Five film cameras for under £50

Zorkiphoto · Oct 8, 2015

Hello all

I wrote this piece a while back on my blog, and it is still the most popular post on it...

Dead Link Removed

They were all cameras I'd used enough to have got used to the foibles/characteristics. I get the feeling that people getting back into/trying film for the first time are being sensible and looking for something that won't cost the earth.

So my questions is - if you were going to pick that list, what would be on it?

(Americans - £50 is around $80...)

Cheers

S

darkosaric · Oct 8, 2015

Cameras under 70€ - this is not a problem, beside top cameras like Leica, Rolleiflex, pro nikons (F, F2, F3), and other prime modes - almost all 35mm cameras today are below this price. Challenge is to find 5 cameras under 5€ .

Zorkiphoto · Oct 8, 2015

darkosaric said:
Cameras under 70 - this is not a problem, beside top cameras like Leica, Rolleiflex, pro nikons (F, F2, F3), and other prime modes - almost all 35mm cameras today are below this price. Challenge is to find 5 cameras under 5 .

Heh. Well, the Zenit E I bought was £4. Best £4 I spent. (Primarily because it actually works).

S

Peltigera · Oct 8, 2015

1) Zenit E - durable with few frills to go wrong, should cost around £1.00 plus postage so £4.00 altogether
2) Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515 - nice 6x4.5 camera should cost around £15.00 including postage. Just don't try contre jour photography with it.
3) Voigtlander Vitomatic II - very usable rangefinder with coupled meter should be around £15.00 including postage
4) Pentax MX - I haven't had mine long enough to really get to know it but so far it is delightful. Mine cost £45.00 including postage.
5) Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex. TLRs are a totally different experience to most cameras and I wouldn't want to not have one. Mine was so badly described on Ebay, I got it for £15.00 including postage.

cuthbert · Oct 8, 2015

1) Pentax K series: all of them besides the K2DMD costed me less than 50 quid.
2) Nikon FM: bought in London for 30 quid including Nikkor 50mm f1.4 S-C.
3) Pentax SPF: three all of them for cheap with lens included.
4) Canon F-1n: $80, no lens but mint.
5) Fujica ST70w with Fujinon 50mm f1.4.

summicron1 · Oct 8, 2015

This reminds me of the photo blog that someone used to have called "Junk Store Cameras," put up by a photographer in Seattle, or somewhere equally toney. The goal was to use and rate cameras with the only rule being it had to cost $5 or less.

She was gifted a few nicer cameras -- a rollei 35,-- but mostly they were junk store finds. She usually got good results, mostly because she was a damn good photographer anyway. Sadly, she decided to be an adult, or something, and I don't think does the tests any more. Here's the site: http://junkstorecameras.com/

I've seen Leica SLR bodies for under $80 from KEH. That's just sad.

The lenses, on the other hand ...

Marvin · Oct 8, 2015

Under $80 some I have found lately Nikon FG-20 Minolta Maxxum 9xi Rolecord.

Paul Howell · Oct 8, 2015

I bought a Minolta 9000 with a 35 to 70 for $60.00, with motor drive and flash.

A Minolta 7Sxi with 3 lens, flash and filters for $45.00

A Minolta 700 with a 28 to 200 for $25

Yesterday I bought a Konica T4 with winder and 57mm 1.7 for $25.00 includes shipping.

Other

Konica T3, the A3 was the stripped down version.

Petri FT

Petri EE

Canon QL 1.7, and the AF version, has a 50mm lens no manual mode.

Minolta Hi Mat or mate (?) similar to the Canon

Konica S3, may be just out side the 50 pound top end, one of the sharpest 38mm 1.7 tested by Modern Photography

Petri 7, fixed lens rangefinder, several lens, the 1.9 is more desirable.

OptiKen · Oct 8, 2015

In the under $20 USD catagory, I recommend the Nikon N8008s.
Wonderful camera with all of the automatic features you could want including auto-focus with AF lenses and full manual control when you want it.
I got mine (sans lens) for $11.95 from KEH with shipping included. I started checking prices on eBay and discovered they can be had for $10 - $20 all of the time.

MattKrull · Oct 8, 2015

One of each

I think I'd try for one of each of the main categories:
1 - The classic 70s/80s Manual SLR
Any of a wide range of the quality consumer grade SLRs capable fo full manual control from the 70s or 80s. Canon AE-1, Nikon FA/FE/FM, Pentax K1000, Olympus OM-2SP (or 40). You can get a clean example of any of these with a 50mm F1.8 for under $50US. You'll probably get a bag, second lens, and a flash included.
2 - A fixed lens range finder
Again, my preference would be something capable of complete manual control (Canonet, Minister, etc), but any of the semi-automated ones from the 70s (electro, Hi-matic, etc) would also be good.
3 - A Medium format folder
For the price it'll probably be a fairly basic unit from the 50s, but it'll be clean, work well (within it's limited shutter speed range) and take outrageously sharp images (Nettar, I'm remembering you). It'll let you see the majesty of a big negative, and make you work for it (no light meter, and God those view finders were tiny). Bonus points for finding a good working coupled rangefinder unit in the price range, bonus skill points for taking in focus portraits with a shallow DoF on a scale-focus unit.
4 - Something Lo-Fi
Maybe a toy camera (Lomo, Diana, seagul, etc), or maybe just something really clunky (Argus C3 brick, low end TLR with very limited aperture and shutter speed options, FSU Rangefinder in good working condition if you're really lucky). The point is to have a camera that you just throw film in and have a complete laise-faire attitude about. F8 and shoot from the hip.
5 - 90s AF SLR
I'd love to end this with a modern Medium Format, or even Large Format option, but I really haven't seen anything that would fit under the price limit. So I'm going to say try to get something that's as close to modern as possible. Canon EOS Rebels and ELANs are a dime a dozen, Nikon F60, Minolta, Pentax whatever you can find. Bonus points if you can share your lenses (without adapter) with your DSLR rig. See just how far DSLRs have (or have not depending on your point of view) come. Listen to the industrial glory of that screw drive AF motor and film winder.
For under $300 you could have a complete collection that lets you sample 70 years of photographic toys/engineering-marvels. Each of which will take a different mindset to use, helping spur your creative juices.
Full disclosure, I don't have anything from #5 in my collection.

mr rusty · Oct 8, 2015

Might be more interesting to consider 5 cameras for under £50 in total? Might be getting a little harder to do now, but at least 3 of mine were under £10. A Canon Eos300 rebel with lens, A minty non-working Kodak retina Reflex S which required just a tiny tweak to getting it working, and this last week a very tidy MinoltaX300 with 50mm f1.7 for £7 needing a capacitor, which as I have a few, took 10 minutes to fix. (this will be going back on fleabay shortly unless anyone wants to make me an offer)

OK, if you mean £50 each, there are loads and loads of choices to choose from. Even a working Olympus OM1/2 with a 50mm will barely make that. Take your pick!

RalphLambrecht · Oct 8, 2015

MattKrull said:
I think I'd try for one of each of the main categories:
1 - The classic 70s/80s Manual SLR
Any of a wide range of the quality consumer grade SLRs capable fo full manual control from the 70s or 80s. Canon AE-1, Nikon FA/FE/FM, Pentax K1000, Olympus OM-2SP (or 40). You can get a clean example of any of these with a 50mm F1.8 for under $50US. You'll probably get a bag, second lens, and a flash included.
2 - A fixed lens range finder
Again, my preference would be something capable of complete manual control (Canonet, Minister, etc), but any of the semi-automated ones from the 70s (electro, Hi-matic, etc) would also be good.
3 - A Medium format folder
For the price it'll probably be a fairly basic unit from the 50s, but it'll be clean, work well (within it's limited shutter speed range) and take outrageously sharp images (Nettar, I'm remembering you). It'll let you see the majesty of a big negative, and make you work for it (no light meter, and God those view finders were tiny). Bonus points for finding a good working coupled rangefinder unit in the price range, bonus skill points for taking in focus portraits with a shallow DoF on a scale-focus unit.
4 - Something Lo-Fi
Maybe a toy camera (Lomo, Diana, seagul, etc), or maybe just something really clunky (Argus C3 brick, low end TLR with very limited aperture and shutter speed options, FSU Rangefinder in good working condition if you're really lucky). The point is to have a camera that you just throw film in and have a complete laise-faire attitude about. F8 and shoot from the hip.
5 - 90s AF SLR
I'd love to end this with a modern Medium Format, or even Large Format option, but I really haven't seen anything that would fit under the price limit. So I'm going to say try to get something that's as close to modern as possible. Canon EOS Rebels and ELANs are a dime a dozen, Nikon F60, Minolta, Pentax whatever you can find. Bonus points if you can share your lenses (without adapter) with your DSLR rig. See just how far DSLRs have (or have not depending on your point of view) come. Listen to the industrial glory of that screw drive AF motor and film winder.
For under $300 you could have a complete collection that lets you sample 70 years of photographic toys/engineering-marvels. Each of which will take a different mindset to use, helping spur your creative juices.
Full disclosure, I don't have anything from #5 in my collection.

I bought 3! Nokon FMs ,all in working order with minor cosmetic defects for $100 from the auction site;after a personalcleaning job with an electric tooth brush and a set of dedicated brushes,thry look like mint.

Dali · Oct 8, 2015

The problem is not to spend little money, it is to find a camera in working condition for such low price and there is no rule for that, it is a case by case basis. So the whole exercise is futile.

Ian Grant · Oct 8, 2015

Dali said:
The problem is not to spend little money, it is to find a camera in working condition for such low price and there is no rule for that, it is a case by case basis. So the whole exercise is futile.

I don't totally agree but there's definitely no rule of thumb, I bought a Pentax S1a for £1 and it now works perfectly, it was sold for parts.

Then there's the brand new Canon 300 for £10, that's all I think it's worth though compared to the £25 I paid for a mint Pentax Spotmatic F f2 SMC Takumar & case.

It's more about knowing which are the better cameras in terms of reliability.

Ian

frank · Oct 8, 2015

Nikon FG, EM, and Pentax ME's all with normal lenses, are often sold on my local kijiji/craigslist for less than $100.

Dali · Oct 8, 2015

Ian Grant said:
I don't totally agree but there's definitely no rule of thumb, I bought a Pentax S1a for £1 and it now works perfectly, it was sold for parts.

Then there's the brand new Canon 300 for £10, that's all I think it's worth though compared to the £25 I paid for a mint Pentax Spotmatic F f2 SMC Takumar & case.

It's more about knowing which are the better cameras in terms of reliability.

Ian

Less than $80 stories...

Several years ago, I bought a Nikkormat FTN. Everything worked fine out of the shipping box for several rolls and then the shutter stopped cocking...

Almost a decade before that, I got a Praktica SLR. here again, everything worked fine out of the shipping box. Difference with the Nikkormat? It still works today.

Now, if you had to choose between a Nikkormat and a Praktica, I am sure you would take the Nikkormat like 99% of us (assuming that Praktica afficionados represent 1% of the APUG population). And reality would have proved you wrong.

Conclusion: realiability fame has to be taken with a grain of salt when dealing with 25+ years cameras with an unknown past and an unknown reliability in the long term.

frank · Oct 8, 2015

Dali said:
Less than $80 stories...

Several years ago, I bought a Nikkormat FTN. Everything worked fine out of the shipping box for several rolls and then the shutter stopped cocking...

Almost a decade before that, I got a Praktica SLR. here again, everything worked fine out of the shipping box. Difference with the Nikkormat? It still works today.

Now, if you had to choose between a Nikkormat and a Praktica, I am sure you would take the Nikkormat like 99% of us (assuming that Praktica afficionados represent 1% of the APUG population). And reality would have proved you wrong.

Conclusion: realiability fame has to be taken with a grain of salt when dealing with 25+ years cameras with an unknown past and an unknown reliability in the long term.

I would suggest that your experience was an outlier data point. Lucky for you though.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Oct 8, 2015

I have to find 3X80 dollars to able to find a leica binocular , than I will quit photography.

Ap507b · Oct 8, 2015

Camera & lens combo's that I have picked up that came to under £50 include a Minolta 7000 & a 28-80 zoom for £20. A Practica MTL5 & a 30mm Pentacon lens for £15, an Olympus OM2sp with a 35-105 Zuiko for £44 & the latest bargain, another Practica, a BC1 with 3 lenses for £9.99. Thinking about it, add Nikon F301 & F501's with 35-70 Nikkors for under £50 for each pair.

Five film cameras for under £50

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