Looking to buy a Film Camera..but..

[Sbuxo]

Ohh okay.
What's the closest thing to a Rebel for Nikon?

Also, I've heard alot about Pentaxes, are those up to par with Nikon & Canon?

 

[danjchau]

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[Sbuxo]

That's true..
So a Rebel I guess is best.
But..is the one that I stated in the first post okay?
I think I like that one best, even better if they had it in all black..

Are fish-eye lenses relatively expensive?
I really love the effect it gives photos.

And, what are the best films to use with Rebels?

 

[keith204]

I have the ELAN II and it's a great camera. KEH has one for $25 and one for $50. I just bought a "BGN" rated EOS-3 and the quality is exceptional...I will buy their "BGN" rated equipment again with little hesitation.

Say you went BGN and got the $25 ELAN II
Then you drop a whopping $90 on a brand new 50mm f/1.8

Total? $115

Excellent beginner's setup, and something you'll probably keep around for fun several years down the road. I'd totally do this if I were in your shoes.

 

[Sbuxo]

Well I'm falling asleep now..
I'll be back on tomorrow.
Much love
-Sabrina
xoxoxo

 

[malkav41]

If you were to, by chance, go with an A2E (EOS 5) you should know that only the EOS 5, which is the name for the camera outside of North America, has an exposure meter that shows how much over/under the exposure is in the viewfinder when the camera is in manual mode. The A2/A2E only show a +/- sign to show over/under exposure in manual mode. This could be a problem in the classes your taking.

Now, by no means am I knocking the A2 camera, I own 2 of them, but I shoot with them in AV(Aperture Priority) due to the +/- metering in manual.

I have an Elan II, and it's an awesome camera with everything you'd need for what your going to be doing.

I've had a couple of Rebels, and have mixed impressions on them. The Rebel Xs I had, had the same type of metering as the A2 in manual. While the G II I still have, has metering similar to the Elan II and Elan 7E that I have. They both were/are great starter cameras, but the metering differences were a sore spot with me.

The Nikon N90s is a really great camera also.

The best thing to do is to make a list of all the features that you are looking for in a camera, and go from there. We (forum members) will help you as much as we can to answer your questions.

 

[malkav41]

I figure the closest camera that Nikon makes to a Rebel is the N65, and N75. They're both pretty much entry level cameras, like the Rebel. I know, I have both of them.

I collect, and use a lot of cameras if you haven't figured it out yet from my two posts.

 

[ksmattfish]

The A2/A2E only show a +/- sign to show over/under exposure in manual mode. This could be a problem in the classes your taking.

I should hope that one of the first things new photo students would learn is the standard scales of aperture and shutter in 1 stop increments.

 

[Sbuxo]

Yeah, the +/- meter was the one we used on the Leicas in class.
And it has a little circle in the middle that would be green if it was correct?

And, the classes I'll be taking together in Spring will be Color Photography and B&W Photography.

But for the metering, I'll see in the store. [:
D: I just found out BestBuy doesn't have film cameras.
If I don't find any stores then I'll just have to buy it on Amazon. D:

Oh, and Malkav, your location made me laugh. "Boondocks". ;P

 

[Mike_E]

Hi Sabrina. If I may ask, how do you daydream yourself as when you think about your being a photographer?

In a city with yelling and uniforms running around?

On Safari out on the savanna hoping that the lioness has fed?

At the Super Bowl or World Cup? Or maybe shooting stars or politicians?

Maybe just in a small studio with a new mother and infant child?

Or traveling around with a really neat, funky old camera with as much character as you have?

We can't really fit you with a camera unless we know what you would like to do with it beyond getting an image on film. A Ferrari and a moped will both get you to a destination but the real question is how you want to go.

 

[Sbuxo]

Well..
That's pretty hard to answer because I want to be a photo-journalist but I also want to be taking pictures for magazine companies and such.
I also want a film camera to learn how to be a better photographer.
I can see myself doing anything with my camera, because I love taking pictures no matter where I am, or what I am doing.
So, it's pretty hard to answer that. :S

But the camera doesn't have to be really really professional, cuz I know those are kind of expensive, like 600$+ and 300$ range is fine for me. So I can always upgrade.
That's why I was starting to look at Rebels, cuz I heard they're good for starters/amateurs.

Although, I really like the last question about the funky old camera. Hah. But yeah.

I'm also going to be using the camera for a little free-lance photography job for family and friends to pay me for taking portraits and such.

Sorry, I'm not very good at answering your question.
D:
F for me.
-Sabrina

 

[henkelphoto]

Hi Sabrina!

I will add some hints to the above about Nikon cameras. I notice you said you wanted to go into photojournalism. The cameras I will mention will give you an idea of what it was like to work as a pj back when they were top of the line cameras.

The Nikon F2as and F3hp were both considered top pro cameras at the time. Both are still rated very high as pro quality film cameras even though neither has auto focus and the F3 has only aperature auto exposure. Both are bulletproof (meaning you can basically use them as a hammer or weapon without damaging them too much). The F2as is a bit out of your price range (anywhere between $400-1000) but I just picked up a nice F3hp for $150. Both these cameras were used by pro photographers in the 60s through the 80s. They both have some problems for starting photographers, but they are great learning machines. The one sizeable problem is that neither have a hot shoe on them so you have to buy an adapter to mount a flash on them. (they are available on ebay also). Although these cameras will mount any lens that Nikon has ever made (with the exception of very early ones) "G" lenses do not have an aperature ring and can't be used in manual mode on them. And the F3 doesn't have the right pins to use them in auto mode.

Another camera that is nice but not quite up to pro level is the N90s. These have full auto focus and auto exposure. But it can also be used in full manual mode. One of the nice options this camera has is a motor drive is built in. Also a battery grip is available that allows you more battery power, and is a nice vertical grip with an added shutter button. These are available on ebay for around $50 or less in great condition.

One thing I might mention is that even though you can use manual focus on these later cameras, (the N90s, N65 and N75) they are really designed for autofocus. The focusing screens used in them are basically a matte screen, not a split image that you would get in an older camera. If your eyes are not 100%, you will have difficulty focusing in manual with these cameras, especially with wide angle lenses.

Nikon also has made some other great film cameras, but I fear they would also be out of your price range. F4, F5, F6 and the F100 are all great film cameras. All of these are autoexposure/autofocus with the ability of fully manual control.

Jerry

 

[Sbuxo]

Hm.
So you're Nikonian, huh?
Ha.
Hmm..
I'll research those.

On Amazon, a really popular good-reviewed camera is this one:
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006I5ZB/ref=s9subs_c5_114_img1-rfc_p?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1VYD67TCBHXZE747E42X&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=278240301&pf_rd_i=507846[/ame]

D: I hate when there are a lot of options. D:

Oh, and what does "K" type mean?

 

[henkelphoto]

It's a pentax mount.

I used to be a canon guy. When I was working in Missouri, I ended up with 5 Canon bodies (3 F1s, an EF and a T90) with 12 lenses. But when they changed their lens mount to accomodate the new autofocus system, I had to buy new so I went with Nikon as I was working as a photo editor for AP by then and their pool equipment at the time was all Nikon.

Jerry

 

[anubis404]

Oh and my budget..hmm..no more than US$350.00
I saw that on Amazon there are used Rebels and even new ones for about 250-something, so that's another reason why I was interested.
But of course I'll be testing out the camera and how it feels at a store, beforehand.

Thanks again for going out of your way and answering & inquiring!
-Sabrina

I'm not a big film person, I just happen to come across this thread. For about $400, you can get a digital SLR. For $50 more, I think its worth it. The money will come back to you in film and processing in no time.

If you're dead set on the film route, I agree with Big Mike. The Canon Rebel series are good SLRs for good prices.

EDIT: If you want to learn I would go with digital, because you can take an infinite number of pictures with no cost. The best way to learn is take pictures. You can also see the picture instantly after you've taken it, and change how it looks using the camera's settings. Just my opinion.