Purchasing Advice - 35mm SLR Cameras

[cdanie11]

Hello everyone! I'm new here, thank you in advance for the advice.

I've been shooting 35mm film with my minolta X-370 for years now. I develop and print my images in a local community darkroom and I'm not really an equipment expert. I've been looking online for a new 35mm film camera in the $400 - $800 range now that I'm becoming more serious about my work. I'm interested in durability and ease of use. So far I have my sights on the Nikon F5, does anyone have any experience to share about that model? I see a very limited market with 35mm SLR cameras now online. I'm open to any and all suggestions, thank you!

 

[tirediron]

I have an F5; a great camera. It's solidly built, good AF, get's a lot of life out of a few AAs, and if you're attacked, you can easily beat someone to death with it!

 

[bsinmich]

Unless you are really looking to spend money you can find some great buys on E-Bay for used equipment. I was just looking this evening to get ana idea for selling 100 or so old cameras in my collection and was amazed at some of the deals on Nikon, Pentax, Minolta, etc.