Good AF SLR with 125 €? F90x? EOS 5?

[nuno campos]

Hi,

I am considering buying a 35mm SLR camera to offer my brother-in-law this Christmas (he is going to take some photo and darkroom classes next year) and I would appreciate some suggestions. My budget is about 100-125 € and I was looking for a well-built body, with a good viewfinder, a reliable metering system and a good prime.

Well, it seems to me that the 90’s autofocus cameras are the best bargain right now, because they sell cheaper than the manual focus bodies and they are quite sophisticated, and I was thinking on a Nikon F90x/N90s with the 50mm 1.8 AF or the Canon EOS 5/A2E with the similar lens.

I use an F90x with that lens and it is great but the Canon is less expensive right now and I am slightly bent towards this last option.

What would you choose? Should I consider other options, like Pentax or Minolta? I did not mention that because I do not know anything about Pentax and Minolta gear.

Thanks in advance,

Best regards,

Nuno Campos.

 

[Pinholemaster]

Which system will give you the best lens selection for your way of seeing?

Choose a camera for the lenses available, not the other way around.

A camera is a box to keep the light out till the shutter is open. The lens shapes the image.

 

[dferrie]

Nuno,

I'd suggest taking a look at some Minolta offerings, there seems to a trend of people selling there Minolta film kit so that they can finance buying the new Sony digital models.

I'm suggesting Minolta as I have used it for years now and there is a good choice of both bodies and lenses. The 500si Super is good starter camera as it has a good meter, you can shoot fully automatic, shutter priority, aperture priority or fully manual. Minolta also have a nice prime 50mm lens, there are f1.7 and a more expensive and difficult to get f1.4. I had a f1.7 for years and it was a lovely lens.

The 800si is a really nice body (with option of adding vertical grip) but may well be overkill if your brother in law is just starting off.

I've nothing against Nikon or Canon, just speaking from my own experience with the kit I know well.

Hope that helps,

David

 

[pentaxuser]

If you can get a F90 with a 1.8 prime for the price you quoted in euros this will be an amazing bargain. Converted to pounds sterling I haven't seen any F90 at prices that come anywhere near this. Well not in the U.K. at least. If this is the price in Europe then maybe it's a case of "Rip-off Britain" again.

I wonder. Are we paying too much for cameras here?

pentaxuser

 

[nuno campos]

Are we paying too much for cameras here?

I have some friends in USA that can send or bring me the camera to Portugal. Over there cameras are less expensive and with the Euro increasing value even more. I am talking in something about 140-175 USD.

I can get at Keh.com a Canon EOS A2E with the 50mm 1.8 EF for something around 140-150 USD (body in bargain condition and the lens new).
For me, now it is time to buy in USA.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

My first question is what kind of a photography background does your brother-in-law have? Has he been using an SLR for a while or is this his first foray into the art?
When I took my first class I used a Yashica FX-3.Full manual.It allowed me to learn the basics like depth of field,shutter speeds and aperture.When the instructor announced that "No question was too stupid to ask" the girl sitting beside me promptly raised her hand and asked "How do you put in the film?".
She had a Nikon N70.

 

[nuno campos]

Well, he has some knowledge. He only has a point & shot but has used often one of my cameras (a Nikon F65 with a 28-80mm zoom. That is my wife’s camera, that she uses as a P&S) and I explained him the basics (speed, aperture and DOF), although I am quite sure that he has used the programs.
He has the bug right now and that is why I would like to offer him a camera. A manual focus is a good option. The Minolta and the Canon FD came to my mind. They are inexpensive lenses, nice cameras, and I could buy him a body + a 50mm lens for much less than 100€.

But the autofocus bodies are right now at the same price, they are newer and more featured cameras. If you look to Keh.com prices the Nikon F90x costs the same as the Nikon FG (bargain condition, 76$USD). I have them both (in 35mm SLR I only have Nikon gear) and I like them both but the F90x is by far a better camera. And I know that if my FG stops I will not buy another one but another F90x or something like the F801s/N8008s, that costs me almost half the price (right now: 43$USD).

The same with happens with the Canon EOS bodies. The A2E costs 59$USD, just a little more than the T70 (56$USD). I am quite sure that the first camera is a better value.

After some research I realized that the F90x or the ESO 5 would be good cameras, and with possibilities to expand, but I would like to know if you think that one option would be better than the other, or even Pentax or Minolta equivalents. By better option I mean the possibility to bring into play that equipment with digital gear and because he is a student, money is an important issue. The price of later elements to add to the initial combo in order to build a system with less money is not negligible.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

Hi Nuno,
Put it this way.I'm just reading the manual to my new/used Nikon N90s...........From KEH.

Mike

 

[PhotoJim]

These are both good cameras.

The A2/EOS 5 has somewhat better autofocus. However, it's also a more delicate camera. The settings dial on the top can fail, and if it does, the camera is useless without a repair. Due to its age, a repair is probably impossible.

On the plus side, the Canon is very quiet (almost silent).

The Nikon feels somewhat less refined (louder, and jerkier autofocus) but the build quality is much higher. My F90 was 13 years old when I sold it and it still worked like new. I have an F90x that is not much newer and it also works like a champion.

I have a strong Nikon bias, but if these two cameras are on the table, I think the build quality of the Nikon wins the battle. The lens selection with both brands is exceptional, so that will not likely be an issue.

One last thing: every Nikon 50/1.8 has a metal mount and only the oldest EF EOS 50/1.8s do (the rest are plastic). I hate plastic lens mounts.