Looking for a film SLR... - Film SLR for Student. - Photography & Digital Camera Forums - polala.com

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Looking for a film SLR...
Published by: rose 2009-01-07

I'm starting a national diploma 2 year course in photography next september, and what do you know, my film SLR has packed up. I've been meaning to get a new one for a while, and now that this one is broken i've got a good reason to hehe.

I will be using this camera for a very wide range of photos, most things you can think of (well not any weird stuff hehe:lol:)

I would also like it to be compatable with many things, I love to accessorise hehe (e.g, lenses, flashes, etc etc) but sold my lenses, seeing as they were getting on a bit and I was never too fond of them hehe, so i'm ready to start fresh! I've had cameras in the past where I couldn't use a great deal with them and it did my nut in!
I was just wondering if anybody had any good suggestions as which camera I should buy?

I can spend around �300 ($550ish) I am prepared to go slightly above this budget, and would like at least one lense included in this price range.

Thankyou for any help, it's greatly appreciated. ;-)

Film SLR for Student. - Photography & Digital Camera Forums::
10 posts - Last post: Dec 20, 2008Film SLR for Student. Help Files. I had been looking through the reviews, I took the bite on the nikon n 80 through these reviews.
http://forums.photographyreview.com/showthread.php?t=49900HOME

I just got a Nikon F80 used, and I love it! It has basically all the features of the "pro" Nikon bodies, and it takes great pictures. It has all kinds of accessories (grips, threaded cable release, flashes, etc) and takes a pretty wide range of lenses (basically any Nikon AF lens). I ordered all my goodies from KEH.com - f80 body, nikkor 50mm f1.8D lens, nikkor 35-80mm f4-5.6D lens, cable release, polarizer, uv filter all for about $375US (excluding shipping). If your budget is $550, you could get some decent lenses with it, or other goodies. I'd recommend it to just about anyone, unless you're planning to take it white-water rafting or something (I've heard the weather sealing isn't quite up to pro standards). Also, Nikon says you can't use IR film b/c the film advance uses an IR sensor, but I've read on a couple of forums that IR usually turns out ok.

That's my .02 for recommendations

A Nikon F4s is probably the best film body ever made IMHO.

LWW

Agreed. Which body you get doesn't matter so much, which brand you choose matters more though, since you're buying into a particular lens mount. Lenses for some lens mounts are more widely available, or tend to be cheaper than others. However as long as you don't pick a camera with a really obscure or limited lens mount, all you really need to worry about is whether it gives you full control over aperture, shutter speed and preferably ISO, had depth-of-field preview, feels comfortable, is intuitive (hate that word but can't think of a good alternative) to use and meters well. The extra functions on high-end or modern cameras may be useful for some situations but I don't see them as being necessary for most photography, in fact if you're learning they'll probably just distract from the basics of taking a good shot. Similarly a more expensive camera is often said to be better because it's built like a tank... but then you'll be a photography student, not a photojournalist in a warzone. Obviously we'd all like to own the best cameras, but to be honest the quality of your camera body won't show through in your prints - the quality of the lenses will.

I just saw a completed sale of an EOS5 for $125 on eBay. My point was that's $425 JJP could put into glass instead of $150. A single good prime is going to be ~$300.

Good find on ebay! What lenses did the camera come with?
Once you become familiar with the EOS-3 body, try out the multi-spot meter. You'll love it.

When I first closed my studio I sold all my 35mm slrs (pentax). Unfortunately I didn't die on schedule, so I decided to get another on just in case I did a family member's wedding. I bought a minolta 700 and a ton of prime lense and even a winder for I think about a total of 350 bucks. It was used but not very used.

I don't use it much but I have it if I ever want to shoot anything for real. The test shots I made with it and the assortment of lenses seemed to be just peachy keen.

Building a system from scratch on your budget, I too would recommend K-mount prime lenses with either a Pentax MX or ME super. If you want to go a bit more grassroots, you can go with a nice K1000 which will have a matched needle meter instead. You should have enough left over for other accessories as well.

Canon AE-1 film slr + 35-70mm f3.5-4.7 + 35mm f3.5 lenses, Canon ::
Canon AE-1 film slr + 35-70mm f3.5-4.7 + 35mm f3.5 lenses, Canon, AE-1, Looking For! I am looking for someone who designs and at the same time make
http://www.sulit.com.ph/index.php/view+classifieds/id/1014871/Canon+AE-1+film+slr+++35-70mm+f3.5-4.7+++35mm+f3.5+lensesHOME

Nikon SLR Body Comparison Chart::
35mm AF SLR with built-in motor drive f80_photo.jpg (12310 bytes) . Flash coverage: 28mm or longer lens; Film speed range - ISO 25-800.
http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/nikon_articles/body/chart/nikon_body_comparison_chart.htmlHOME

For autofocus, I like an older Elan or Elan II with a 50mm f1.8 and a medium zoom. Elan 7 is going to be a bit more expensive but a good used one will be a lot of bang for your buck.

honestly... I would think that the EOS 3 and Nikon F4s are two examples of over-kill for a student camera. $500-600 on a camera body only is still expensive in my book. Both good choices if you are willing to spend the cash. I'm thinking under $200 for a camera body given a $550 budget.

if you're willing to go manual focus why not something like a Canon F1, Ae-1 or similar? The body is not nearly as important as the lens... all you get is features when you pay more... (plus build quality and perhaps accuracy). I'd be spending money on good solid prime lenses and not worrying too much about the body.

oh, gosh....prepare for the onslaught of suggestions.... :lol:

You're lucky, there are SO many great SLR's out there.

I'm on the Pentax team, myself. My MZ-S can be fully manual, or as automatic as I want to make it (not often). Pentax also makes great glass. :thumbup: Huge variety. I've not priced one lately, but surely the cost has come way down.

Next! :lol:

What lenses are you going for? I'm thinking that you should be able to find an EOS5 or A2/A2e for cheaper than the EOS3, and you could put the difference into glass. I don't know what they are going for now, though. The EOS5 was replaced by the EOS3 so it's older, but it's still a great camera and I doubt you would feel that it's lacking.
http://www.chem.helsinki.fi/~toomas/photo/canon-intro.html#5
I think you'll love either one, though.

The EOS 3 is only one step away from the 1V. The damned thing has a laser the will track your eyeball and focus on whatever you're looking at. You can get them for under $400 on Ebay. Hard to ignore that kind of value.

I'm also a user and fan of Pentax. Unfortunately the MZ-S has not yet come down to your budget (if it had I would definitely have one!). If you're doing a course you might be better off with second-hand manual focus camera and lenses, in which case the options from Pentax include the MX, KX, K1000 (usually overpriced because it's so often recommended to film students), P30 (the P30t or P30n is good and sells for way less than the older cameras) or MZ-M (their latest manual focus camera, but not as well-built as many older ones). Any of these are good cameras, one big advantage of them being that they're cheap so you still have lots of money to spend on good lenses, film etc.

Minolta also made good manual focus cameras (and great lenses); options here include the SRT or XD ranges. However there seem to be less lenses available for these cameras than for the Pentaxes.

If on the other hand you're happy to spend all your budget or more on a camera and possibly one lens, you might want to look at older Nikons, for example an F3 variant, an FM2N or FM3A. Obviously Canon make very good stuff too but I know nothing about their manual focus cameras so I'll leave that to someone who does. With either Nikon or Canon you'll never have trouble finding a lens or accessory.

Finally Olympus, AFAIK the Olympus OM system has quite limited availability of lenses compared to the other brands, and often seems to cost more, but a few people believe it's worth it, and Zuiko lenses are certainly impressive. Consider the OM3Ti, OM4Ti or OM2000. Finding older Olympus SLRs in good condition is not always easy, especially because of the design of the hotshoe.

I've only really mentioned manual-focus or mechanical cameras with full user control over aperture and shutter speed, since IMO that's the best for learning photography. If you're interested in autofocus and new SLRs then there's obviously a lot more options. I also haven't really mentioned lenses yet, though the lenses are really more important than the cameras they're attached to.

Edit:
If you already have lenses ["I love to accessorise . . ."], it would make sense to get a compatable body.
Woops, I missed that. Although re-reading your post, you did mention that you sold your lenses and that you were never very happy with them. What lenses were they, and what was it about them that you didn't like? That might help us narrow down suitable options.

Hello, im from Kent too and ive been looking for a photography course in this area after completing all the basic courses at my local college, where abouts are you studying your course in september?

You could get a real nice Canon Elan 7 or Nikon N90 or even maybe F100 used. Lots of options. Try some out and pick what feels good to you.

Thanks a lot for all of your suggestions guys, I think i'll go with the Canon EOS-3, I can pick up the body and a couple of decent lenses on eBay for exactly my budget, and it sounds a great camera, also been told this by a couple of friends. I appreciate all of your help, thankyou. ;-)

I missed that, too. Sorry.

If you already have lenses ["I love to accessorise . . ."], it would make sense to get a compatable body.

Hello, im from Kent too and ive been looking for a photography course in this area after completing all the basic courses at my local college, where abouts are you studying your course in september?
Nice to see someone else from Kent! I'm doing it at West Kent College, it's in Tonbridge, which is also where i'm from. It's a great place, I'm already in love with the darkrooms hehe.
And thanks for the other suggestions people, I haven't actually got the camera yet, but now i'm also going to look into these suggestions lol. Thanks again! ;-)