What film camera should I buy?

Question

What film camera should I buy?

Answer 1

1

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Lomo is a branch of lo-fi photography. It's popular because it's not very technical, it's not really a good introduction to mainstream photography however. If it's something that you want to explore, by all means do that later on. If you wanted a new film SLR your only option is the goppingly awful Nikon FM10, unless you were willing to splash out a few hundred on an F6 or Canon 1-V. So right now it's best to start with a good solid used 35mm SLR. Nikon's older film cameras were notoriously overengineered, the F3 from the 1980s is still a solid camera today, and while it lacks some of the mod cons, it's a wonderful piece of kit. If you just look on ebay you will be tripping over hundreds of modern film SLRs for under £100 with a lens. Look out for: Nikon F80 Nikon F100 Nikon F3 Nikon FM and FM2 Canon EOS 600/620/650 Canon EOS 5/A2E Canon EOS 30 Canon EOS 3 Canon EOS 1/1N Canon T90 Canon AE1 Pentax K1000 Olympus OM10 And a 50mm lens of some description (usually an f1.4 or f1.8) PS yeah I forgot there is the Vivtar 3800 still in production, but that's a bit hard to find compatibility. Also if you have a few grand spare Rollei have reissued a number of Rolleiflex, with 35mm (Wide-Rollei), 85mm and 135mm (tele-rollei) options. And of course there is the legendary Leica M7 which should still be in production, but also something that needs around £5000 to liberate.

Answer 4

you can consider Nikon F3 HP SLR Film Camera Body 35mm F3/HP High Eyepoint Viewfinder

This a professional grade 35mm SLR camera.

The viewfinder allows the whole screen to be seen with glasses on.

Great durability.

Answer 5

If the lense is clear, the shutter works and the lightmeter works then it doesn't matter what make it is. For simplicity's sake, choose one with a mechanical shutter, not electronic because electronics have more to go wrong and they need more battery power too. Avoid stuff with lenses that do not easily convert to digital use - that I believe includes the early Canon FD mount. Praktica (not Praktica B), Pentax, Ricoh, Chinon, Cosina, Carena all use screw or K mount lenses that adapt to just about anything. The Chinon CS and CX are heavy rock solid cameras that, with a working meter will do the job. Everything is manual and a battery is only needed to power the meter. The Chinon lenses are quality - from Tomioka who also made for Yashica and other big names.. There is a CS* on eBay.co.uk ending today that might sell for under £10 with a 1.7 lense on it. Nice!!

*Wow - it actually sold for under £5!! To me!!

Answer 6

Most of the branded film cameras are fine. Just look for one at the cheapest price.

Answer 7

Canon AE-1 with a 50mm lens or mid zoom lens.

Answer 8

Best bet, a NIkon F3- HP with a 1.8 50mm lens. Can't be beat !

Answer 9

Unless you go back to the FTb and its allies (late1960s - early '70s), Canon didn't really produce the kind of all-mechanical SLRs often demanded by these courses.



A stalwart is the Pentax K1000, although their KX and MX work just as well, the Olympus OM-1/1n or (shudder) the Nikon FM/FM-2/FM-2n.



Any of these should be well within budget, as would the Minolta SR-T series, although they, like the older Canon, are getting a bit long in the tooth.

Answer 10

you can easily find fully manual film cameras for under $100



if you have a DSLR camera? if so, I recommend that brand, since you can exchange lenses



if you do not...

look at any of the Nikon F cameras, such as the F3, FG, FM2, and a lot more

Pentax K1000 (used to be the beginner camera of choice due to its reliability and great build), or any other pentax K-mount camera



Canon is a little different. They changed their mount in 1988 from the FD mount to the EOS mount. All the lenses, accessores, and bodies for the FD system cameras are dirt cheap, and you can easily find an old AE-1 or AE-1 Program for $50 or less on craiglist or ebay. However, if your son wishes to move on to a DSLR afterwards, you might want to get an EOS film camera, such as the Canon Rebel 2000



Minolta is also a very nice company- I recommend the X-700 model



I myself use the Canon AE-1 Program and Minolta X-700, and have two Nikon DSLRs

Answer 11

It's great that your son is going to learn basic 35mm photography. I'm sure it will be very enlightening for him!



A couple points though:



1--Your bias to Canon is not very useful because Canon has never made a 100% mechanical student camera in the EF mount. They only made them in FD and FD is not compatible with your digital Canon so there's no valid reason to lock your son into your favourite camera brand. You could buy him a 35mm Rebel if you want to be able to swap lenses but these cameras are more complicated than necessary for basic photography and, in my opinion, result in confusion and dependence on auto features instead of concentration on the true basics.



2--Do not listen to these people who suggest you can buy a 35mm SLR for under $100 on Craigslist or wherever non-camera retailer. This is a gift for your son and he needs it to earn a good grade and to educate himself about photography. Therefore you should buy from a camera store. You can buy a new Nikon FM10 or Vivitar 3800n from BHPhoto.com or Adorama.com for less than $400. You can buy a used, higher quality 100% mechanical SLR like a Nikon FM, FM2n, F2, F3, Canon FTb, Canon F-1, or Pentax K1000 and lens for less than $400.



3--Whatever camera you buy him, instead of focusing on brand, focus on what lens/es you buy! This is FAR more important. Whatever camera body you buy, buy a 50mm lens. It can be an f2, f1.2 or anything in between, but 50mm lenses are crucial to the 35mm film photographer. Do not waste your money buying a bunch of zoom lenses. They are not useful for learning basic photography on because DoF is more difficult to understand with them. A typical 35mm SLR kit consists of a 28mm, 50mm and 85, 100 or 135mm. If you buy a cheaper camera like the Canon FTb, you could spend your extra money on a couple good lenses in these lengths. A new Nikon FM10 or higher quality FM2n, F2 or F3 with a 50mm 1.8 or 1.4 will cost most of your budget. It's up to you as to if you think he'll benefit more by a simple higher quality camera or a cheaper one with more lenses. Don't forget there will be film, processing and printing costs on the way too! You may want to set aside $150 or so for a couple months worth of film. Find out what brand/type the teacher wants them to use and buy it cheap at BHPhoto.com or Adorama.com.



4--It may sound like I'm suggesting a lot of Nikons and this may not appeal to you as a Canon shooter but most film shooters will tell you that Nikon is more popular among us because 1.) They still actually make film cameras and Canon stopped years ago and b.) They made many more 100% manual film cameras which are preferred by most film shooters and Canon stopped making those years ago too. Canon's a great company but I feel that buying Canon 35mm cameras now can put a photographer in a bit of a limbo situation. Either the lenses cannot be used on new DSLR's or you can't get the exciting, disciplined full manual film experience. You can do both of these with Nikon and Pentax.



Good luck with your shopping! I encourage you to look for a local used camera shop too and see if your son has any preference. Whatever camera he is most inspired by will be the one he'll use and enjoy the most!



MANUAL AND METAL! FILM FOREVER!

Answer 12

You might try Craigslist for you area. The best tip I can give you is to watch the film counter. When your reach the last frame, be sure to press in the little button found on the bottom of the camera.



Lift the rewind knob usually on the left side of the camera (as you would be holding the camera) and wind the film COUNTERCLOCKWISE until you feel a slight resistance, continue winding a few turns, this makes sure the film is completely wound into the film cassette.



Never leave film hanging out of the cassette as it is too easy to forget that the film has already been exposed, and you are liable to run the film through the camera a second time thus double exposing and ruining your pictures.



Good Luck!



Regarding film cameras, try and contact the instructor as to what he/she prefers. Some courses just use simple cameras and then some would recommend an interchangeable lens camera such as a Single Lens Reflex (SLR).

There are lots of good rangefinder cameras, One of my favorites is the Canon Canonet 2.8 or 1.9 (lens designation).

Some good SLR cameras would be the Canon AE-1, or the AT-1 or the Pentax K-1000.