The last 35mm camera I used before selling-up and switching to digital, around the time of the Millennium, was the Nikon F100. In fact, I had two – the rugged bodies had that weighty feel that oozed quality and reliability. I’ve always missed that reassuring gravitas that even today’s flagship digital models seem to lack… so when a friend of a friend offered me, out of the blue, a mint condition Nikon F100, I couldn’t say no. The F100 arrived with the bog-standard 50mm 1.8D… a nice piece of glass, but a little on the flimsy side, so I ordered the 50mm 1.4G – an altogether sturdier optic.
I’ve raved about the humble ‘standard’ 50mm lens on more than one occasion, and for good reason – it’s the lens I use the most, across all formats, for the vast majority of my work. Paired with a good, fast 28mm or 35mm lens – personally, I think that’s all you need.
All the images here were made using the F100/50mm 1.4G combo’ and either Kodak Portra 400 or Fuji Natura 1600 film. Developed and scanned at UK Film Lab
Phil Kneen 
Leave a reply to mewanchuk Cancel reply