Looking for cheap, quality, full mechanical and manual 35mm camera with good lenses

[darkosaric]

I'm sorry you can't watch it. The footage mentioned is from an earlier film, I believe it was a documentary done in the 60s in France.

I will remember the link and when I will go on vacation in some country that has less censorship - I will watch it .

 

[MattKing]

If you would like something new, and can double your budget: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ns=p_PRICE_2%7C0&ci=269&N=4288586274&srtclk=sort&mnp=0&mxp=320.00

I post that because the two cameras listed will work with a wide variety of reasonably priced, easily found used lenses.

The Vivitar is most likely made by Cosina.

If you do the same search but take out the price limitations, a bunch of higher priced options appear.

 

[John Koehrer]

Smaller & lighter suggests later cameras.
All of the following use the battery ONLY for the meter.
Olympus OM-1n........Doesn't have a traditional shutter speed dial on top. It's around the lens mount like the Nikkormat.
I never got used to the SS selector and went back to SS on top cameras.

Pentax MX or KX, KM or K1000. The K's are a bit larger than the MX. Again found that I didn't care for the MX because of size. Spotmatics were compact & well balanced, Excellent ergonomics, very comfortable. Similar size to the K's but better feel.

Nikon FM, FM2. Similar in size to the K Pentaxes

Weird Soviet cameras never appealed to me. Nor did off brand machines.

Older Canon, Nikkormat, Minolta SRt's. Canon & Minolta I found ungainly. Nikkormat has the SS around the lens mount and it's nowhere near compact.

F and F2 Nikon with straight prisms are both OK

 

[blockend]

Unless someone knows the source of Nikon Fs that still leave loose change from a hundred fifty bucks for a standard and wide angle Nikkor, this thread has drifted from the OPs request.

 

[michr]

Mamiya 1000 DTL might be worth looking into

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

The Vivitar is most likely made by Cosina.

The Nikon FM10 is also made by Cosina.

 

[GRHazelton]

ok to make it short I am deciding between Pentax MX + Pentax 50 1.7 I have nice offer for 90GBP (cca 150USD) (black body version looks in good condition) or mentioned Olympus OM1n (no offer here need to check ebay but prices are simillar).
I do not have any accessories to any of these cameras so for me it doesnt mater which camera I choose. I will do some review, but if anybody has experience with those cameras please let me know.
Also please continue with your suggestions maybe this thread will be helpful to other people

thank you again

edit: it is MX not KX sorry

The MX is lovely, and the black body is somewhat uncommon, fetching higher prices. $150 with the f1.7 is a good price, unless it is a real beater. I have three, lord help me! and I love them dearly. If the center weighted meter is working it is a good one. It uses easily obtainable silver cells, not mercury. The interchangeable screens are a plus if you can find them used. Wonderful viewfinder. Mechanical shutter, no batteries needed. A "Judas window" shows the f stop set in a little window, a nice touch.

The camera was intended for professional use, offering interchangeable data backs, none of which will accommodate current dates, a bulk film back, a 5 fps (IIRC) motor drive, etc. The camera is quite rugged. Oddly enough, no mirror lockup.

Watch for the 2 fps winder, it adds just enough added bulk and weight to suit me to a tee, as they say. A warning on the winder: the battery "drawer" which takes 4 AA cells, is secured by a tiny screw with a serrated head for your finger. Be careful. If this strips out you'll have to work up some sort of kludge to "fix" it. Bad, bad Pentax!

I don't know about shipping costs, etc, from the USA, but I've had excellent service from KEH. They rate conservatively; their BGN typically shows signs of careful use, certainly not abuse. No, I get no commission from them!

The OM 1 is lovely, but as an owner of an OM 4 I still prefer Pentax. Greater used lens availability. I also have a Pentax KX, excellent meter, viewfinder. No motor or winder, but mirror lockup and DOF preview. Somewhat bigger than the MX, it is essentially what the K 1000 really should have been. Meter shut off coupled to film wind, shutter release lock. Again mechanical shutter, no batteries required.

 

[Jeff Kubach]

As mention before a Canon FTb would be a good choice.

Jeff

 

[johnha]

ok to make it short I am deciding between Pentax MX + Pentax 50 1.7 I have nice offer for 90GBP (cca 150USD) (black body version looks in good condition) or mentioned Olympus OM1n (no offer here need to check ebay but prices are simillar).
I do not have any accessories to any of these cameras so for me it doesnt mater which camera I choose. I will do some review, but if anybody has experience with those cameras please let me know.

Hi pdmk,

I can only help with Pentax. As has been stated M42 lens prices have shot up recently (especially for SMC-Takumars), Pentax K mounts are plentiful and prices are now good value (they were more expensive at one point). There are loads of 'M' series 28mm, 50mm & 135mm lenses out there, 35mm are harder to find. Many Pentax shooters prefer the 'K' series lenses (marked 'SMC Pentax') to the 'M' series lenses (marked 'SMC Pentax-M'). Pentax still sell the 'FA' lenses which are fully compatible with these cameras (they're autofocus capable but retain the aperture ring), the 'FA Limited' lenses (31mm, 43mm & 77mm) are among the best there are (with prices to match).

As for the MX/K1000/KX options, the MX is slightly smaller (not significantly so) with LED meter info (some people prefer a needle) and a split-image/microprism ring focus aid, the KX/K1000 only have a micro-prism spot in the centre. The MX has a bigger viewfinder but some people find the shutter speed dial harder to adjust with the camera at the eye. The KX requires the film advance lever in the stand-off position to meter (can be a problem for left-eye users), the K1000 has no on/off switch - you need to keep the lens capped to switch the meter off. The MX & KX offer shutter speed & aperture read-out in the finder, the K1000 only a +/- needle.

Ultimately it makes little difference, the KX was only made for a couple of years in the mid-70s whilst the MX was later and the K1000 was in production until the late '90s (later ones had plastic top & bottom plates). Condition of the camera is more important. My MX's feel better engineered than my K1000's, one of my KX's has a broken/dodgy meter switch or ISO dial.

As for price 90 GBP for an MX & 50/1.7 is about right, depending on condition, the black versions are highly sought after.

 

[AgX]

Weird Soviet cameras never appealed to me.

What is weird about the Zenits?


The Zenit E is amongt the most manufactured SLRs.

(The only weird thing I experienced with a Zent E was a strange (mal-) function in combination with the shutter lock.)

 

[LunoLuno]

With the budget of $150, I would recommend

Nikomat FTn + Nikkor-H 50mm F2 + Nikkor-P 105mm F2.5(Sonar)

If you are lucky enough, you may find a Nikkor-HC or a Nikkor-P/PC(D-Gaus) within that budget.

 

[Paul Howell]

Minolta 101 or 102, Konica T or T3, Yashica made several 35mm in 42mm as did Cosina and Chinon, sold under several house brands, Spotmatic, and Miranda, of the lot the Spotmatic is my choice for a rugged 35mm with many many good lens.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

+1.you can just leave the lightmeter battery out.it willl do1sto 1/1000sand quality optics are svailable plentiful.I recommend 50mmf/1.8 and 35mmf/2.also24mmf/2.8and 85mmf/2or f/1.8

 

[RalphLambrecht]

The Praktica MTL range is worth looking at. They have a lightmeter built in that uses a single button battery, but the camera itself is completely mechanical - leave the battery out and you can use the camera just fine, shutter and everything else is true manual only. They are quite cheap to fine, and very solid and reliable. The good thing is that they use the M42 mount, so you can get some good wide angle lenses relatively cheaply. Shoots up to 1/1000

Failing that, Zenit's are my own favourite manuals. A couple of M42 choices here, and the all manual ones are exceptionally rugged. Like the MTL, good metal build, and Zenits tend to be cheaper too, as well as mechanically much simpler (nothing to go wrong), and I find, more comfortable to operate (the shutter is conventionally placed). Most of the E range are literally fully manual (not even battery meters), but the downside is that the top shutter speed is 1/500.

Zenit E and Zenit 11: Completely manual. Metal build (some very late model 11's had a plastic top panel, but otherwise all metal including film door)
Zenit TTL and 12: TTL meter (one button type battery) but fully manual camera - leave out the battery, the meter stops and everything else goes on as normal. TTL is all metal, the 12 is same as later 11's with Plastic top cap but otherwise all metal.

Lenses wise. All of the above will usually come with a decent prime, either a Praktica/Pentacon 50mm (which usually open right up to f1.7 or f2) or Helios 58mm f2, which is a lovely all-rounder.

For wide angles, you can go bargain-basement and get Prinzflex or some other cheap wide 28mm or 35mm for next to nothing (literally <£10) but they have an awful reputation. Decent wide-angles tend to be more expensive, though the old Soviet era "Mir" range to have fantastic optics and are good value and are not beyond the realms of affordability. I'm still salivating over the Mir-20 If you are on a really strict budget, it might be worth getting a cheap crappy wide lens to experiment with and find what you like doing best with it, whilst saving up for a better one.

that's the least reliable camera I ever owned,bought new,mine lasted a week before the shutter got stuck and never worked again.

 

[camtec]

I cannot recommend the OM-1. aoleg has mentioned one problem, but other common problems are that a heavy lens or a bump on the lens can screw up the metering system and there is a wire attached to the battery compartment that can corrode, but if you don't care about a meter these are non issues. My recommendation is a Minolta SRT series camera. Buy one and plan on getting a CLA and you are good to go . The Nikormats are good cameras if you don't need a meter. The metal shutter is very reliable and will give no problems. There is a resistor band that controls the meter that wears out. Another winner is a Vivitar 220SL . It uses Pentax screw mount lenses and has the same shutter as the nikkormat and should be dirt cheap.

 

[pdmk]

thank you very much for all help. I have decided for Pentax MX (black version) +Pentax 50/1.7 for 90GBP (cca 150USD) incl shipping to my country.

 

[Xmas]

The KX is a much bigger, clunkier camera than the OM, but also a more mechanically robust one. It has a sophisticated metering system and a small window that shows selected aperture in the viewfinder. That little window has a mirror that can get misaligned; this would call for a service (a general CLA would be enough to fix this small issue).

The OM is definitely smaller and more elegant. One thing to watch out on these old OM's is prism viewfinder: foam around the prism rots and can ruin prism silvering. For this reason it's worth buying the OM from somebody who knows their stuff. If rotten, the prism must be replaced (a much cheaper OM10 can be victimized as OM1 and OM10 prisms are interchangeable).

The K1000 is simpler than KX, runs off alkaline batteries too, simple is more reliable, a CLA >$.
The OM10 prisms may not fit easily, and the swap would be >$, simpler to remove foam and damaged silver coating from prism, if you can lift the top plate yourself.
You need to solder in a diode and use silver cells afterwards.
Some of the OM lenses are not easily maintainable contemporary Pentax lenses are to better build standard.
But both OM1 and K1000 are cult cameras, getting one in charity shop difficult.

 

[Simplicius]

I am surprised no-one has plumped for a Fujica SLR from 70's .. the 701 -705 or 801 all M42 .. all superbly robust, easy to use, and have a meter if you need one. Then add fujinon glass... the 50-55mm prime range are all excellent... and all easily obtainable for well under $150

 

[Ko.Fe.]

A lot of SLRs to choose from this price range with lens included.

Personally, I'm not fan of any SLR, due to light seals and flipping mirror.

With RF, scale cameras you could have fancy, clean Leica IIf with collapsible Industar-22 on it.
I used to have one kit for this price range. Sold the camera, keeping lens for Leica M4-2.

Rollei 35 is amazing camera to play under S16 rule. Two wheels are very logically placed for it. And it is most compact walk around camera, which is solidly build.

 

[GRHazelton]

thank you very much for all help. I have decided for Pentax MX (black version) +Pentax 50/1.7 for 90GBP (cca 150USD) incl shipping to my country.

Excellent choice! You might enjoy Pentaxforums.com for further information and advice.

 

[aoleg]

Excellent choice! You might enjoy Pentaxforums.com for further information and advice.

+1. The MX is a nice little camera, fairly recent and with usable metering. The 50/1.7M is a classic lens; two generations of later Pentax lenses (SMC Pentax-A and SMC Pentax-F) are based on it.

 

[camtec]

You chose wisely. Come to think of it, I haven't had to repair many of these over the last 25 years.

 

[klop]

Yashica FX-3

The first camera that came to my mind is the Yashica FX-3 (or FX-7). The first SLR I ever bought. Got the body, 50mm lens, Yashica Flash and bag at a yard sale for $1.50.... Sent it to Chicago for service ($45.00 plus shipping), got a new green leatherette for ($19.00 I think) and was shooting away. I later found extra lenses at a Goodwill cheap.... It will take Contax Lenses (C/Y mount) if you come across them...

Just Say'N:munch:

 

[Vilk]

ah, too late

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[GarageBoy]

FX3 and Zeiss