Always looking for reputable camera sellers on eBay, but I cannot find ODA.camera-japan via a search. Would you provide a link to their store? Thanks.

I have done a few of your tips but I am sticking with used stuff from KEH or others because Ebay, for me, has proven to be a big pain. Our son has a Nikon D3100 and I wanted to pick up a 35mm lens for him. I looked and looked and found a seller with a good rep and ordered (it was approximately 15 bucks cheaper than KEH and others so I was excited. I received the wrong item. I contacted the seller and she told me to send it back. I asked for a return label and was told she would reimburse shipping it back. I shipped it back and she reimbursed part of my cost and none of the shipping. Plus, the part she sent me was to adapt older Nikon lenses to the newer Nikon camera's and it was worth a lot more than 80 bucks but I was honest. I got screwed and then I went to PayPal and Ebay for resolution and ended up spending days and days on getting some of my funds back. In the end, I had to order from KEH and got the lens, with caps, and hood in excellent condition for only about 20 bucks more than the Ebay seller. I ended up learning a lesson on Ebay and never looked at them again for gear.

One lens, 50mm. The only right answer. If you are asking this then you are a beginner. Again 50mm, 50mm, 50mm.

Great video and made me realize just how much I miss shooting on film. My first light painting was done on a Minolta 35mm no instantly seeing whether all that running around in the dark worked or not! Only ever bought one camera off Ebay and that was only recently and a camera I had wanted for years, a 16 year old Canon 50D full frame. I was lucky and got it from someone who had really looked after it.

Unpacking that beautiful Pentax 67 reminded me of the thrill I got, getting mine in the mail! I went all-in: meter finder, 35mm, 75mm shift (!), and the short-tele macro. (135mm? I can'r remember.) But I somehow didn't realize how heavy a system like that is, to carry in a backpack. It made one trip to Europe, and my neck ached the whole time. I still have it, but use a Sony a7R III now. Great tips for using Ebay; thank you! 😁

Love it, well done!

Great video. I was learning "proper" (i.e. not point and shoot) photography about 30 years ago, before digital swept the field, with a neat Minolta Dynax 404si (which I still use). Twenty years ago I got married, and was given a second-hand Nikon FE with two Carl Zeiss lenses as one of our wedding presents. The Dynax was kind of a bridge between traditional SLRs and modern digital cameras, in that it had auto-focus and different "modes" - only the bravest would take it to full manual! The FE was totally bare-bones by comparison, and forced me to think harder about what I was doing with the camera and why. As an aside, the professional photographer had a FM3A which he shot our wedding with, but when he saw the FE, he went all goo-goo over it! He also told me the very solid home truth that 90% of the quality of a photo comes from the lens, not from the camera, and he was really impressed with the two Zeiss pieces. That camera has stayed in the family ever since - I just wish I could ween my almost grown-up kids off digital, so that I can pass my collection on to them, and know it's going to get good use. Maybe I'll have to wait until I have grand-children for that, and indoctrinate them into film photography from an early age! PS - reading the other comments, I envy you Americans for getting taught photography at High School. No such luxury in Europe, unless you go to some sort of adult education centre or creative arts college. (But then we get to photograph amazing medieval cities, Gothic cathedrals, and jaw-dropping countryside right outside our doors!)

Excellent video, Michael! I agree re buying from sellers in Japan-their attention to detail and honesty is second to none. Watching you unbox these items was a good backdrop to your narration. And wow, what a purchase!! Nice work, old boy. 👍

Good video. In terms of price, I live in Europe. I shoot mainly black and white, and develop the negatives at home, which I get scanned at a local studio. It costs me between 5 and 6 Euros to buy the film, (Fomapan 100, Kentmere 100, or the fantastic Adox HR 50) and the scanning is 5 Euros per film, high quality - 4000 pixels on the bottom scale. If I shoot colour, it costs me €10 for a roll of Kodak Gold or Color Plus, and another €10 to get it developed and scanned, which works out at 27 Euro Cents per shot in Black and White, and 55 Euro Cents per shot, colour. That doesn't include printing, which is another 18 Euro Cents on top, for a 10 x 15 cm print. I wouldn't say that was expensive, but it's enough to make me really think about what I'm shooting, how I'm shooting, and that makes the difference between a mediocre and a great photo. I never really gave up film photography, but I drifted into digital laziness for about twenty years, before going on a home-development course last summer. Now my collection of film cameras has gone from two - a Nikon FE with Carl Zeiss lenses and a Minolta Dynax 404si (I think they were called Magnums in America) to an impressive six! One of my favourites, which I carry everywhere, is a chunky and bulletproof Nikkormat FTN, which I picked up for €100 with a 50mm f2 lens on the internet. I changed the light seals and mirror bumper myself - there are umpteen videos on the internet to show you how to do it, and it was quite a therapeutically pleasant job to do! So yes, I'd say, if you enjoy decent digital photography and want to develop as a photographer, then film is definitely the way to go, and Scotty's advice is absolutely spot on.

Very helpful as I am a newbie with a cannon

Nice video and great tips. I look forward to seeing some great photos from that camera.

great tips. especially the seller one. NEVER buy something from a new account with 0 history or ratings. 9/10 times it's a scam, especially if the price seems just a little too low. I just revamped my whole collection, mostly eBay sourced! Beautiful Pentax btw! Also - with the Japan purchases... lenses are ok but cameras you have to be careful. Sometimes on the international models you can't change the language (I've heard, Sony especially.)

It’s the only time I gain anything from having a resting bitch face 😂

Only a professional photographer could afford to take multiple shots or "maybe" shots with film. Even in its heyday film was not cheap and today far more so in relativity. Then there was developing and printing on top unless one did their own, which I did in the 1960s for a while. This meant that every single shot needed to be assessed as being worth it and if yes, composed perfectly, well.....Umm..... Not forgetting that a 35mm film roll was usually 36 shots. And that meant the film may need to last several trips out to use them up. Nearly all 35mm cameras did not allow for the removal of a roll and fitting a faster or slower or mono or colour film in place of a half used roll in the camera from last time. And just using the roll up was not something casual or amateurs did, cost again. Yes, it could be done but at the risk of double exposing the final earlier shots or leaving a large unused portion by shooting with hand over the lens until past the last original shot. That is if one could remember the number previously used to not waste shots. So Digital has it all over film cameras in usability and casual shooting and has introduced the world to burst shooting and then picking the best, also cropping and other manipulation, which I must admit I find better than taking the original. And the digital card is reusable, over and over and over. Hooray. Also with mirrorless cameras almost any old lens can be used as well with an adaptor. And modern lenses are sharper and faster more consistently than old manual focus lenses, though they don't look as good, in my opinion. Focus past infinity simply means they would waste time, therefore money setting up a stop for infinity. The modern cameras AF system would stop at the visual infinity without a hard stop. So canon could just put a blocker there at a known past infinity with no adjustment, as could all the others, who don't.

Digital cameras today can be used as simple, or as complex, as you want. They have the same controls as a Nikon FE, FM, F3, or F5, plus more.

I just finishing refurbishing my Pentax Spotamatic SP2 I had to replace the light seals and mirror bumper. I bought mainly for the Takumar lenses that came with it 50mm1.4, 35mm3.5 and 135mm3.5. I felt the camera was a bonus even if it had bad light seals. My DSLRS are all crop bodies so this my only full frame camera. I paid much less than the new film cameras that have been introduced in 2024 and I get interchangeable lenses and full frame camera instead of half frame camera with a fixed lens

Composition of my composition could be compositional! lol😂 dang I didn’t count how many times he said composition, but must have been 300 times😂

A monopod can come in handy in a moment of need 😊

Point and shoot cameras are not a good start as they run from cheap one use cameras with a fixed focus and no manual controls. To a autofocus automatic camera with limited shutter speed and aperture settings also with no manual control . A basic manual SLR is best to learn on. If someone is serious about learning photography, but a camera will automatic features such as aperture/shutter priority and or program is a good option for those who want to try it .

I found aperture easier in film cameras. When you turned the aperture ring you could see the change in depth of field etc instantly. Which was great for learning and great for choosing an f stop for artistic purposes. When I switch to digital it confused me at first and found many digital cameras have no aperture ring in their lenses, you select it on the camera and the aperture stays wide open till you press the shutter. I know there are cameras with aperture preview feature but with film it seemed to be a standard basic feature. How does a someone especially a beginner see the changes of depth of field through f stops before they commit to the shot. Do they just keep taking pictures?

vote wisely

Well said my friend. It’s all about the experience 👍🏻👍🏻

The Purell tip took a 2 hour job in the back grooves (that failed anyway) to a successful 10 minute job. Thank you!

Composition... absolutely the Rule #1. The lens has always been better than the films could record. Interesting comment though about number of exposures. I think I pretty much used 36 rolls exclusively, and slide especially (Velvia 100.) Portra for weddings etc. Digital has allowed poor photographers to be mediochre, average to look good. But, it still cant overcome bad composition. Sadly, I ditched all my film cameras then held a requium for my Mamiya RZ-67. We in Canada couldn't buy film. My darkroom was torn out, and exchanged for computers and digital. Today, digital editing drives me crazy. People think of WOW factors instead of good photography. So much is over saturated, pushed to image clipping, overly sharpened, and image noise... Yeah, I miss my Elan 7E's and my Mamiya and Pentax Spot F (that my daughter now owns.) Well, keep harping on it. Maybe the younguns will actually buy a retro camera and lens. They only stand to become better for it.

Tools for the job... what a concept!!

I have an older Sigma 150 - 500 that if stable is beautifully sharp. But... Lens creep. That front end must have 2 lbs of glass in it. Regardless, I appreciate this REALLY simple solution. Now, if Sigma would just quit obsoleting lenses as fast as Apple does with cell phones, we would all be better off. If Canon would quit market saturation so they could introduce new lenses we would be even better. For my money (about 30K) in gear, my full frame 5D Mk IV does just fine. Why they want to force us into replacing everything is horrible. Oh well, I was never one to say business was smart... Thanks again for this tip.

I find it difficult to believe that the current batch of cameras are all that much better, for stills at least. I see a lot of plastic and a lot of video emphasis and a lot of marketing--and a lot of great images from yesteryear not looking like garbage in comparison to today's. In fact, I'm considering eliminating all gear information from my images. Too much gear jockeying wears on the photographic impulse.

Digital was more than good enough a decade ago, I still have great photos from 10 years ago there’s no reason for the new bodies really

Great video! A perfect demonstration for gear head and ball head. But I'm wondering why do you want to use the leveling base for the gear head. If the gear head has quick adjustment and fine tuning in the same time, the leveling base looks like a dead weight to me.

💯 that place is beautiful. I think the last time I went I ended up just watching the sunset and took no pictures. Got to love it

Scotty, So true. As camera sales steadily tank because of many things, but especially cell phones, your words take on more significance. And I have the feeling that soon there will be more photography influencers on KZbin than people actually using “cameras”. What will they hawk when that day comes?

Been to that same spot many times. No memory of what I shot with, but I enjoyed the experience and the folks I met there.

That is so true. One of the most valueble things we have, that money can't buy, is Time. We must embrace the moment, because tomorrow may never be... Do what you love and make Time for the ones we love, because we only live once. Capture every moment and make memories.

This reminded me of something I heard the other day. “One day, you’ll be doing something for the last time. You probably won’t know it at the time, but it’ll be the last time you ever get to do it.” As you say, we don’t know how many sunrises and sunsets we’ll get see, so we need to appreciate every last one of them. Lovely work, mate.

I'm always calling and making memories. Sometimes you even walk away without a great photo but you still have the experience.

Loved the video and as a fellow D850 user I liked it even more, The D850 is always my go to for professional shoots. However I also use my 1951 Voightlander Bessa II 6x9 for certain film shots, along with my Contax G1 for the film shots that matter in 35mm. I've completely fallen in love with my Mamiya 645 Pro, and I've purchased almost every good lens and accessory for it. For me film photography gives me an extra dimension to account for and enjoy that clinically perfect digital photography doesn't come close to. Film photography is more true to the art as you have so much more control over the style, color pallete that digital cant replicate effectively. Digital is perfect....yeah...whatevah.. - Film photography - if done right and with the proper attention has much more soul - and when you see it - you get it. Thanks.

thank you

You learn more by shooting more, You shoot more with digital. Case Closed.

You must be kidding. Back in the days I used a Canon T90... tell me in what exactly it was a simpler camera.

Thanks captain obvious! Have any suggestions on actual cameras

Awesome, but I draw the line at knee pads, rather have a bruised knee, great video thanks for sharing

10/10. dang i feel called out 😂

😂 Love this! Photography needs more humour!! 👏

Why do you need a lower asa to shoot between 35 and 70 I don't understand

Great comparison

Pisser! I must admit, I get plenty of stares when I’m walking around with a tripod and camera backpack. At least I’m not one of those weirdos who stare at birds.

On the product description on the Moab website it states that it should only be sprayed on matte papers. This also link to their youtube video demonstrating how to use the spray. If you read the comments in that video you can see some folks complain that the spray had damaged their prints, Moab replies stating the spray is only intended for mattes and not gloss finishes such as Baryta. FYI kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZW2YmtrgJV1qdk

Great video hit's close to home.

Rolling around with a nine tucked in my jeans is the way to go.

haha! guess I need to start wearing knee pads