Daily Archives: December 8, 2014

 

Some folks just can’t let it go!  I say that with no malice or frustration, o.k. a little frustration.  I got several emails asking about if I had no Nikon gear at all, anymore?  One person wrote, you can’t tell me that something is not wrong between you and Nikon, you even wrote a book about Fuji!!!!

 

PLEASE LISTEN!!!!!  This is my last blog post about this subject!  I left Nikon of my own accord.  I requested to retire, I was not fired, I was not asked to retire!  Nikon NPS was redirecting their path and I was ready to do something different, I asked if I could retire, they gladly said sure.  Would I have been downsized if I had stayed, I don’t know, but probably yes, all companies make changes and it was the right time for Nikon to bring new blood into NPS, my leaving, of my own decision, helped them do that!  Do I have any axe to grind with Nikon?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!  I still have many friends there, I love the company, the people, the great years they gave me as an NPS rep, honestly, please believe me,  all is good between me and Nikon!

 

ONE LAST TIME!  I had shoulder surgery, it healed slowly, I got older, I found the heavy DSLR full frame gear was just to heavy for me to carry all the time.  I found something lighter, it just didn’t happen to be made by Nikon, simple as that!!!!!!!  Settled……

 

Now the next questions, “Do you still own any Nikon Gear?”  Yes, when I left Nikon I was already well on my way to knowing that the Fuji X-System was going to work best for me, based on weight, and my happiness with it’s qualities.  I toyed with the idea of buying a few Nikon products, but Nikon helped me out there too, they raised  their employee purchase program prices to the point that there was no real savings to buying as an employee. I decided to just keep what I already owned.  After retiring I sold off most of the current model gear I had and kept the system above.  Why?  Didn’t need 36 mega pixels (D800) couldn’t carry the D4, and I had gotten back into using the 70’s/80’s manual focus glass of which I owned a lot, been collecting it for years, long before working for Nikon.  I felt the last great body from Nikon that I owned the D700 was more than adequate for my needs and was a perfect fit to the old manual glass.  My intention was to occasionally take out the D700 and some of the old manual lenses and shoot “Throwback style”!  Really haven’t done that much at all.  Two reasons, the Nikon stuff is still too heavy, and I love the Fuji X-System.  I will hang onto the Nikon system, I spent too many years with it and I do not have the heart to see it leave! For 44 years of my professional life I’ve held a Nikon in my hands, we’ve become very close friends, but nothing says you can’t make new friends too!

 

The image above shows:

My Old favorite Domke Bag (I still have a couple of them)  It was the mainstay for the photojournalist!

1.  Nikon D700

2.  Nikon 55MM Micro Nikkor f 2.8 AI-s      LEGEND CLASS

3.  Nikon 24mm f 2.8 AI-s     LEGEND CLASS

4.  Nikon 25-50 AI-s f 4   LEGEND CLASS

5.  Nikon 105 Micro Nikkor f 2.8 AI-s     LEGEND CLASS   * Used with adapters on my Fuji X-Cameras

6.  Nikon 70-150 AI-s f 3.5    PRO-GRADE CLASS

7.  Nikon 50-135 f 3.5 AI-s   LEGEND CLASS

8.  Nikon 80-200 AI-s f4   LEGEND CLASS

9.  Nikon 200mm AI-s f4   PRO-GRADE CLASS  * Used with adapters on my Fuji X-Cameras

10.  Nikon 80-200 f 4.5 AI-s    LEGEND CLASS   * first great zoom!

11.  Nikon 105 f 2.5 AI   LEGEND CLASS

12.  Nikon 400mm f 3.5 IF-ED AI-s   LEGEND CLASS   * Used with adapters on my Fuji X-Cameras

13.  Nikon 300mm f 4.5 IF-ED AI-s     LEGEND CLASS   * Used with adapters on my Fuji X-Cameras

14.  Nikon 200mm Micro Nikkor f4 AI-s    LEGEND CLASS   * Used with adapters on my Fuji X-Cameras

 

So there you have it, for the last time,  “I love my Nikon gear, but it is still too heavy to carry all day, might work it out of the trunk occasionally!!”   I do not define myself by the gear I use, no one should.  these are tools, great tools, and if we use them with discipline and dedication they can make extraordinary images, but they are just tools!  I love you guys, I truly do, but let’s get on with some photography, after all that’s what this stuff is made for!

 

When my daughter Catherine was born, I was thrilled, a girl, first in 21 years in our family!!!  I loved her, and I still do, but that didn’t mean I didn’t still love my two sons, born before she came into our lives.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim