Good camera for begginers photography class

[turtlefan]

My wife begins her photography classes this summer and needs to get a good 35mm SLR camera. Her professor has given her a few suggestions, but everything was a little more than what we wanted to pay for a beginners class. Can anyone suggest a good camera for under $300 that does well with nature and wildlife shots. Also recommend what good lenses she might need for the camera. Thank You

 

[TheOtherBob]

What kind of camera does she need - film or digital? And what were (a few of) the professor's suggestions? That might tell us a little more about what the requirements of the class are.

 

[turtlefan]

Sorry thought I put in, she needs a film camera. Her professor suggested an Olympus that was about $500-600 and a Canon that was $400-500. I don't know the makes of them sorry.

 

[ANDS!]

Craigslist should have more than a few old film cameras. N50's and the lot.

 

[table1349]

I do believe that the camera shop here has a Nikon [FONT=Arial, verdana, heveltica, geneva]F2AS Photomic[/FONT] still for $275. It may by just the F2A Photomic, been a while since I looked at it. Both were some of the very best 35mm SLR's ever made. Simple but good metering. No auto focus, manual SLR.

That probably doesn't help unless you are here in Kansas, but you might try Craigs List or any good photography shop in your area. A good photography shop probably has more 35mm stuff then they know what to do with at great prices. I know ours does.

 

[TheOtherBob]

I don't know much about the film side, but a new Rebel K2 can be had for around $135. Adorama has a good article on this: http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=academy_new&article=053006, and also has a pretty good selection of new and used film cameras. That might be one place to start - though, having never used a (good) film camera, I have no idea which are good and which aren't. You also need to consider lenses, which will be part of the cost. I think a 28-80 used to be the standard kit lens, but I have no experience with that side of things.

 

[fightheheathens]

the best (in my opinon) beginners cameras are the Pentax K1000 or the Pentax MX. both can be found on e-bay for less then 150 with a lens.
The pentax 50mm f/1.7 lens is a very excellent lens that often comes with that camera.

I learned on the Pentax MX with a 50mm f 1.7 and i loved it to death. I had it stolen and since upgraded to a different camera but i am considering getting another one since they are so cheap and good.

more expensive options are
Nikon FM2n (what i use) I found one on e-bay with a lens for just under 350 bucks. but that would be a rare find i think. Most camera stores re sell that camera for about 350 with out a lens.

The Nikon N80

Canon Rebel (film one)

Canon Elan 7

all good cameras, but i personally would go with the Pentax K1000 or the MX.

 

[blackdoglab]

k1000, the classic student camera!

olympus om-1 or om-2

or may I suggest a Zenit?

 

[spazoid1965]

My wife begins her photography classes this summer and needs to get a good 35mm SLR camera. Her professor has given her a few suggestions, but everything was a little more than what we wanted to pay for a beginners class. Can anyone suggest a good camera for under $300 that does well with nature and wildlife shots. Also recommend what good lenses she might need for the camera. Thank You....


Sorry thought I put in, she needs a film camera. Her professor suggested an Olympus that was about $500-600 and a Canon that was $400-500. I don't know the makes of them sorry.

If this is a photography class, I assume the instuctor would prefer a manual only camera. Or a camera with manual override functions. You said her instuctor recommended an Olympus. Her is some info on OM cameras.

http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Olympus_OM-1/2/3/4
http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Olympus_OM-10/20/30/40
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/japan/manual-camera/om20001.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_OM

I have The OM1 and a few OM10s. A functioning OM1 can be found on ebay for about $80-110 with a lens. The OM1 uses an obsolete battery. Adapterscan be purchased for different battery. The om10 can be purchased on ebay for about $30-50 with one or 2 lenses. But the om10 will only have a manual mode with the manual adapter.

Another great inexpensive older manual camera will be the Nikkormats also Nikomats. They are made by Nikon. Most people are un aware of these so they don't get bid on much. You can probally get a FT2 on ebay with lens for around $70-90. They use nikon lens. The FT2 and the FT3 use a modern battery for the light meter. I have 2 Nikkormats a FT2 and An EL.

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikkormat/fseries/ft2/htmls/map.htm
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/htmls/models/htmls/slr7577.htm

The Pentax k1000 is a great manual SLR. However if you get on make sure you get they japanesse made one. A few years before discontinueing this model pentax desided to have them made in China. The japanesse ones were metal bodied durable gems. The chinesse ones were plastic bodied junk. The japanese ones will have the word ASAHI above the word PENTAX on the front of the camera. The chinesse ones will just say Pentax.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentax_K1000
http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?AsahiPentaxK1000.html~mainFrame

There are also other brand cameras which use the "K mount" pentax lenses and are very inexpensive.
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/ultimate_k-mount.htm

 

[Don Simon]

Chinon, Cosina, Ricoh and Vivitar are among the companies who make (and in some cases still make) decent K-mount film bodies which cost virtually nothing. But if you want some great glass for very little money, you might want to look at 'obsolete' or 'orphaned' lens mounts, like the Olympus OM (already mentioned), the Canon FD or Minolta manual. These won't be compatible with current digital SLRs, but for that reason they're very affordable, so are definitely worth looking into if being able to use the same lenses on a dSLR are not a priority.

 

[turtlefan]

After looking around for a while I've been stuck on the canon rebel T2. Is that a decent camera? I have found many on ebay for under $250 with a 28-90 lens. Would that be a good starting place?

 

[StreetShark]

I have the K2 and I believe the T2 has some small improvements. I have that same lens as well. I like it and if you every plan to go digital the lenses will work with most canon D-SLR's.

 

[Jestev]

I wouldn't be too surpised if the teacher wanted a fully manual camera. I started out with the fully manual Minolta XG-7 and I thought it was great.

Or you can get a new Nikon FM10 on B&H here.

 

[sabbath999]

Another camera that is available dirt cheap because the lenses are not forwardly compatible is the Fujica STX-1. Great camera, excellent lenses, can be purchased for nothing on ebay.

 

[NateB]

My advice is always to get the best you could afford... No point getting a cheapy now, and then have to upgrade later on. Unless you suspect your wife wont stick at it... ha ha.