support without too much extra weight].

Marko-

you'll need to replace the Pentax when it falls down a manhole into a river of sewage and gets run over by a concrete truck at the same time. They're very durable cameras. Save your money and spend it on film, chemicals, and dates with girls.

A good pair of eyes is essential. After that quality glass and a solid tripod [a monopod is also handy as it gives you that extra bit of support without too much extra weight].

Brains are useful too.

Steve

The F5 might be too much of a camera to be considered an "essential" for 35mm photography.

Basically what a person needs is a simple camera (manual or automatic), a lens (doesn't even have to be a zoom lens), film and some knowledge of how to operate or load the camera.

$800 for a discontinued Nikon camera is a lot of money. The F100 is a good compromise between price and performance, and I'm sure you can get a used F5 for $500 or less nowadays.

I wouldn't wait for a Spotmatic to break - in fact I've got $5 that says it'll outlive you ;)

Why do you have your sights set on the F5?

I wouldn't wait for a Spotmatic to break - in fact I've got $5 that says it'll outlive you ;)

Why do you have your sights set on the F5?

Tougher, faster, and better for event/people photography.

hey marko

i agree with scott ..
don't waste your money ...
on new equipment unless you need it ..

when i sell off everything i own and just have one camera
it would probably be a box camera. easy quick and you just need
to compose and push the button.

Unless you really need autoeverything, just stick with your Spotmatic. Ive got one and don't even use the meter anymore. And don't use but 3 primes on it. The glass is great, it's never failed me because of mechanics and other than not having a split-prism I couldn't ask for much more.

$800 is retail and then some for a used F5, In the Chicago area they're going for ~400-500 on craigslist. There have been N90s starting around $200 & f100's for ~$300.
markok's just wanting the F5 so he can say his is bigger than the other guy's & doesn't understand he doesn't need an auto everything camera for shooting on the street.
See:Henri Cartier-Bresson, Frank, Winogrand, Callahan etc. etc..........

F3
35 f1.4
85 f1.4
Gitzo

And the world is your oyster. :)

Tougher, faster, and better for event/people photography.

Doesn't this say Leica? :)
I wouldn't care about the F5. If you really want some Pro 35mm SLR for people shooting go for an F100 instead. A lot of the danish press photographers in the late -90 took F100s to Kosovo, Somalia etc with either a couple of primes or the 20-35 zoom because its a more handy camera and it did the job just as well as the F5 would. I have shot with a F90X for some years now and just got a F100 a year or so ago, Neither leaves me wanting anything. Another way to go for people shots is the Mamiya 7II. Ok the lenses are slow but with 6X7cm negs you can afford to shoot fast films without loosing much in quality. Like the Leicas its a rangefinder with a god bright finder and excelent lenses.
Kind regards
Søren

I would go with the F5 if you expect to keep the camera for a long time. They are practically indestructible. The only real problem I have seen with them is the battery life is a bit short. I have an F5 - I have since upgraded to an F6 (which is probably out of your reach) - and I wouldn't trade it for a F100 or N80 for any use, neither is in the same class as the F5. Keep in mind, the F5 is a very big, heavy camera.

Tougher, faster, and better for event/people photography.

For event photography, it'll be easier with a camera with a spot-meter and flash capabilities. People photography isn't as demanding. As I've said before, the F100 will do well in both. You don't need a top-range SLR to do event/people photography.

Check out www.shutterblade.com . It's an eBay store and I have, at least in part, privately funded them lately. They are 100% reliable in my book. Check them out.

Of course the OP may be a big heavy lad as well and he's still got some growing to do in the physical sense. He might be ready for the bigness of the F5 or grow into its bigness quite quickly.

I had a BSA single cylinder motorcycle once. It looked a bit like the famous 500cc Goldstar. It was heavy and had a big 5 gallon tank. It fulfilled my dreams.

Was it better than other smaller British motorcycles. NO. Was it faster than other machines or even as fast as Japanese 250s.NO

So why? Well I refer back to last line of the previous paragraph but one.

Have we all chosen our wives/husbands according to strict needs and logical deduction. Would we have been better/happier if we had?

That concludes the case for the defence, m'lud( your honour?) which I now rest.

pentaxuser