Is this a good idea, for my daughter taking a college photography course?

[Big Mike]

I guess that is part of the 'college experience'....taking obscure courses (from curmudgeonly old instructors, who haven't been outside of their academic realm in decades)...learning skills that won't really help you get a job. :roll:

 

[vintagesnaps]

I'd love that class! That at least takes care of your budget, film cameras are available cheap enough - which is good for film lovers like me.

You and your daughter could take a look at Film Photography Project | An Internet Radio Show & On-Line Resource for Film Shooters Worldwide - they have a fairly active Flickr discussion group where you could post your question and might get some suggestions.

There would be some good choices among Canon or Nikon manual focus; Pentax K mount was always popular - their screwmount are older than K mount and might be harder to find lenses for (I like Konica but those too might be harder to find lenses for). I'm not as familiar with auto film cameras but many of those should have the ability to be used in manual settings.

She might need a camera that has a working light meter and might want to check and make sure it takes batteries that are still available. Home | Freestyle Photographic Supplies carries batteries and might have some good resources.

 

[texkam]

I guess that is part of the 'college experience'....taking obscure courses (from curmudgeonly old instructors, who haven't been outside of their academic realm in decades)...learning skills that won't really help you get a job.

Next semester she can take a graphic design course where students will use Exacto blades, a t-square, wax, a rapidiograph and art board. They can learn how to spec type and cut amberlith.

 

[ShaneF]

Dont know if you guys consider this spam.

Well its a shot in the dark but canon is giving away a a T5i fantasy pack on facebook, its a shot in a million but its worth entering. No better camera for her then a brand new free one right?

Canon Canada: Call your shot for a chance to win an EOS 70D Fantasy Kit!

 

[Derrel]

Oh, goodie--a positively delightful course in obsolescent film technology photography! How exciting! I do hope she has ample ink for her fountain pens, and plenty of new bobbysocks and hair nets for those coolish autumn days!

 

[Majeed Badizadegan]

ok perfect -- thanks for that feedback; I will also continue to look for more recent vintage examples of Nikon used cameras. There are also a lot of Canon 'rebel' cameras out on the used listings sites.

I saw a deal on a Nikon D3100 and lense for< $300:

Nikon D3100 14MP DSLR Camera w/ 18-55mm VR Lens (Refurbished) $300 + Free Shipping - eBay Deals, Coupons and Promosv

 

[pic_chick]

Also B&H has a good amount of used gear for sale online as well as ebay but always check the shutter count it is like mileage on a car. Low is best so can take the higher number better then others.

 

[chrisv2]

Oh, goodie--a positively delightful course in obsolescent film technology photography! How exciting! I do hope she has ample ink for her fountain pens, and plenty of new bobbysocks and hair nets for those coolish autumn days!

You know this is starting to sink in. Her math class requires a "slide rule (not cheap plastic, please!)" and the history book we had to get for her had a chapter called "The Ongoing Conflict in Vietnam".

I'm thinking this school might not have kept up on things like they should have.

To answer another question someone asked, I am not kidding I have not purchased a shred of clothing since 1998. Unless you count work boots.

 

[Derrel]

I have a fine, fine, advanced Pickett brand aluminum slide rule (with log and trig functions, etc) in its leather case...and the sliding hairline is accurate, true, and moves freely. PM me and we can talk pricing.

BTW, after reading your query earlier, I went down to my local specialty pawn shop, and looked at a D50. They had it at $149 body only, and I examined it...as I recalled, it felt better-made than the D40 and later models...more "solid". The viewfinder image was not that big, but the camera itself...not too shabby.

Goodwill Industries has affordable cameras, 35mm SLR bodies and a 50mm lens, often $19.95 here on the west coast. 35mm film camera prices for SLRs are VERY low theses days. Former $1,000 Canon and Nikon F100's sell for $100-$140, and they sell slooooooooowly.

 

[runnah]

To answer another question someone asked, I am not kidding I have not purchased a shred of clothing since 1998. Unless you count work boots.

No socks and undies for 15 years?

Eww.

 

[Gavjenks]

I guess that is part of the 'college experience'....taking obscure courses (from curmudgeonly old instructors, who haven't been outside of their academic realm in decades)...learning skills that won't really help you get a job. :roll:

College has never really all that directly been about "finding a job." Universities in their very first incarnations 800-900 years ago were more about acquiring knowledge and skills of learning largely speculatively, with the notion that being a learned person in general would help you be a better ruler or decision maker (since most people attending would be lords or clergy or very rich people making decisions and such). It's more in the spirit of basic inquiry and research without any particular application in mind.

They were not and have never predominantly been trade schools. Those have always been part of the mix (especially for professions like law and medicine), but not the entire mix, or even the majority of it.

Film classes for wonder and curiosity and gaining a new perspective on the world around you are thus very much in the spirit of what the college experience is SUPPOSED to be.

 

[texkam]

Film classes for wonder and curiosity and gaining a new perspective on the world around you are thus very much in the spirit of what the college experience is SUPPOSED to be.

Agreed, if they are presented as such and offered through the college of Fine Arts. I also think they should be the higher level course with the prerequisite being an entry level digital course where one learns the basics of light and how to manually control a camera.

 

[chrisv2]

To answer another question someone asked, I am not kidding I have not purchased a shred of clothing since 1998. Unless you count work boots.

No socks and undies for 15 years?

Eww.

You missed the first part of this thread, where this sub-topic was important. I have other people shop for me. I am neither capable nor interested in that task. Every month the nice lady who lives here leaves me some clothes with the demand 'try these on". Unless socks, etc...those she assumes she got right. :mrgreen:

Derrel I think I actually have the same slide rule somewhere! Nice white one in a tan leather case. And yes, I had the same thought...the local goodwill usually has a shelf full of decent old film cameras so that may end up were we go look

 

[kathyt]

Is this the only class they offer? Or do they have other choices. I am very practical. I would be more inclined to jump in the depths of digital. This class does not seem practical. I would want to get as much bang for my buck, and this would not be it.

 

[chrisv2]

Is this the only class they offer? Or do they have other choices. I am very practical. I would be more inclined to jump in the depths of digital. This class does not seem practical. I would want to get as much bang for my buck, and this would not be it.

I agree; unfortunately the digital courses are 300 level and have this (along with another non-digital!) as prerequisites...

Naturally the local community college has a similar intro course to this one, as well as a digital version - students can choose. :banghead: