First Film SLR

Hi Danny,

First question is how much do you want to spend?
Second one, what do you shoot at the moment, makes sense to buy something your current lenses will fit.
Thirdly, have a look at this thread.
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/first-film-camera-ever-or-for-many-years.481985/
Fourthly, if you have a Poundland nearby pop in and see if they have any Agfa Vista 200 or 400 in stock, excellent film to start with and only, well... a pound.

Any further questions will be answered when the rest of F&C wake up from their afternoon nap. :D
 
Andysnap said:
Any further questions will be answered when the rest of F&C wake up from their afternoon nap. :D
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Yawwwwn!..................Excellent Andy, you,ve set good foundations for Danny.....means i can nap for a bit longer:sleep::sleep::D:D
 
Asha said:
Yawwwwn!..................Excellent Andy, you,ve set good foundations for Danny.....means i can nap for a bit longer:sleep::sleep::D:D
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Shouldn't you be dev'ing some film?
 
Hi Danny - Are you looking for a 35mm or medium format camera? For 35mm, I'd recommend something like an Olympus OM1 or OM2. Cheap, fully manual, nicely built and good lenses. You should be able to pick up a body and 50mm 1.8 lens off eBay or a decent camera dealer for £100 or less. And if you fancy something different, unlike digital gear, you will be able to sell it on for roughly what you paid.

Pro/semi-pro medium format gear is as cheap as the proverbial chips these days, so stepping up to the larger format won't cost much more. I picked up a Rolleicord Vb in excellent condition from a dealer for around £140. Light enough to lug around all day and it makes beautiful big 6x6 negatives. Bronica equipment is also a bargain. ETRSi cameras complete with lenses and film backs go for around £250 and SQA's for not much more.

I don't think you can go far wrong with any of the standard films from Kodak, Fuji or Ilford. I like Kodak Tri-X 400 for B&W, and Kodak Portra 400 for colour. Some people advise choosing one film and sticking with it until you know exactly how it works, but I think half the fun of film is playing with the different types. There's just so much choice with film photography: film formats, camera makes, camera types, film types etc. Loads of fun :)
 
danny_bhoy said:
I'd really like to get into film but I've got no idea where to start.

I'm after suggestions/recommendations for a relatively cheap film SLR to get me started and help me to master the basics. Some pointers on which film would be best to start with would be great too.

Go easy on the new kid :)
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In addition to the questions asked above - do you want auto-focus and/or auto-exposure, or would you prefer the manual experience?
 
You could check classifieds once you have an idea what sort of camera you like as TC members can be generous...I've done my part in promoting film by giving three cameras away free and offered two more but no takers.....and sent a lovely Minolta X-700 with 35-70mm zoom to Germany for £17 plus buyer pays postage.
 
It's kind of apt- I'm known as 'Broadsword' on another forum :)
Personally, I'd go with Contax :banana:
 
kendo1 said:
It's kind of apt- I'm known as 'Broadsword' on another forum :)
Personally, I'd go with Contax :banana:
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Hi and thanks again Ken.....you were very generous in giving me a Contax 139, Hoya 135mm and two winders for free, my crappy DSB 50mm I threw away and yours is much better. The Contax is a very good and smooth camera and promote it at times.
 
Thanks for all the responses everyone. All very helpful! I'd multi quote you all but the app doesn't allow it.

First of all, I thought I knew a fair amount about photography but some of the film lingo is like a foreign language!! :)

Thanks for the link btw - some really useful stuff there that I hadn't even considered before.

As for budget I'm looking at sub £100. Quite a bit below £100 if truth be known as I'm taking a dive into the unknown and not sure how I'll take to it so the more minimal the investment the better.

It'll be used for just general out and about stuff - maybe some street photography which I've been building up the bottle for. I was going to buy a smaller digital camera for that rather than lugging the DSLR about and thought that was the perfect excuse to try film.

I'd like something with autofocus if possible but wouldn't say no outright to manual.

If I'm being unrealistic with any of this or just too wet behind the ears just feel free to give me a kick up the backside :)


Sent from my iPad using Talk Photography Forums
 
FujiLove said:
Hi Danny - Are you looking for a 35mm or medium format camera? For 35mm, I'd recommend something like an Olympus OM1 or OM2. Cheap, fully manual, nicely built and good lenses. You should be able to pick up a body and 50mm 1.8 lens off eBay or a decent camera dealer for £100 or less. And if you fancy something different, unlike digital gear, you will be able to sell it on for roughly what you paid.

Pro/semi-pro medium format gear is as cheap as the proverbial chips these days, so stepping up to the larger format won't cost much more. I picked up a Rolleicord Vb in excellent condition from a dealer for around £140. Light enough to lug around all day and it makes beautiful big 6x6 negatives. Bronica equipment is also a bargain. ETRSi cameras complete with lenses and film backs go for around £250 and SQA's for not much more.

I don't think you can go far wrong with any of the standard films from Kodak, Fuji or Ilford. I like Kodak Tri-X 400 for B&W, and Kodak Portra 400 for colour. Some people advise choosing one film and sticking with it until you know exactly how it works, but I think half the fun of film is playing with the different types. There's just so much choice with film photography: film formats, camera makes, camera types, film types etc. Loads of fun :)
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Not brave enough for medium format yet so 35mm for now until I find my feet.

Thanks for the film recommendations. I'll keep an eye out for the Kodak Tri-X 400 as I'm more looking forward to trying some b&w.


Sent from my iPad using Talk Photography Forums
 
If you use a Nikon DSLR then a Nikon F80 would be perfect. Ridiculously cheap and very good.
 
danny_bhoy said:
Thanks for all the responses everyone. All very helpful! I'd multi quote you all but the app doesn't allow it.

First of all, I thought I knew a fair amount about photography but some of the film lingo is like a foreign language!! :)

Thanks for the link btw - some really useful stuff there that I hadn't even considered before.

As for budget I'm looking at sub £100. Quite a bit below £100 if truth be known as I'm taking a dive into the unknown and not sure how I'll take to it so the more minimal the investment the better.

It'll be used for just general out and about stuff - maybe some street photography which I've been building up the bottle for. I was going to buy a smaller digital camera for that rather than lugging the DSLR about and thought that was the perfect excuse to try film.

I'd like something with autofocus if possible but wouldn't say no outright to manual.

If I'm being unrealistic with any of this or just too wet behind the ears just feel free to give me a kick up the backside :)


Sent from my iPad using Talk Photography Forums
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I would probably just start with a relatively recent film camera that uses your existing lenses. For instance, my first film camera was a Nikon F80, which was the template for the early Nikon digital cameras and it was equipped with many of the features you would expect from modern DSLRs (e.g., autofocus, matrix metering, etc.).

These more recent film cameras (e.g., plastic, autofocus cameras from the 80s onward) can often be found quite cheap as many of them aren't really in high demand, but they are more than capable of producing great results. I picked up my F80 for about £20 and then picked up an F801 for £5, both on eBay.

These plastic modern cameras are far from the most exciting offerings in the film world, but they'll get you started until you're ready to dive into medium format or large format, which is where the fun really starts!
 
I'm not up on Canon SLRs that can use recent lenses.
Nikon on the other hand... :)
 
danny_bhoy said:
As for budget I'm looking at sub £100. Quite a bit below £100 if truth be known as I'm taking a dive into the unknown and not sure how I'll take to it so the more minimal the investment the better.

It'll be used for just general out and about stuff - maybe some street photography which I've been building up the bottle for. I was going to buy a smaller digital camera for that rather than lugging the DSLR about and thought that was the perfect excuse to try film.
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I'd definitely consider more than just SLRs. If you want to try film cheaply and want something smaller than a DSLR for street photography, then you should consider something like an Olympus XA2 too. Three-zone focus, lovely lens, and fits in my jeans pocket - mine was £21 including postage from eBay, but they can go for as little as £15. (The XA has a faster lens and an actual rangefinder, but they're £50+. The XA1 is pointless given how cheap the XA2 is).

If you fancy something older, there are loads of different rangefinders from the 50s/60s for less than £30. I have a Voigtlander Vito CLR that cost me £11.

Edit: but you have to be aware that old meters and old rangefinders can be problematic
 
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danny_bhoy said:
I'd like something with autofocus if possible but wouldn't say no outright to manual.
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What lenses do you have already?

If you have any older AF Nikkors with the 'screwdriver slot' focusing mechanism (focus motor in the camera rather than the lens) I have a Nikon F401 you can have for the cost of postage.

It's nothing special but the price is good!

EDIT: I have just had a look at it and it has a fairly basic but working Tamron 28-80 lens on it so I will include that for no extra charge!


Steve.
 
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skysh4rk said:
I would probably just start with a relatively recent film camera that uses your existing lenses. For instance, my first film camera was a Nikon F80, which was the template for the early Nikon digital cameras and it was equipped with many of the features you would expect from modern DSLRs (e.g., autofocus, matrix metering, etc.).

These more recent film cameras (e.g., plastic, autofocus cameras from the 80s onward) can often be found quite cheap as many of them aren't really in high demand, but they are more than capable of producing great results. I picked up my F80 for about £20 and then picked up an F801 for £5, both on eBay.

These plastic modern cameras are far from the most exciting offerings in the film world, but they'll get you started until you're ready to dive into medium format or large format, which is where the fun really starts!
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Yeah the more modern plasticky ones don't realty float my boat. As shallow and meaningless as it it I'd quite like something that looks appealing too :)
 
abdoujaparov said:
I'd definitely consider more than just SLRs. If you want to try film cheaply and want something smaller than a DSLR for street photography, then you should consider something like an Olympus XA2 too. Three-zone focus, lovely lens, and fits in my jeans pocket - mine was £21 including postage from eBay, but they can go for as little as £15. (The XA has a faster lens and an actual rangefinder, but they're £50+. The XA1 is pointless given how cheap the XA2 is).

If you fancy something older, there are loads of different rangefinders from the 50s/60s for less than £30. I have a Voigtlander Vito CLR that cost me £11.

Edit: but you have to be aware that old meters and old rangefinders can be problematic
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I quite like the idea of something along the lines of the Voigtlander Vito - although I realise the older the camera, the more problems I'll likely encounter.
 
Steve Smith said:
What lenses do you have already?

If you have any older AF Nikkors with the 'screwdriver slot' focusing mechanism (focus motor in the camera rather than the lens) I have a Nikon F401 you can have for the cost of postage.

It's nothing special but the price is good!

EDIT: I have just had a look at it and it has a fairly basic but working Tamron 28-80 lens on it so I will include that for no extra charge!


Steve.
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Thanks for the offer Steve - that's why I love this forum - but I'm a canon guy.

I'd be more than happy to find and use a nice 35mm with a 50mm lens attached. That'd suit my needs for the foreseeable future.
 
Now your see what you've done there is mentioned Voigtlander, my fave 35mm film cameras. If you want a classic Voigtlander SLR camera have a look at the Bessamatics, I had one with a couple of lenses and they are really impressive. If you want a rangefinder the bessa series (I had an R3a) are exceptional.
If you are not fussed about interchangeable lenses the Vito CL or CLR have a very good reputation, especially the skopar lens versions.
Anyway, there are soooooo many different choices, good luck.

Andy
 
Andysnap said:
Now your see what you've done there is mentioned Voigtlander, my fave 35mm film cameras. If you want a classic Voigtlander SLR camera have a look at the Bessamatics, I had one with a couple of lenses and they are really impressive. If you want a rangefinder the bessa series (I had an R3a) are exceptional.
If you are not fussed about interchangeable lenses the Vito CL or CLR have a very good reputation, especially the skopar lens versions.
Anyway, there are soooooo many different choices, good luck.

Andy
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You're not kidding about choice Andy....at least film GAS appears to be relatively cheaper than Digital GAS :)
 
danny_bhoy said:
Yeah the more modern plasticky ones don't realty float my boat. As shallow and meaningless as it it I'd quite like something that looks appealing too :)
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To be honest, that deserves a thread to itself. I'm sure a lot of people in F&C feel exactly the same - I know I do. I'm currently watching eBay for the Yashica 35 GTN, for no reason other than I think it looks nice.
 
Certainly is.. I got a Bessamatic with a 50mm Lens for £35 a couple of years ago and they really are a stunning combination. I'll pop a couple of examples up tomorrow when I'm on the big computer.
 
abdoujaparov said:
To be honest, that deserves a thread to itself. I'm sure a lot of people in F&C feel exactly the same - I know I do. I'm currently watching eBay for the Yashica 35 GTN, for no reason other than I think it looks nice.
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Yeah I remember even disliking the plastic fantastics when I was a kid. There are some really good looking older SLRs out there.

Of course, I know it's not all about the looks though ;)
 
danny_bhoy said:
You're not kidding about choice Andy....at least film GAS appears to be relatively cheaper than Digital GAS :)
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Just resign yourself to the idea that (if you find you like film) you'll want to try *everything*, but it won't cost too much and you can always sell it for what you bought it for (probably to somebody in F&C who hasn't scratched that itch yet)
 
upload_2014-10-1_21-33-56.jpegupload_2014-10-1_21-33-56.jpeg
 
danny_bhoy said:
Yeah the more modern plasticky ones don't realty float my boat. As shallow and meaningless as it it I'd quite like something that looks appealing too :)
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I think many of us will agree, it just means that you'll need to be open to foregoing some modern features (e.g., autofocus, metering, etc.).

I know you said that you weren't keen on medium format, but if you want a cool looking camera that comes in at around £100, the Minolta Autocord is awesome! I'd argue that there one of the best values in photography today on a cost/performance ratio with the quality of the 6x6cm negatives those things are capable of producing!



Twin Lens Reflex cameras like the Autocord are very charming cameras and great for street and candid photography.

At any rate, there are obviously heaps of choices when it comes to film cameras (e.g., SLRs, TLRs, rangefinders, etc.) and it's ultimately a very personal choice. You just gotta figure out what features and qualities matter most to you and take it from there.
 
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danny_bhoy said:
Thanks for the offer Steve - that's why I love this forum - but I'm a canon guy.

I'd be more than happy to find and use a nice 35mm with a 50mm lens attached. That'd suit my needs for the foreseeable future.
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The FD lenses on older Canon film Cameras wont work if you have a digital Canon camera and want to use them. But a Canon is a good choice as lenses are cheaper and plentiful and as nearly all Canon lenses are very good and as a film camera body is just a light tight box separating the lens from the photographer, the lens will match your ability as a photographer, so no worries there.
 
Andysnap said:
Certainly is.. I got a Bessamatic with a 50mm Lens for £35 a couple of years ago and they really are a stunning combination. I'll pop a couple of examples up tomorrow when I'm on the big computer.
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i have a couple - well, three, Kodak Retina Reflex IIIs which are essentially the same. Almost the same lens mount and a shutter mechanism which will make a camera repair technician run away and hide under a table.


Steve.
 
Steve Smith said:
No problem. Offer open to anyone else reading this who would like to try out a film camera.


Steve.
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:D no one wants my F401 as well :( Some things you cant give away....the last thing I dumped was an expensive (when new) push chair.
 
Danny this might work for you ? LONDON CAMERA EXCHANGE BRANCH BRISTOL [BALDWIN STREET]
Canon EOS 300 fully auto/manual fits EF lens £9.99 good condition.
So not sure how to add the link its those declining years Danny.
Sure if you were to check yourself might find it interesting
GEORGE.
 
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