Looking to buy a film SLR.

Duckys54

Here's the story. My friend, Josh, is going to go get a film SLR with his mom sometime this week. She's going to buy it used, and would like the cheapest. Josh has told me they are going to the Ntl. Camera Exchange. Any cameras you would recommened? He is just a beginner and is just starting to learn.

Swartzy

I'd recommend a Canon AE-1
Standard or Program. Most are very very inexpensive now. Even the glass (FD's) can be had for a song. Sold all my equipment a while ago...broke my heart but I knew I wouldn't shoot film any longer. My nickle's worth...

Duckys54

Swartzy wrote:

Standard or Program. Most are very very inexpensive now. Even the glass (FD's) can be had for a song. Sold all my equipment a while ago...broke my heart but I knew I wouldn't shoot film any longer. My nickle's worth...

Probably should get standard, so he can get better at focusing and understanding ISO, f stops, the aperture, etc.

At least that's what I think

ziggy53

I highly recommend purchasing from either KEH, B and H or Adorama for used equipment. They have a rating system and method of return/exchange if anything goes wrong. I am testing KEH's system as we speak. (Defective lens)

As for brand, don't forget the Pentax K1000. If you can find a late model one, they stopped selling in 1997, it should be in pretty good shape. Otherwise, be careful about shutter, film advance and seals on any older camera.

If you have the opportunity to purchase in person, take someone with experience using older equipment. They should be familiar with what a good shutter "sounds" like and what the film advance "feels" like.

If you decide that used is not for you, you can buy a brand new film canera for not too much. A brand new Vivitar V3800N, from B and H is $140USD with a fairly good 50mm lens. It uses Pentax K-mount lenses, and it can even be used without batteries, if you want the totally "raw" learning experience of a full manual camera and no exposure meter. (This also makes it a pretty good extreme cold weather camera.)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=232175&is=REG&addedTroughType=search



If you want autofocus and zoom, look at the Minolta Maxxum 50 QD, Canon EOS Rebel K2, Nikon N55 or Pentax ZX-60, all under $200USD.

Minolta Maxxum 50 QD
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=319854&is=USA&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

Canon EOS Rebel K2
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=371190&is=USA&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

Nikon N55
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=247088&is=USA&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

Pentax ZX-60
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=246131&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

ziggy53

Barefoot and Natural

I actually have a slr film camera that I do not use at all and it has a Canon 35-80mm f/1.4

It is a Canon EOS Rebel X

It is about 7 years old and looks and functions like brand new.

Let me know if you are intrested

DifferentSeed

Don't forget ebay - there's still some deals to be found there! I found a late model Pentax, like the one ziggy53 mentioned, for $150 shipping and it also had 3 lenses, a case, etc, etc. And it was BRAND NEW! It was over 10 years old but brand new. The sprockets were not even worn from film moving through it.

If you do hop on ebay be sure to use advance search features to search for auctions by people who can't spell - it's how I found my "PentaK" with zero bids right up until the end. Good luck!

Duckys54

Well he got the camera this evening and he got this:

GraphyFotoz

That's a great camera to start with Duck!!
At one time my Wife had one of those and I had a X700.
We would swap lenses when we went shooting.
Pretty much what I learned on till I got my Canon A-1!

henryp

There's an X370s owner's manual online at http://www.thehutch.org/manuals/X-370_User.pdf in case one didn't come with the camera. They're also available at http://ca.konicaminolta.com/support/manuals/film-cameras/film_mf_slr/index.html.

ziggy53

henryp wrote:

There's an X370s owner's manual online at http://www.thehutch.org/manuals/X-370_User.pdf in case one didn't come with the camera. They're also available at http://ca.konicaminolta.com/support/manuals/film-cameras/film_mf_slr/index.html.

Thanks Henry, it's greatly appreciated.

ziggy53

Art Scott

That X370 is an excellent camera....used one years ago for shooting weddings....kept getting flack cause it wasn't a "PRO" camera...however the pics were tack sharp......it should serve your friend well with a little loving care..

marlof

I still have my X700, I've always really liked using it. I've put in a fresh roll of film a week ago, since my DSLR is in repair and I went nuts with nothing to shoot. But whereas I shoot about 300 images per month with the DSLR, I only shot 15 so far with the SLR. Somehow, you immediately get that "make every shot count" feel back. I am worried a bit about the state of the X700, since the metering gives me weird results. It'll be fun getting that film developed.