Looking for a better manual SLR

AndreSaulnier · Sep 8, 2019

I currently own a Minolta X-7A and its been good for a beginner camera but it is as basic as it gets for an SLR. I'd like to upgrade to something better but I'm unsure of what to get. the ones I've been looking at are the Nikon F2, Minolta X-700 and the Canon AE1. They are all pretty common suggestions that you see online but I was wondering if anyone here has any recommendations of other cameras that could be better but not as known?

Basically all im asking for is what is your favourite intermediate level SLR

BAC1967 · Sep 8, 2019

Olympus OM series. Are you looking for fully manual or something with some kind of auto exposure like theCanon AE-1.

AndreSaulnier · Sep 8, 2019

BAC1967 said:
Olympus OM series. Are you looking for fully manual or something with some kind of auto exposure like theCanon AE-1.

I do find auto exposure useful at times on my Minolta so yes preferably I'd like to get something with it.

Les Sarile · Sep 8, 2019

AndreSaulnier said:
I do find auto exposure useful at times on my Minolta so yes preferably I'd like to get something with it.

And if you already have some Minolta glass - and they are exceptional performers, then perhaps one of these three?

BTW, if you like a smooth working camera, the XE-7 has the smoothest film advance I've found in a manual camera.

summicron1 · Sep 8, 2019

Nikon FE gives you full auto or manual. They're good sturdy cameras and use a wide range of lenses that are cheap ... if you can't get all you want from using one of those then you need to work on your photography skills, not your gear.

runswithsizzers · Sep 8, 2019

Better?

As in better user experience?
Better images?
Better reliablilty?
Looks better hanging around your neck?

What do you see as the shortcomings of your Minolta X-7A?

As for your list of possible upgrades, I recently ran a roll through a Canon AE-1, so I will comment briefly on that one. Excellent build quality, feels substantial, good viewfinder, easy to focus, good controls, accurate meter. BUT. I did not care for the shutter-priority auto-exposure. And I found using the camera in manual exposure mode was somewhat awkward. In the viewfinder you can see what aperture the meter recommends. That's great in auto mode, if you are happy with the selected aperture. But if you decide you want to shoot one stop higher or lower, you need to press a tiny button on the lens to leave Auto mode, and then set the lens to the preferred aperture. The actual aperture you choose is not shown in the viewfinder, so in maual mode it's not possible to confirm that you are set to to the aperture while actually shooting.

As someone who has been shooting Pentaxes for several decades, another minor difficulty for me was, both the aperture ring and focusing on the Canon are "backwards" compared to my Pentaxes. If you are not set in your ways, that should not be a problem.

My recommendation would be a Pentax MX or K2, but I'm sure there are several others you would be equally happy with, depending on what it is you are looking for.

AndreSaulnier · Sep 8, 2019

runswithsizzers said:
Better?

As in better user experience?
Better images?
Better reliablilty?
Looks better hanging around your neck?

What do you see as the shortcomings of your Minolta X-7A?

As for your list of possible upgrades, I recently ran a roll through a Canon AE-1, so I will comment briefly on that one. Excellent build quality, feels substantial, good viewfinder, easy to focus, good controls, accurate meter. BUT. I did not care for the shutter-priority auto-exposure. And I found using the camera in manual exposure mode was somewhat awkward. In the viewfinder you can see what aperture the meter recommends. That's great in auto mode, if you are happy with the selected aperture. But if you decide you want to shoot one stop higher or lower, you need to press a tiny button on the lens to leave Auto mode, and then set the lens to the aperture shown in the viewfinder. The actual aperture is not shown in the viewfinder, so in maual mode it's not possible to confirm that you are set to to the aperture you want.

As someone who has been shooting Pentaxes for several decades, another minor difficulty for me was, both the aperture ring and focusing on the Canon are "backwards" compared to my Pentaxes. If you are not set in your ways, that should not be a problem.

My recommendation would be a Pentax MX or K2, but I'm sure there are several others you would be equally happy with, depending on what it is you are looking for.

basically I find the build to be a big one for me. its great for the price but id still like something a bit better. I also have been having some issues when it comes to the cloth shutter not being synced which led to some photos with the bottom black. also extra stuff like exposure adjustment control, maybe an aperture window etc would be bonus

shutterfinger · Sep 8, 2019

Nikon FM, FM2,FM3, F3, F4

GregY · Sep 8, 2019

The Nikon FM series are real workhorses, but in the end I find i have a bigger soft spot for the F/F2 with a plain pentaprism..... & the 100% viewfinder

GregY · Sep 8, 2019

The Nikon FM series are real workhorses, in the end I've had a bigger soft spot for the F/F2 with a non-metered pentaprism and.... the 100% viewfinder.

Jim Jones · Sep 9, 2019

I bought my first Nikon F1 in 1987, and saw no good reason to move up from that until the DSLRs became fairly capable. However, the original metered viewfinder is much inferior to later Nikons. No matter, handheld meters have worked well enough for me for many decades. Sixty years after the Nikon F with a non-metered pentaprism meter was introduced, it is still as capable for many photographers as anything else on the market. New and old lenses and accessories are perhaps more plentiful than for any other camera.

Les Sarile · Sep 9, 2019

Jim Jones said:
I bought my first Nikon F1 in 1987, and saw no good reason to move up from that until the DSLRs became fairly capable.

There was never a Nikon F1 model . . .

Ste_S · Sep 9, 2019

AndreSaulnier said:
basically I find the build to be a big one for me. its great for the price but id still like something a bit better. I also have been having some issues when it comes to the cloth shutter not being synced which led to some photos with the bottom black. also extra stuff like exposure adjustment control, maybe an aperture window etc would be bonus

I get the impression you're not entirely sure what you want ? Better is very subjective.
For example I've gone back to shooting a plastic Mamiya ZM as I prefer the way the Mamiya-Sekor lenses render Kodak Ektar over the more illustrious Nikons and Nikkors I have.

What's your budget ? Also take into account the price of lenses. Any brand preferences ?

Paul Howell · Sep 9, 2019

Konica T3, shutter preferred auto exposure, along with full manual, full read out in the viewfinder, mirror lockup, and full range of really good glass. If you want a auto winder then the T4. Other option is the Chinon CE3 or 4. The CE3 is M42 mount, so very large selection of lens, and it has aperture preferred exposure with all M42 lens (well maybe not all, there are M42 with strange pins that may not work) the C4 is K mount. For Nikon, the FG, aperture preferred exposure will all AI lens and with later lens programmed as well, takes either a winder or a motor drive. If you have deeper pockets a Minolta XK, pro level camera, only fault was that there are 2 models, the standard body and the motor drive body with built in motor drive. In the Pentax world, MX, or K body.

ic-racer · Sep 9, 2019

Yashica Fx-3 is a great manual/mechanical camera. You can probably get ten of them for the price of a mechanical/manual Contax S2. The Yashicas take both Contax/Zeiss and Yashica lenses. The meter uses LR44 batteries and has LEDs. The cameras are pretty bullet-proof, tiny and light weight. They were made until 2002!

The top is plastic, the bottom is metal. But the camera frame, lens mount and shutter are metal.

__Brian · Sep 9, 2019

Nikon F2- not an "intermediate" level, but these days- more affordable than ever.
Minolta X-700: I would look at the SRT-201, SRT-202 and similar.
Canon AE1- can develop problems in the electronics, "the Squeal". The Canon FTb is all-mechanical, the F1 and F1n are all-mechanical and equal of the Nikon F2. I usually grab the F1 for when shooting Canon SLRs with a 50/1.4 SSC. I have the EF, a fine camera. Gave away a beautiful Black FTb to a friend for his daughter to use taking photography courses. It had a recent CLA.

MNM · Sep 9, 2019

runswithsizzers said:
Better?

As in better user experience?
Better images?
Better reliablilty?
Looks better hanging around your neck?

What do you see as the shortcomings of your Minolta X-7A?

As for your list of possible upgrades, I recently ran a roll through a Canon AE-1, so I will comment briefly on that one. Excellent build quality, feels substantial, good viewfinder, easy to focus, good controls, accurate meter. BUT. I did not care for the shutter-priority auto-exposure. And I found using the camera in manual exposure mode was somewhat awkward. In the viewfinder you can see what aperture the meter recommends. That's great in auto mode, if you are happy with the selected aperture. But if you decide you want to shoot one stop higher or lower, you need to press a tiny button on the lens to leave Auto mode, and then set the lens to the preferred aperture. The actual aperture you choose is not shown in the viewfinder, so in maual mode it's not possible to confirm that you are set to to the aperture while actually shooting.

As someone who has been shooting Pentaxes for several decades, another minor difficulty for me was, both the aperture ring and focusing on the Canon are "backwards" compared to my Pentaxes. If you are not set in your ways, that should not be a problem.

My recommendation would be a Pentax MX or K2, but I'm sure there are several others you would be equally happy with, depending on what it is you are looking for.

Yours was the second reference to the Canon AE-1. The AV-1 offers aperture priority which I prefer. It appears the AV-1 doesn't get as much attention for some reason so they appear to be less expensive. I wouldn't call it a manual camera and not a significant improvement for the OP as it's a fairly basic aperture priority SLR, but putting it out there.

Showing some further Canon bias maybe a FTb would be suitable and rather affordable as well?

My real preference would be use something newish (1990 +). It might just be me but I find it easier to get the results I'm looking for with my A2 than the AV-1. It can be as manual or automatic as you want. Not pretty to look at, but just flat works.

runswithsizzers · Sep 9, 2019

MNM said:
Yours was the second reference to the Canon AE-1. The AV-1 offers aperture priority which I prefer. It appears the AV-1 doesn't get as much attention for some reason so they appear to be less expensive. I wouldn't call it a manual camera and not a significant improvement for the OP as it's a fairly basic aperture priority SLR, but putting it out there.

Showing some further Canon bias maybe a FTb would be suitable and rather affordable as well?

My real preference would be use something newish (1990 +). It might just be me but I find it easier to get the results I'm looking for with my A2 than the AV-1. It can be as manual or automatic as you want. Not pretty to look at, but just flat works.

Not sure why this was Reply'ed to me. It was the OP (AndreSaulnier) who brought up the Canon AE-1 as a possibility (not me). What I was trying to convey to the OP is that the AE-1 is a nice enough camera, but it may not be the best choice for someone who wants to use manual exposure.

narsuitus · Sep 9, 2019

AndreSaulnier said:
...I was wondering if anyone here has any recommendations of other cameras that could be better but not as known?

Fujica ST705 by Narsuitus, on Flickr

mrosenlof · Sep 9, 2019

By "manual" do you mean focus or exposure? I'm assuming exposure.

My suggestion is pick the top line camera produced in 1978 from any of the big manufacturers. Nikon F2, Canon F1, Olympus OM-1, Pentax MX, Minolta something. If you have some good Minolta glass stick with them. All of the above companies made good lenses and a lot of them are still around today. Nikon makes only a few lenses today that would work on an F2, I'm less certain about Pentax. No new lenses have been made in the Canon FD, OM or Minolta MD mount in a while.

Sirius Glass · Sep 9, 2019

I had Minoltas for many decades. Since you have Minolta lenses, I would strongly recommend sticking with Minolta especially since there are so many good choices.

mshchem · Sep 9, 2019

Like Sirius says, if you have nice Minolta glass, maybe a Minolta?
I have F and F2 bodies, still I would either go to a F3 or an F5. Both can be had in excellent condition for a very good price from KEH.
A excellent plus F3 with a nice Nikon burgundy leather half case is beautiful and modern.

blockend · Sep 10, 2019

MNM said:
The AV-1 offers aperture priority which I prefer. It appears the AV-1 doesn't get as much attention for some reason so they appear to be less expensive.

I'm shooting an AV-1 currently, the Yashica FR and Kiev4 both require attention. It's fully auto aperture priority, but compensation via the ASA dial is easy. I'm certainly appreciating its lack of weight.

It may be heresy hereabouts, but I don't think it matters too much what you shoot with, within reason. 20 to 50 years after most of the cameras discussed here were made, getting a good example is more important than innovations which set their price point at the time. Nailing exposure and development times can be done even if the shutter speed has drifted over time. Some cameras get in the way more than others, but most can be cajoled into service. If the OP wants to build a system on a budget, that would narrow his choice. Canon FD, Yashica ML/DSB, pre-AI Nikkors, Minolta MD, will be far less expensive than collecting Contax, Leica and anything fancy that can be put on a mirrorless camera.

John51 · Sep 10, 2019

I'm a long time fan of the OM1n. It's great manual camera. Then I got an OM2n. Can be set to manual or +/- up to 2 stops correction in auto mode.

The off the film exposure metering is really cool. For fun, I did some portraits with an 18A UV pass filter held to the lens, (can't see through it,) and they were correctly exposed. I also messed about with some old colour separation filters to see how difficult doing tricolour would be. No problem, when enough light has hit the film, the shutter closes.

RalphLambrecht · Sep 10, 2019

summicron1 said:
Nikon FE gives you full auto or manual. They're good sturdy cameras and use a wide range of lenses that are cheap ... if you can't get all you want from using one of those then you need to work on your photography skills, not your gear.

+1

Looking for a better manual SLR

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