In this hobby, we tend to focus on building and painting models and spend considerably less time photographing our creations, aside from taking some quick photos with our cell phones. Over the last few years I have been trying to change this and have been making a concerted effort to improve as a photographer. I started this journey with a mirrorless camera (Fujifilm XT4), but last year, after being gifted some single-lens reflex (SLR) film cameras from my grandfather, I was inspired to learn more about the process and leverage it to better document my hobby journey. This pushed me to explore the analog world of film photography and recently to print some of my photography.
The transition from a mirrorless camera (does not require a mirror to relay what is coming through the lens to your eye via a pentaprism and optical viewfinder, like most SLR film and then digital SLR [DSLR] cameras do) to film was quite a leap. This is primarily because mirrorless cameras can accurately meter the light (detect available light and provide the appropriate camera settings to properly expose the image) in a scene and preview it in real time, while some film SLR cameras (like the Exakta VX I started with) are fully mechanical without a light meter at all! Surprisingly, the lack of all these technological features was a nice change of pace for my photography, as it made the process less automated: rather than looking at a digital screen, I was instead looking through an optical viewfinder with little in the way of aids to help ensure the photo came out like I wanted. This forced me to slow down when taking photos, forcing me manually focus and to consider the exposure triangle and how each aspect was influencing the final image. Having said all of this, film can be frustrating for these very same reasons, and the fact that you need to send the film to get developed and scanned (both are things you could do yourself with the proper expertise and equipment) makes learning it a potentially slow process.
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| The Nikon D7000, with a MB-D11 battery grip. It is a 16.2-megapixel APS-C sensor single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) released in 2010. |
You might wonder if there are any digital cameras that have retained some elements from traditional film cameras to help you slow down and focus more on photography, but offer the convenience of digital photography. Indeed, cameras from the 35mm SLR film era did not move directly to mirrorless digital cameras, but were linked by digital SLR cameras (DSLR) that retained the mirror and optical viewfinder. After hearing Jack Wang talk about the creative opportunities that DSLRs open up for photography, I thought it would be fun to find one to try it out.
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The D7000 can use the vast majority of the F-mount lenses dating back to their AI lenses introduced in the 70s up to their AF-S lenses from the mid 2000s. All of these lenses are designed for 35mm film/full frame sensors, so they apply a ~1.5 crop factor when used on the D7000. From left to right: Micro-NIKKOR 55mm 1:2.8 AI-S; AF NIKKOR 180mm 1:2.8 ED; AF NIKKOR 20mm 1:2.8D; AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm 1:2.8G ED.
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I easily found a used Nikon D7000 DSLR camera, with a MB-D11 battery grip at a local photography store. The camera was released in 2010 as a 16.2-megapixel APS-C sensor camera. Like all of Nikon’s DSLR and SLR film cameras, the D7000 uses F-mount lenses, which Nikon was releasing from the 60s until mid the mid 2000s. Because of this, I am able to use my small collection of Nikkor lenses that I have accumulated for my film cameras without needing to use an adaptor (F-mount lenses need to be adapted to fit Nikon’s new mirrorless camera Z-mount). All of the F-mount lenses I have were designed for 35mm film/full frame sensors, so while they fit on the D7000, due to the smaller APS-C sized sensor, they apply a ~1.5 crop factor (image is 1.5x more magnified than the equivalent full frame sensor size).
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A photo of Ligeia Orr taken on the cheap kit lens (AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II) that was often included with the camera (D7000, 55mm f5.6 ISO 220).
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Having a 1.5 crop factor is actually quite useful for miniature photography, as you do not need to get as close to the miniatures to get photos (i.e. my Micro-NIKKOR 55mm has an effective focal length of 82.5mm [55mm X 1.5 = 82.5mm]). The camera is quite similar to late 90’s film SLR cameras, in that it still uses a mirror to relay what is “seen” through the lens via a pentaprism and optical viewfinder, rather than a little digital readout which is on mirrorless cameras. However, instead of just having an opening to expose film, there is a digital sensor. While the camera does have a large LCD screen on the back of the camera, most of the time it is blank and is primarily used to review images after they are taken or change the camera’s settings. Therefore, the majority of your time with the camera will be looking through the viewfinder. Because it is an optical viewfinder, you do not see a preview of the final image’s exposure like you would with a mirrorless camera, instead you need to monitor your exposure settings and light meter presented in a little LED panel along the bottom of the viewfinder. While this might be a little harder to use, it mimics how you shoot with most film cameras, and expects you to understand the fundamentals of photography, which I find quite fulfilling.
Having spent the last few months using a variety of film cameras, along with my mirrorless camera, I was instantly able to pick the D7000 up and start taking photos. Therefore, despite being 15 years old, I was quickly able to get some nice miniature photos with the D7000, using a variety of lenses I had, some almost 40 years old! I was even able to get some nice photos from the budget kit lens (AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II) that can often be found included with old cameras like the D7000.
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Degenerate, converted and painted by witchhammerstudio. (D7000, 60mm f2.8, f5.6 ISO 320).
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I am really happy to have the Nikon D7000; it is really well made and enjoyable to use, taking some of the fun aspects of film, but having some of the modern conveniences of modern digital cameras. More than anything, however, I was really pleased to see how easy it was to get great images out of the camera, far exceeding what I could do with my cell phone, despite it costing far less.
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| A series of Nikon cameras through the years, transitioning from film (Nikon F3 [1980]), to a DSLR (Nikon D7000 [2010]), and finally mirrorless (Nikon Zf [2023]). |
So, if you have an old DSLR in a closet collecting dust due to the advent of cell phones, you should consider getting it out and using it! Or you could consider trying to find a cheap used DSLR and start your own photography journey. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what you can do with one!
- Eric Wier
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