Push me toward an awesome, reliable 35mm camera that has autofocus

emacs · May 12, 2017

Gonna echo the other recommendations for the EOS 3. If you enjoy using your 5D, the 3 is probably the closest film equivalent. It'll work with all your lenses and flashes which is super convenient. Build quality is quite good, AF is fast and accurate (eye controlled focus doesn't cooperate with my glasses so I just leave it turned off), and battery life is pretty good. It is on the larger side but it's comfortable to hold, lighter than your 5D with similar ergonomics. You can find them regularly for $150-200. The 1V is nice but I don't think its worth the $300+ premium over the 3, especially for portrait work.

The F100 is a great camera, but autofocus isn't comparable to the EOS 3 and it doesn't make much economical sense to use an additional lens and flash system.

cooltouch · May 12, 2017

moodlover said:
I can understand that. Any reason why on other forums like to consider the Canon more of a sports camera and the Nikon more of a portrait/wedding camera?

Blame it on the F4 and its rather woeful AF capability, especially when compared to the EOS 1. Prior to this watershed, the ranks were reversed amongst sports photographers.

Back in the early days of the pros' adoption of AF technology, I used to keep track of the number of big white lenses as opposed to big black lenses visible on the sidelines of televised football games. I began to notice the trend beginning in the early 1990s of ever increasing numbers of white lenses on the sidelines, and correspondingly decreasing numbers of black lenses, of course. That's all I needed to see to realize that a significant sea-change had occurred. But I suppose what I've found most surprising is that Nikon has still not managed to wrest hegemony away from Canon in this competitive arena. I'm sure many reasons have been posited, but the one I like best is mounts. Nikon has insisted on keeping its narrow F mount of 1959, whereas Canon decided to plan for the future and adopted an oversized and all-electronic mount for its future cameras. I think, in this case, Canon's move was absolutely the correct one, despite the fact that there are, to this day, FD users who are still pissed off at Canon for changing its mount. Funny, I've never seen the same amount of furor coming from the Minolta ranks. But Nikon is stuck. Can you imagine the outrage that would occur if Nikon were to abandon its mount now?

George Mann · May 14, 2017

Since you are all cheer-leading for your favorite models, I will add the Nikon F90x as the fastest, best built (AF) and most reliable camera I have ever owned.

Sirius Glass · May 14, 2017

George Mann said:
Since you are all cheer-leading for your favorite models, I will add the Nikon F90x as the fastest, best built (AF) and most reliable camera I have ever owned.

Welcome to APUG. The rule seems to be that everyone ignores the OP's requirements and pushes there drug of choice.

George Mann · May 14, 2017

Sirius Glass said:
Welcome to APUG. The rule seems to be that everyone ignores the OP's requirements and pushes there drug of choice.

Thanks.

Huss · May 15, 2017

Sirius Glass said:
Welcome to APUG. The rule seems to be that everyone ignores the OP's requirements and pushes there drug of choice.

says the guy claiming his F100 is better than an F6!

By the way, I do not think this rule is exclusive to apug... kinda seems adopted all over the internet.

cooltouch · May 16, 2017

Boy howdy. It's what makes threads like this entertaining.

Sirius Glass · May 16, 2017

Huss said:
says the guy claiming his F100 is better than an F6!

By the way, I do not think this rule is exclusive to apug... kinda seems adopted all over the internet.

I said lighter and therefore I found for me much better. Thus the drug of choice. Please feel free to disagree with me but then you would be just plain wrong.

BMbikerider · May 16, 2017

If I had my chioce again I would stick with all mechanical. They are so reliable and can be repaired time and time again. My personal choice would be a Nikon F2a. There is a repairer in UK called Server Wong (just google the name) who can work wonders with that model. Even as far as making his own replacements for worn out parts in the exposure meter. They are utterly bomb proof.

I would claim they will still be working long after the F6 has ceased to be as common as they are now.

Huss · May 16, 2017

Sirius Glass said:
I said lighter and therefore I found for me much better. Thus the drug of choice. Please feel free to disagree with me but then you would be just plain wrong.

Alright so you like the F100 because it is lighter. Not because it is better.
Got it.

I like my F100 because it is much much cheaper than my F6. So in essence it kept my wallet heavier. Guess it depends on where you want to carry that weight.

fstop · May 16, 2017

pffft I'll kick all of your asses with a Kodunk Instamatic...

I can understand that. Any reason why on other forums like to consider the Canon more of a sports camera and the Nikon more of a portrait/wedding camera?

That's odd, its just the opposite here on the east coast.

alanrockwood · Dec 12, 2017

4season said:
... No depth of field preview on the Rebels, but they weigh and cost practically nothing...

Late reply here, but many of the canon Rebel film cameras do have depth of field preview. For example, the Rebel 2000, Ti, and T2 all have depth of field preview buttons. The K2 does not. I am not sure about the other Rebel film camera models. The models numbers I listed are the USA designation. They have different model numbers in some other countries for the same cameras.

By the way, the T2 was the last and best of the line, but the Ti and 2000 are not too far behind. I think I read somewhere that the Rebel 2000 was the best selling 35mm SLR film camera of all time. I don't know if that's true, but there are certainly a lot of them out there.

The Elan 7 series is a step up from the Rebel series. I have a 7e and a 7ne body (actually two each of them), but honestly I have never bothered to learn how to use them, just using my Rebel series cameras instead. There are a few additional features on the 7-series cameras, like mirror lock up, and some people prefer the handling of the 7-series.

On the other hand, there are relatively few situations where it would make a difference of getting vs. not getting the shot when using any of the EOS film cameras, and they take the same lenses, so if you can get the shot you won't see a difference in the final image.

Sirius Glass · Dec 12, 2017

Nikon N75 or Nikon F100.

TooManyShots · Dec 12, 2017

N90 or N90s...but if you have modern lenses with VC or VR, it won't work. Some lenses would produce ERR code on the body. N80 is your choice if you are on a budget. And F100 is the BEST of course, but expensive too....close to $200 for a good condition one....

TonyB65 · Dec 13, 2017

I can definitely recommend the EOS 50E, a very competent camera, only has three focus points but the eye focusing is very reliable and easy to use, and it has lots of bells and whistles. The good news is that they can be had for peanuts and there are plenty of them about. I stumbled on this camera as work colleague having a clear out gave me a mint condition one for nothing, I liked it so much I bought a spare for £20 including postage, they're an absolute steal at the moment, highly recommended.

E. von Hoegh · Dec 13, 2017

"Awesome"? "Kickass"?
Seriously?

Andrew K · Dec 14, 2017

Canon EOS 3. very under-rated camera with multiple focus points, and can take the BGE2 grip for vertical shutter release

EOS 5/A2 is also good (and cheap)

Huss · Dec 18, 2017

E. von Hoegh said:
"Awesome"? "Kickass"?
Seriously?

Awesome comments like this are a kickass way to make sure no-one under the age of 60 would want to join this site.

Sirius Glass · Dec 18, 2017

E. von Hoegh · Dec 18, 2017

Huss said:
Awesome comments like this are a kickass way to make sure no-one under the age of 60 would want to join this site.

I'm under 60 by a comfortable margin.

Ronix18 · Jan 6, 2018

Hi everyone!
I just bought a almost new Canon EOS Rebel T2 (called 300x here in Europe), after considering several small light AF SLRs for me. I've been shooting Olympus OM-2n and 35 RC for several years now and I wanted something like a p&s with controls. I almost bought a Nikon N75, but after much thought, I took the Canon.
I hope I made a good choice! I'm thinking about getting a 40mm 2.8 STM or a 50mm 1.8 STM, haven't decided yet. Any advices concerning the lenses?
Would you share some of your experiences with this camera, please? Metering, viewfinder, seize and weight? Do you like it?

Thanks a lot!

David T T · Jan 7, 2018

The 40mm f2.8 STM is a great lens, and like the 50 is cheap.

Also cheap is the eos 1n. I picked one up and love it. Built like a brick, plenty of autofocus capability for portrait work, great camera. I ended up with the 85mm f1.8, the aforementioned 40, and the Sigma Super Wide II f2.8 24mm. $600 for a killer 35mm kit! I've heard AF suffers with lenses slower than f2.8 though with this camera, but I don't use zooms so no matter.

Arthurwg · Aug 2, 2018

Nikon F100. Owned since new, been all over, never failed. Just started using it again after several years, works perfectly.

Sirius Glass · Aug 2, 2018

Arthurwg said:
Nikon F100. Owned since new, been all over, never failed. Just started using it again after several years, works perfectly.

+100

Prest_400 · Aug 2, 2018

For a great bang/buck value I'd say the Nikon F90. In the US you can get bodies for $20. It's not as advanced as the late signgle digit F's or the F100 but quite cheaper. I had an F80 but killed it with progrssive salt water exposure and something was off with it as I always had a bit of a skewed horizon and the results weren't as sharp as the F90 (probably that body).

Canon I didn't get to know the range and somehow didn't seem as cheap as these Nikons.

Push me toward an awesome, reliable 35mm camera that has autofocus

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