Seeking recs for professional level 35mm camera for my son

mshchem · Jun 22, 2018

RhodriMawr said:
Are you serious? Why would I get my son a toy camera? That's insulting.

What do you mean wait until he knows what he needs? He needs a professional grade 35mm camera, he's going to university and not primary school, they don't publish an exact supply list, a photographer chooses their camera based on what they need and can afford. I don't understand the point of your insulting comment is? Jealousy that I can purchase my son nice equipment? Or like the other poster, are you just being rude and presumptuous, thinking that you've any place giving unsolicited advice about my son's career and professional life, answer the question asked or say nothing.

Wow ,OK . I would buy a Leica M6ttl 50mm Summicron, that will set you back 4 grand. If he goes to a real school they aren't going to be f'ing around with 35mm cameras . The alternative processes are all the rage now. Ask Bob Carnie ,you make a digital image and print it with an inkjet printer onto clear polyester film and make contact prints as big as your imagination . Salt printing, carbon printing that's what is art these days. Medium and large format optical prints on silver fiber based paper, Absolutely . Pretty hard to make fine art from a miniature negative Sure your kid could be the next Cartier-Bresson with a Leica Ciii. Jealous, I doubt you are going to buy anything that I am going to be jealous of
Any 35mm auto focus camera is loud and obtrusive. He he wants to work for Sports Illustrated buy him a used Nikon F5. Give him 1200 bucks let him decide .
Frankly speaking, Aurevior to you and good luck to the boy.

mshchem · Jun 22, 2018

Bill Burk said:
Don’t be offended when a Holga is suggested. I’ve got an acquaintance/friend I met when out on the school playground at their “carnival”. I was shooting a Leica M2 and he had a Nikon F. Of his photography, the work he has done with a Holga is what I remember most clearly.

Of my photography, I want people to remember my 4x5 stuff. I decided I like that look better than 35mm. Now I consider my 35mm work to be “snapshots”.

So you might not know yet what your son wants or needs. Sometimes the gear is secondary.

Absolutely !

faberryman · Jun 22, 2018

I would think that a Holga might be a good second or third camera, after you already have a more versatile 35mm camera and lenses. I'll repeat my advice from post #6 to ask him what he wants. The last thing you want to do is buy him a Canon if he has his heart set on a Nikon. Camera selection is a personal choice.

mshchem · Jun 22, 2018

Sirius Glass said:
I agree with the OP. It was very insulting.

Insulting, really. I am friends with a professor of art, photography, who got has a PhD. Her tools were pinhole and cheap 120 and large format cameras. She's teaching salt printing in France as I write this. Sure I like my Hasselblads, and Leicas and Nikons and Fujis and ...........
I'm out. Nothing I said is insulting . "Buy in haste repent in leisure"

mshchem · Jun 22, 2018

faberryman said:
I would think that a Holga might be a good second or third camera, after you already have a more versatile 35mm camera and lenses. I'll repeat my advice from post #6 what he wants. The last thing you want to do is buy him a Canon if he has his heart set on a Nikon. Camera selection is a personal choice.

Good call, now I'm really out

CMoore · Jun 22, 2018

Now that this thread is Officially Off The Rails........it has been asked, but i will ask also.....would it not be more beneficial for your son to Join The Forum.?
He is a photographer, knows the photography lingo, knows a bit about the gear..... he must have SOME idea (out of the 300 possibilities of 35mm slr) of what he wants.
He could probably ask Better/Fewer questions than yourself...then mull over the Answers/Suggestions, and then let You Know what to get for him.
Are you going to (somehow) make a decision based on the info here, and then buy him a camera without asking him.?

Bill Burk · Jun 22, 2018

Chan Tran said:
I wouldn't buy a Hoga for my son. If he wants one he has to buy it for himself. I don't want to waste my money.

Don’t buy a Holga new. I’ll send you one for nothing if you want it.

Get that Nikon S2 that ransel has for sale.

Huss · Jun 22, 2018

I've never heard of a photography school requiring a professional camera. I just sold an 18 yr old kid one of my film SLRs that she was going to use in her photography school. She was told she needed a camera that she could adjust the settings on.

What does a professional camera even mean? A camera that someone uses to earn their profession? If that's the case, the infamous Terry Richardson made a huge heap of cash using a Yashica T4 P&S camera.
That hack Annie Liebowitz used a Minolta SRT101 for a while. Some dood who took an apparently famous pic of an Afghan girl used a Nikon FM. Can you imagine that? He didn't even use one of Nikon's pro cameras like the F2 or F3!

It doesn't really seem like this is about a camera for your son. It seems that it is more about you telling us about your son. Cuz any kind of brief internet search will tell you all you need to know about cameras.
I hope your son takes fantastic photos. Because I appreciate other people's talents and art.

Chan Tran · Jun 22, 2018

Bill Burk said:
Don’t buy a Holga new. I’ll send you one for nothing if you want it.

Get that Nikon S2 that ransel has for sale.

If my son wants one may be he should contact you. For me thank you but no thanks as I don't want to even handle it to him.

Chan Tran · Jun 22, 2018

mshchem said:
Insulting, really. I am friends with a professor of art, photography, who got has a PhD. Her tools were pinhole and cheap 120 and large format cameras. She's teaching salt printing in France as I write this. Sure I like my Hasselblads, and Leicas and Nikons and Fujis and ...........
I'm out. Nothing I said is insulting . "Buy in haste repent in leisure"

But she got years of experience and not a student. You don't short change a student by giving him a limited tool.

removed account4 · Jun 22, 2018

mshchem said:
Buy a Holga 120 30-40 dollars. Don't spend money, wait until he knows what he needs. Find a cheap functional used camera, I would definitely check with the instructor.

couldn't agree more !

Chan Tran said:
But she got years of experience and not a student. You don't short change a student by giving him a limited tool.

the tools are only as limited as you let them be.

==
the instructor of the OP's son's classes will give suggestions of what to purchase ..

Huss · Jun 22, 2018

Chan Tran said:
If my son wants one may be he should contact you. For me thank you but no thanks as I don't want to even handle it to him.

Yes, Holgas are known to give skin rashes so I understand this.

Bill Burk · Jun 22, 2018

I wholeheartedly recommend that Nikon S2, as it seems ready to use. Really that’s the most important thing, that the camera be ready to go.

There’s a thread going, Just Buy Another, you really have to either know the provenance or send for repair... That’s what will make a good gift camera.

Sirius Glass · Jun 22, 2018

Sirius Glass said:
I agree with the OP. It was very insulting.

mshchem said:
Insulting, really. I am friends with a professor of art, photography, who got has a PhD. Her tools were pinhole and cheap 120 and large format cameras. She's teaching salt printing in France as I write this. Sure I like my Hasselblads, and Leicas and Nikons and Fujis and ...........
I'm out. Nothing I said is insulting . "Buy in haste repent in leisure"

It is insulting if one wants to learn about photography overall: loading cameras, exposure, relationship between shutter speed and aperture, composition, ... . Pinhole photography is good after one understands the basics but it is not the way to setup a good overall background.

mshchem · Jun 22, 2018

Sirius Glass said:
It is insulting if one wants to learn about photography overall: loading cameras, exposure, relationship between shutter speed and aperture, composition, ... . Pinhole photography is good after one understands the basics but it is not the way to setup a good overall background.

I'm out.

removed account4 · Jun 23, 2018

mshchem is spot on with everythng he posted...

Bill Burk said:
Sometimes the gear is secondary

id say most of the time!
==
but then again when someone is 19-21 appearences are most important,
so, i take back everything i said, i/d get the $4,000 leica kit mshchem mentioned.

ReginaldSMith · Jun 23, 2018

What a University level course in photography looks like. I don't think there's any importance to what camera you walk in with.

http://art.humboldt.edu/art-studio-photography

ReginaldSMith · Jun 23, 2018

RhodriMawr said:
My son will be going to London to study photography at university. My wife and I purchased him a DSLR two years ago but he has discovered that he prefers working on a film camera. Unfortunately, the camera that he uses is my old Contax T3, which is a point and shoot that isn't really great for professional photography, he has many other cameras that he purchased from charity shops, but my wife and I would like to get him a high quality, professional 35mm camera. Which models do you recommend?

His style of photography is mostly street photography, and he mainly uses the film used to make slides to go in a projector, he also uses a lot of black and white film.

Our budget is £1000/AU$1800, or around US$1320. We can't really afford to spend more on the camera itself because we would also like to purchase lenses and other accessories, including a film scanner and a newer slide projector.

Thank you for your assistance.

I think this fellow asked a very reasonable question for someone not familiar with photography. First, he wants to provide a nice gift for his son. There's nothing at all unreasonable about that. Gifts have a different connotation than, "here's some dough, go out and buy what you want."

As a non-photographer his use of the common phrase "high quality, professional 35mm camera" is not weird, or cause for a barrage of "what the hell does professional mean?" questions. Civilians use those terms to indicate high quality. Seriously now, you guys don't know what that means in lay terms?

Buying used for a "gift" is well, generally not done except for cars, house and the like. "Here, I got you this nice used camera - not sure if it works - hope you like it" is not the usual way parents want to operate. So, be a little more considerate of normal etiquette. If the son, doesn't like it, he'll deal with it in his own way. It's the "gifting" here that no one seems to appreciate.

I think his question deserves a bit more respect than all this nonsense. A bit more politeness.

film_man · Jun 23, 2018

Wow, how nice. People reply in earnest and the OP goes back feeling insulted and talking of envy. Well since you and your kid are so clever tell you kid to use the internet and go find out what the "professional" level cameras are. It is 10 seconds in google and the first hit has them. It is then 10 minutes on ebay and local shops to find how much they cost.

Seriously man, your kids goes to college not a warzone. He can get by just fine with a basic SLR from any brand and then a couple of terms in when he starts finding his own vision and with the advice from his peers and teachers he can find out what he wants. Over and out.

Paul Howell · Jun 23, 2018

Many of have used this question as a Rorschach test imposing our own biases on the OP. One, we don't which school or program is attending. I am not familiar with Photography Schools in the UK, but here in the States, one size does not all. At the post secondary level programs range from 2 year AA degrees with range of classes, some programs are all digital, some teach film and digital, a few also alternative black and white. Dedicated schools like Brooks in California and Rochester teach the basics, then wedding, event, porature, news, and fine arts. Attending a community college usually does not require the student to bring a top end camera, going to Brooks, need a full frame digital camera. My local university Arizona State has 2 programs, one in the Arts Department, second in the Cronkite School of Journalism, each has different expectation what equipment the student needs to provide. Brooks and Rochester have a large inventory of gear that a student can barrow for assignments. We don't know how the school OP's son supports students.

Second, he/she asked about a 35mm professional camera, so we decide to hammer him/her with all sorts of recommendations, some spot on but some just off topic and in my opinion muddles the waters.

No wonder people just walk from the forum.

Chan Tran · Jun 23, 2018

ReginaldSMith said:
I think this fellow asked a very reasonable question for someone not familiar with photography. First, he wants to provide a nice gift for his son. There's nothing at all unreasonable about that. Gifts have a different connotation than, "here's some dough, go out and buy what you want."

As a non-photographer his use of the common phrase "high quality, professional 35mm camera" is not weird, or cause for a barrage of "what the hell does professional mean?" questions. Civilians use those terms to indicate high quality. Seriously now, you guys don't know what that means in lay terms?

Buying used for a "gift" is well, generally not done except for cars, house and the like. "Here, I got you this nice used camera - not sure if it works - hope you like it" is not the usual way parents want to operate. So, be a little more considerate of normal etiquette. If the son, doesn't like it, he'll deal with it in his own way. It's the "gifting" here that no one seems to appreciate.

I think his question deserves a bit more respect than all this nonsense. A bit more politeness.

I agree with you 100%. The real gift is one you chose not one chosen by the receiver. Part of the gift represent what you know about the person you want to gift. Part of the gift represent your personal preference.

Bill Burk · Jun 23, 2018

jnanian said:
mshchem is spot on with everythng he posted...

id say most of the time!
==
but then again when someone is 19-21 appearences are most important,
so, i take back everything i said, i/d get the $4,000 leica kit mshchem mentioned.

---
We've had a lot of fun talking about how cameras are everything and nothing at the same time.
---

大道無門 The Great Way is gateless,

千差有路 Approached in a thousand ways.

透得此關 Once past this checkpoint

乾坤獨歩 You stride through the universe.

---
Suppose we had given the right answer, what would have happened then?
---
師云、近前來與伊道。

Hyakujõ said, "You come here to me, and I will tell you."

黄蘗遂近前、與師一掌。

Õbaku went up to Hyakujõ and boxed his ears.
---

I followed a journey where my dad wouldn't let me take the Pentax with me when I went off to school.

I had an FSU SLR but the shutter broke so I had to use a Kodak 35 that first year, it was awful. The next year I just took the Pentax from my dad.

After school, I finally bought my own Pentax, used it for a couple years, got robbed and replaced my loss with the Olympus OM-4 and set of lenses I described. Took the best slides of my life with it. That's why I recommend it and still stand by that for the purpose - and I discourage autofocus because I haven't used a camera yet where autofocus lenses feel good in manual focus mode. They're too loose and the focus screen is optimized for autofocus, hard to focus manually.

The Nikon S2 is a great camera, to OP, go buy it! Then take up drmoss_ca up on the offer - that Pentax is very likely what an instructor would specify. I'll still offer the Holga for shipping. Now the next step would be to go look for a Rolleiflex - I know it's not 35mm, but many artists use that.

removed account4 · Jun 23, 2018

Bill Burk said:
---
We've had a lot of fun talking about how cameras are everything and nothing at the same time.
---

大道無門 The Great Way is gateless,

千差有路 Approached in a thousand ways.

透得此關 Once past this checkpoint

乾坤獨歩 You stride through the universe.

---
Suppose we had given the right answer, what would have happened then?
---
師云、近前來與伊道。

Hyakujõ said, "You come here to me, and I will tell you."

黄蘗遂近前、與師一掌。

Õbaku went up to Hyakujõ and boxed his ears.

YES, fun indeed it is wonderous and mysterious this box of light

you forgot an important quote which sums up everything
after your magnificant quotes from the masters of philosophy

as the master dewey finn said " 現在舉起你的高腳杯。它是為那些搖滾的人敬酒！" ( Now raise your goblet of rock. It's a toast to those who rock! )

you, mr burk, rock !

Les Sarile · Jun 23, 2018

CMoore said:
Now that this thread is Officially Off The Rails........it has been asked, but i will ask also.....would it not be more beneficial for your son to Join The Forum.?

This thread is probably not encouraging to get him to join the forum. But the son is most likely already aware of the typical internet decorum . . .

removed account4 · Jun 23, 2018

film_man said:
Wow, how nice. People reply in earnest and the OP goes back feeling insulted and talking of envy.

naaah the OP was expecting a direct answer to an ambiguous question.
he didn't realize that professional can mean just about anything and just about anything
can make professional grade images and art grade images and terrible images.
its like wax on wax off ...
he has plenty of reason to be ticked off, after all a holga, box camera lomo lo-fi can only be used masterfully when one is in tune with the everything
the great manchild sponge bob was the claw
and took surfing lessons from jack kahuna and surfed "the big one" it just takes staring at the fire all night and playing bongo drums ...
but if the OP didn't think his son would want to play the bongos and didn't have time to be one with his gear ... then those lo fi choices, well they werne't as useful as
others.

Seeking recs for professional level 35mm camera for my son

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