SLR Advice - Photography A-Level

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overkill-gb

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Name
Rob Macdonald
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Hello,

I've recently picked my choices of subjects for A-Level and i chose upon photography as one. The school provides most of the equipment but it is definantly recommended to buy your own camera SLR.

My personal budget is £300 the recquirements that my teacher did provide were:

35mm SLR
28-105mm lens

I was just wondering if you could recommend any cameras for me inside my budget. thanks!

I have no experience in photography so i apologize if my question sounds very simplistic :) I have seen SLR cameras which have digital LCD screens but I was under the impression that SLR cameras were purely film. The photography has a dark room which you process the photos in and i'm assuming thats what we will be doing in the course. So is it possible to have both a screen and a film?

Thanks again, and await your replies :)
 
You'll probably be able to get yourself a second hand digital SLR for your money. So you'll find something I'm sure. Canon 350d with a kit lens may be.

But....

Although photography is a fantastic thing to do (it's kept me occupied for over 30 years) it is something that you need to be interested in. Mainly because it takes effort to get any good. I read in your post that you have no real idea what you are getting in to and wonder what made you think you want to get in to photography.

If you do decide to go for it, good luck and you are getting involved in a very big and interesting world.
 
AlexW said:
Do you want digital or film. You could get a lot of film SLR with that money. Not so much digital.

Edit: and welcome to TP.
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overkill-gb said:
35mm SLR
28-105mm lens
Click to expand...

:p

You only need to budget about £100 for that. If that.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canons-Manual-Focus-SLR-body-model-AE-1_W0QQitemZ150362173617QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Photography_Film_Cameras_ET?hash=item230248b0b1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tokina-28-70mm-Macro-Zoom-f3-5-Canon-FD-fit_W0QQitemZ120452925455QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraLensesFilters_JN?hash=item1c0b8dc80f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TOKINA-35-70mm-MC-MACRO-ZOOM-LENS-CANON-FD-BOXED-MINT_W0QQitemZ310157594206QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraLensesFilters_JN?hash=item4836d54e5e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/vivitar-28-80mm-f-3-5-5-6-lens-canon-fd_W0QQitemZ130322414116QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraLensesFilters_JN?hash=item1e57d23a24&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/THREE-CANON-FD-FIT-LENSES-28MM-35-105MM-75-205MM_W0QQitemZ260454468051QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraLensesFilters_JN?hash=item3ca44bc9d3&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CANON-LENS-FD-35mm-to-70mm-Macro-Zoom-Lens-1-3-5-4-5_W0QQitemZ160348497390QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraLensesFilters_JN?hash=item255583e5ee&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Any of them would be MORE than sufficient.

Unfortunately it's one or the other (in most cases). Either a screen, or a film.

If you want film (the majority of your course will be film), the camera and a lens will be found for well under £100.

If you want digital, a very basic digital slr could be found for £200.

In all seriousness, a Canon AE-1 and a lens (film slr) and a Nikon D40 and a lens (digital slr) could be had for around £300.
 
From the way it is worded, and the mention of that lens focal length, I'm almost certain you will be wanting a film SLR and will be doing darkroom work.

SLR is the design of camera and means Single Lens Reflex. They can be film or digital, but digital is usually written DSLR these days.

As has been said above, film SLRs can be picked up for peanuts. But they are excellent cameras that cost at least as much in real terms as their digital equivalents do today. And built to last. Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Olympus and Minolta are the names to look out for - all top brands in the 80s and 90s.
 
Most Photo courses start with Film, so any decent SLR would do...
A Nikon FM2n can be had for £150 plus a decent 50mm lens to start with...but think forward to later on - if you're going to go digital and AF later on, it might be wiser to get a more expensive film camera now plus some AF lenses that can be used with a DSLR later on...

A Nikon F5 can be had for £250-300 depending on condition (and if you buy from someone like Grey's of Westminster, those will be virtually mint, which isn't really necessary - a scuffed-up one will work just as well as long as it's been looked-after - a lack of paint isn't always an indication that it's been neglected, merely that it's been used a lot...).
 
Hmm if you can only get one or the other, the safest option would probably be the film, seen as I might not be able to take part in several of the activities like processing the film (dark room) which i'm assuming would be essential to the course itself.

So my options so far are the Canon AE-1, Nikon F801 and my teacher also brought up the Nikon F60 as a very good camera.

As for lenses do I need to be buying one of these 'body only" camera's on ebay then search for a single 28-105mm lens?

Thank you for your superb responses.
 
The lens, or lenses, are at least as important as the camera. 28-105 is just a nice range, from wide-ish angle to modest telephoto, that will allow you to do everything on the course.

There's a good chance that a more recent film SLR, perhaps an AF model, will come with a similar lens fitted but don't worry if it doesn't - both good cameras and lenses are still plentiful. Non-AF lenses from a slightly earlier era, eg early 80s, will be cheapest.
 
There are many many options Rob.

There are the Canon FD cameras and the Canon EOS cameras which are the two main Canon SLRs.

Canon FD is older and a slightly different mount.
Canon EOS is newer and the lenses from back-in-the-day will work on more modern Canon EOS digital SLRs.

Pretty much the same exists for Pentax, Nikon, Olympus, etc etc.

A lot of older manual cameras (Pentax P30, Canon AE-1, Nikon Fm2) all come with what is called a 'prime' lens, usually 50mm.
Prime means that it doesn't zoom, it just stays at one level.
The lens you listed, a 28-105 lens, is a zoom, as you can zoom in and out.
 
Anorakus said:
I'm flogging my Nikon F801s kit on eBay.. lens only goes up to 80mm though

A.
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scottduffy said:
I have a Canon 3000v SLR with a 28-90 lens which is brand new and boxed which you can have for £80. Ask your teacher what they think. No hurry. You could always check out the reviews online whilst you're at it.

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Canon_EOS_3000V__Review_5489620

http://www.testfreaks.com/analog-slr-cameras/canon-eos-3000v/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-3000V...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1249568110&sr=8-2
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Would just like to remind people that as far as the forum rules go there is no selling outside the classifieds (y)
 
If you're interested enough in photography to do an A level course, there's a reasonable chance that you'll stick with it as a hobby when the course is over so I would advise starting a system with lenses that will be useable on future bodies. What this in effect means is one of the modern AF system. My personal recommendation would be something like a Nikon F80 paired with the 28-105D which will leave some change from the £300 budget even at dealer prices (looking at the Mifsuds ad in AP). However, you may well have hands that suit Canon EOS, Pentax or Minolta bodies better - if possible, visit a second hand dealer and see which body fits you best.
 
No problem mate!

Unfortunately recently people have been trying to find loopholes in the rules set by the trolls we call admins here at TP ;) and it's just caused a general clampdown, didn't want you guys getting smack bottoms!
 
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nikon-F80-SLR...41480459a4&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_611wt_1165

This comes with an AF lens and seems like a really good auction. I will paying my folks back a lot of money's ha. Hopefully EMA will help out. Anyway I think im learning the basics and I definantly intend to take this up as a hobby e.g wedding photos, general occasion photos and just general leisure photos.

Sounds like an expensive hobby but a thoroughly enjoyable one. I currently own a standard digital camera and an iphone camera so it will be a big step up; one that im exceedingly looking forward to.

One of my first tasks over the summer before I take up the course is to take up 30 close up shots of shapes and lines. This forum sounds really friendly and helpful so I will make sure to post up my progress and amateur work for criticism and improvement :)
 
overkill-gb said:
Sounds like an expensive hobby but a thoroughly enjoyable one. I currently own a standard digital camera and an iphone camera so it will be a big step up; one that im exceedingly looking forward to.
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Wishing you all the best with your new hobby :) It's addictive, as you'll soon find out :nuts:

It's interesting to hear about someone studying photography for a formal qualification. Like many on here, I'm entirely self-taught.. I did the usual boring physics, chemistry etc. at A-level - I was already a keen photographer by this point, and I wish that I'd studied photograhy! Maybe I still will do an A-level in it one day.. or there's always RPS distinctions to work towards.

Keep us posted (y)

A.
 
might be an idea to see what your mates on the course are mostly going to be using in case you want to do any swapping of lenses ?
 
tim_uk said:
might be an idea to see what your colleagues on the your course are mostly going to be using in case you want to do any swapping of lenses ?
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Good idea.. you'd get lots of kudos turning up on the first day with a Leica R6 (I wish.. :crying: ) but you'd lose out on this flexibility.

A.
 
My Daughter just finished her A level photography course. I bought her a Minolta Dynax 5 with 23-80 lens. It was perfect for what she needed, I think they concentrated more on processing and composition rather than how sharp the images were and how posh the kit was. I paid about £50 for it, fully boxed with a couple of films and will probably sell it on soon.
I also got her a Canon Powershot for her digital images that she used for her Art A level, ( handbag size!) now she wants a DSLR and has gone off film.

My advice would be to spend little on a film camera unless you are going to keep going with film, and read up on processing negatives!

Allan
 
spend little on a film camera unless you are going to keep going with film, and read up on processing negatives!
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Sounds like great advice to me.

I've decided to go with the Nikon F80

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SUPERB-NIKON-...s_ET?hash=item3ca4593c00&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NIKON-F80-Two...m2a004c4c23&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_503wt_907

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nikon-F80-SLR...m41480459a4&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_611wt_907

However I'm still undecided between these 3. one comes without a lens but seems in good condition. The other two come with lenses just need someone who knows about lens specifications to price it up for me and see if its worth buying the bundle or just getting the body and buying a seperate lens that you perhaps reccomend in 28-105mm region.

Thanks :)
 
I bought a "brand new" Nikon F80 yesterday for £60 (It had only seen 2 films in its life and looked like it complete with box etc). If you do go down that route you can always pick up a D70 or similar and have both options available. Good luck with your search, there are loads of them about and some great deals to be had.
 
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