Best mechanical 35mm analog SLR

Les Sarile · Apr 6, 2011

With these many mounts - and anticipate at least two more, I can't possibly own desirable lenses for each so I have to be able to adapt . . . ;-)

Of course some are more within the family like the screw mount on a Pentax K Mount for possibly the smallest slr fisheye setup . . .

MattKing · Apr 7, 2011

The one that you own and use.

I've owned Olympus OMs since the 1970s, and still use a couple of battery dependent bodies, but sold off my last OM1 recently. If I wanted a battery independent 35mm SLR, I'd buy another OM1.

lxdude · Apr 7, 2011

Les Sarile said:
With these many mounts - and anticipate at least two more, I can't possibly own desirable lenses for each so I have to be able to adapt . . . ;-)

Of course some are more within the family like the screw mount on a Pentax K Mount for possibly the smallest slr fisheye setup . . .

Why is some of the info on the lens' front ring marked out? I mean it's pretty easy to guess...

2F/2F · Apr 7, 2011

baachitraka said:
Hello there,

I am very new to analog SLR and looking around to find a best mechanical 35mm analog SLR camera preferably that takes EF lenses from Canon.

Hi,

There isn't one, unless you want to shoot your lenses on adapters at full aperture all the time. Since there would be no aperture control, I am not even sure if anyone has bothered to make any such adapters. Most cameras had gone at least partly electronic well before EOS came along, and TMK, all EOS cameras are electronic.

IMHO, get a Nikon. Then you can use all of its outstanding lenses on your EOS camera via an adapter, instead of doing it the other way around...or just ditch EOS and get a Nikon AF camera. I like EOS cameras a lot, but backward and forward compatibility with Nikon is just too sensible to pass up for those wishing to shoot both "old school" cameras and "new school" cameras.

If that sounds too complicated and convoluted to switch – and I admit that it is – I'd just get an EOS 3 or the like. They are so darned cheap that I don't see a whole lot of point in getting a lower end model than that any more. YMMV.

baachitraka · Apr 7, 2011

2F/2F said:
Hi,

There isn't one, unless you want to shoot your lenses on adapters at full aperture all the time. Since there would be no aperture control, I am not even sure if anyone has bothered to make any such adapters. Most cameras had gone at least partly electronic well before EOS came along, and TMK, all EOS cameras are electronic.

IMHO, get a Nikon. Then you can use all of its outstanding lenses on your EOS camera via an adapter, instead of doing it the other way around...or just ditch EOS and get a Nikon AF camera. I like EOS cameras a lot, but backward and forward compatibility with Nikon is just too sensible to pass up for those wishing to shoot both "old school" cameras and "new school" cameras.

If that sounds too complicated and convoluted to switch and I admit that it is I'd just get an EOS 3 or the like. They are so darned cheap that I don't see a whole lot of point in getting a lower end model than that any more. YMMV.

It was just an experiment at that time see how the analog world is.

Well, I had more fun shooting film than 1's and 0's so I got one EOS 650 analog.

It works. No further discussion is needed.

All electronic may be easy to use but it made me think about the reliability, even though I am not a pro nor I shoot on daily basis.

Yes, some recommended F6 an outstanding camera from Nikon. At the end I don't want to pay so much for fun...

So, I asked for opinion here...

benjiboy · Apr 7, 2011

baachitraka said:
It was just an experiment at that time see how the analog world is.

Well, I had more fun shooting film than 1's and 0's so I got one EOS 650 analog.

It works. No further discussion is needed.

All electronic may be easy to use but it made me think about the reliability, even though I am not a pro nor I shoot on daily basis.

Yes, some recommended F6 an outstanding camera from Nikon. At the end I don't want to pay so much for fun...

So, I asked for opinion here...

So you asked our opinion about mechanical cameras and bought an electronic one :confused:

baachitraka · Apr 7, 2011

No, I bought an electronic(only reason that I can use my EF lenses) one long time ago and it works and it take good pictures too. No regrets for spending Euros 30 ;-)

But then it is all electronic...so asked opinions about mechanical ones.

benjiboy said:
So you asked our opinion about mechanical cameras and bought an electronic one :confused:

baachitraka · Apr 7, 2011

Will you vote for Minolta SR-T 101, especially when it is selling for Euros 65?

benjiboy · Apr 7, 2011

baachitraka said:
No, I bought an electronic(only reason that I can use my EF lenses) one long time ago and it works and it take good pictures too. No regrets for spending Euros 30 ;-)

But then it is all electronic...so asked opinions about mechanical ones.

I'm sorry I don't think English is your first language and I misunderstood you,

baachitraka · Apr 7, 2011

Nothing to worry. I don't think it is necessary to be good in English for photography.

benjiboy said:
I don't think English is your first language and I misunderstood what you were saying , I'm sorry.

Rol_Lei Nut · Apr 7, 2011

baachitraka said:
Will you vote for Minolta SR-T 101, especially when it is selling for Euros 65?

Depending on where you are, you might be able to do better...
(Nikon, Olympus & Pentax cameras can be had for that price, which I personally like a bit better)

For example, a shop in my city has several cameras for under € 100 which come with a try-out guarantee.

Bidding in auction sites is inherently more risky.

baachitraka · Apr 7, 2011

Rol_Lei Nut said:
Depending on where you are, you might be able to do better...
(Nikon, Olympus & Pentax cameras can be had for that price, which I personally like a bit better)

For example, a shop in my city has several cameras for under 100 which come with a try-out guarantee.

Bidding in auction sites is inherently more risky.

I do not know any good shops here in Bremen. Yeah, Hamburg is very big city so the choices are plenty. But, I will wait for good offers...

Les Sarile · Apr 7, 2011

lxdude said:
Why is some of the info on the lens' front ring marked out? I mean it's pretty easy to guess...

I have no idea why the previous owner owner did that. Other then that the lens is perfect so at the price it was offered I didn't hesitate and got my first fisheye.

Rol_Lei Nut · Apr 7, 2011

Bremen! I only visited it twice and came up with 2 good camera shops.
One was Photo-Dose (or 1000 Töpfe?) in the central shopping area (heading towards the station) with *lots* of used cameras.

Another was a smaller shop but with many interesting things in a small, green church square (can't remember name and as five years have passed, it may not be there anymore).

Otherwise, take a look here:
http://www.photohaus.de/index.php?id=71&tx_trproduktgalerie_pi1[page_nr]=0&cHash=acd93908fb
(No, I have nothing to do with them, apart from buying most of my used stuff there...)

Good luck!

baachitraka · Apr 7, 2011

Well, after some research on the internet that it is wise to make selection based on material used for shutter. Now, choice is really boiling down... What do you say?

holmburgers · Apr 7, 2011

boiling down?

baachitraka · Apr 7, 2011

I shouldn't watch Cricket too much... ;-) After hours of programming everything looks correct...

holmburgers said:
boiling down?

M.A.Longmore · Apr 7, 2011

.
I would suggest The Minolta SRT-202 { 303 in certain areas }
The Minolta XE-7 { XE-1 in certain areas }
The Canon EF !

And A Sekonic L-398 Meter

Ron
.

Rol_Lei Nut · Apr 7, 2011

baachitraka said:
Well, after some research on the internet that it is wise to make selection based on material used for shutter. Now, choice is really bowling down... What do you say?

For an SLR, not really. The curtain material itself is very rarely a source of problems (exceptions being Exaktas and some other very old cameras, typically with non-return mirrors).
Vertically-travelling shutters are made of metal and can have the advantage of fater shutter & sync speeds (if you actually need them).
Cloth curtains can often be quieter.

Rangefinders can be a different matter: rubberised cloth curtains can be burned by the sun if the lens cap is off, the lens if focused to infinity and the diaphragm is open. With experience, that isn't a problem (use a cap or make sure the diaphragm is closed if carrying your camera around on a sunny day) und burned curtains are actually extremely rare.
On rangefinders, older or cheaper curtains may become brittle with age and develop holes and cracks (happens to many Soviet cameras), especially if left exposed to light for years (= no cap on).

In real life, I have no fear at all of the cloth curtains of my Leicaflexes, M6, Spotmatic or Pentax 6x7 causing any problems. In fact, metal curtains are much more easily damaged/destroyed if you accidentally touch them.
The curtain material of any camera you'd be likely to buy really shouldn't be a problem.

(I would check the curtains of an Exakta or a Soviet rangefinder before any important shots, though).

Les Sarile · Apr 7, 2011

Rol_Lei Nut said:
Rangefinders can be a different matter: rubberised cloth curtains can be burned by the sun if the lens cap is off, the lens if focused to infinity and the diaphragm is open.

Funny how the latest and greatest now all resort to cloth curtains to achieve the high shutter speeds and as such the manuals warn that, "The suns heat can scorch and damage the shutter curtains."

Mark Fisher · Apr 8, 2011

I've had a silly number of cameras and I've settled on very mechanical cameras......no surprise being a mechanical engineer. My 35mm is an OM1 (tried and OM4 and it was too electronic) and a Leica M2. Mechanical nirvana. The Nikon FM2 is similar, but the lenses are a bit bigger and the ergonomics different.

baachitraka · Apr 8, 2011

Finally settled down with Olympus OM-1N, hope you people will appreciate it. Now searching for a prime lens, preferably f=35mm with F <= 2.0.

Thomas Bertilsson · Apr 8, 2011

baachitraka said:
Finally settled down with Olympus OM-1N, hope you people will appreciate it. Now searching for a prime lens, preferably f=35mm with F <= 2.0.

Eventually you will come to terms with the fact that as long as you have a camera that you like to use and is reliable enough for you, it is the least important part of the chain.
The whole process starts with the paper and paper developer and what it is capable of. Then you have to expose and process your film so that it prints well on your chosen paper and developer (this is true for digital work flow too).
Your ideas, compositions, light quality, and your understanding of all of it and how you put it together is the very most important part of it.
The camera simply records light on the film and most cameras do this in remarkably similar ways, with differences between them that are far less impactful than the other aspects mentioned above.

Good luck!

- Thomas

baachitraka · Apr 8, 2011

Thomas Bertilsson said:
Eventually you will come to terms with the fact that as long as you have a camera that you like to use and is reliable enough for you, it is the least important part of the chain.
The whole process starts with the paper and paper developer and what it is capable of. Then you have to expose and process your film so that it prints well on your chosen paper and developer (this is true for digital work flow too).
Your ideas, compositions, light quality, and your understanding of all of it and how you put it together is the very most important part of it.
The camera simply records light on the film and most cameras do this in remarkably similar ways, with differences between them that are far less impactful than the other aspects mentioned above.

Good luck!

- Thomas

Hey Thomas,

Those are the words of wisdom. My experience is almost nil in analog photography, so I thought having a reliable gear would be a good starting point.

Moopheus · Apr 8, 2011

baachitraka said:
Finally settled down with Olympus OM-1N, hope you people will appreciate it. Now searching for a prime lens, preferably f=35mm with F <= 2.0.

In general, Olympus gear is pretty reasonably priced, but you may find that the faster lenses carry a hefty premium. I got a 28/2.8 for my Om-1n, and the 2.0 version goes for 4 times as much!

Best mechanical 35mm analog SLR

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