I don't have a sentimental attachment to it but always thought what a very good looking camera it is . . .
Thanks for your insight. Camera body, however, is just one side of the equation; lens is the other. I remember missing the far superior AF and IS of the EOS system from the late 90s. And since you mentioned Yashica - TL Electro-X was my very first SLR, sporting a fast f/1.4 Yashinon lens. I'm still looking for a pristine example of it on the S/H market for sentimental reasons only.
Lot of features don't make for a great camera, just increase usefulness.
But if you had to pick a film camera for your L lenses, what would it be?
EOS elan7 ne if you can leave without spot meter.
I have it into black since decades. Also being sentimental, emotional attached to this camera.I don't have a sentimental attachment to it but always thought what a very good looking camera it is . . .
Yashica TL Electro X by Les DMess, on Flickr
If I'm just beating a dead horse, I'll make my sincere apology to you all now, but I honestly still can't figure out which 35mm film SLR camera would be best for evening/night photography.
My 'ideal' 35mm film camera would have the following (in order of importance):
1.) A large EV range, say, from -6.5 to 20 (like the Pentax LX, Olympus OM-2, Olympus OM-4/4TI) that can automatically meter for well over 30 seconds (which unfortunately seems to be the cutoff point for more modern film SLR cameras). If the camera can automatically meter out to nearly 15 minutes, I'd be ecstatic.
2.) Has an excellent line of sharp and contrasty lenses.
3.) Has a bright focusing screen, preferably with a good split screen, so that I can better focus for nighttime shots.
4.) Has a 100% or nearly 100% viewfinder. (I can't imagine further cropping 35mm negatives/slides.)
5.) The ability to squeeze in a few more frames than the standard count of 36. This would be nice, but not an absolute necessity.
Although it would also be nice to have, I'm not sure that I need, say, Nikon VR or Canon IS (image stabilized) lenses. I'm pretty sure that my camera will be sitting atop a tripod one way or another, particulalrly if I'm taking long-exposures/Todd Hido-esque photos.
That all said, here are the cameras I've found that sort of fit that mold in brief detail:
-Pentax LX - This camera has off the film metering (OTF), in Pentax's parlance "Integrated Direct Metering (IDM)", and a massive EV range of -6.5EV to 20EV if using autoexposure. I'm not sure how well this works in practice, but I've seen some great results.
-Olympus OM-2 - I'm specifically picking the OM-2 because I've heard that the OM-2N will only meter out to 2/3 minutes. The OM-2 is also includes an OTF meter and has a nice autoexposire EV range of -5.5EV to 18EV if using autoexposure.
-Olympus OM-4/4TI - I particularly like this camera as it's the newer of the OM system cameras and has that handy highlight/shadows spot meter (that the Canon T90 later apparently copied). It sports a comfortable EV range of -5EV to 19EV (-7EV in spot), although I don't know if the camera meters out to anything longer than 2 minutes. (I've heard conflicting reports.)
-Nikon FA - Nikon only claims exposures to 1 second, but according to Lord Ken Rockwell, the "camera works great out to several minute long exposures." The Nikon FA sports an EV range of 1EV to 16EV.
-Nikon F6 - Okay, so the EV range is only 0EV to 20EV (3D Color Matrix and Center-Weighted), and 2EV to 20EV (in Spot), however, the shutter speed can be prolonged to 30 minutes in M mode. I'm not exactly sure if this is helpful for nighttime exposures if the EV range is only from 0EV to 20EV
So far I'm leaning towards the Pentax LX (the newer model), however, I'd be just as happy with the Olympus OM-4/4TI if it could meter as many minutes out as the Pentax LX can. Any further thoughts on this?
Nonetheless, if anyone has any better suggestions, I'd love to hear it.
Many thanks if you've read down this far!
And take anything Rockwell says with a huge grain of salt. Verify everything there independently.
Did Ken weigh in on this topic? I would be curious to read it if you have a link . . .
No, but the OP said that Ken claims the Nikon FA is good to meter to several minutes. Nikon has never claimed such capabilities however.
But one Minolta in my view was possibly equally as good as the F6 and that was the Dynax 9. I had 2 at one stage. Unfortunately this creation was at the end of the Minolta modern production line and didn't remain on sale for more than a couple of years. I have not seen one for sale in a camera dealers for a good number of years. However I am too deeply involved with Nikon now that I would find it difficult to change over.
Its way pro, albeit very heavy, and very ugly, too...from my taste of aesthetics.Canon Eos 1v.
Its way pro, albeit very heavy, and very ugly, too...from my taste of aesthetics.
Oh yes it’s butt ugly but I was prioritising on performance. For pure beauty and functionality the Nikon F with the standard prism in black paint is itself a work of art.
I do agree. Albeit, i like some Contax SLRs more than manual focus Nikon, after the FM(2), i hoped onto AF with Nikon, and bought the F90x, F80 & F100. F60 as a cheap sidekick, back into its day for unsafe locations. Works surprisingly well, i mean the F60. F4 AF single point, pentaprism OVF compared to the very plasticky F65/F75 with dim-lit small pentamirror OVF, albeit only 1 AF point...but good enough simply, no frills, just the basic features, and bigger handgrip than my F80. With my AF 35/F2D, good to go everywhere. Paid like 600 bucks into 98, if i remember correctly, and as rear lens cap, a 2nd F60 into 2022 minty for just 10 quid extra.
Well, you know, the L luxury lenses aren't cheap from Canon, and usually fast via USM. Wheter it was EF or now RF mount, nowadays. I've found that 45 AF points of Canon silly somehow, because they're all mostly centered, not over the whole 36x24mm surface area. Seen that on my plasticky EOS 3, which i've sold not long after i've had bought it. For myself, the Canon EF (Film) SLRs had it's advantages, but they've been mostly way bulky, huge & ugly, compared to Nikon F aesthetics, back into its day.I learned how to used a camera with the F and FM2. When I bought a consumer AF body in the early 90’s I thought the AF was horrible. It constantly hunted and the screw drive motor was slow. I used the F4 in manual focus mode. AF did not improve until the next generation. Don’t want to rehash the Nikon vs Canon debate but keeping the N mount backward compatible meant compromises. I was taking a photo of my toddler son with an 1v and 24/1.4L very close up. Just as I was about to press the shutter he raised his hand and pointed at the lens. The lens in lightening speed locked on to the tip of his finger. Even today a lot of digital cameras can’t do this.
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