Reccommend a 35mm camera to me

[2F/2F]

I'll do a specific Canon recommendation (even though I already did a general one), just to fill in the gap, Ralph.

When it comes to getting a basic Canon, I suggest that an A-1 or AE-1P are fine cameras, and cheap. I like the FTb better, personally, but I have had to repair both of mine, while I've never had to repair an A-1 or AE-1. I view them as good, cheap, bang-around cameras that just happen to get the job done just fine every time I use them.

I really prefer shooting with the F-1 and FTb, but as I said, the others get the job done and have never given me problems.

I don't think Canon is any better to start with than any of the other brands I mentioned. In fact, while I love the system itself, it does have the possibly-major disadvantage of being an "orphaned" system. I think if forward compatibility of lenses is a factor in your decision, a Nikon AI body is an excellent choice.

 

[Jesper]

As has been said before, most cameras will do fine.

If you have friends close by with a lot of 35mm stuff however it might be a good idea to get the same system.
You could borrow/share equipment (perhaps you will do most of the borrowing to start with) and you could get questions answered (but then there is always apug for that part).

 

[lxdude]

Knew it. Don't worry, Canon has been suggested by someone else. We're almost complete now.

Ummm...Fujica, Petri, Ricoh, Topcon, Miranda, Konica, Praktica...

 

[cp16]

try them all

I've tried an awful lot of them both good and bad, but the best all round camera for me is definately not the best camera to me. My favourite 135 by a long shot is the canon AE-1. Its incredibly versatile and usable as far as I'm concerned and the build quality is second to none. the f-1 is even better by a long shot in my opinion - but I've little inclination to use that either. I've an early EOS which I've been threatening to sell since the day i bought it and a fujica something or other and an olympus something or other also in the same boat. My Nikon F is a supreme piece of enginering which I can't fault in any way but I cant remember the last time I even touched it.... and all because I bought myself a Pentax ME super at a garage sale oneday on the grounds that it was cheap and I was bored. It's not half the camera that most of the canons or nikons are. The build quality is very good but some others are better. the mechanics feel ok but definately not as smooth as some. I seriously dislike the shutter speeds being displayed by a series of LED's and operated by pushbutton but now I have 3 of them and don't realy want for much else because for me it just seems right. they are compact, the automatic settings work very well when i'm feeling lazy, If they were stolen tomorrow i wouldn't cry because they are cheap to replace and lenses are more plentiful and inexpensive than most of the rest of the big names. I can run the me super down but its not because its a bad camera. its only because others are better but im more at home with the pentax for some reason so thats what best for me. oh and I can still cary on using an ME if the batteries let me down
My advice is that you play the field for a while and oneday you'll get lucky and fall in love just when you didn't expect to!

 

[olleorama]

I grew up with 35 mm slrs. My favourite nowadays in 35 mm is different high end compacts. Why? Portability, speed and lens quality. For thoughtful and precise photography I prefer larger negatives, which you already can produce.

My favourites are a konica hexar (coupled with acros or super presto), a Rollei 35 (with tmax or neopan400) and a yashica rangefinder (not really high end or compact, but still good lens). The fixed lens cameras makes you look at the world differently from a slr with a multitude of lenses. Not for everyone maybe, you mileage may vary as people here say.

 

[juan]

I started with a Kowa 35mm SLR, which was only OK, not really a good fit. I wish I had started with a Nikon F, which is what I use now. And what you should use, too, of course.
juan

 

[lxdude]

cp16-
I'm the same way with the ME Super. I had no interest in one until I got one really cheap. I prefer the MX and (of course) the LX by far, but I can't seem to leave the ME Super alone. There's just a sweetness to it, despite those silly buttons and mode dial which aren't so bad once I got used to them, and the lack of interchangeable screens (I prefer a plain screen) because the viewfinder is just nice. And something about the way it sits in the hand and how I can slip it into a jacket pocket with the 24-35 zoom on it. Doggone it, now I have to keep it!

 

[lxdude]

Ummm...Fujica, Petri, Ricoh, Topcon, Miranda, Konica, Praktica...

Chinon, Cosina...

 

[ntenny]

(Canon manual focus)

I don't think Canon is any better to start with than any of the other brands I mentioned. In fact, while I love the system itself, it does have the possibly-major disadvantage of being an "orphaned" system.

To my mind that's kind of an advantage. Cheap lenses! (And in the case of Canon, there were so darn many FD lenses around that availability shouldn't be a problem until well past the heat death of the universe.)

-NT

 

[Joe Grodis]

Why Nikon F4 or F5 of course. What other camera could possible compete for the price?

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Ummm...Fujica, Petri, Ricoh, Topcon, Miranda, Konica, Praktica...

Oh yes, Praktica. That was my first self-owned camera. It lasted a week, then the shutter was stuck for good. Ricoh was my second, and it was very reliable. I moved to Nikon after that, but left it for medium format.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Chinon, Cosina...

Is there a camera for every letter in the alphabet?

Alpha, B..., Cosina, D..., Exacta, F...

I mean, is there really?

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

I am currently using a medium format camera ... would like simple 35mm film camera ...

As your sidebar indicates you use 'Plastic Cameras', I imagine 'medium format' in this context means Holgas and Dianas.

If this is the case, then a good point-and-shoot will probably feel the most natural. Try ebay, second-hand stores and garage sales for $5 specials. My experience is that Nikon One-Touch P&S cameras are reliable; Olympus P&S's, unfortunately, aren't. Others fall in between.

If you are looking for a KrappyKam look in a 35mm shop around for give-aways from Time Magazine or for the truly execrable scam cameras with names like 'Benz-Gant' and 'Canomatic'. Don't pay more than $1 for any of these. See Dead Link Removed for inspiration, though most are 'medium format.'

If you want an SLR then a Canon Rebel is a nice, very lightweight, fully automatic film camera.

 

[fotch]

RHG, have we helped you or confused you?

 

[Keith Tapscott.]

How about a Leica MP à la carte made to your own specification along with a brand new Tri-Elmar?

 

[MattKing]

Knew it. Don't worry, Canon has been suggested by someone else. We're almost complete now.

I don't think I've seen any Retinas yet.

My personal recommendation is an Olympus - an OM-2n would be a good choice.

But an even better recommendation would be to find a place or person who can show you a few, and then ask here about your preference.

 

[ntenny]

Is there a camera for every letter in the alphabet?

Alpha, B..., Cosina, D..., Exacta, F...

I mean, is there really?

Bolex, FED...I haven't thought of a D yet. Graflex, Hasselblad, Ihagee...wait, are we doing 35mm only in keeping with the thread?

If you restrict the scope to camera *manufacturers* it might be hard. If you allow model names I bet it's doable (e.g., you get Xpan for X, which otherwise seems like one of the hard ones).

-NT

 

[lxdude]

I don't think I've seen any Retinas yet.

No, you see with Retinas.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Bolex, FED...I haven't thought of a D yet. Graflex, Hasselblad, Ihagee...wait, are we doing 35mm only in keeping with the thread?

If you restrict the scope to camera *manufacturers* it might be hard. If you allow model names I bet it's doable (e.g., you get Xpan for X, which otherwise seems like one of the hard ones).

-NT

My Camera Blue Book shows a manufacturer for every letter in the alphabet.

 

[MattKing]

I haven't thought of a D yet.

-NT

If we expand outside 35mm, there is always "Diana"

 

[RalphLambrecht]

If we expand outside 35mm, there is always "Diana"

'Diana' is a camera name not a camera manufacturer, which of course counts too, but 'Deardorff' and even 'Daguerre' come to mind. There are several more.

 

[pentax4ever]

If you want a manual camera with a huge number of excellent lenses available, then I would say a Pentax Spotmatic F. The Spotmatic F will provide full aperture metering with SMC Takumar lenses and Tamron Adaptall-2 lenses with the ES M42 adapter. The SPF will also use all older Takumar M42 lenses in stop-down mode. If you want a great, small SLR with a huge finder and don't mind carrying around a couple of tiny button batteries for backup, then the Pentax ME Super is a great choice. Some people don't like the LED shutter speed indicator in the finder but I appreciate it in low light conditions. There are a large number of Pentax-M and third party K-mount lenses available. The ME Super also has good mirror damping and a very quiet shutter sound for a SLR.

 

[matthewm]

I've always been fond of the Minolta X700 + 40 f/2 or 50 f/1.4 as it's small, light and very nice with a big, bright viewfinder. I also like the Canon AE-1 Program with a basic 50 f/1.4 or 50 f/1.8. As an alternative to an interchangeable lens camera, you might consider a Yashica Electro 35 GX (It's an Aperture Priority manual focus rangefinder camera with a fixed lens).

All three of the aforementioned cameras are cameras that I've used at one point or another and I tend to like them a lot for their ease of use and compactness.

But, my favorite film camera is my Bessa R2a with the 40 f/1.4 Nokton and a close second would be the Olympus Stylus Mju II (35 f/2.8 lens). I don't leave home without one or the other or both.

Have fun!

 

[Andrew K]

it really depends whether you want autofocus or not? If you want autofocus, but with the option of using true manual focus lenses (not a AF lens in manual focus) then I'd suggest a Pentax MZ5 or MZ5N with a Pentax 28/80 or 28-105 zoom.

The Pentax AF range is rather under-rated, but are a very good camera. The MZ5/5n have aperture and shutter priority, plus true match needle metered manual. I think they are a great camera (and this is coming from someone who when he was shooting film seriously had 5 Canon New F1's - with motor drives, various prisms, and a range of lenses, all f2.8 or faster, from 14mm to 300mm..).

I sold them about 8 years ago when manual focus Canon cameras were still worth something, and I felt it was time to change over to autofocus. I tried EOS, but for some reason they never felt quite right. I tried Nikon as well, but again the bodies I could afford just didin't seem right, and I couldn't afford the Contax that felt right....but once I tried the Pentax I knew they were right - almost like a smaller, lighter F1...

On the other hand if I was going manual focus I would suggest one of 2 choices - Canon AE1 Program or Minolta SRT or XD7. I don't need to talk much about Canon - they are great gear. I find, at least in Australia, that the minolta's are under-rated. The lenses are super sharp, the bodies well made, and above all - they are cheap.....

Then again...my most used 35mm cameras for a number of years were compact cameras - Ricoh GR1/GR1S, Olympus XA, Ricoh R1 and Canon Demi 1/2 frame..all because I always had one with me...

Cheers

 

[phaedrus]

Is there a camera for every letter in the alphabet?

Alpha, B..., Cosina, D..., Exacta, F...

I mean, is there really?

Yes, there is. From A to Z. They cheat a little with the "X", calling the multiple Minolta X-somethings by their second name.