On 25 Nov 1998 17:14:06 GMT, vw1colson@aol.com (VW1Colson) wrote:

>So, I came across this "great deal". An F3 with the
>often derided E 50mm lens, but for only $250. Test
>roll of film was shot & looks good. There's some
>moderate brassing going on but only on surfaces that
>would rub when carried in a bag or such. None on
>areas that are normally handled.....film advance
>lever area etc. Film transport, mirror surfaces, foam etc
>all look like new. There is a slight blemish (like in
>dent) on the left upper corner...but it's more blemish
>than dent...really.... Any way, I kinda thought I
>could get the body calibrated & cleaned if needed, & it
>would still be a fair deal? Am I thinking correctly
>on this?

You've got to be joking! This is a steal!!!
And, the E 50 is actually quite good. Figure
$50 for the lens, $200 for the F3 (over $1200
new, discount-price, last I heard...). Besides,
it is a first-rate user camera, with the best
SLR viewfinder around. TTL flash is even good,
if you use slow films (it will even do TTL
fill-ratios, with an accessory...!). BTW, NEVER
have a body CLA'd without obvious need - it is
likely to come back less well adjusted and nice
looking than when it went in - and it would
cost more than doing nothing! ;-)

>And, I'll be asking this in a seperate post, but while
>I have your attention you might be so kind as to give
>me opinions on zoom lenses.....
>
>I feel my self being tempted by a friend's purchase,
>& all the compliments I've read & heard, about the
>Tamron 28-200 zoom. I'm still searching for the '93
>Pop Ph. test reports on this unit but am wondering
>about........

Why put a snap-shooter zoom on a great camera???
There are VERY few zooms that approach the sharpness
at wide stops (or even HAVE the wide stops) of even
cheap used older Nikkor non-zooms - why not buy these?
(The F3 will accept even non-AI lenses with the AI
tab lifted and the DOF preview button depressed
during metering.)

>If I was to find used Nikon shorter zoom lenses, would
>I get sharper, & in general better, print enlargements
>than using a newer long zoom like the Tamron above?

YES!

>I find myself being overly picky on sharpness. I
>would probably give up 35mm for medium format if I
>felt justified in spending the bucks it would take.

Then avoid off-brand zooms, and even most Nikkor
zooms... Non-zooms are generally faster/lighter/smaller/
sharper/cheaper than zooms, so why bother...?
Most zooms that I've seen that are generally useful
(sharp at wide stops, *really* more convenient than
non-zooms) are tele zooms. BTW, the old Nikon 80-200mm
f4.5 was a good one (and I just happen to have one
available...;-) that is moderately-priced and useful.
The E-Series 75-150 and 70-210 zooms are also good
choices for the long end. For the short end, I would
look for an *AIS* 28mm f2.8 or *AI/AIS* 28mm f3.5
and be done with it (those three lenses [28, 50,
70/75/80-150/200/210 will serve you well!).