If you read the blog back in January, you will know I was gifted a bag with a surprise item in each pocket. In one of the pockets was a Nikon F90x with a Nikkor lens attached. Unfortunately, the shutter of the F90x needed replacing with a new one from a donor body. The bag giver expressed a hankering to do that. So I ordered the part and returned both for him to tinker with. I kept the lens to try on my own F90x.
I loaded a roll of Kodak Portra 160 and took it on a wander to the bluebell woods near Ilkley. I have linked that walk as I go each year, and haven’t taken that route, so I can try it next year.
The lens was wider and zoomier than my original lens, a Sigma 35-70mm, but it sometimes struggled to lock onto a focusing point. I decided to shoot half the roll with each lens.
Here are the results taken with the Nikkor 24-120mm.
Wow, it may have struggled to hit the focus, but when it did…it really did. And the bokeh, wow, what a lovely lens.
I changed the lens over to the Sigma 35-70mm and took it with me to Sudbury, Suffolk. I wrote the county name as I grew up in Sudbury, Derbyshire and whenever I said Sudbury, people would add, “Suffolk?” So it has always intrigued me, what is the other one like? If you read the link on the Derbyshire location, you will note the ‘open prison’ where I actually grew up. Yeah, we often interacted with the prisoners, going into the prison… sometimes sneakily. It was the 1970s, and things were different. There was no CCTV, and it was a local dare to climb the fence and run from one side to the other. I can’t believe it now as an adult.
The school I went to was in the village, and my class was a converted cattle shed; the boys’ toilets were in the old stables. It was a very small community, and we all knew each other.
As much as I love my Sudbury, the other one was just as lovely. It had more shops, a market, and even a hidden skull. I met a friend who lived nearby, and he gave me a tour. We went to the church where his parents got married, and we were asked if we would like to see the famous resident. Sure! I didn’t know it was the skull of St. Simon, which was situated in a small cubby in the creche. I didn’t take a photo as I wasn’t sure it was respectful, you can see it in the link though. Here is another link with more information.
It was a lovely town, not a village, very friendly. This sigma lens performed very well, but I don’t think these are quite as nice as those from the Nikkor. I think I might swap the lenses back 🙂
Once again, thank you to the giver. I really appreciate your support.
A very powerful camera with those sharp lenses and truly excellent photos. Those places are so beautiful that even the simplest cameras would capture stunning images.
Thank you, I totally agree. Bluebell woods are mesmerising.
I have some decent Nikkor glass, but the lens I use most is my 24-120 D series. According to ken Rockwell, newsmen in the 90’s called the lens “The Streetsweeper”. It could get just about any shot you needed without too much trouble. Yeah, it hunts focus occasionally, but once you get used to it, it’s all the lens you need.
Exactly. I think I will try it on my another nikon!
Oh, get thee behind me!
The first day the N90s was locally available back in ’94, I raced down to the shop with a sack of under-used photographic trade goods and bought one. And of course I must *also* have the 24-120, and so left a very painful wad of cash behind as well.
But oh! that glorious metering! The Matrix! The tiny spot! Your own luscious shots with the same sleek kit above bear witness. Ten years on I bought another through eBay at one-third the price – sic transit gloria, etc. – and now the pang when seeing what they are peddled for today is like a crass devaluation of the coinage of one’s youth.
Oh, to blaze through Fujicolor again.
Do it, get one. As you say, they are undervalued so picking one up might be heavy…but cheaper than it should be.
Oh, Lord – it was with transparencies – Elite/Ektachrome/Velvia/Provia where the metering really shone. Don’t recall using any Kodachrome with the N90s while it was still available. Gotta dig out the albums and look.
N90s; hmmm, do I, in my declining years, need the hassle of scanning E6? The Carousel and screen are long, long gone … and would I really use enough of the few remaining low-ISO C41 films to justify another platform?
Still, it’s more truck-like, squarish, somewhat brutalist older brother (N8008s/F801s) abides at the back of the cabinet, for reasons of, well, auld lang syne … besides, who will teach the little children about slide film?
The bokeh is *creamy*. Loved the pictures. Such a quaint little village.
> “we often interacted with the prisoners, going into the prison… sometimes sneakily.”
> “it was a local dare to climb the fence and run from one side to the other. I can’t believe it now as an adult.”
That’s fascinating. I wonder, was it doable because the prisoners kept there weren’t ones who’d committed serious crimes, but rather milder varieties?
Definitely the “non serious” otherwise they wouldn’t be in an open prison. It didn’t make it ok though and I am sure it wasn’t a good idea.
These are two of the most enjoyable photo albums you’ve posted to date. Now I guess I have to stalk The Bay for a 24-120. Should make a fine lens on the “Kodachrome Nikon”, the D200, even with the crop factor involved.
Thank you, maybe because they are two of my favourite places. I haven’t tried it on my D750, maybe I have to do that too.
Those results are very nice indeed. I have the same Nikon 24-120mm for my F801Ss though I’ve yet to scan any results from it. I know it’s sharp though from testing it on digital. The hood is absolutely massive.
Thank you. Even though it searches for focus, I am going to put it back on the Nikon. I love the results too. I don’t have the hood, but I can imagine it is huge.