Film Camera

coldrobba · 10-12-2007, 8:12 PM

Ok im going back in time and looking for a Film SLR camera, can any of you experts recommend one for me i am looking upto £80 and will be shooting most stuff with B&W film.

Just looking to get most bang for my $$$

Thanks

danburbridge · 10-12-2007, 9:06 PM

Plenty of great camera's to choose from

£80 should get you something reasonable with a decent 50mm lens

Something like an Olympus OM1n with a zuiko 50 1.8
Or you could go Pentax - get a k1000 + SMC 50 1.7 or even an old spotmatic - very classic

If you can afford to stretch a bit further you could try for an old Nikon or you could do what I did and get a Contax RTS + Zeiss 50 1.4 (was about £150 all in).

Absolutely stunning camera and lens - just a joy to use and once you look through that viewfinder you may well have trouble going back to the pokey dim little viewfinders in modern dslr's

Heres mine (no you cant have it

):

hongkonguk · 11-12-2007, 6:58 AM

I did the same thing recently and bought a Pentax P30T (not going too far back really-late 80's early 90's). It came with a 28-80mm zoom,which is to be expected when you only pay £25. I didn't expect to win the auction really,but was pleased when it arrived and was in great condition. Sometime in the new year I will get a decent 50mm low f-number lens for it and some nice film too.

Here is one from my first roll of film through it. Taken on a recent weekend away to Loch Lomond (very amateurish but I am still very much an amateur!)

danburbridge · 11-12-2007, 12:34 PM

https://secure.ffordes.com/Shop/Stor...=88215&promo=0

Something like that should serve you well - in budget - spend the rest on FILM

FFordes are pretty good with their descriptions - it is likely to be in very good condition.

sim667 · 11-12-2007, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danburbridge

like an Olympus OM1n with a zuiko 50 1.8

great camera

I want a mamiya rb67, but i cant afford one......

sim667 · 11-12-2007, 1:10 PM

should add its worth buying decent film and going to a decent processor too.

mg-paul · 11-12-2007, 1:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sim667

great camera

I want a mamiya rb67, but i cant afford one......

Funny I had a anti-digital moment a while back and bought a RZ67 (from the US) Haven't had much time to play with it but it does feel a lot more of a camera than a D80 ;-)

Worth looking at US auctions (on the big E) as they seem to be much less interested in 2nd hand kit than over here. But don't forget you will probably get hit by import duty ;-(

Liquid101 · 11-12-2007, 2:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sim667

I want a mamiya rb67, but i cant afford one......

I have one - make me an offer.

BrokenArrow · 11-12-2007, 3:16 PM

Does anyone know what a Canon EOS 500 would be worth? I was looking at selling mine. Maybe with the basic 35-80mm lens. I never had anything to compare it to but it did the job.

Pirate!! · 11-12-2007, 3:18 PM

Take a look at the Minolta 5000i or the better 7000i on eBay. Normally you'll get a lens or two . . which are fantasic if Minolta branded.

Check out this eBay number: 310004924950

I've just paid more for that exact lens on it's own.

theo cupier · 11-12-2007, 3:55 PM

This thread is making me think twice about selling my Canon AE-1!

I've seen a few go for £70-£100 on Ebay recently and was thinking that might help me move from a 400D to a 40D, now I'm wondering whether to keep it (and the lenses, tripod and filters) and not bother going digital (other than the Finepix 2800Z I've already got).

leaky5 · 11-12-2007, 4:28 PM

I was just thinking of putting my OM1n on Ebay, had it since new. Bought it when I was 14/15, I am 42 now !!.
It is difficult to know what to expect to get for it, they seem to vary quite a bit.
It has the Zuiko 1.8 50, a Zuiko 3.5 135, dedicated Sunpak flash, 2x convertor etc.

Trying to save up for my first DSLR.

lightpainter · 11-12-2007, 4:34 PM

Good God, do they still sell film?

danburbridge · 11-12-2007, 4:37 PM

leaky - if I were you I would avoid selling it - but save up for a Canon dSLR.

Now - before any Nikon/Pentax fanboys etc attack me - there is good reason for this.

Your OM mount lenses can be quite easily adapter to be used by Canon EOS/EF/EFS mount cameras (that includes all of their dSLR's). Mount adapters for the purpose are normally about £15

coldrobba · 11-12-2007, 4:51 PM

Wow I did not expect this much response looks like OM1N is a favourite amongst a few of you!

Mamiya RB67 Yeah i wish i had that much to blow!

I been trying to get as much info on these things since you been posting them up and even looked at a newer Film SLR compared to a few of these the Nikon F80. How does this compare or am i better going for something slightly older like the below ones you mentioned?

OM1n
Canon AE-1
Minolta 7000i
Contax RTS
Pentax K1000
Pentax P30T

It seems this is a bigger mine field than DSLR because we got over 100 years worth of equipment going on and all in budget!

Thanks again

danburbridge · 11-12-2007, 4:54 PM

You could well go with a more modern SLR (autofocus/autowinder etc) but it will force you to learn a lot more with an older manual SLR (also they tend to be made from metal rather than plastic and just feel nicer imo)

sim667 · 11-12-2007, 6:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liquid101

I have one - make me an offer.

If i had the money i would, unless you'll take a fiver

sim667 · 11-12-2007, 6:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leaky5

I was just thinking of putting my OM1n on Ebay, had it since new. Bought it when I was 14/15, I am 42 now !!.
It is difficult to know what to expect to get for it, they seem to vary quite a bit.
It has the Zuiko 1.8 50, a Zuiko 3.5 135, dedicated Sunpak flash, 2x convertor etc.

Trying to save up for my first DSLR.

Dont sell your OM1n, they'll be collectable in the not too distant future, pack it away nice with some silica gel in the box and take the batteries out.

You could always push the boat out and buy into the Leica R9 system, SLR and you can swap the backs between digital and film....... (if you've got about £9,000 spare).. Ive got 2 R6's and they are beautiful!!

for £30 you can pick up a good OM10, but the OM1n, Pentax K1000, if you wanted to spend extra the Nikon FM3a is worth while.....

Dont bother getting one with and auto winder etc.... at the age it will be for the money your talking about it will just break, with the old ones you can go to the little companies which is basically a man in his shed and get them fixed for next to nothing.

I've got a coupla websites its worth looking for, PM me and ill send you links, i dont want to post the links here for fear the mods will take me from behind....

If you want my real view get a 5X4 or 10X8 and a weston light meter and learn the proper way!

leaky5 · 12-12-2007, 7:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danburbridge

leaky - if I were you I would avoid selling it - but save up for a Canon dSLR.

Now - before any Nikon/Pentax fanboys etc attack me - there is good reason for this.

Your OM mount lenses can be quite easily adapter to be used by Canon EOS/EF/EFS mount cameras (that includes all of their dSLR's). Mount adapters for the purpose are normally about £15

Thanks for this, you learn something everyday.

Is a second hand EOS 20D (body only) at £350 a good price ?

coldrobba · 12-12-2007, 11:47 AM

Ok looking around at sites all over the place and the images produced I would be pretty happy with any of the following, so it just comes down to the best deal i can get on them.

Pentax K1000
Olympus OM1n
Minolta 7000i

So next question, what is the best quality film to put into these? B&W will be my first choice and which developers shine above and beyond the rest?

danburbridge · 12-12-2007, 11:55 AM

As to which film developer is best - thats a whole nother kettle of fish...

If you are going B+W - I would develop it yourself - its very simple and you should be able to pick up all the equipment you need for ~£20 off ebay (As everyone is going digital)

Best thing to do is to buy a couple of rolls of different film (7dayshop.com is VERY good for cheap film - both BW and colour) and see what takes your fancy.

I have been recently using Agfa APX100 (ISO100) in Ilford DDX and am pretty happy with that - also had good results with Ilford HP5+ (ISO400 - although you can push it to 1600 quite happily)

Kodak Tri-X also has a LOT of fans

it really is a case of suck it and see.

A good resource for development times is: http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html

Suits Me · 12-12-2007, 1:39 PM

For film camera use I prefer the rangefingers including the older ones.

If you can get a good example even the Russian 35mm ones can give v.good results and they're cheap too.

Taken with a Minox.

Habanero · 12-12-2007, 1:45 PM

One issue that you might wish to be wary of is that several of the cameras mentioned have foam seals. I've got a Contax 139 which was a contempory of the RTS model mentioned earlier in thread, and unfortunately the foam has rotted or perished with time. In some cases this can lead to light leakage.

danburbridge · 12-12-2007, 2:05 PM

light leakage may be a problem - however - its a VERY simple job to fix/fit new seals (new seals are about a tenner) - see here: http://www.mattdentonphoto.com/camer...als/index.html

As above - rangefinders are another good (cheap option - though they tend to come without lightmeters)

sim667 · 12-12-2007, 2:23 PM

Focusing a range finder can be quite awkward though, so if your not used to using cameras i would stick with and SLR for the mo.....

Filmwise i use ilford films, the do a pan x50 (50 iso), fp4 (125 iso), hp5 (400 iso)

the HP5 is a good quality reasonably priced daylight film, you can also process all the ilford films yourself using ID-11 or whatever you prefer. The only one you cant do is XP2 which is a C-41 process (normal colour process) (well you can do it yourself but its easier to go to a shop). The XP2 comes out with nice sepia colours too..... I think kodak tri x is a b+w c-41 too

Colour film wise i always used Kodak portra NC or VC, beautiful film although i believe fuji now do a rival. Fuji reala is also ok.

7dayshop is good but dont rely on it turning up in 7days.

If you need to know about printing and processing and stuff give me a shout!!

DJC013 · 12-12-2007, 3:11 PM

Hello !! I still have my Canon AE-1 Program, still gives good pictures now !! Regards Damian.

Brammers · 12-12-2007, 3:24 PM

Simon, one thing that noone's mentioned is that many of the SLRs will allow you to use their kit on DSLRs. If you're considering one of those, make sure your lineups match. Also be aware that 1980ish most of the brands changed their mount, in most cases the older lenses won't match anything anymore.

Off the top of my head:

Canon FD - no forwards compatability.
Canon EF - works fine with modern Canons.

Nikon - never really changed it? And therefore even really old Nikkors fit to high level Nikons?

Minolta MD - converts easily to 4/3 mount
Minolta AF - works perfectly on KM/Sony DSLRs

Olympus OM - apparantly converts easily to Canon AF

Pentax - never changed their mount. All Pentax lenses fit all pentax cams (going forwards at least)

m42 - any lens with an M42 mount will mount very easily to any modern Camera.

Quick provisos, some DSLRs will allow you to use (e.g. meter with) the old, manual lenses, some won't. Generally the further you get up the range, the better the compatability, e.g. Nikon D40 can't make use of anything, D80 makes limited use, D200 and up you get full functions. But there are exceptions - Sony's A100 lets you use everything, so does their A700.

When I say use everything... Don't expect auto aperture control or auto-focus on lenses that never had it (again, exceptions, manual focus Minoltas can be used with a very rare converter that gave them auto-focus and auto-aperture) You'll have to manually focus and use something called 'stop-down metering' - you manually close the aperture blades and the camera makes the exposure based on the light actually coming through, rather than holding the blades open (so you can actually see...) and then calculating how much light will come through should you close the blades to whatever size.

Did you ever say that you wanted a really old school 50s camera? Film is sooooooooo cheap now, I got a Dynax 7, one of the best film cameras ever made with AF that features the kind of double cross sensor that's only just made its way back into the latest round of 40D/A700, eye-start and auto-rotating LCDs still missing from most contemporary models and muti-segment exposure preview that you can't even get today for a mere £120. People are giving these things away. Why don't you get something that was pretty modern in say 2000, but got rendered obselete overnight with digital? Use it manually if you want to, and if you get something decent you'll find the build quality is still there, my 7 is much tougher and better put together than my 7D.

Finally, quick reccomendation, if you're happy buying into the Alpha mount, an 800si + 24-50/4 will get you a fully zoomable flash head(!), autofocus that beats the pants off a 400D/D40 etc, wireless flash capability, 5fps shooting (although that gets expensive with film) and a very solid build quality (back in the days of film it was a step up from a £700 Alpha 700) for around £80. The lens is solid.

I feel you on the film thing - I started with digital and have just begun to mess around with film, it's got a certain look to it that can be really tough to achieve in PP, and it's got tons of exposure latitude which comes in really handy for certain situations. I got myself an old Nikon coolscan II for £60 which deals fine with B&W and I'm away with ilford FP4 £2 per roll

Brammers · 12-12-2007, 3:29 PM

quick PS - I could very well be wrong on many of those lens mounts above, it's all off the top of my head. Feel free to correct me!

Brammers · 12-12-2007, 3:34 PM

Final, final PS, here's 2 on ebay now:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MINOLTA-DYNAX-...QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MINOLTA-DYNAX-...QQcmdZViewItem

The one that comes as a package comes with a 35-80 that's reasonably highly regarded - would certainly do you fine for starters. Can't say I'd bother with that 2x teleconverter on the 70-210 though...

BananaTiger · 12-12-2007, 5:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danburbridge

light leakage may be a problem - however - its a VERY simple job to fix/fit new seals (new seals are about a tenner) - see here: http://www.mattdentonphoto.com/camer...als/index.html

I had the same problem with my yashica rangefinder from eBay. I got the light seal kit from a guy called interslice which is mentioned in the above site, and I was very impressed with the stuff I received. You get loads of foam, a handy wooden tool, and the guy gives some very good instructions. I redone my light-seals in an evening and it was pretty straight-forward. Highly recommended.