In your opinion, what are the best modern 35mm film SLRs ever built?

manfrominternet · Jul 19, 2023

Pioneer said:
I own the Minolta, nice camera.

I have owned the Nikon F6 but sold it because my Minolta and Canon EOS 1n were better for me.

But even though it was not on your list I would vote for the Pentax LX. Les Sarile has done a great job of reviewing it.

Another Minolta user! Nice! Which Minolta do you have if I may ask?

Someone else told me that, while the Nikon F6 is an undoubtedly an amazing camera, it's just too heavy and you might as well move into lighter medium format camera territory.

Pioneer · Jul 22, 2023

I actually own several Minoltas but the one I'm referring to in that post is my Maxxum 7xi. I recently inherited it and am just starting to get comfortable with it.

I didn't find the Nikon F6 was too heavy, just that I really didn't have any lenses for it. When I began looking around I decided that I didn't really want to put together another camera system.

manfrominternet · Sep 14, 2023

Well, I’m down to four cameras:

-Pentax LX
-Olympus OM-4Ti
-Nikon F3
-Nikon F4

I don’t know which of these I should pull the trigger on and purchase. I’m hoping that those of you who have far more experience can help.

I’d primarily be using this camera for night photography and general street photography. That said, whichever of these cameras has the ‘best’ exposure metering is the one I’d probably go with. It seems like the Pentax LX might be the best for night photography, but the Nikon F4 has matrix metering, so I’m not entirely sure.

Any suggestions? (Many thanks ahead of time!)

xkaes · Sep 14, 2023

M-88 said:
what does Minolta AF system do that Nikon AF or Canon EOS do not?

And vice-versa.

xkaes · Sep 14, 2023

manfrominternet said:
I'm surprised that there's little love on here for the poor Minolta Maxxum/Dynax/a-7 or Minolta Maxxum/Dynax/a-9.

Any reason for this?

Nothing wrong with them, but compared to the Maxxum 5 they are larger, much more expensive, and heavier -- and don't offer any more features that are important to me. You can buy Maxxum 5 cameras in mint condition for $10 -- WITH lenses.

JParker · Sep 14, 2023

manfrominternet said:
Well, I’m down to four cameras:

-Pentax LX
-Olympus OM-4Ti
-Nikon F3
-Nikon F4

I don’t know which of these I should pull the trigger on and purchase. I’m hoping that those of you who have far more experience can help.

I’d primarily be using this camera for night photography and general street photography. That said, whichever of these cameras has the ‘best’ exposure metering is the one I’d probably go with. It seems like the Pentax LX might be the best for night photography, but the Nikon F4 has matrix metering, so I’m not entirely sure.

Any suggestions? (Many thanks ahead of time!)

From those four the F4 has definitely the best and most sophisticated metering system, as you not only have matrix metering, but also centre weigthed metering and spot metering.
And the Pentax LX is certainly not better for night photography than the F4.
The F4 is also by far the moste versatile camera of these four. And F4s are still very cheap on the used market, no hype so far at all. It's still a bargain.
Concerning matrix metering: Nikon has permanently improved it, so compared to the F4 it is better in the F5, and from F5 to F6 it was even further improved, including further improved flash and fill-in flash performance (i-TTL; which is outstanding).

MattKing · Sep 14, 2023

manfrominternet said:
Well, I’m down to four cameras:

-Pentax LX
-Olympus OM-4Ti
-Nikon F3
-Nikon F4

I don’t know which of these I should pull the trigger on and purchase. I’m hoping that those of you who have far more experience can help.

I’d primarily be using this camera for night photography and general street photography. That said, whichever of these cameras has the ‘best’ exposure metering is the one I’d probably go with. It seems like the Pentax LX might be the best for night photography, but the Nikon F4 has matrix metering, so I’m not entirely sure.

Any suggestions? (Many thanks ahead of time!)

FWIW, and to add to the quality of your searches, in much of the world, the Olympus OM-4Ti is badged as the Olympus OM-4T.

Pioneer · Sep 14, 2023

JParker said:
From those four the F4 has definitely the best and most sophisticated metering system, as you not only have matrix metering, but also centre weigthed metering and spot metering.
And the Pentax LX is certainly not better for night photography than the F4.
The F4 is also by far the moste versatile camera of these four. And F4s are still very cheap on the used market, no hype so far at all. It's still a bargain.
Concerning matrix metering: Nikon has permanently improved it, so compared to the F4 it is better in the F5, and from F5 to F6 it was even further improved, including further improved flash and fill-in flash performance (i-TTL; which is outstanding).

What? This was written by a blind Nikon Fan.

chuckroast · Sep 14, 2023

The Nikon F, F2, and F3 win for me. Unbelievably tough and durable cameras. My 60 year old Fs just keep on rolling ... and the meters even still work. The F3 would have been perfect except for that stupid LCD display for exposure, speed, and aperture. That needed to be an LED display not something that required a backlight button.

Vaughan Bromfield · Sep 14, 2023

Something from left field: look at the EOS 630/600 which is the last of the first generation EOS cameras (the others are the 650, 620 and RT – the RT is based on the 630). They have a metal frame, 5fps, good single-point AF (later cameras are better of course) but most interesting is the Technical Back E which can store exposure data (shutter, aperture, exposure mode, etc) for 30 rolls of film and will number each roll of film on the leader at the start of the roll. Due to the unavailability of MSX computers and interfaces the exposure information needs to be read from the back, but saving exposure data itself is a neat party trick that few film cameras can perform.

Even further let off field is the aforementioned EOS RT with pellicle mirror. Only 25,000 were made which probably makes them the rarest EOS camera. It has some interesting custom functions, one of which defers film advance until after the shutter button is released.

JParker · Sep 14, 2023

Pioneer said:
What? This was written by a blind Nikon Fan.

......said the one who just in a different thread wanted to make us believe that, quote "that most of the Leica R lenses are actually Minolta lenses."
Neither that nor that I am a "blind Nikon fan" is true. Such unfounded accusations are totally counterproductive and are not helpful at all for the OP.
You don't know me at all, you don't know what cameras I have used in the past and have experience with, and you don't know what I am currently using.

Craig · Sep 14, 2023

manfrominternet said:
That said, whichever of these cameras has the ‘best’ exposure metering is the one I’d probably go with.

I would say F4. The matrix metering is superb, I used it with slide film for years and it was almost always perfectly exposed. The F4 has the most versitile metering options of the ones you listed.

As mentioned, for the price these days it's a lot of camera.

Les Sarile · Sep 14, 2023

manfrominternet said:
Well, I’m down to four cameras:

-Pentax LX
-Olympus OM-4Ti
-Nikon F3
-Nikon F4

I don’t know which of these I should pull the trigger on and purchase. I’m hoping that those of you who have far more experience can help.

I’d primarily be using this camera for night photography and general street photography. That said, whichever of these cameras has the ‘best’ exposure metering is the one I’d probably go with. It seems like the Pentax LX might be the best for night photography, but the Nikon F4 has matrix metering, so I’m not entirely sure.

Any suggestions? (Many thanks ahead of time!)

You previously stated you need very long aperture priority exposure capability. I don't know what the F4's longest exposure time is in aperture priority mode as I never tested it. Does anyone here know?

I know what it is for the F3 and OM4T since I have and tested those in controlled setting. Reliably repeatable in many seconds to low minutes but not much above that.

Do you plane to mostly use color negatives, b&w or slide film?

The reason I ask is if you primarily intend to shoot most any color negative or b&w film, then I would suggest the much more sophisticated metering system of the F4 may not be all that advantageous. For instance, below is a test I conducted to show the latitude of Kodak Portra 400 particularly on the overexposure side. I overexposed by 10 stops and with some very minor post work, I can still get a workable result from it. By comparison, RAW digi files are completely useless by +4.

Kodak Portra 400 overexposure by Les DMess, on Flickr

Knowing what you can achieve from a particular film comes in handy when you come up to a scene and the meter recommends a setting but you need something different. Like this slowly trickling waterfall and the meter recommended 1/60 but I needed 2 seconds to get the desired effect. Knowing that Fuji 100 color negative can handle this amount of overexposure, I took the shot and the resulting image didn't require much - if any, post work.

Fuji 100-26-26B by Les DMess, on Flickr

Craig · Sep 15, 2023

Les Sarile said:
I don't know what the F4's longest exposure time is in aperture priority mode as I never tested it. Does anyone here know?

30 seconds with body only, with the Multi Control Back MF-23 up to 999 hours, 999 minutes and 999 seconds

Les Sarile · Sep 15, 2023

Craig said:
30 seconds with body only, with the Multi Control Back MF-23 up to 999 hours, 999 minutes and 999 seconds

Aperture priority autoexposure can go to 999seconds?

Film-Niko · Sep 15, 2023

Craig said:
I would say F4. The matrix metering is superb, I used it with slide film for years and it was almost always perfectly exposed. The F4 has the most versitile metering options of the ones you listed.

As mentioned, for the price these days it's a lot of camera.

+1.

Craig · Sep 15, 2023

Les Sarile said:
Aperture priority autoexposure can go to 999seconds?

As I read it, Aperture priority can go to 999 hours...etc. Way more than most people are likely to need, even if it was 999 seconds! I couldn't find a manual for that particular back so I'm not 100% sure.

Les Sarile · Sep 15, 2023

Craig said:
As I read it, Aperture priority can go to 999 hours...etc. Way more than most people are likely to need, even if it was 999 seconds! I couldn't find a manual for that particular back so I'm not 100% sure.

If true, 999 hours of aperture priority autoexposure far surpasses the several hours I've tested my LX's to reliably repeatedly do. 999 seconds (16+ minutes) is far less then the LX but still far more than all the others I've tested.

With the LX, I've deviced a way to externally monitor when the autoexposure is done. I wonder if the F4 has something?

Les Sarile · Sep 15, 2023

Craig said:
As I read it, Aperture priority can go to 999 hours...etc. Way more than most people are likely to need, even if it was 999 seconds! I couldn't find a manual for that particular back so I'm not 100% sure.

After reading about the MF23, I believe that is a timed exposure of up to 999 hours and not aperture priority autoexposure.

MIR Nikon back

Pioneer · Sep 15, 2023

JParker said:
......said the one who just in a different thread wanted to make us believe that, quote "that most of the Leica R lenses are actually Minolta lenses."
Neither that nor that I am a "blind Nikon fan" is true. Such unfounded accusations are totally counterproductive and are not helpful at all for the OP.
You don't know me at all, you don't know what cameras I have used in the past and have experience with, and you don't know what I am currently using.

True. My apologies.

Sirius Glass · Sep 15, 2023

The Minolta SR7 and all the SRTs that came after. Also the Nikons, especially the AF models.

BMbikerider · Sep 15, 2023

JerseyDoug said:
Nikon still has parts and will service the F6. I don't think this level of factory support exists for any other SLR.

I know where there is a brand new, unused, Nikon F6 for sale. It was bought by an elderly gentleman who before he was able to use it, he fell ill and died. I am calling the dealer on Monday to see if it is still for sale (They are closed until then) If it is still there I will break out my plastic friend.

rulnacco · Sep 15, 2023

Pioneer said:
What? This was written by a blind Nikon Fan.

I didn't write that, but of the four cameras he listed, the F4 *is* the most capable camera. It is easily more versatile than any of the other cameras listed there (although the F3 is arguably better at a couple of things, depending on your requirements).

Is it the *best*? That depends on what you're looking for. It's a big, heavy beast, even in its smallest configuration. And if you don't want a fairly noisy built-in motor drive, well, that's a black mark, too. And getting one serviced nowadays is just next to impossible.

I am a Nikon fan--primarily because their cameras *are* so damn good and well built, and there is such long-term compatibility between so many of their bodies and lenses its possible to build all kinds of combinations to your preference. But none of their cameras--like everyone's--are perfect. And would I advise someone just starting to use film to get an F3 as their first camera? Hell no. If you know what you're doing, and can deal with *its* quirks, it may be a good camera for you. For a "rookie"? Probably not.

Personally, *my* first "pro" camera was an F4--which I bought used, as a step up from the Minolta X700 that was my very first camera. And it's *so* good I still use it, 25 years later. Do I use it every day? Nope. There are other cameras that serve some needs better than it does.

There are some reasons why the F4 would actually be a good camera for someone new to film photography--as it was for me. The poster would *probably* be better off, however, with an Olympus, although whether the OM-4 is where they should start is debatable. I don't know enough about a Pentax LX to comment, although from what I have heard *that* one might not be the best from that brand--a very good brand--to start with.

If I were recommending cameras *not* on the poster's list, I'd start with a Nikon FE or something like that, for several entirely practical reasons that go beyond fandom. But they didn't ask for general recommendations--they listed four models, and recommending an F4 out of that list, for the things it does offer, is not an invalid choice.

ic-racer · Sep 15, 2023

JerseyDoug said:
Nikon still has parts and will service the F6. I don't think this level of factory support exists for any other SLR.

^ This

neilt3 · Sep 15, 2023

manfrominternet said:
I'm surprised that there's little love on here for the poor Minolta Maxxum/Dynax/a-7 or Minolta Maxxum/Dynax/a-9.

Any reason for this?

I'm a Minolta shooter , always have been since I bought a used 7000AF in the early 90's .
Although I have most Minolta cameras AF and MF , my favourite one is the Dynax 7 , I have several . They work great , AF , metering , nice lenses . Works with all Minolta A mount lenses as well as all Sony A mount lenses ( full frame that is , not the digital "DT" crop sensor lenses - although you can fit them , they don't fully cover the film ) , screw driven , SSM and SAM .
It's a very modern camera , I recommend it .

I've recently bought my second Dynax 9 , this time it's one that's had the SSM and ADI flash control update , so it'll also use my Sony Carl Zeiss 24-70mm f/2.8 and Sony 70-400mm SSM G lenses and some others .
Un-updated ones don't AF with SSM and SAM lenses .
This is also another good camera , very reliable .

One point with regards to "modern" electronic cameras ( late 70's onwards ) repairs are getting less and less likely/possible .
Some issues can be rectified , others can't .

manfrominternet said:
Well, I’m down to four cameras:

-Pentax LX
-Olympus OM-4Ti
-Nikon F3
-Nikon F4

I don’t know which of these I should pull the trigger on and purchase. I’m hoping that those of you who have far more experience can help.

Hmmm , you did say "what are the best modern 35mm film SLRs ever built? " I'm not sure I'd call any of them "modern" !
I do have the F3 and F4 , and I do like using them at times , but they aren't modern !

manfrominternet said:
I’d primarily be using this camera for night photography and general street photography. That said, whichever of these cameras has the ‘best’ exposure metering is the one I’d probably go with. It seems like the Pentax LX might be the best for night photography, but the Nikon F4 has matrix metering, so I’m not entirely sure.

Any suggestions? (Many thanks ahead of time!)

Why do you rule out Canon EOS ?
You shoot in low light , they all support the latest image stabilised lenses .
Night time photography your on a tripod regardless .
Something like the EOS 1V , then the EOS 3 would ideal .
The Elan 7NE is also a good camera .

Later Nikons like the F6 , F5 , F100 and F80 might be a better choice if you want Nikon as they'll support image stabilised lenses , I'm fairly sure the F4 won't .
You can mount them , but have to switch it off , as it'll still drain the batteries , but not give correct stabilisation .
Non of the new lenses using an electronic aperture allow aperture control on any film camera , so avoid the "E" lenses . ( not MF series "E")

xkaes said:
Nothing wrong with them, but compared to the Maxxum 5 they are larger, much more expensive, and heavier -- and don't offer any more features that are important to me. You can buy Maxxum 5 cameras in mint condition for $10 -- WITH lenses.

If you want to try out some Minolta lenses , you can't go wrong with a Dynax 5 .
Cheap s anything , often with the 28-80mm or 28-100mm kit lens .
Very versatile , and if you get the battery grip , you can use AA batteries in it , and improve the handling if larger lenses are used .

In your opinion, what are the best modern 35mm film SLRs ever built?

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