Recommend a 35mm Camera

keith204 · Aug 20, 2008

Well, the shutter is quiet, but it wiggles the camera a little when using my small 50 f/1.4.

Alrighty, eBay has the EOS-3's for right around $200 used for most of them on there. KEH has "LN-" ones for $350, and "BGN" ones for $175. I am familiar with the KEH terms, but I am guessing that a better buy would be ebay's rigs if I'm trying to stay in the $200 range. Opinions?

I guess my options are:

KEH
- LN- $350
- EX+ $275
- EX $235
- BGN $172
eBay $200

Too many options. I'm leaning towards the KEH EX for $235. What would you do?

Bifurcator · Aug 20, 2008

I think shutter-shake is a problem an all 35mm SLR film cameras. I never met one that was immune.

EDIT: The solution of course is just to use a faster shutter speed. I can't remember the specific results from old tests done in the photo magazines but I think the cut off for shutter-shake was around 125 on most cameras without lens. The heavier the camera and lens the better.

usayit · Aug 20, 2008

or mirror lockup for those long exposures.

keith204 · Aug 20, 2008

oh it was really not a big deal. I just noticed that the camera being so light, and the shutter so big, when shooting at 1/60 in low light, the camera 'moved' a bit when the shutter actuated. No photos from the roll had a shake blur...it's just something I noticed while shooting. I figure that a heavier body will shake a bit less.

monkeykoder · Aug 20, 2008

keith204 said:
and waiting for them to get developed.

I don't understand... Last time I checked it only took about 30 min to develop film printing is what took up all the time.

Bifurcator · Aug 20, 2008

keith204 said:
oh it was really not a big deal. I just noticed that the camera being so light, and the shutter so big, when shooting at 1/60 in low light, the camera 'moved' a bit when the shutter actuated. No photos from the roll had a shake blur...it's just something I noticed while shooting. I figure that a heavier body will shake a bit less.

Yup. Weight or a massive tripod will kill it too. I have 3/4" steel plate around here somewhere that came off of a studio stand kinda like these: http://harrysproshop.com/Tripods/Studio_Stands/studio_stands.html but where the center support pole was about 18" thick and I'm sure weighed 200 lbs. or more. The plate weighs about 10 or 12 lbs. and fits between the cam and pod. It worked good for night shots with the light-weight olympus film cameras.

keith204 · Aug 20, 2008

monkeykoder said:
I don't understand... Last time I checked it only took about 30 min to develop film printing is what took up all the time.

I'll assume sarcasm...

monkeykoder · Aug 20, 2008

Sarcasm have you never worked in a darkroom? Most fun a man can have with his clothes off.

keith204 · Aug 20, 2008

monkeykoder said:
Sarcasm have you never worked in a darkroom? Most fun a man can have with his clothes off.

haha no I haven't, but want to bad. The university here has a darkroom, and I will try to get in there.

Update - I am buying the EOS ELAN II from my brother-in-law. It's the one I am using now...great condition.

Anyway, I'm paying $225 (or less) for the following package

EOS ELAN II Body w/ battery
28-80 USM f/3.5-5.6 w/ UV filter
Canon 75-300 f/4.5-5.6 USM w/ hood & uv filter
Promaster flash
Promaster hotshoe adapter

He said he'd like $225, but would sell it to me for less. I'm guessing it'll be closer to $200 for the setup. So, my goal is to sell the 28-80, 75-300, flash, and hotshoe adapter for more than $125 total. I'll probably piece them separately, we'll see what happens.

usayit · Aug 21, 2008

Cool....

btw... battery grip improves handling a lot (at least for me). Second shutter button and allows the use of AAs which will add a tad more weight.

keith204 · Aug 21, 2008

usayit said:
Cool....

btw... battery grip improves handling a lot (at least for me). Second shutter button and allows the use of AAs which will add a tad more weight.

I take back what I said last post. Turns out he wants to keep the 75-300, so I will just buy the ELAN II for $75. Regardless, this thing is in great condition and surely doesn't have a high shutter count.

I could see myself getting an EOS-3 sometime if this film thing sticks for awhile.

usayit · Aug 21, 2008

great price... enjoy film and put away a few bucks every month. By the time you feel that you outgrew the Elan, you'll have cash for something better.

keith204 · Aug 21, 2008

usayit said:
great price... enjoy film and put away a few bucks every month. By the time you feel that you outgrew the Elan, you'll have cash for something better.

Shoot, here we go again. Please help.

I don't think I'll end up getting the EOS Elan II from him, as he is realizing the need to sell the kit as a package rather than trying to sell the promaster flash, hotshoe, and 28-80 by themselves.

Here's the question... KEH has a ELAN IIE QuartzDate for $65 in EX+ condition. Can the quartzdate feature be turned OFF so I don't have the date on the photo? Also, can I disregard the "E" eye controlled feature?

Big Mike · Aug 21, 2008

Yes, the quartz date can be turned off...it may already have a dead battery as it takes a separate watch type battery. And yes, the eye-controlled-focus can be turned off as well.

keith204 · Aug 21, 2008

Big Mike said:
Yes, the quartz date can be turned off...it may already have a dead battery as it takes a separate watch type battery. And yes, the eye-controlled-focus can be turned off as well.

Thanks for the quick reply, Big Mike. After some quick googling, it appears that the QD function only will work until the year 2019 anyway!

From specs here