Going to college for photog, help choose between these camera

[icassell]

I would definitely look at the used market. As others have suggested, find out what your instructors will require. Then go to a reputable used-camera supplier and look around.

 

[sween]

Many film purists get very angry when film is dismissed...

So very well put. I suspect they'll continue to get angry until the day when film is no longer manufactured which I personally think will come. And it may come sooner than many believe. Digital technology turned the photographic industry upside down in what was well under ten years.

Some will boil at my saying it but FILM IS DEAD.

I'm not some know-it-all kid who never touched film, I'm a guy in his late 50s who spent the last 30 years being a very serious amateur photog. I have shelves full of film cameras, in both 35mm and 6x6 formats, and they sit and collect dust. I haven't burned a roll of film in what now has to be an easy 6 or 7 years. I have no plans to ever use film again. Why? Whatever there is to be learned from using film, and there is plenty, I learned years ago because there were no alternatives.

It might be beneficial to keep in mind that most all of the late photographers who are today worshiped as icons used the technology available to them at the time they walked the earth. They were not slaves to some outdated equipment and methods of capturing images.

As to schools who insist on starting with film, OK, I do see a point in there somewhere. The problems will arise with each passing year as film cameras and film itself become harder and harder to find.

Film will never leave us, some will say. Could they be right? My opinion is that film is nearly gone already. Ask yourself, how many film cameras does Nikon still make, Canon make? It doesn't matter whether either is following the demand or trying to create it, the end result is the same. Try and find film cameras on B&H's site. You think a retailer of that size doesn't see the handwriting on the wall?

Respectfully submitted by a devoted adherent of The Pact!

 

[ann]

why turn this into a film vs digital discussion

 

[JIP]

Whatever you decide to go with I would STAY AWAY from any Ebay ad that calls an N65 a professional camera.

 

[sween]

Whatever you decide to go with I would STAY AWAY from any Ebay ad that calls an N65 a professional camera.

The N65 is known as the F65 most everywhere in the world except in the US. I have no idea why. You can buy one brand new in any number of places for under $150 US. Frankly, I wouldn't buy this camera, but mostly because I already have a number of film cameras no longer in use.

IMO, the best of the bunch for someone dabbling, or someone just trying to learn film for a well-rounded education, would be a Pentax K1000. If you can find one local to you, all the better. If not, Ebay seems to have plenty of them. One thing for sure, I'd never give mine up, it is one heck of a camera even though I never use it. (Yes, I do cock and fire the shutter weekly to prevent i from locking up)

If the point of learning film is to familiarize a student with the true basics of photography, wouldn't it make sense to avoid AE and AF? I think if one is really serious about shooting film as a learning experience, it might make some sense to use a camera that lacks a light meter, and have the student learn to use a hand-held meter and a gray card. FWIW, I was using just that as recently as seven or eight years ago with one of my MF rigs.

 

[nipsip]

Want to save some $$.

If you want the DSLR low noise champ (prior to the d300), then it is the Nikon d50, not the d40 or d60 or d90. You should be able to pick one up for ~$250 and the AF-S DX 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 kit lens that came with the d200 for ~$100. For $350 you have an unbeatable camera and lens.

Don't be fooled by the low price of the lens or camera, the d50 is a far better camera than the d40 or d60 for three reasons. Low light champ (high ISO with little noise), can use all Nikon AF lenses (focus motor is in camera), and the d50 has 5 autofocus points, two more than the d40 or d60.

Note that the lens is a very fast lens f/4.5 not f5.6 and it is very, very sharp. IMO it is as sharp as an f/1.8 DX 50mm.

Just my opinion, spend more if you want but you won't get twice the camera and lens for 2x the price.

 

[PatrickHMS]

Whatever you decide to go with I would STAY AWAY from any Ebay ad that calls an N65 a professional camera.

If you want a Nikon N65 or similiar, go to any used camera shop or pawnshop in whatever town you live in...

In my area, N65's, and similiar 35mm film camera bodies are plentiful for $35.00 - $40.00 or less. I have a like new black N60 with QD back that I paid net $15.00 for, an N90S in perfect condition that I paid net $25.00 for just the bodies after subtracting value of the lenses. Don't hardly use either one. Bought them only for the great Nikkor lenses that were on them.

But that's still expensive for a paperweight or a doorstop.

Anyone who pays the prices that some of those online sites (Amazon, CL, eBay, and even the photo gear websites) ask for a 35mm Nikon film SLR has to be out of their flippin' mind.

 

[TakenAptly]

Thanks for all the info guys, it really helped in finally making a decision. I ended up getting the d40x + the Nikkor lens for $386 (total) off ebay.

Here's one of my first pictures