Mastodawn

I’m a big fan of old #Nikon #NIKKOR lenses. I just love the way video and photos look on new digital cameras …

and I can still use them on my vintage Nikon #F2as film camera!

When used with an APS-C camera like my #Fujifilm X-T5, the cropped sensor gives you a few benefits …

• a #200mm lens has the same FOV as a #300mm on a full-frame camera, and

• you get great results from the glass, since you’re using the center of the lens. This minimizes chromatic aberration, vignetting, distortion, and other factors that can be their worst at the edges of the lens.

• I just happen to like manual focusing; it’s meditative.

And best of all – you can get them for a song on eBay!

I’ve found that many of the best lenses and deals come when ordering directly from Japan. For example, right now I have one of those 200mm teles coming all the way from Tokyo …

and it cost ~$70, shipping included. Can’t beat that.

For me, there’s an extra benefit; packages from #Japan are often routed through Anchorage, Alaska – where I was born many years ago.

I don’t remember Alaska, since my parents relocated when I was a baby … but I still get a little wistful when I’m tracking, and see that a lens is coming to me from my birthplace.

My new (to me) lens left Anchorage early this morning, and is on its way to Rhode Island …

I know I’m projecting a little, but it personalizes it for me. I doubt I’ll ever return to #Alaska myself, so I get a little vicarious frisson knowing that the lens made a visit.

⛰🌲Randy Walters🌲⛰ has moved!Aug 7, 2025

Today I went out on my first #photo ride with the new #camera – my black #Fujifilm X-T5.

I’m using it in mostly manual mode … manual focus, and manual aperture.

There’s a lot to wade through in the settings, and while I know there will be times when I want to use auto focus, for the time being I’m happier getting used to using the camera the way I use my old #Nikon #F2as film camera.

All photos were taken in my local neighborhood of #Bristol, RI.

#BristolRI #RI #Dels