film SLRs

thebeginning · Feb 1, 2005

I'm going to be buying a 35mm film camera for a photography class im taking at the local community college. I'm not going to go all out with a brand new one, because i cant afford it, so I have been looking at ebay and half.com to find some. So far, I've looked at the Canon EOS elan II (for 280), the Canon EOS A2E (269), the Nikon N80 (270), and the Nikon FM2N (300). Any advice?

KevinR · Feb 1, 2005

I would definitly go with the autofocus. Although I shoot with an FM2. Autofocus will just make your life a little easier. All three are nice cameras. I am partial to Nikon, But have shot with both Canons. The Canons are lighter than the Nikon. So if you are going to be lugging them around, that might be consideration. Do the cameras come with lenses?

fadingaway1986 · Feb 2, 2005

Get a Canon EOS 3000 - I have one, an excellent camera. and you can spend the extra on lenses.

They are going for between - $50 and $150 (USD)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=30033&item=3871468648&rd=1

Rob · Feb 2, 2005

thebeginning said:
I'm going to be buying a 35mm film camera for a photography class im taking at the local community college.

My 2p - Go for the Nikon FM2n as it's probably the strongest, most reliable camera in that bunch. With students, your priority will be teaching photography, so the fewer features the better IMHO, so don't worry about AF, AE etc.

Rob

kimbie05 · Feb 2, 2005

goodness. and to think when i started photography school, i begged my mom to borrow her old minolta... from the 70's! (havent given it back yet, and i've been graduated for a year...i love it too much). but i'm so happy i learned photography with an all manual...my friends that went and bought fancy ones with auto relied on it too much, and i ended up having to teach them how to do our "homework" projects.

good luck to you!

Magoo · Feb 2, 2005

for a manual camera you can get cheap, I like the ae1, and the fd lenses are pretty good and cheap. I also use some of the eos cameras in manual mode, and have waited a few years to finally buy my f1n. you can find them on ebay and KeH.com. I just found another place in minnisota called national camera @ natcam.com. they sell used equip to.

Thanks,
Mike

thebeginning · Feb 4, 2005

i've narrowed it down to the nikon fm2n and the f3 HP. I've found some pretty decent deals on ebay for them, too. Are there any other ones that might be good? Any canons? I havent researched much of this yet, so i dont know any new 35mm SLRs out there. are there any newer types that would give me a benefit but i can still get for relatively cheap (300 or less) on ebay? I found an f5 that was being auctioned...it is an autofocus, but i like the ability to manually focus. Do they come with a manual focus feature?

Walt · Feb 4, 2005

I've had a Canon A2 for about ten years now. It's a very capable camera.

Contra|Brett| · Feb 5, 2005

One of my associates at KITS camera is taking a photography class right now. I don't know if this is a requirment for you, or if they have told you yet, but some classes require a manual focus, manual exposure camera; my associate's included.

Rob · Feb 5, 2005

With all the Nikons you can turn AF off, which is a useful thing as they aren't too hot when your subject is off-centre.

You'll do really well to find a decent (not stolen) F5 for the same kind of money as the F3 and FM2n. It's been devalued lately by the F6's release, but it is still one of Nikon's flagship cameras.

IMHO the F5 is too complicated to teach photography with and you'd be better off with the FM2n. The F3 offers auto-exposure and mirror-lock-up but is a similar experience with big strong controls. The F5 is a modern experience with lots of electronics.

The Pentax K-mount series are all of similar quality. The LX is a great camera, as well as the classic K1000.

Rob

thebeginning · Feb 6, 2005

i like the f5 alot, but its a little pricey. im trying to look for something that i can find on ebay for less than 300 or so. I want something that can be easy to use, but can also be used for proffesional work, and have proffessional abilities.

thebeginning · Feb 6, 2005

does anyone know about the n series from nikon? im looking at the n75. tell me what you guys think of this deal. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15238&item=3872395142&rd=1.

railman44 · Feb 6, 2005

Very hard to go wrong with the F3HP.

Uselessdreamer1 · Feb 6, 2005

i would reccomend the canon rebel 2000

Rogue Monk · Feb 6, 2005

The n series is just an Americanized version of the f series (n75 = f75).

I'd also take a look around pawn shops. They always seem to have decent older equipement (older as in seventies, but still really good). Most will negotiate just to get it off their shelves. I like to start by offering them 2/3 their list price since I know that most paid no more than 30% for it (Its a known secret that pawn shops will give you peanuts for anything you wish to pawn).

I've used an AE-1 program and an FT2 and they've both worked like new. I especially like the simple nature if the FT2's metering system though it can be a little more difficult to find lenses for it).

Don't let lack of auto-focus sway you from buying a great camera. I own a D70 and usually leave the AF off.