My third arrival.

Yes, yes, yes. I know I bang on about Olympus cameras a fair bit here, but hear me out.

  • Sometimes I just want a simple camera to use. Something ‘basic’
  • Sometimes I just want to slow down, use old manual focus glass
  • Sometimes I just want to pick up something heavy and loud and not worry that there’s enough battery charge left
  • Sometimes I just want to practice composition and meter myself without the blinking error lights
  • Sometimes I just want to go out for hours and shoot like a madman without having to worry about dumping gigabytes of files onto my long suffering hard drive
  • Sometimes I don’t need to leave the house with a camera that can do everything.

That pretty much sums up my third re-purchase of the Nikon D700. These camera a ridiculously cheap especially when you can also get older manual focus glass for very cheap too.

But what I hear you say is the reason for this third relapse? I often go back through old work to revisit the look of a particuler lens or camera. As I was in the mode of putting some work together for a show in September (2025), it became apparent that quite a few shots where off the Nikon D700 and the Nikkor 135mm f/2.8 AI-S. I’d kept the lens but sold the camera when I was this close ][ to giving up photography and drastically cutting back on gear. Man, this lens just has something I love. I have other F-mount lenses too but not once have I contemplated letting one go. It fits right in with my abstract, telephoto aesthetic. 

Indeed, a camera is useless without a lens. I had used the 135mm on a D800E for a while too, but (and I can’t quite put my finger on why) that camera just didn’t give me a file that was: interesting, characterful, pleasing. These are words I dislike to describe camera files when it’s composition that should outweigh anything else. But as I like to call myself an artist I’ll allow this file judgement to stand.

On the flip side I can’t exactly tell you why files from the D700 are just that little bit characterful, pleasing and interesting. I know camera manufacturers tweak their sensors and I’m led to believe that the D3 and D700 share the same one, although tuned slightly differently. It’s just a combo that pleases me no end. Is it great at everything? Of course not, no combo is and this one isn’t meant to. But when you find a combo that gives you want you want from  it, go for it, don’t sell it.