Full frame or not to full frame, that is the question...

Actually not anymore is there question of using a full frame sensor versus a camera with a crop factor sensor. I am a Nikon shooter and have been since the late 90's starting with the film bodies and transitioning to the digital bodies as well. For sports and other events where I was at distances of 10 feet or greater the cameras with the a crop factor are perfect, especially if the distances were greater than 30 feet then the sensor with the crop factor was the preferred camera of choice (Nikon D2X with a Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 AFS). The problem I have the sensors with the crop factor was evident in images I needed to create that involved subjects less than 10 feet away and usually were within a couple feet of the lens. The ultra-wide angle lenses I needed to use (such as the Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 AFS DX) always created an image distortion of the subjects in the image. So people on the fringes of the frame would have facial expressions that were out of some low-budget science fiction movie. When Nikon announced earlier this year the availability of the full frame Nikon D700 I was salivating and eager to get my hands on a body. I had been at that time contemplating purchasing a Canon 5D and a wide-zoom just so I could have a full frame camera. I know I was not the first in line to pre-order but I put in my order the day the announcement was made and then waited for the next few weeks for the camera to arrive. I have been shooting with the D700 now for about two months and am expecting to post a review of the camera within the next week. And as a heads up once I received the camera I slapped on the Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 G AF-S and the lens has not left the camera body since.


(An ultra-wide lens starts at less than 24mm)

Nostalgia

Got home from the grocery store yesterday and was putting items into the refrigerator and noticed that the crisper drawers and the lower shelf were crammed with film. A brief look at the film packaging of a quick handful showed me that the expiration dates had long passed. This is what set off the feeling of nostalgia of a time long ago (2003 was the year I switched to using digital SLR cameras). Back in the days of thrifty shooting as film cost money and the more rolls I shot meant the more rolls I had to develop. Granted all of my color/chrome work I would send to a local lab for developing, but this only reminds me that Chromacolor went out of business sometime in 2005-2006, and I need to find out if Chrome is still in business to take chromes to for development. Color negatives I would have those developed at Fromex by SDSU I think they would still be around. Fromex was a niche shop that catered to quite a few wedding photographers. The black and white films I would process myself with a Jobo CPE tube development. I was thinking back to those moments of sitting in front of the TV with a changing bag in my lap winding the 35mm and 220 films on to development spools. The larger formats (4x5, 5x7, 8x10) I had just recently switched to using tube development from tray development. And conversely loading bulk 35mm film onto film spools, and loading the large format film holders as well.

Nope no point to this post only that I have a ton of film and now need to formulate a project to use these rolls on. That will feel so strange now... Capturing an image and then having to wait till the image is developed after the session is completed before being able to see the image. I am betting that when I am working on the project the urge will be there to chimp after each shot with the urge growing in intensity with each successive image captured unto that gelatin media. Shoot better find my light meter before I get too far into the planning stages. Oh and will need to calibrate the scanner as well so the images can be posted online.