Absolute best bang-for-the-buck AF 35mm setup?

[BMbikerider]

For my Nikons I have

Nikon f/2.5 20mm to 35mm AF-D zoom lens
Nikon f/3.8 28mm to 200mm AF-D zoom lens
Tamron f/3.8 28mm to 300mm AF-D zoom lens
Nikon f/2.5 28mm PC lens preset f/stop, manual focus
Nikon f/2.5 20mm AF-D lens
Nikon f/2.5 24mm AF-D lens
Nikon f/2.8 28mm AF-D lens
Nikon f/2.8 35mm AF-D lens
​

I use the top three the most. All the reset I bought because they were so inexpensive and because they are much lighter than the 20mm to 35mm lens. This gives me choices depending how I am travelling and not taking the Hasselblad, so more relaxed shooting, more for fun and traveling with friends so I cannot take as much time.

I doubt very much if the 20 to 35 was ever made as a F2.5 they were all 2.8 constant

 

[Sirius Glass]

Apart from the easily broken, now irreplaceable, flimsy plastic back door, that will go sticky after a period of use. That includes normal use, not abuse and clicking the back shut but will not stop the inherent stick back which can be cleaned using alcohol but it will come back. It also affects the operation of the dial on the back that is used to reposition the zone of focus.

I had the stickiness. A little rubbing alcohol and a Gin Martini took care of that. Actually a Gin Martinus because I only had one.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I doubt very much if the 20 to 35 was ever made as a F2.5 they were all 2.8 constant

Multiple typos f/2.8

 

[MultiFormat Shooter]

My last Nikons were the F3P and FG, when I check Ebay seems that the F4, pro level body are going for less than the F100, other than the F100 will work with G lens, what is the advantage of a F100 over a F4?

The auto-focus system, on the F100, is leaps-and-bounds ahead of the auto-focus on the F4. If you photograph action, you will notice a difference. The F100 also supports the vibration reduction (VR) feature on lenses so equipped.

 

[Paul Howell]

In terms of best bang for buck, then a F5, not much than the F100, pro build, uses AA batteries, will work with D and G, although OP is looking for AF, the option for MF lens in stopped down metering. Down side, it seems to be heavy, as heavy as my Minolta 9 and not much lighter than the 9000 with motor drive and 12 AAs.

 

[Sirius Glass]

The auto-focus system, on the F100, is leaps-and-bounds ahead of the auto-focus on the F4. If you photograph action, you will notice a difference. The F100 also supports the vibration reduction (VR) feature on lenses so equipped.

That plus it used AA batteries and more bang for the buck than the F5, unless you need to add weight lifting to your physical fitness program.

 

[BMbikerider]

I had the stickiness. A little rubbing alcohol and a Gin Martini took care of that. Actually a Gin Martinus because I only had one.

I will go along with the alcohol for the backing but the focussing zone lock on mine is sticky internally and whilst it is still working I will let the proverbial 'sleeping dog lie' I only ever use the central point on which it is set so I have no problems with that.

I was also surprised when I bought mine the battery pack was not the usual AA batteries but 2 x CR2's exactly like the F80 and F6. I was nor aware that there were different options.

 

[radiant]

I had the stickiness. A little rubbing alcohol and a Gin Martini took care of that. Actually a Gin Martinus because I only had one.

Hand sanitizer gel and toothbrush did wonders for my Dynax 7. I didn't have Gin Martini but was still delighted.

 

[L_E_Miller]

A mint Canon Eos 55, 28-90 kit lens, 17mm Vivitar series 1 and a faded Lambretta shoulder bag all for under £100 , and a set up that gave me a lot of fun and decent, for me, photos. The best build in this price range surely is the F90x, with a lens ,for under £100. The F80 is excellent and the F100 is superb, but Mr. Glass, many careful owners have experienced the rear door problem with an age-expired plastic catch. In the main it is not their fault. Mr. Huss, we are lucky to own the F6, I had to sell my F5 to finance the deal and my old camera was the real pro machine but the F6 will be with me to the end.

I was able to score a EOS 55 with the 28-70 3.5-4.5 for 30 dollars + shipping last year. The pano feature is a gimmick but its a fun little tool to make you look at your compositions with -- had a lovely time taking it around the Pacific North West

 

[PeteGM]

Thanks again for all of the good discussion. For those of you keeping score, I decided to keep scouring ebay and ended up winning an F100 with MB-15 grip that "wouldn't power up" for less than $80. Seller told me it might be because of battery corrosion on one of the terminals of the battery insert. It arrived today, and after about 3 minutes of scurbbing with alcohol wipes and a small blade, I popped in some new AAs and it turned on with no problem. Fired a bunch of shots in each mode and everything seems to be operating A-OK. Couple more minutes scrubbing the stickiness mostly off and I was more than happy that I listened to all you folks praising the F100. Feels great in the hand! I'll probably end up flipping the grip because I've never really felt the need for them, ending up with a a solid camera for about fifty bucks.

I've got my eyes on a few of the older Sigma (pre-Art Series) primes, and if I snag them I'll have more capability than I'll ever need, at a mere fraction of the original MSRP. Really excited to start running some film through this thing!

 

[Sirius Glass]

Thanks again for all of the good discussion. For those of you keeping score, I decided to keep scouring ebay and ended up winning an F100 with MB-15 grip that "wouldn't power up" for less than $80. Seller told me it might be because of battery corrosion on one of the terminals of the battery insert. It arrived today, and after about 3 minutes of scurbbing with alcohol wipes and a small blade, I popped in some new AAs and it turned on with no problem. Fired a bunch of shots in each mode and everything seems to be operating A-OK. Couple more minutes scrubbing the stickiness mostly off and I was more than happy that I listened to all you folks praising the F100. Feels great in the hand! I'll probably end up flipping the grip because I've never really felt the need for them, ending up with a a solid camera for about fifty bucks.

I've got my eyes on a few of the older Sigma (pre-Art Series) primes, and if I snag them I'll have more capability than I'll ever need, at a mere fraction of the original MSRP. Really excited to start running some film through this thing!

I hope you enjoy your F100 even more than I have.

 

[Autonerd]

As a Minolta fan, my first inclination was something in the Maxxum family.

As usual, I am w-a-a-a-a-y late to the party, and popped in to say you are right -- as a cheap-camera aficionado, I think it doesn't get any better than Minolta AF. I've bought a 400si body for $12 (needed it for parts and it turned out to be working) and a Maxxum 5 and kit lens for less than $17. I spent more on batteries and film for it! I wrote about that one for DPReview.
Aaron

 

[PeteGM]

As usual, I am w-a-a-a-a-y late to the party, and popped in to say you are right -- as a cheap-camera aficionado, I think it doesn't get any better than Minolta AF. I've bought a 400si body for $12 (needed it for parts and it turned out to be working) and a Maxxum 5 and kit lens for less than $17. I spent more on batteries and film for it! I wrote about that one for DPReview.
Aaron

Hah I read that review while I was on my quest! The 5 and the 50 f/1.7 would have probably been the proper answer to my question as I posed it: the actual best bang for the buck. Only thing missing was two command wheels. I hate shooting with 2 wheels when using lenses that don't have aperture rings.

And then of course, like every other time I've told myself I "don't need something that expensive," GAS creeped in and I ended up with the F100 and plans to buy a few old mid-level primes, bringing my total expenditures to probably around $500. Not horrible in the grand scheme of things but much worse than the "$100 for an entire system" that I was hoping to spend.

Funny thing is, I think I'm still going to add a Minolta system. I mean with some smart shopping you can get the 50 f/1.7, the legendary 70-210 beer can, and one of the well-regarded zooms like the 35-70 f/4 or 35-105 plus a decent body for about $100. That's such a crazy value that I feel like I still have to do it.

 

[Paul Howell]

If you are thinking about a Minolta, how about the 9000, first generation pro level camera, only manual advance AF pro level body, then add the motor drive, takes 12 AA batteries, listed as 5.5 FPS, with Lithium AA I think closer to 7. The body takes 2 double AAs. It is a fine match with the 70 to 200 beer can and 35 to 70. I have 3, one I keep for parts, the other 2 are pretty good shooters as long as you can live with first generation AF.

 

[mshchem]

Thanks again for all of the good discussion. For those of you keeping score, I decided to keep scouring ebay and ended up winning an F100 with MB-15 grip that "wouldn't power up" for less than $80. Seller told me it might be because of battery corrosion on one of the terminals of the battery insert. It arrived today, and after about 3 minutes of scurbbing with alcohol wipes and a small blade, I popped in some new AAs and it turned on with no problem. Fired a bunch of shots in each mode and everything seems to be operating A-OK. Couple more minutes scrubbing the stickiness mostly off and I was more than happy that I listened to all you folks praising the F100. Feels great in the hand! I'll probably end up flipping the grip because I've never really felt the need for them, ending up with a a solid camera for about fifty bucks.

I've got my eyes on a few of the older Sigma (pre-Art Series) primes, and if I snag them I'll have more capability than I'll ever need, at a mere fraction of the original MSRP. Really excited to start running some film through this thing!

SCORE!

 

[Huss]

Thanks again for all of the good discussion. For those of you keeping score, I decided to keep scouring ebay and ended up winning an F100 with MB-15 grip that "wouldn't power up" for less than $80. Seller told me it might be because of battery corrosion on one of the terminals of the battery insert. It arrived today, and after about 3 minutes of scurbbing with alcohol wipes and a small blade, I popped in some new AAs and it turned on with no problem. Fired a bunch of shots in each mode and everything seems to be operating A-OK. Couple more minutes scrubbing the stickiness mostly off and I was more than happy that I listened to all you folks praising the F100. Feels great in the hand! I'll probably end up flipping the grip because I've never really felt the need for them, ending up with a a solid camera for about fifty bucks.

I've got my eyes on a few of the older Sigma (pre-Art Series) primes, and if I snag them I'll have more capability than I'll ever need, at a mere fraction of the original MSRP. Really excited to start running some film through this thing!

You should be able to get a Nikon 50 1.8D lens cheap, and those are excellent w any AF Nikon SLR. Film or digital.

 

[ic-racer]

My best bang for buck was my Nikon f55. Cost $7 from KEH ten years ago. It looked brand new.
Though every time I set out to get another, they are not $7 any more and I wind up spending a few dollars more and get another f75.

 

[xtolsniffer]

Nikon F90. Almost an F100 but way cheaper. The common sticky back issue keeps the prices down but just clean the yuk off with alcohol.

 

[Nicklop]

Point and shooters

 

[macfred]

I would go with the Nikon EM and a few E series lenses : Series E 50mm/1,8, Series E 100mm/2.8, Series E 75-150mm/3.5. For a wide angle I would say Nikkor 28mm/2.8Ais.

 

[Huss]

I would go with the Nikon EM and a few E series lenses : Series E 50mm/1,8, Series E 100mm/2.8, Series E 75-150mm/3.5. For a wide angle I would say Nikkor 28mm/2.8Ais.

Not an autofocus camera.

 

[macfred]

Not an autofocus camera.

You're right - I have to search my spectacles ...

 

[AndroclesC]

I highly recommend the F100 (and I'm primarily a Canon shooter!) because it does everything well and it's a joy to handle. The N80 (F80) is a great camera but it reacts slower and has a somewhat longer shutter blackout, if that matters to you at all. It does for me when shooting birds or other wildlife. Also, the film compartment door breaks on these cameras; my last N80's door gave out while it was sitting still and was not being handled. The door just drifted open because the door latches had given out. It can happen with the F100 too, but at least there are repair options for it, and you can buy a replacement door. I have one just in case that ever happens. I would seriously consider the F100. For about $200-$250 you get an outstanding pro-grade camera!

Andy

 

[Paul Howell]

As OP has ready bought a F100, is this thread dead?

 

[Sirius Glass]

As OP has ready bought a F100, is this thread dead?

Who cares? Members will keep posting anyway.