1 camera, 5 choices

[Arklatexian]

Olympus OM2 with 50mm 1.8 Zuiko small fast bright VF. I have the OMG and it is going with me everywhere

I agree with you, Terry. Especially if it is an OM2n. Mine is easy to use and dependable. I would try to get fresh batteries before I left (just in case)..........Regards!

 

[mshchem]

Oly

 

[blockend]

Unless you're backpacking, take a spare. Experience has taught me that no matter how reliable an old film camera is, it will choose the most inconvenient time to give up the ghost. If weight really matters I'd go for the lightest, no question.

 

[nsurit]

Olympus OM 2. Not seeing any reason to own the other 4, I don't. Seriously, the one with which you feel most comfortable.

 

[unclejeffie]

Decided; going with the Nikon FE, as my girlfriend is taking her digital with her, I might shoot some shots with her 24mm then.

 

[flavio81]

Decided; going with the Nikon FE, as my girlfriend is taking her digital with her, I might shoot some shots with her 24mm then.

Great choice! That's what i brought to my trip to Maccu Picchu: A nikon FE and a nikon FG. I carried both on me at all times. Very light.

 

[cliveh]

Pentax K1000 with the 50mm.

+1 Built like a tank.

 

[cooltouch]

Of the five cameras you listed, for me personally it's a no-brainer. The Nikon FE. I'm glad to see you agree. I really like its match needle metering in manual mode.

 

[RichardJack]

I'd go with the Nikon. The FE2 or FA would be a better choice. But in the price range of the FE I'd rather have a Nikkormat FT3, it's the last of the Nikkormats and uses AI lenses. You'd likely find one with a K version 50mm f2, which IMO is better than a series E. It is built better than an FE and less likely to have any trouble. There is a huge amount of Nikon AI & AIs lenses out there , you could easly build up a nice system. I own Olympus, Pentax, while they are all good cameras the Nikon is the way to go.

 

[removed account4]

+1 Built like a tank.

+3

 

[benjiboy]

If a person can't even make a decision like this, how does he decide when to press the shutter release ?.

 

[ruilourosa]

It´s all the same man!!! take none, you do not deserve to take pictures... enjoy your holidays though!

 

[mrosenlof]

probably doesn't matter. Pick the lens you want, and then the interchangable film holder/shutter that fits that lens.

 

[pentaxuser]

Are we still talking to the OP, unclejeffie, or each other? His post was started on 31 August and it is now 5 November. He must have been on his holiday.

I wonder what camera he took and now he has had his holiday what his thoughts are on his decision?

pentaxuser

 

[ruilourosa]

Nonsense questions are timeless...

 

[flavio81]

It is not on his list, but for a trip i would probably pack a Pentax Spotmatic. The takumar lenses are very compact and light, just like OM-Zuiko lenses but better built and better looking. The Spotmatic is an extremely reliable camera, remember that for practical purposes it was an alternative to the Nikon F back in the sixties, and from what i've read here at APUG, it was also a choice of war photographers in Vietnam. The camera itself is small, light and very ergonomic.

The OP listed the K1000 but I regard the K1000 as a stripped-down version of the Spotmatic F with inferior build quality and finish.

 

[cliveh]

In what way is the K1000 an inferior build quality and finish to a Spotmatic?

 

[frank]

In what way is the K1000 an inferior build quality and finish to a Spotmatic?

They were designed and built to different price points, I believe. K1000 is more budget oriented.

 

[cliveh]

They were designed and built to different price points, I believe. K1000 is more budget oriented.

That doesn’t answer my question. What do you mean by price points? Is this inferior metal, more plastic components, less tolerance? Please explain.

 

[frank]

That doesn’t answer my question. What do you mean by price points? Is this inferior metal, more plastic components, less tolerance? Please explain.

Yes, I believe so. Sorry if you're committed to the K1000 and this hurts your feelings. Look at any camera brand that contains more expensive and less expensive models. The difference is in design and price point. The K1000 is a perfectly fine camera, just not top of the line. Camera companies are smart to offer choices within their brand in order to satisfy different types of customers.

 

[flavio81]

In what way is the K1000 an inferior build quality and finish to a Spotmatic?

It was the budget model in the "K" series of camera, while the Spotmatic was (in the mid 60s) the top model from Asahi Pentax. Also, at some point in time the production of the K1000 was shifted to japan to China with a bit of reduction in build quality.

Sorry to burst the myth, the K1000 is perhaps the most overrated 35mm manual focus camera. It is a perfectly fine camera, but it is ridiculous that even today a K1000 on the secondhand market is more expensive than a -for example- K2 and KX, directly comparable and superior. Or sometimes more expensive than a Canon FTb, a superior camera in all respects.

-- end of my rant --

I love the spotmatics, by the way.

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

It was the budget model in the "K" series of camera, while the Spotmatic was (in the mid 60s) the top model from Asahi Pentax. Also, at some point in time the production of the K1000 was shifted to japan to China with a bit of reduction in build quality.

Sorry to burst the myth, the K1000 is perhaps the most overrated 35mm manual focus camera. It is a perfectly fine camera, but it is ridiculous that even today a K1000 on the secondhand market is more expensive than a -for example- K2 and KX, directly comparable and superior. Or sometimes more expensive than a Canon FTb, a superior camera in all respects.

-- end of my rant --

I love the spotmatics, by the way.

Its all about offer/demand, not related to quality or better build. K1000 seems to get more demand so higher prices. Fine and dependable camera (I think I got 2 of them) but not my favorite; even so, I dont think it is overrated at all; it fulfill its pourpose very good, do what its supposed to do, nothing more nothing less. Dont have any bells and whistles, just the basics, but then again, so does Leica MP

 

[mklw1954]

Are you really too weak to carry around a little extra weight with the Konica? Great lens.
As others have said, just pick one.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Not long ago I asked a knowledgeable person, someone who's been repairing cameras since the 1980's, why K1000's are favored by schools and cost $100 while far superior Nikkormat is $15 but not on demand. He said Nikon lenses were the reason: too much demand so overall cost us higher.

 

[ruilourosa]

Maybe a MX could be the direct descendant of the spotmatic....