Nikkormat to the D4

Heather Angel wouldn’t go anywhere without her Nikon SLRs and lenses…

Have you always been a Nikon user?

Not quite. The camera my father bought me when I was 21 was an Exakta SLR. I hadn’t a clue how to load film, so I went along to the camera shop in Bristol for help. I then got a Nikkormat and have stuck with Nikon ever since. The beauty of this is that I can still use many of my early lenses.

What are you currently using?

The D4, with the D800 as a back-up. The D4 is very robust, and copes well with tough locations, like the tropics. I loved the D3, but I don’t rush off to buy a new model the moment that it’s released.

Surely other camera makers have tried to tempt you away?

No, I’ve never been contacted by another maker. I’m too wedded to Nikon. The lenses cope with all manner of subjects.

Do you prefer prime lenses or zooms?

Back when I started, zooms weren’t very good, so I only used primes. Nowadays, the 105mm macro Nikkor is the main lens I use for the pollination project. I use telephoto zooms, too, as they are great when you are trying to photograph a bird on a flower, for instance. The Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 is superb when you add a 2x teleconverter.