First film camera recommendations?

annowl · May 18, 2023

Hello! I'm a bit of a lurker and a casual hobbyist so sorry for any ignorance.

But I'm wondering if I could get some recommendations on a first 35mm camera and lens pairing. I had taken a intro to photography class back in uni and I remember loving the film half of the course - we got to rent cameras if we didn't own one, but unfortunately I don't remember what I had used back then. I had always been interested in photography but when I bought my first camera a few years ago I went with a mirrorless (got a Fujifilm XT20, love all the knobs and such and manual finicking of settings--hopefully this gives some insight on what I may enjoy?). Recently I hung out with a friend who brought a Nikon film P&S with them and gave us some of their prints, and it made me remember how much fun I had shooting film, plus all the fun in the darkroom.

So I found myself diving into the world of 35mm cameras, but honestly I'm a bit overwhelmed since unlike my decision making before in choosing a camera I can't exactly go to a store and pick up and play around with the different options.... so I'm hoping if I could get some insight in good options to get into the analog world.

I had done some research and I thought I was leaning towards the Olympus OM1/n or 2/n but then I see people talk about other cameras like the Pentax or Minolta....I become hesitant on my choice yet again. Also I thought about the Canon AE-1 but I wasn't a big fan of it being mostly made of plastic, so I'm hoping for options that have less of that. For lens, I'm most likely to just use a prime and leave it on the camera (its what I've been doing with my Fuji, if I go out I just have the 7artisans 35mm 1.2 on and I enjoy just shooting with that, though I admit I have been on and off looking at other primes but I have been greatly distracted...).

Upon looking at Ebay and some used camera sites, I'm thinking my budget is about $200USD for both a body and lens, I don't mind potentially going over but I may limit it to about 300-350....

Any and all help would be much appreciated , hopefully my mention of what I use digitally can be a reference Thank you

Sirius Glass · May 18, 2023

Any of a number of mechanical only or electronic 35mm slrs will fill you requirements. I used many different Minolta slrs starting with the SR7 thought the X700 before getting Nikon AF slrs. Take you pick. Now everyone will jump in with their camera drug of choice, but one of the most important thing is how a camera fits in your hands. See if you can handle any camera model you are interested in before spending the money if possible. That may mean renting a camera if possible.

Welcome to ~~APUG~~ Photrio!!

MattKing · May 18, 2023

Welcome to Photrio.
There are many different excellent choices. And the responses here are likely to reflect people's preferences as much as anything else.
Condition may be more important than any particular function, or lack thereof.
And ergonomics may come a close second in the list of priorities.
You will also need to avoid a bunch of un-reliable internet "truths" - e.g. the assertion that a Canon AE-1 is mostly plastic (it isn't).

madNbad · May 18, 2023

It used to be you could walk into a shop and try several different cameras. If there is someplace where you could get some hands on experience, that would be best. Late model film camera are mostly plastic bodies but offer a lot of features. The older models like the Olympus OM1, Canon FTb, Pentax Spotmatic or K1000 are still very usable but may need servicing or a battery adapter. Welcome to the forum, good luck and don’t get too frustrated at the price of film.

RalphLambrecht · May 18, 2023

annowl said:
Hello! I'm a bit of a lurker and a casual hobbyist so sorry for any ignorance.

But I'm wondering if I could get some recommendations on a first 35mm camera and lens pairing. I had taken a intro to photography class back in uni and I remember loving the film half of the course - we got to rent cameras if we didn't own one, but unfortunately I don't remember what I had used back then. I had always been interested in photography but when I bought my first camera a few years ago I went with a mirrorless (got a Fujifilm XT20, love all the knobs and such and manual finicking of settings--hopefully this gives some insight on what I may enjoy?). Recently I hung out with a friend who brought a Nikon film P&S with them and gave us some of their prints, and it made me remember how much fun I had shooting film, plus all the fun in the darkroom.

So I found myself diving into the world of 35mm cameras, but honestly I'm a bit overwhelmed since unlike my decision making before in choosing a camera I can't exactly go to a store and pick up and play around with the different options.... so I'm hoping if I could get some insight in good options to get into the analog world.

I had done some research and I thought I was leaning towards the Olympus OM1/n or 2/n but then I see people talk about other cameras like the Pentax or Minolta....I become hesitant on my choice yet again. Also I thought about the Canon AE-1 but I wasn't a big fan of it being mostly made of plastic, so I'm hoping for options that have less of that. For lens, I'm most likely to just use a prime and leave it on the camera (its what I've been doing with my Fuji, if I go out I just have the 7artisans 35mm 1.2 on and I enjoy just shooting with that, though I admit I have been on and off looking at other primes but I have been greatly distracted...).

Upon looking at Ebay and some used camera sites, I'm thinking my budget is about $200USD for both a body and lens, I don't mind potentially going over but I may limit it to about 300-350....

Any and all help would be much appreciated , hopefully my mention of what I use digitally can be a reference Thank you

I wouldn' go with a P&S because they often ve no manual adjustments. Go with an inexpensive fully manual camera such as a Nion FM and look for a fastisch standard lens such as a 50mm f/1.8

4season · May 18, 2023

Nikon FM or FE + 50/1.8 Nikkor AI lens would be one of the easiest picks IMO, because they are pretty common, and odds of finding decent working examples are good. "Nikon" branded lenses were often econo models.

KerrKid · May 18, 2023

There’s a nice Nikon N80 with the Nikkor 28-80mm lens on eBay right now for $49.

After that, buy one of everything else.

Paul Howell · May 18, 2023

What kind of pictures do you like, landscapes, portraits, action, abstracts, how good is your vision, do you think that auto focus will be needed? For action I would recommend a late model AF body such as Nikon 100 N90, Canon 7 or 3, or Minolta 800si or 9xi, for landscapes a good all mechanical body such as Pentax Spotmatic, newer Pentax Ks, Mx, Minolta 700, older Minolta 101 or 102, Nikromate, are good choices.

KinoGrafx · May 18, 2023

You could get a good chonky Nikon F2 (or F2a) with a 50mm f2 and be set for life

Sirius Glass · May 18, 2023

Take a look at the Nikon N80 thread. I have one as a backup for my N75. I also have the Nikon F100 which Samy's Camera and their repair men call the best film camera that Nikon made.

I love it - the Nikon N80

I had one of these before but sold it because it was silver and I am shallow like that. Found this one on ebay in black w the 28-80d lens (as good optically as the G but also has an aperture ring so I can use it on my F3 etc). Was listed as ‘sticky’ and ‘for parts, untested’. First thing I...

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Kino · May 18, 2023

Minolta X-700, Nikon FA, Olympus OM2, Pentax MX, Canon AE-1 and so on.

I suggest the above as have some degree of electronics, but are equally capable manual exposure cameras.

Good luck.

mshchem · May 18, 2023

KerrKid said:
There’s a nice Nikon N80 with the Nikkor 28-80mm lens on eBay right now for $49.

After that, buy one of everything else.

Sounds like great advice. Autofocus rocks!

Disconnekt · May 18, 2023

Plenty of Pentax M42 mount camera's & lenses can be found cheap on evilbay, aloooot of 3rd party slr's & lenses too mabe by Ricoh, Cosina, Chinon, Fuji, and a long list of others

Nicholas Lindan · May 18, 2023

KerrKid said:
There’s a nice Nikon N80 with the Nikkor 28-80mm lens on eBay right now for $49.

Ditto. You can (almost) always put an 'automatic' camera in manual mode. The most bang for the buck are the N75/N80 cameras - the problem is that they won't work with uber-manual AI/AIS lenses.

annowl · May 19, 2023

MattKing said:
Welcome to Photrio.
There are many different excellent choices. And the responses here are likely to reflect people's preferences as much as anything else.
Condition may be more important than any particular function, or lack thereof.
And ergonomics may come a close second in the list of priorities.
You will also need to avoid a bunch of un-reliable internet "truths" - e.g. the assertion that a Canon AE-1 is mostly plastic (it isn't).

Thank you!
yeah, upon looking through lists of suggestions and what not I got very overwhelmed hence the post
yes I do plan to make sure I'm finding a good condition body and lens, thank you for the advise

I guess from what I saw it was the Canon AE-1's body is plastic compared to others which are metal? though like you mentioned maybe I was understanding the 'truths' wrong

annowl · May 19, 2023

Paul Howell said:
What kind of pictures do you like, landscapes, portraits, action, abstracts, how good is your vision, do you think that auto focus will be needed? For action I would recommend a late model AF body such as Nikon 100 N90, Canon 7 or 3, or Minolta 800si or 9xi, for landscapes a good all mechanical body such as Pentax Spotmatic, newer Pentax Ks, Mx, Minolta 700, older Minolta 101 or 102, Nikromate, are good choices.

I shoot more nature/street - not so much portraits.....auto focus is nice but I'm okay without it since I'm used to manual focusing with my fuji

annowl · May 19, 2023

Sirius Glass said:
Take a look at the Nikon N80 thread. I have one as a backup for my N75. I also have the Nikon F100 which Samy's Camera and their repair men call the best film camera that Nikon made.

I love it - the Nikon N80

I had one of these before but sold it because it was silver and I am shallow like that. Found this one on ebay in black w the 28-80d lens (as good optically as the G but also has an aperture ring so I can use it on my F3 etc). Was listed as ‘sticky’ and ‘for parts, untested’. First thing I...

www.photrio.com

I'll look into this, thank you!
There is a Samy's Camera nearby...I'll have to take a trip to visit it seems

annowl · May 19, 2023

I gotta say upon looking at the Nikon N80 also the F100, although great budget wise I've never been much of a fan of that kind of body, the grip is usually too clunky/big for me. The Nikon FM/FE seem nice though on the pricier side of things.
this search just seems to get more difficult

KerrKid · May 19, 2023

If the grip is too big on the N80....try the N75. The N75 is smaller and the N55 is the size of the N75 and even lighter. But, my impression is you really don't want to go that direction.

Consider the Olympus OM-series cameras if you have small hands. They are lovely. I have two OM2n's now and, unless you put a heavy lens on them, they handle very well.

4season · May 19, 2023

annowl said:
I guess from what I saw it was the Canon AE-1's body is plastic compared to others which are metal? though like you mentioned maybe I was understanding the 'truths' wrong

AE1's top cover was considered one of it's technical highlights: Some sort of plastic (polycarbonate?) but plated with copper, then chromed, IIRC. Have not taken one apart, but I think the rest of the camera is metal. Minolta X700 was much more aggressive in it's use of plastics, including main body casting. Both cameras have their potential problems, but plastics don't seem to be one of them.

Chan Tran · May 19, 2023

From an economical stand point the N80 is a good choice. One step up is the F100 which is significantly more expensive. I believe the FM3a and the N80 when they were new were selling for the same price and now you can buy 10 N80 for the price of an FM3a.

Paul Howell · May 19, 2023

I have both AF and MF systems, for nature, wildlife I use AF, for landscapes and general outdoor shots MF works as well. All mechanical, excellent lens, and under the radar is the Konica T3. Does have shutter speed preferred auto exposure and manual exposure, full read out in the viewfinder, will work with 625 hearing aid batteries. Some came with split image screens, the flash sync is 125th. My only quibble is the viewfinder is bit dimmer than say my Nikon F. The T4 is a bit smaller still all mechanical with an option for a motor winder. The 50 1.7 is one of the sharpest normal made that time period. I see T3 bodies going for well under a $100

faberryman · May 19, 2023

I recommend [my favorite camera].

Paul Howell · May 19, 2023

True, trouble is that are so many good cameras, figuring what to get is splitting hairs.

Marcelo Paniagua · May 19, 2023

Paul Howell said:
I have both AF and MF systems, for nature, wildlife I use AF, for landscapes and general outdoor shots MF works as well. All mechanical, excellent lens, and under the radar is the Konica T3. Does have shutter speed preferred auto exposure and manual exposure, full read out in the viewfinder, will work with 625 hearing aid batteries. Some came with split image screens, the flash sync is 125th. My only quibble is the viewfinder is bit dimmer than say my Nikon F. The T4 is a bit smaller still all mechanical with an option for a motor winder. The 50 1.7 is one of the sharpest normal made that time period. I see T3 bodies going for well under a $100

+1 for both T3 and T4. They are wonderful cameras. Pretty solid. I use one T3 with two MR-9 adapters (available on the bay). Also Konica lens are a very good deal quality vs price. 40mm is quite the pancake lens and pretty sharp.

First film camera recommendations?

annowl

Sirius Glass

MattKing

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madNbad

RalphLambrecht

4season

KerrKid

Paul Howell

KinoGrafx

Sirius Glass

I love it - the Nikon N80

Kino

mshchem

Disconnekt

Nicholas Lindan

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annowl

annowl

annowl

I love it - the Nikon N80

annowl

KerrKid

4season

Chan Tran

Paul Howell

faberryman

Paul Howell

Marcelo Paniagua

First film camera recommendations?

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