Neil Fitzpatrick
TPF Noob!
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2022
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- 13
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Looking for advice on a 35mm camera.
Priority is durability andweather "proofness". Budget is around $500 CAD ($350 USD).
I like to shoot with a 50mm (or similar) prime lens and would like something wide like a 1.4 if possible. My goal is to carry a reliable camera with good optics and a point n shoot on canoe trips.
I've been down the rabbit hole from various mechanical SLRs -> rangefinders -> Nikon N80 -> F100 -> F5 -> F4 -> F3 -> Pentax LX.
Currently, I have a Canon AE-1, Pentax Spotmatic, a Pentax Espio point n shoot and a few less functional cameras. My primary camera has been the Spotmatic. I'm a paddler and I do a lot of whitewater canoe trips and whitewater canoe park and play. This is where I shoot 95% of my film. The Spotmatic is nice enough but it is not very robust. I have recently switched from a small Pelican case to a Watershed duffel with my camera wrapped in a sweater in the duffel. I worry about it taking a bump and dying mid trip. Returning from a fly-in mountain river trip this year, I realised it's hard to accept the thought of damaging a camera and returning with only cell phone photos. I would like the ability to shoot in a light rain, though I'm not a professional photographer so shooting in a light rain means taking it out of the waterproof duffel, or from under a rain coat, setting up a shot, then returning it to protection.
The idea of using some Nikon lenses I already have for my old D300 is a little appealing. A good autofocus is appealing. I'm also okay with a good focus screen and a manual camera, as something compact and simple is also appealing. This ambivalence and the cost of some mid-range film cameras rising to the cost of some old pro cameras, you can see how I got lost in the rabbit hole.
Priority is durability and
I like to shoot with a 50mm (or similar) prime lens and would like something wide like a 1.4 if possible. My goal is to carry a reliable camera with good optics and a point n shoot on canoe trips.
I've been down the rabbit hole from various mechanical SLRs -> rangefinders -> Nikon N80 -> F100 -> F5 -> F4 -> F3 -> Pentax LX.
Currently, I have a Canon AE-1, Pentax Spotmatic, a Pentax Espio point n shoot and a few less functional cameras. My primary camera has been the Spotmatic. I'm a paddler and I do a lot of whitewater canoe trips and whitewater canoe park and play. This is where I shoot 95% of my film. The Spotmatic is nice enough but it is not very robust. I have recently switched from a small Pelican case to a Watershed duffel with my camera wrapped in a sweater in the duffel. I worry about it taking a bump and dying mid trip. Returning from a fly-in mountain river trip this year, I realised it's hard to accept the thought of damaging a camera and returning with only cell phone photos. I would like the ability to shoot in a light rain, though I'm not a professional photographer so shooting in a light rain means taking it out of the waterproof duffel, or from under a rain coat, setting up a shot, then returning it to protection.
The idea of using some Nikon lenses I already have for my old D300 is a little appealing. A good autofocus is appealing. I'm also okay with a good focus screen and a manual camera, as something compact and simple is also appealing. This ambivalence and the cost of some mid-range film cameras rising to the cost of some old pro cameras, you can see how I got lost in the rabbit hole.
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