Give Me Your List: 35mm SLR Great emi-Pro Bodies

[jonjameshall]

Having said all that, there are some Minolta bodies I'd love to try. They had what to me still is one of the best line-ups for film slrs and lenses. Unfortunately, I have too much invested in N glass to consider a switch at this stage.

I dont really delve into AF much, but I bought my son a Minolta 650si with battery pack, which I can say is one hell of a camera, semi pro, cheaply bought, nice lenses available, as fully auto or manual as you like, but with dials and switches instead of buttons. So you get one dial for F stops one for film speed, one for metering type, one for exposure bracketing. Seems a little more solid than some of the Canon EOS bodies (I have a 300v somewhere gathering dust ), but imagine could be bit confusing for the first time user. A great semi-pro AF setup, which has a bit of a cult following.

Great thread BTW! Reading up on the EOS 3 now!

 

[gordrob]

I picked up a Canon EOS 3 last summer and later added the motor drive unit to it and couldn't be happier. I still use a F1N and have collected a lot of lenses and accessories for the FD system. I have the Canon FD/EOS macro converter that lets me use all of the macro bellows and lenses on the EOS body. To bad there is no way to use the FD lenses directly on the EOS bodies

Gord

 

[mudman]

Someone had put the FD mount on a EOS 650 at one of the last camera shows I was at, the lenses would work in all of the different program modes and everything. Pretty cool frankenstein camera. No using the EF lenses though.

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning;

Perhaps the Minolta Maxxum 9? It is still available used. Its shutter will cover anything from 30 seconds to 1/12,000th of a second. Yes, we are getting into reciprocity failure/compensation here. It does accept the latest Sony/Zeiss lenses. With the VC-9 Vertical Grip you have the choice of three different battery types including AA cells, and you can use a different battery type than the one in the camera for a switchable backup power source. You have the choice of as much or as little automation as you might desire (anyone who has used a recent DSLR will feel right at home with this camera).

The only real criticism I have of this camera are its price at this time, and, unlike the old Minolta X-700 with the MD-1 Motor Drive, the Maxxum 9 is heavy and it does not really fit my hand. I was really surprised when I found that the ergonomics or human engineering of this camera is not equal to one of its predecessors. The shutter release button is not in the right place for my hand. I have large hands. It is accessible, but I need to make a deliberate effort to reach it. You try it and see how it fits you.

 

[unohuu]

Second on the Maxxum 7 and the F100. Two of the nicest semi-pro bodies I have ever used. The eyestart on the M7 and the quick focus on the F100 make them both dream machines for me. The F100 uses all the Nikon glass I have and the Maxxum 7 uses that wonderful Minolta (now Sony) glass.

 

[AutumnJazz]

F100 - what was said above, and because it has EXIF! (So do the F5 and F6, btw.)

 

[A.C.]

EOS 3 for AF, modern metering, Zeiss ZE now.
Nikon FM2n for MF.
Both served me well for 16 years.
Bullet proof (esp. the FM2n) and the EOS 3 with a battery grip is most effective.
Aynsley

 

[removed-user-1]

Someone had put the FD mount on a EOS 650 at one of the last camera shows I was at, the lenses would work in all of the different program modes and everything. Pretty cool frankenstein camera. No using the EF lenses though.

That sounds like a fun project! I may have to give it a try.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Although it's not autofocus, I'd put in a plug for the Contax RX - it has those wonderful Zeiss lenses, and it has the DFI (Digital Focus Indicator) which provides in-viewfinder focus confirmation plus, with custom settings, a focus position relative to depth of field display. I'd say the Contax N1, but they only ever put out about five lenses for it, which severely limited its usefulness. Not to mention the camera was hefty by itself, and the lenses were all equally beefy.

 

[ibraz]

pentax LX:
great viewfinder
lightmeter ok even at -6,5 il!!!
mechanical speeds
compact
not heavy unlike may other pro cameras
up to 5fps with winder lx
bunch of adaptable viewfinders, screens, backs...
shutter built for 200,000 shots
anti dust/moist foams
semi waterproof
ok with takumar all metal and glass lenses
pentax A*85mm...

 

[Claire Senft]

Semi-pro bodies? Ummpf. Well, Mack Diesels? Peterbilt? Volvo? or Mecedes? I suppose that an Internation Harvester combine is not really the best choice. Is auto transmission allowable or do we just stick with 27 on the floor? I guess you really need something that can just haul ass and keep on trucking. However, these disposable vehicles, the Single Load Rigs, SLR for short, are mainly a one way ticket to Uknowhere as Uhaul.

Dunno, thats all I can think of.

 

[Chazzy]

Well, an EOS 3 is on the way. Now I will need a couple of lenses and a strap.

 

[SilverGlow]

Well, an EOS 3 is on the way. Now I will need a couple of lenses and a strap.

Chazzy, you won't be sorry. That body is fantasic, and if you do a lot of flash, it provides a separate exposure gage for the body and flash viewable in the finder. I would suggest you get the vertical grip/AA battery add on. There are two reasons: (1) should the C2r5 battery go out of production, the grip allows AA batteries and I think it safe to assume the AA's will be with us for many more decades. (2) the grip provides a set of shutter/exposure/AF buttons for portrait (vertical) shooting. Oh, and (3) the extra weight added will means less hand held movements.

I got 3 EOS-3 bodies, each having their own vertical grips. I use only prime lenses and so it minimizes time consuming lens swaps if more then one body is used. Also more then one body means more then one ISO film on a given shoot.

As to a great lens for the EOS-3, I would suggest any combo of these:

28mm F1.8 cheap yet provides high image quality
24mm F1.4 L
35mm F1.4 L Above average
50mm F1.8
50mm F1.4 cheap yet provides high image quality
50mm F1.2
85mm F1.8 Above Average
85mm F1.2 L Above Average
100mm F2.8 macro
135mm F2 L Above Average
200mm F2.8 L Above Average

As you can see, I am a prime only user ;-)

 

[Laurent]

I can only add to the praises for the EOS3. I had a T90 which is dead (sticky shutter) and the EOS3 is what comes very close to it (except for the weight, the T90 is a feather-weight compared to EOS3+BPE2).

A "feature" of the cheap 50/1.8 which I came to like os thta it's full plastic. This made it survive to two drops that would have killed other lenses. It just split in two parts, and I had to "clip" it back. It still works fine and is still accurate.

 

[Vanishing Point Ent.]

! Canon EOS 1n RS !

My own pick for a good semi-pro SLR is an EOS RT. Five fps, non-moving mirror, pretty quiet, as close to a motor-driven rangefinder you're ever going to get. If I want to use C/FD lenses I use a T90 or F1N.

This would be the closest to my pick. My pick is the
Canon EOS 1n RS. I own one of these & an RT as well. I put a Polaroid back on the RT, so I would have matching exposures.

Except for the Canon & Nikon High Speed cameras,
( definitely pro models ), there are nothing out there quite like it.
Shooting with it, with NO mirror slap, is almost a religious experience.

 

[filmamigo]

Pentax MZ-S.

Simply a beautiful camera. I wish it wasn't still priced in the stratosphere. I could buy 2 Nikon F100s for the same price.

 

[nicefor88]

Gold. Leica M6
Silver. Nikon F3
Bronze. Nikon FE

anything else is rubbish

Just kidding!

 

[Pumal]

I usually stick to the Nikon F and the Canon F-1

 

[Jedidiah Smith]

Semi-pro? Nikon F100 and Minolta Maxxum 7. Light, relatively inexpensive, "do it all" in a smaller, lighter package than the pro bodies without sacrificing much quality of build.

Pro...Maxxum 9 w/ SSM/ADI update and Nikon F6. Like a glove to the hand!

Jed