Interesting point of view. If you take it literally, though, and there IS a tomorrow, you may be sorry for your profligacy yesterday.

I think the most beautiful mechanism of any kind I have ever owned is the Contarex Bullseye SLR, with its interchangeable backs. Sad that it had a profound Achilles heel: Owing to deteriorating lubricant (made from cows’ shin bones) the focusing mechanisms of the lenses tend, with age, to friction weld together, after which they are irreparable. I have four such lenses which I’m carefully preserving until I come up with the thousand bucks or so it will take to renovate them. Beautiful glass, now useless. :(

How about GIMP?

. Took the words right out of my mouth. Just imagine what being a CS person during the week after Christmas must be like.

Really good advice, Hank. I'll definitely have a look at the book you mentioned.

Hear, hear!

Anyone have experience with the Coursera course from Michigan State called "Photography Basics and Beyond" taught by Peter Glendinning and Mark Sullivan? I'm thinking of signing up for it, even though I have a lot of experience with, and even once earned my living at, commercial film photography. So much has changed since I last sloshed around in a darkroom that a comprehensive refresher seems like a good idea.

So...anyone? Thanks!

Welcome, V_C...I’m new here too and also an old view camera user. Still have a in the 4X5 back of the closet, as well as a Contarex film camera with elegant but unusable-until-renovated Zeiss lenses. No longer have a darkroom, however, so am trying to enter the 21st century with Nikon digital stuff. ...an interesting learning curve.

Yes. Test and retest. Either something changed between shots or something is wrong with your camera.

Thank you kindly, sir.

This will be presumptuous, especially for a newcomer here, but I couldn't help but sympathize with Bill in his desire for a brief, useful introduction to shooting "manual,:" so I thought I'd try writing one. It is below. It goes without saying that I shall be deeply grateful for any corrections and/or additions all the talent here may have:

How to shoot on “manual:”

1. Light comes in packets called “photons.” The more photons that fall on a camera’s sensor, the brighter the image is. If too few photons fall on the sensor, the image is too dark, and we say it is “underexposed.” If too many photons fall on the sensor, the image is too light, and we say it is “overexposed.”

2. When you double the number of photons falling on a camera’s sensor, we say you have increased the exposure by one stop. When you halve the number of photons falling on the sensor, we say you have decreased the exposure by one stop. A one stop change in exposure makes a noticeable difference in the brightness of the image, but it does not double or halve the brightness. Indeed, you usually have a usable image if your exposure is within one stop of the optimum.

3. The sensitivity of the sensor in a camera is governed by the “ISO” setting. Setting the ISO for a low number means it will take more light (more photons) to produce a usable image; setting it for a high number means it will take less light to produce that image. Very high ISO settings, however, are prone to produce noise, so should be avoided unless there is a compelling reason to us them. For most everyday photography, an ISO setting of 200 should be adequate.

4. Once the ISO of the sensor is established, the camera has two controls that determine the brightness of the image: aperture and shutter speed. When you shoot on “P” the camera’s computer adjusts both of these controls to yield a usable image. When you shoot on “M” you adjust the controls manually. When is it to your advantage to do so? There are many circumstances when “M” is best, but perhaps the most common are these: a) your subject is moving rapidly and you need a fast shutter speed to “stop” it, and b) you want to control the “depth of field” (the zone of sharp focus) in your image, and you do this by adjusting the aperture: a large opening (low f-number) produces a shallow field of sharp focus; a small opening (high f-number) produces a deep field of sharp focus.

5. In practice, then, when shooting in the “M” mode, having chosen the ISO you might then choose a trial shutter speed and aperture (f-number) and check the exposure. If the exposure is too low, you can increase it either by reducing the shutter speed or increasing the aperture (by selecting a lower f-number). You continue making these adjustments until your exposure meter tells you you have a suitable exposure. In adjusting shutter speed and aperture, NOTE THAT halving the shutter speed increases exposure by one stop, and doubling the shutter speed decreases exposure by one stop. Similarly with aperture: exposure decreases by one stop when you decrease aperture from f1.0 to f1.4 and from there to f2.0, then f2.8, then f4.0, then f5.6 then f8.0, then f11.0, then f16.0, then f22.0, and then f32.0 (see https://binged.it/2DwwSJ3).

I’d just note that there are really FOUR basic parameters in any photography. Focus, aperature, shutter speed, AND ISO. The latter is, of course, equivalent to one’s choice of film in the old days.

Thanks everyone for that interesting discussion. Since I posted my original query I learned from a Contax expert that there are NO, repeat NO adapters for Contarex lenses to Nikons, so my choices seem to be to acquire a digital body my old Zeiss glass will adapt to, or to just bite the bullet and acquire Nikon lenses. Of these, I think the latter will be most practical. (It just seems a shame to see that beautiful Zeiss technology just sitting there :).

Again, thanks for all the useful information!

Lamiaceae is right, of course, that I have to compare the renovation cost of these lenses with the cost of good used Nikon glass. I have just solicited a bid, so we’ll see what happens. I’m guessing that renovating the Zeiss glass will be cheaper, but I may be wrong.

And CannonTom is right that I will be limited to all manual operation of focus and f-stop. To which I reply that it has always been so in my archaic life as a photographer. It will seem luxurious to have aperture priority.

I was wondering if anyone has adapted old, film-camera glass to more modern digital cameras? I have four (35, 50, 85, 135) Zeiss lenses for my old Contarex and am considering having them renovated and adapted to my Nikon D100 (and/or any more modern Nikon camera I may acquire). As you probably know, these old Contarex lenses need to be overhauled to replace the lubricant, else they will friction weld themselves into paperweights, and the overhaul ain’t cheap, so I want to be pretty sure before I commit the money that I’ll be pleased with the result. Anyone? Thanks!