Film Cameras... what to get?

[Mike_E]

This is really like asking the difference between a Stanley and a Plumb hammer.

If you are going to get a film camera that won't fit the system you already have, why not get one that fits your nail so to speak?

IOW what would you like to shoot with it? If you would to shoot some 'street' you might want to consider a rangefinder. Say a Canonete QL 17 G3?

If you want to seriously improve your photography then you should look into Medium Format to be able to see exactly what you are doing. MF to 35mm is like a >10MP DSLR being compared to a run of the mill camera phone. A worthwhile TLR shouldn't be too expensive and will give great results- keep in mind that focusing one takes a little getting used to but you'll want to be deliberate about each shot anyway with film.

Anyway, good luck!

 

[PhotoXopher]

I thought the same (learn more with it)... all I learned is shooting film gets expensive

For what it's worth, I went with the Nikon N75 - it was an easy transition (I also shoot Nikon digital).

 

[PatrickCheung]

Old Nikons are nice because the lens mount is the same as your d60. Just make sure your lenses have an aperture ring and are full-frame.

true that, that's why i kinda want an old nikon. however, they seem harder to find and more expensive than canons... and it would be nice to get lenses that work on my d60 as well. are there any cheap, preferably manual 35mm nikon film cameras that are in the same price range as that AE-1? around... $30-40USD... or better yet, if you have one that you're willing to let go for that price hahaha, but thanks a lot for the input :]

 

[PatrickCheung]

guys, if anyone's still reading this, i just found a sigma 70-210mm pentax k mount lens... lol. my dad used to use a pentax, so yeah. if anyone has pentax suggestions... i'm all up for it

 

[usayit]

I have the screw mount version of that sigma in my collection... It collects dust since it doesn't have a switch to manually stop down the aperture diaphragm (unusable on K-mount cameras with adapter)

Two cameras I would suggestion looking into:

Pentax MX
or
Pentax K1000 (student camera - Spotmatic relative)

FYI: Zooms from that time period were not that great optically. I wouldn't base your decision heavily on the sigma's use.

 

[gsgary]

Why not go left field and get a russian rangefinder very cheap and the 50mmF2 Jupeter lens is very sharp, i have a Zorki 4

 

[PatrickCheung]

damn... i just got sniped for a Nikon FM for... fricken $57.

humm i've never thought of a rangefinder before.... i'll look into those, but damn those photos are sharp!

i was thinking of getting a pentax k1000, but i heard the light meter eats batteries like mad! D: iunno... i'll see if i can find other deals...

thanks a lot guys :]

 

[gsgary]

damn... i just got sniped for a Nikon FM for... fricken $57.

humm i've never thought of a rangefinder before.... i'll look into those, but damn those photos are sharp!

i was thinking of getting a pentax k1000, but i heard the light meter eats batteries like mad! D: iunno... i'll see if i can find other deals...

thanks a lot guys :]

No light meter in a Zorki you have to have a handheld

 

[Turbo]

i was thinking of getting a pentax k1000, but i heard the light meter eats batteries like mad! D: iunno... i'll see if i can find other deals...

thanks a lot guys :]

The same battery has been in my k1000 for about 4 years. The light meter is only on when the lens cap is off. Keep the cap on and batteries last.

 

[djacobox372]

Old Nikons are nice because the lens mount is the same as your d60. Just make sure your lenses have an aperture ring and are full-frame.

true that, that's why i kinda want an old nikon. however, they seem harder to find and more expensive than canons... and it would be nice to get lenses that work on my d60 as well. are there any cheap, preferably manual 35mm nikon film cameras that are in the same price range as that AE-1? around... $30-40USD... or better yet, if you have one that you're willing to let go for that price hahaha, but thanks a lot for the input :]

YES! the FG is probably the cheapest that would suit you, followed FE series cameras. FA's are selling cheap these days as well, they're still manual wind but have fancy feaures like shutter priority, program mode, and TTL flash.

Personally I can't stand the AE-1... It's metering an auto modes are based on shutter-priority, I MUCH prefer aperture priority like in the older nikons

I actually do have a bunch of old nikon film cameras and lenses that I was going to purge soon--I'll PM you when I post it in the classifieds.

 

[PatrickCheung]

Old Nikons are nice because the lens mount is the same as your d60. Just make sure your lenses have an aperture ring and are full-frame.

true that, that's why i kinda want an old nikon. however, they seem harder to find and more expensive than canons... and it would be nice to get lenses that work on my d60 as well. are there any cheap, preferably manual 35mm nikon film cameras that are in the same price range as that AE-1? around... $30-40USD... or better yet, if you have one that you're willing to let go for that price hahaha, but thanks a lot for the input :]

YES! the FG is probably the cheapest that would suit you, followed FE series cameras. FA's are selling cheap these days as well, they're still manual wind but have fancy feaures like shutter priority, program mode, and TTL flash.

Personally I can't stand the AE-1... It's metering an auto modes are based on shutter-priority, I MUCH prefer aperture priority like in the older nikons

I actually do have a bunch of old nikon film cameras and lenses that I was going to purge soon--I'll PM you when I post it in the classifieds.

you are the best! keep me posted buddy.

anyway, i've been so busy lately i havent really had the time to check this thread.

today i went to a used camera store (sort of... henry's used equipment store in downtown toronto lol) with my dad's old Canon EOS 630 and all the equipment (it was worth $25 in total... haha). i saw some old nikon manual 35mm film bodies and lenses. i asked for prices... almost everything (FM, FE, FE2)was nearing $200 body only... which is way out of my budget because i just bought a new lens and flash for my d60.

i saw an old Nikon EM lying around and i asked how much it was... the guy told me $20, $30 for an e-series 50mm f1.8... so i said, what the hell, i'll take the lens and trade in my dad's stuff for the EM body (he didnt want to sell it on ebay or anything...). Although it's not exactly a manual camera, or the best camera... it'll have to do for now.

so thats my story of how i've come to own a nikon EM.

anyway, if ayone's still reading... o.o the 50mm f1.8 e series isn't showing up on my D60 anymore. i popped it in to take a few test shots on my d60 earlier, worked fine... beautiful pictures. but a few hours later, after i let my battery charge... i pop it in.. and the camera tells me theres no lens attached... what happened?!

 

[Josh66]

Dirty contacts?

 

[PatrickCheung]

Dirty contacts?

nope! i'm dumb. i just forgot to switch it to manual :]

 

[djacobox372]

true that, that's why i kinda want an old nikon. however, they seem harder to find and more expensive than canons... and it would be nice to get lenses that work on my d60 as well. are there any cheap, preferably manual 35mm nikon film cameras that are in the same price range as that AE-1? around... $30-40USD... or better yet, if you have one that you're willing to let go for that price hahaha, but thanks a lot for the input :]

YES! the FG is probably the cheapest that would suit you, followed FE series cameras. FA's are selling cheap these days as well, they're still manual wind but have fancy feaures like shutter priority, program mode, and TTL flash.

Personally I can't stand the AE-1... It's metering an auto modes are based on shutter-priority, I MUCH prefer aperture priority like in the older nikons

I actually do have a bunch of old nikon film cameras and lenses that I was going to purge soon--I'll PM you when I post it in the classifieds.

you are the best! keep me posted buddy.

anyway, i've been so busy lately i havent really had the time to check this thread.

today i went to a used camera store (sort of... henry's used equipment store in downtown toronto lol) with my dad's old Canon EOS 630 and all the equipment (it was worth $25 in total... haha). i saw some old nikon manual 35mm film bodies and lenses. i asked for prices... almost everything (FM, FE, FE2)was nearing $200 body only... which is way out of my budget because i just bought a new lens and flash for my d60.

i saw an old Nikon EM lying around and i asked how much it was... the guy told me $20, $30 for an e-series 50mm f1.8... so i said, what the hell, i'll take the lens and trade in my dad's stuff for the EM body (he didnt want to sell it on ebay or anything...). Although it's not exactly a manual camera, or the best camera... it'll have to do for now.

so thats my story of how i've come to own a nikon EM.

anyway, if ayone's still reading... o.o the 50mm f1.8 e series isn't showing up on my D60 anymore. i popped it in to take a few test shots on my d60 earlier, worked fine... beautiful pictures. but a few hours later, after i let my battery charge... i pop it in.. and the camera tells me theres no lens attached... what happened?!

Do you have M mode selected on the d60? The lens will work in any other mode on the d60.

The Nikon EM is cheaper because it only has aperture priority, which is what most people use 95% of the time. You can compensate for exposure by adjusting the film speed dial. Probably a good little camera for you to test the film waters, if you end up loving it you might as well jump up to a f100 or medium format.

The nikon FG was the replacement for the EM, they're nearly identical except for the FG adding manual mode. I see FG's and FG-20's sell on ebay all the time for less then $50, often with a lens.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Nikon F100 so that you can use your Tamron 28-70, because if you think you need the speed with digital, you'll need it even more with film.