Looking for a better manual SLR

Alan Gales · Sep 14, 2019

AndreSaulnier said:
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

The Minolta X-700 was a great camera in it's day. I sold a ton of them brand new. The problem is that the shutter relies on a battery. The same goes for the Canon AE-1. These cameras are old so I'd try to get something that didn't rely on batteries except for the meter.

The Nikon F2 only relies on a battery for it's meter. Personally, of your three choices, I'd go with it but with the non metered pentaprism that someone earlier recommended. I'd then use a separate light meter of my choice.

Or you could just buy a much later Nikon F100.

Les Sarile · Sep 14, 2019

BMbikerider said:
At the other end of the scale and quite rare look for a Minolta XM which is Minoltas version of the F2, but used advanced (for the day) electronics. Metered (and accurate) exposures down to many seconds and up to 1/2000. Then there is the XE1 which was used as the basis for the 1st Leica automatic electronic SLR. Built like a tank but a beautiful camera to use. I have one of each of these last two, with the XM having the softest, quietest shutter of any slr I have used. The XE1 has the smoothest lever wind of any make I have used.

The XK was a few years ahead of the rest of the pro models with their aperture priority mode.

I have yet to find a 'poor' Minolta lens. My favourites are the 24/35 zoom, 35/70 zoom (also used by Leica) 28/85 zoom and the 70/210 zoom and the only prime I would buy is the 20mm F2.8 (if I could find one!) I prefer these zooms because primes to cover the same range would be quite heavy to carry

That's because at that time, Minolta was only one of two camera companies in Japan that made their own optical glass.

Paul Howell · Sep 14, 2019

What hurt the XK was that Minolta did not make a body that could take a motor drive, and when they did it was an integrated drive could be not removed. The next pro body was the AF A9000 , the only pro level AF body with a detachable motor drive or winder.

Les Sarile · Sep 14, 2019

Paul Howell said:
What hurt the XK was that Minolta did not make a body that could take a motor drive, and when they did it was an integrated drive could be not removed. The next pro body was the AF A9000 , the only pro level AF body with a detachable motor drive or winder.

That's a fair assessment. I can't find the reference at this time but i recall a motor drive and aperture priority - using a slow reacting CDS meter, was an obstacle they couldn't overcome at that time.

Paul Howell · Sep 14, 2019

Now that you mention it, I recall that it was the same reason Konica and Miranda did not make motor drives. The T4 was the first Konica body with a winder, and it was slow so the meter couldn't keep up with the shutter priority exposure. Nikon did make a shutter priority view finder for the F2, and it was really slow. I think it was in a short article in Modern Photography, mid 70's, don't know if I still have it, if I do have it's in storage.

Alan Gales · Sep 15, 2019

I always thought of a motor drive as a great way to waste film.

Sirius Glass · Sep 15, 2019

Alan Gales said:
I always thought of a motor drive as a great way to waste film.

It can be used as part of a physical fitness program of carrying useless wasted mass just for the sake of exercise.

Paul Howell · Sep 15, 2019

I traded up from a Konica T to a Nikon F with drive, although slow by modern standards, when shooting action, sports, news, ect I quickly became a believer. The F2 and F3 had really good drives as did the FG, the winder was 1.5 to 2 FPS, the drive 3.5. When I retired from PJ, thought I would not use a drive much, but over the years had gotten so use to a drive or winder that I always use one if the camera I am shooting with has the option. After my F3 and lens were ripped off got my first AF a Sigma SA7, then a 9, really like the drives, my usual 35mm kit is either a Minolta 800 or 9 with grip. What is odd is that I don't miss a drive when shooting MF.

cooltouch · Sep 15, 2019

I find I'm largely in agreement with Paul. In my salad days, I lugged around a pair of original Canon F-1s with their gargantuan Motor Drive MFs. Speed demons those old drives weren't. They topped out at 3.5 fps. I almost never used them to fire off multiple exposures, but I had the option if I ever felt the need. Instead I found the drives advantageous for keeping my eye on the subject. I didn't have to remove my eye from the viewfinder when, without a drive, I had to manually crank the film winder to the next frame. Since those days, I've owned quite a few cameras with motor drive options, and in ever occasion I've bought the drive for the camera -- except for one. The Pentax LX motor is about as rare as hens teeth and really expensive if you can find one. So I did the next best thing with my LX and bought a winder.

Now, after having a chance to use so many camera/drive combinations, I have a couple of favorites when considering bulk and comfort -- the Nikon F3 with MD4 and the Nikon FM/FM2/FE/FE2 with the MD12. Both are relatively light, not bulky at all really, and reasonably comfortable to use.

There are other notable combinations -- also-rans, I guess -- and I haven't mentioned them mostly because I don't like the cameras as much as others I've used. Combinations like the Minolta X700 and MD1 and the Canon A-1 with Motor Drive MA are also decent contenders when bulk and comfort is discussed.

Sirius Glass · Sep 15, 2019

Nikon N75s and Nikon F100s advance film without carrying a groin tearing motor drive.

Wallendo · Sep 15, 2019

Alan Gales said:
The Minolta X-700 was a great camera in it's day. I sold a ton of them brand new. The problem is that the shutter relies on a battery. The same goes for the Canon AE-1. These cameras are old so I'd try to get something that didn't rely on batteries except for the meter.

The Nikon F2 only relies on a battery for it's meter. Personally, of your three choices, I'd go with it but with the non metered pentaprism that someone earlier recommended. I'd then use a separate light meter of my choice.

Or you could just buy a much later Nikon F100.

Fortunately for AE-1 owners, it uses the same battery as dog collars for invisible fences. These batteries are readily available in pet stores.

BradS · Sep 15, 2019

It appears that the OP has left the building.

George Mann · Sep 16, 2019

Sirius Glass said:
Nikon N75s and Nikon F100s advance film without carrying a groin tearing motor drive.

I would recommend the F301/N2000, F4 and FA for those looking for an advanced (but readily controllable) motor-driven camera to use with manual lenses.

M-88 · Sep 16, 2019

George Mann said:
I would recommend the F301/N2000, F4 and FA for those looking for an advanced (but readily controllable) motor-driven camera to use with manual lenses.

FA needs an external motor drive. Otherwise it's loaded with features. After all, it's the first Nikon ever to have (basic but still) matrix metering. And so is F4 in pro segment of the market. Unfortunately F-301 lacks that feature.

---------------------------------------------------------

I would be extra careful with Minolta X-700 and 9000. Former is notorious for dead capacitor, latter - for dead electromagnet, both of which render the shutter useless.

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

It's hard to point out the single camera. Minolta X-570 is good (I never cared for Program mode of X-700), Nikon FE is also good, Pentax Super A would come very close if it had better look, Olympus OM-2 is good as well. And last but far from the least - Nikon 8008s is my favourite among autofocus cameras. F90 is newer, but I don't like the sticky back issue. F80 would be it, if it could meter with manual lenses.

Chan Tran · Sep 16, 2019

Paul Howell said:
What hurt the XK was that Minolta did not make a body that could take a motor drive, and when they did it was an integrated drive could be not removed. The next pro body was the AF A9000 , the only pro level AF body with a detachable motor drive or winder.

I was in the market for a 35mm SLR in 1977. I considered the XK, The Canon F1 and the Nikon F2. I picked the Nikon F2AS. The F2 had the fastest motor drive at the time although I never bought the motor drive for it. I later bought the F3 with motor drive for less than the cost of the F2 motor drive alone. I didn't pick the XK because the motor drive. Also I didn't pick it because it has electronically controlled shutter but now I prefer electronically controlled shutter.

George Mann · Sep 16, 2019

M-88 said:
FA needs an external motor drive.

Yep. My memory got a little fuzzy on this one. A great camera nonetheless!

M-88 said:
Unfortunately F-301 lacks that feature.

I think that spot metering (F4) is more useful than Matrix. Still, I have a soft spot in my heart for the not less than adequately capable F301/N2000-2020 Series.

M-88 · Sep 16, 2019

George Mann said:
Yep. My memory got a little fuzzy on this one. A great camera nonetheless!

Indeed. Luckily the prices aren't sky high yet and my friend owns one.

George Mann said:
I think that spot metering (F4) is more useful than Matrix. Still, I have a soft spot in my heart for the not less than adequately capable F301/N2000-2020 Series.

I agree with you on both matters, I nearly bought an ancient Mamiya DTL just for the sake of spot meter. Thank god I found Olympus OM-4 shortly. And I have N2020 with broken AF mechanism (drive shaft just won't come "out"). Just couldn't part with it.

Paul Howell · Sep 16, 2019

Sirius Glass said:
Nikon N75s and Nikon F100s advance film without carrying a groin tearing motor drive.

Really groin tearing. And your right, the last 3 or 4 generation of bodies had really good integrated drives. I use the Minolta battery grips for the 800 and 9 for the vertical release and allows me to use AA batteries. The heaviest motor drive is the drive for the Minolta A9000 takes 12 AA batteries, when shooting with the A9000 I usually use the winder rather than the drive.

Sirius Glass · Sep 16, 2019

I cannot believe all these people who are too lazy to use their right thumb! Next we will be hearing from people who want auto exposure and auto focus!

Les Sarile · Sep 16, 2019

Sirius Glass said:
I cannot believe all these people who are too lazy to use their right thumb! Next we will be hearing from people who want auto exposure and auto focus!

Canon's eye control focus would come in handy then . . .

Alan Gales · Sep 16, 2019

Sirius Glass said:
I cannot believe all these people who are too lazy to use their right thumb! Next we will be hearing from people who want auto exposure and auto focus!

I do like aperture priority. Just spin the aperture wheel to get what I want and use the exposure compensation dial for up or down one or two stops. It's not necessary but it's just quick.

Auto focus is like zoom lenses. I have a love/hate relationship with both. My eyes are not what they used to be and auto focus can help sometimes. Sometimes it misses focus. The only time I like zooms is when I'm shooting something like sports and can't move my feet closer to the action. Otherwise it's primes all the way.

Sirius Glass · Sep 16, 2019

Alan Gales said:
I do like aperture priority. Just spin the aperture wheel to get what I want and use the exposure compensation dial for up or down one or two stops. It's not necessary but it's just quick.

Auto focus is like zoom lenses. I have a love/hate relationship with both. My eyes are not what they used to be and auto focus can help sometimes. Sometimes it misses focus. The only time I like zooms is when I'm shooting something like sports and can't move my feet closer to the action. Otherwise it's primes all the way.

I like the auto focus on 35mm cameras. Sometimes it would be nice to have auto focus on the Hasselblads, Pacemaker Speed Graphic, and Graflex.

John51 · Sep 16, 2019

Alan Gales said:
The Minolta X-700 was a great camera in it's day. I sold a ton of them brand new. The problem is that the shutter relies on a battery. The same goes for the Canon AE-1. These cameras are old so I'd try to get something that didn't rely on batteries except for the meter.

Electronic cameras are ok if you're old. There's a chance that it will last a lifetime.

Vincent Peri · Sep 16, 2019

I use motor drives on my Nikon F3HP's set to Single shot. I don't shoot anything that needs the Continuous setting. That way, I'm ready immediately for the next shot without having to manually advance the film and thus jiggling the camera.

Pioneer · Sep 16, 2019

As has already been pointed out several times, while there are many, many good options out there to choose from, the Minolta is still the best option considering the OP (wherever he may be) already has Minolta lenses.
I place my vote for the SRT-101. It is an amazing camera, is very robust, and the metering works extremely well. Everyone of us would be very well served with one of these cameras and I seriously doubt that any one of us is so good that we really need anything better though many of us obviously have other preferences.

Looking for a better manual SLR

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency