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My Camera History
(Click here to see Lenses & Accessories)

Once again, I'm a Canon Point and Shoot guy. I neglected to put my Nikon 5600 camera on the history page because I hate it.

(Nikon makes great DSLR's and really crappy point and shoot cameras.)

The A640 was a replacement for my constant carry camera. It is a 10 MP camera that takes 3 minutes of video. It also uses AA batteries which I really like.

This is Nikon's most recent affordable SLR. I gave the D70 to my son-in-law Damian so he could take photos of Alex playing soccer. Therefore, I had to get another body.

It is a most impressive camera, giving a 10.2 mega pixel image. So far, I am very pleased with it.

I gave myself a 10.5mm fisheye for my birthday, as well as an 80-200 f2.8 zoom. The combo gives a nice images that some new software really punches up. I am not overwhelmed with the sharpness of the D200 sensor yet. 

 Nikon D2H
(Digital)
February 2005 - Present

It is my brother-in-law Paul's fault that I got this camera. Really!

We were in Chicago for Sam's funeral and Paul and Barb wanted to go downtown to an English bar to watch cricket in real time, from England. I drove them. Afterward, I went to Calumet Photo, where I purchased the first Fuji S2, a couple of years ago.

I wanted to check out the new Fuji S3, which I hated. However, they had a closeout on brand spankin' new Nikon D2H's for a thousand dollars less.

I got one.

Duh.

I like it a lot. At 4 MP it gives a pretty good image and is find for what I use it for. Plus, it really boosted my curb speed.

Nikon D70 SLR
(Digital)
April 2004 - 2006

I returned the 8700 in the first week and traded it for the D70 which had just come out. After analyzing the problems I had with the 8700, I finally realized that the only thing I will be happy with is an SLR and interchangeable lenses.

I've taken about 15,000 exposures with the camera and it is pretty good. Image quality is not as good as the S2 but is much better than the 8700 and the camera is FAST, FAST, FAST !!!

I am using the new SB800 flash which is OK, but not great. It is still better than the Canon was but it is still pretty bad. Digital flash is just not in the cards, I think.

I have been using the 12-24 DX, 24-120 VR, 80-400 VR and a 20mm 2.8 on this body and the photo quality is very nice.

The camera has been reliable and problem free. The battery lasts about 400 shots and you pretty much have to use the auto exposure bracketing to get useable photos. With a 1 gig CF card you get 249 images.

I would like to upgrade to a D2X someday, though.

 Nikon 8700
(Digital)
2004 for one week

The first impression of this camera was positively amazing. It is an 8 mp camera with a 10x (35mm-280mm) optical zoom.

The camera shoots in NEF raw format and allows you to use a 6 AA cell battery grip with a vertical shutter release and zoom lever. 

After using the camera for a couple of weeks I am firmly convinced that it is a terrible camera for the money. It further reinforces my opinion that Nikon simply doesn't perform in the way that I want a digital camera to perform. 

As soon as I can find a replacement for it, it goes on ebay.

God, did I hate this camera !

Fuji FinePix S2 Pro
(Digital)
2002-2005

There are no words to describe how much better this camera is than the Canon D30.

I had been dreading moving to the D60 because it was not much better, except for the higher resolution.

I looked at the Nikon D100 and the Fuji and decided on the FinePix Pro S2 body and the Nikon SB 80DX flash with a Nikkor 18-35mm f3.5 zoom on the front.

So far, so good. It is a little small for my hand and I do not like the placement of the secondary choice wheel directly under the on/off switch. I frequently turn the camera off when making an adjustment.

The flash, however, is very, very good.

Canon has a lot of catching up to do in auto-focus and flash exposure.  

  Nikon N80
(Film)
2003-Present

I don't use this much because I take almost no film photos anymore. I do like the camera. It is reasonably fast, takes very accurate exposures and works with all my VR lenses.

  Nikon N65 SLR
(FILM)
August 2003 - April 2004

I bought this from KEH so I could use my 80-400 VR in Alaska. I took 21 rolls of film and it worked as well as I could expect.

It is a fully automatic camera that doesn't do much but take pictures, which was what I asked of it.

I traded it for the 8700 in April, 2004. Leon didn't give me much for it but I hated it, although not as much as I hated the 8700. The N80 is a much better body.

Canon G2
(Digital)
2002-2004

I bought the G2 for the resolution, and because it is small and light enough to carry every day. I am never without it. 

It even has a great fill in flash and has become my best camera. 

I purchased a newly refurbished one when I gave the old one to Rachael, then I gave the refurbished one to Jeannine. 

After all these years, I still think the G2 is one of the best cameras I've ever owned.

(Jan 2005 update: I put a bid on one of these on eBay this week. It is still the best digital camera I've ever owned. If my kids need one replaced and I can get it for a hundred bucks, I'll keep it in the closet.)

Canon D30
(Digital)
2001-2002

I traded my Leica M6TTL for this SLR type digital camera. I really like it however, the 3.2 mega pixel resolution doesn't cut it anymore for my work. 

I am happy with many of the features and the lenses, but there is lots of room for improvement, particularly in low light auto focus and flash exposure. It is not a serious camera for photojournalism. 

The fellow who bought it will find it more that adequate to the task and he will love the quality. The IS lenses are superb. 

Nikon N90S
(FILM)
1995-2003

This is simply one of the finest film cameras ever made. It is heavy because it is as solid as any professional level Nikon ever made.

I sold it to Perry because he still takes film and none of my VR lenses work with it. I do miss many features that make a heck of a difference in photography.

One of the best is the IR remote control that I use to let people take their own pictures at parties. I'm thinking of buying it back if Perry will sell it to me simply for that feature.

Leica M6 TTL
(FILM)
2000-2002

I'd wanted to go to Paris and be Henri Cartier-Bresson for many years. Therefore, my 50th Birthday present had to be a Leica camera

Cartier-Bresson was Leica to me. No Leica, no Paris. 

I was happy to have it but I was happier to get rid of it. It was a very good camera that was very difficult for me to operate. It had too much reliance on my worsening vision.

The Leica SF 20 flash was, without any doubt the very best flash I've ever used. It was flawless. 

I got my money's worth. 

Nikon 990
(Digital)
1997-2000

The 990 was the first electronic camera I bought that took great pictures. 

I gave it to my daughter who doesn't like it and intends to give it back. I will give it to my younger daughter, who, if she doesn't like it, will let me give it to someone who will appreciate it.

It's a 2.2 mega pixel camera that really works well, and it uses AA batteries.

The Sony was the first digital camera I owned. It recorded 640 x 480 VGA photos on to a Floppy Disk.

It made me a believer in digital photography. I gave it to Rachael and she used it to take photos of
Alex's birth.

It's dead now and I threw it away. I really liked it while I had it.

I sold the 80-400 to Perry and bought this as a replacement.

It has become my favorite lens for flowers. I shoot at 2.8 to kill the backgrounds.

It is a heavy lens and pretty big but I still pack it in my carry bag and use it a lot.

I've had this a year. It was broken out of the box and I never liked it. After getting it repaired early this year it is now one of my favorite lenses. I'm learning how to use the ultra-wide and I'm starting to get good photos.

With the Gary Fong Lightsphere II on my flash, I even get well balanced flash photos at 12 mm.

I bought this from Ken Rockwell. It is a push/pull lens that is the fastest focusing lens I've ever owned.

It's a little slow, at 4.5, but very sharp and very small.

My regular carry lens. I use it almost every day. It is a great lens, very sharp, very stable.

When paired with the right camera, this flash is very good.

I have used it for dozen's of shoots and found that it works best at 2/3 of a stop underexposed.

I have used these twice for the PPAI Expo shoots and we've taken more than 3,000 exposures with them. Everyone has been perfect.

I also purchased a B1600 to light a 12 foot hanging sign and it has worked flawlessly, too

Update:

After three years, I can say that these suck and you shouldn't buy them. Their quality is iffy and their reliability is aweful. What is worse is their customer service. They only want to unload these dogs on you . If you have a problem, you're stuck.

--- Original Entry ---

Not enough experience with this 250ws Monolight yet.

Looks good so far, though.

With my LUNA PRO flash meter, I'm very good with this equipment.

I bought this system from OPT and used it for several years. It has three heads but is only a 240 ws system which is too small for most of what I need studio lights for.

I no longer have it. I sent it to my company for them to use as a table top system and they like it very much.

(Update 12/7/2005

These have been working for years. They are great if you like a wired powerpack.)