Week 16 - Nikon N800s
This week is a tad different in that we combined two projects. I had
been approached last November-ish about contributing some pictures for the local
Dartmoor Zoo, a small zoo which carries a little fame as the film ‘We Bought a
Zoo' tells the owners story, but the timing was bad and I passed. Two weeks ago
Coral asked again and I agreed.
The main bulk was to be digital but we agreed I would take some film
stuff too. The plan was to use Russells favourite Nikon D300s and combine it
with a film body but only use lenses that fitted both. The 8008 was ideal! Yes it
is all electric, but the auto focus and TTL would be needed as I was getting
access to places where speed might mean I would not become lunch! I picked up
the camera on the Tuesday and shoot day was Thursday so I threw in an FP4 test
roll and blasted through it on the way home. The weather was changeable to say
the least! Everything bar snow! I tried everything to find its limitations and
upon viewing the results it had performed admirably. I set about reading the
instruction manual and abandoned it straight away so I won't rattle on with
techy stuff as it was like War and Peace but I will say it is weighty yet well
balanced with lots of features to please everyone. You can go all auto or
choose shutter/aperture priority with ease. It was, in its day back in the late
eighties, aimed at serious amateurs and had a reputation as a bullet proof
reliable excellent camera.
Lenses we took were prime 50 & 85mm, 35-80, 18-70 and a 70-300 all
Nikkor with a stonking 150-500 sigma with its 2x converter for those places no
man should go. I shot Fuji Superia X-tra 400 and Kodak colour 400.
Shoot day arrived and we were escorted around by the lovely Coral. I
started by shooting both but had a devious hope that Russell would get the itch
and take over the D300. Russ hadn't done a shoot for exactly a year since his
illness and as I hoped my fumbling with the myriad of buttons must have driven
him potty and he eagerly ended up with it leaving me to play with the 8008.
We
chopped and changed lenses between us and the day went really well. I soon
realised I wasn't going to get everything in one day, animals are finicky
things wanting to either sleep or stand in the wrong place! But we got enough
to start and I found the 8008 a really nice beastie to use. The little dial on
the top by my thumb easily rolled through the shutter stops displaying clearly
in the large bright viewfinder, all be lenses focussed fast and precisely with
only the sigma requiring manual focus. I can also confirm hand holding 1000mm
of zoom at 1/15th doesn't work.
Now
I could write pages about the day and the camera but I think the photos sum it
up. I had one roll of film prep and dove straight in. I loved it! I am normally an all manual slow photographer
so this was really far from my comfort zone and it never missed a beat with only
user error spoiling shots. Enjoy the pics, we have pruned them down as there
are many. Hopefully Russell will put in a few of the digital shots he took
recording the day….. A great experience all around.
