Great selections; i'd add the rest of the SRT series, and also the Canon TX, FT and perhaps FX.
Yes, of course, with the Minoltas. I prefer the -101, though, because it has mirror lock up, whereas [most of?] the others don't.
And while those Canons are very capable cameras, I restricted my selection to FD-mount cameras. A couple of the big pluses of both the FTb and original F-1 is they have mirror lock up and a very useful selective area metering pattern, which I found to be great for shooting slides.
This is getting off topic, for the latecomers to the party, back at the top of the thread, the OP asked what he can get for A$200
The F-1 (all models) and FT-series cameras, as well as A-series cameras, have very soft mirror action, i don't recall having a need to use mirror lockup on them. Perhaps you do macro?
That won't get you a HasselbladHi
I would really like to get into film photography and am wondering what is the best camera to buy? A friend gifted me their Pentax p30 but it didn't survive the journey in the post. It had an electric shutter which the camera repair man explained often cause problems. So I would like to buy a fully mechanical operating one.
Ideally I wouldn't like to spend more than $200 Australian dollars.
Your thoughts are much appreciated!
Kit
That won't get you a Hasselblad
No I have not seen that camera. YETHave you seen the Ondu pinhole cameras? They seem quite nice. They look like they'd last forever. I really should try out pinhole photography one of these days. I just need to clear out a few old cameras to make space for a few new cameras in my collection first.
You may not know this if you have always used Nikons, but their viewfinders have always been much less than lifesize in magnification since the introduction of the F. This is best for people that wear glasses. Of course with the advent of autofocus, VF's are not relied upon for critical focusing and therefore don't need to be bigger.
According to the late Marty Forscher (he was the best camera technician I ever met...look him up), the Nikon F2 was the best purely mechanical 35mm camera ever made. You can easily buy a beautiful example of this engineering and design masterpiece for less than $200 AU. There are several versions...F2, F2A, F2AS, F2SB, etc. The only difference is the type of light meter prism that sits on top. If that is not important to you, then buy an F2 Photomic. You'll be able to use almost any manual focus Nikon lens ever made and even some of the auto-focus lenses in their manual focus mode.
I started out shooting Canon and, within a couple of years, progressed to the original F-1, which I treasured. I have had a soft spot in my heart for that camera ever since. But I still recall my first F2 and the simple perfection that camera represented. That first one was an AS, but I've owned them all, except for the SB. It is so different from the F-1, yet so similar in capabilities. So, ever since my first F2, I've had to allow that it is my second most favorite 35mm camera of all time. Yeah, I like the F3 and the New F-1. In fact, I like them both a lot, but there's just something special about those two mechanical masterpieces such that they will always be at the top of my list of choices.
I feel my F1n is a smoother camera in terms of action in comparison to the F2, it's a less crude camera IMO.
On the other side I can't see the aperture inside the viewfinder and therefore that's an advantage of the F2.
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