Victoria Street with the Nikon DF

I have been forcing myself to take the weekends off from the gym. It’s hard for me to not be active so I still try to go for a walk to get some exercise. Yesterday was actually a nice day out and a reprieve from the very cold weather we have been having. I asked my wife Anne if she wanted to join me for a photo walk but she decided to just stay in. 

I almost left the house with my Nikon F4 and my last roll of black and film. I decided to save that for another day and instead grabbed my Nikon DF and the 35mm 1.8. What can I say, it was calling out to me.  

Because it’s winter and I like to shoot wide open, I put an ND filter on the lens as well. All I had to decide on now was the destination. I decided to go walk around Downtown Fort William. It an older part of Thunder Bay, and it’s also where my studio is. It’s one of my favourite places to take photos.  

I didn’t have an a planned route or objective other then to capture whatever I see. I should probably start setting goals or projects for myself in the New Year but for now I just wanted to take photos.  

As you can see from the photos below, I shoot randomly. I look for angles and colours. I’m always framing in my mind. I don’t stay in one place to long, I simply move on to the next location. If I had all day to shoot and there were actually people out, I would probably hang around spots longer.  

Without chalking it up to just being my ‘latest camera’, the Nikon DF is a pleasure to shoot with. The sound and feel of the shutter make me want to press it over and over again. I’ve also mentioned this before, and I’m sure many people will say it’s simply not true, but the image quality and tones and colours have a unique feel. Better then my X100F and D750. It reminds me of when I used to shoot with the D700. But this sensor is much, much better.  

I think I ended up walking around for about 90 minutes. The whole time I was in the zone. Everything flowed naturally. I wasn’t really thinking about the photos, I was just taking them. It’s supposed to be warm st lunch today so I’m already looking forward to taking the DF out again.  

First Weekend with the Nikon DF

With camera gear I’m always reading reviews and watching videos, keeping up to date with what’s new. With that being said, I almost always try to purchase used gear, especially camera bodies and lenses. There are exceptions of course, like a recent Fuji XT3 purchase.

For my professional work, my main gear centers around Nikon. Specifically the D750. It’s an absolute workhorse of a camera and has gotten me through lots of weddings, events and everything else. After selling my D810, which I owned for about 6 months, I knew I needed another Nikon. 

I was very tempted to just get another D750, but another camera has always called out to me, but my budget just could never justify it. That camera is the Nikon DF. Since it first came out, I wanted it. Problem was, it was just way to expensive. I decided to look into getting a used one and I was able to land a good deal on eBay. I have had it for about a week now and I absolutely love it.  

I know it recieved a lot of criticism when it was released, and even to this day. I did a lot of research on it and knew all the ‘short comings’, I was fine with them. Once I get out with it more I’ll do a short review, but I did want to share my first thoughts.

This past weekend was my first opportunity to get outside and explore with the DF. I pretty much hijacked my wife all day. The set below were taken during the afternoon on our walk and driving around. From that day alone, I have a couple other photo sets to l post. And ... I’m the last week I think I have taken at least 2000 photos with it. That’s all personal and family stuff too, nothing professional. You can bet my first paid gig of the year will see the DF coming out.

I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but I find the tones and colours are even better then tbe D750. I swear they just pop a bit more and have a certain 3D quality. I thoroughly enjoyed shooting with the DF over the weekend. In think at the end of the day, any camera today can take great photos. But it’s important to actually enjoy using the camera you have, otherwise you might not be as motivated to take photos in the first place. The Nikon DF is definitely one of those cameras, at least for me.

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