SLR for a 10yo?

Proteus617 · Jul 11, 2007

My youngest wants a film SLR. I'd like to spend $50 or less. I'm looking at everything from Mamiya 35mms to A series Cannons or even an older Rebel. Something cheap enough to be disposable that she wouldn't have to stress about. Manual focus is cool. A good meter with a few metering modes; spot or center weighted so she can learn about exposure. Full control over ap and shutter, that sort of thing. Any ideas? Change from the 50 would go toward a tripod.

Big Mike · Jul 11, 2007

Pentax K1000, Canon AE-1...there are plenty to choose from. An early rebel might be neat because it offers Autofocus...but that means more things to break and the lenses are more expensive.

Mitica100 · Jul 11, 2007

Proteus617 said:
My youngest wants a film SLR. I'd like to spend $50 or less. I'm looking at everything from Mamiya 35mms to A series Cannons or even an older Rebel. Something cheap enough to be disposable that she wouldn't have to stress about. Manual focus is cool. A good meter with a few metering modes; spot or center weighted so she can learn about exposure. Full control over ap and shutter, that sort of thing. Any ideas? Change from the 50 would go toward a tripod.

There are so many SLRs on sale at Ebay!... Don't discount the Fujicas, Minolta, Olympus and Ricoh cameras as well. I have several of those that are still great picture takers.

blackdoglab · Jul 11, 2007

Get a pentax kmount body. There are a ton out there from a bunch of different companies (pentax, ricoh, chinon, cosina, vivitar, etc)

Sw1tchFX · Jul 11, 2007

I suggest a Nikon FM or FE, or any of the older Nikon F's.

I started out with an FE, and used AF lenses on it, even though they don't autofocus on it. When I moved up to more advanced bodies, I was able to still use the lenses, and the extra functions they could do. same went for speedlights.

The Nikon system is almost fully compatible with itself going back to about 1959. That means that any Nikon lens with an aperture ring can be used on any nikon camera. That can save you and/or your son alot of money down the road if you play your cards right.

blackdoglab · Jul 11, 2007

Now that I think about it, get 'im a Zenit. They're simple, stripped down, and built like a tank. I know I'm biased, but I love mine and it's been the most reliable camera I've used. They take pentax screwmount lenses, which seem to be everywhere and are dirt cheap. If yer searchin' on ebay, get it from a seller in north america or the united kingdom. I don't really trust many of the russian ebay camera sellers. What's more, if it's from north america or the u.k. it probably went through T.O.E (a british company) and will be very reliable.

ksmattfish · Jul 11, 2007

blackdoglab said:
Get a pentax kmount body. There are a ton out there from a bunch of different companies (pentax, ricoh, chinon, cosina, vivitar, etc)

I started out with a Ricoh KR-5 and Pentax lenses. KR-5's are very similar to a K-1000, and go for under $30 on Ebay.

Mitica100 · Jul 11, 2007

Either that or click

Minoltas are pretty darn good as well. This one is exactly $49.99

Don Simon · Jul 11, 2007

'Obsolete' lens mounts are definitely a good way to get great glass and bodies cheap... Minolta manual, Canon FD, and of course the Olympus OM system...

I saw an Olympus OM4 in a shop the other day going for a fraction of the price it cost even last year... if only I hadn't just dropped a whole lot of money on other stuff... I definitely need a criminal career to support this hobby :lol:

... yes completely off-topic, sorry

blackdoglab · Jul 11, 2007

Yahoo!!! Olympus lenses are great. I had an om-10 that was great to use. They're not all manual, but you can find a buttload of 'em on ebay. I've seen a lot of om-1 and om-2 bodies as well. (if he's interested in an all manual all mechanical camera)

usayit · Jul 11, 2007

I'd probably recommend some older Autofocus and Program mode camera from Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Minolta or pentax. I know it is counter to what we would consider a student camera but I remember being a little impatient when I was 10. At that age... you are less of a student and more of an experimentor... testing the waters of various things to help discover your interests. I think it would be nice to start him/her out with something that they can pickup and immediately start shooting (AF/Program mode) to help spark the interest in photography. I'm thinking "training wheels"... If and when they mature a little they may (or maynot) progress into a more serious student in photography and the technical details of working a manual will be natural.

THen again.. I"m biased.... I started when I was 11 and I had my fathers full auto everything Minolta 7000 (which btw is a good camera too). Progressed to an ElanIIe then backwards in time to Pentax Spotmatics and K1000 SE (which eventually grew into a collection).

jstuedle · Jul 11, 2007

When I taught my grandson a couple years ago, I used a Nikkormat with a 50mm f/2.0. Can be had cheap, built like a tank but all manual. I always thought that if a kid has the interest, teach them all manual down to the hand held light meter. It will stick with them like glue.

nealjpage · Jul 12, 2007

I still vote for the K1000. It's manual, but the light meter is really handy and, i think, helps teach f-stop/shutter speed pretty well. Just me. Also, they're cheap, and glass is inexpensive, too. I bought one of my K1000s on eBay for $25. 50mm SMC lens, 150mm Tokina lens, lens bag, and some filters.

Steph · Jul 12, 2007

The very cheap option would be a Praktica with a M42 screwmount. They are sturdy and there are hundreds of cheap M42 lenses available. With such a camera you have to use stop-down metering, which is a good way to easily understand the relationships between aperture/amount of light hitting the film and aperture/depth of field.

Paul Ron · Jul 12, 2007

I started my kids n my Cub Scouts with Nikon N65 or N70 autofocus auto exposure cameras. You cna find these with a basic zoom for about $100 these days with all the digital dumping.

As they get great shots I'd explain how they can get better compositions and develope their eye before bogging them down with all the manual controls and DOF. It's easier for a kid to be discouraged when their imporatant pictures are coming out under or over exposed. As adults we understand our mistakes and can accept negative feedback, kids don't and need lots of posative reinforcement.

have fun!

So you let the kids have fun and enjoy photogrpahy first, then as they get older, they can advance to more control in a manual camera.