Cheapish film camera

meddyliol

meddyliol

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Brian
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I am looking into getting a 'cheap' film camera to get back into darkroom work. I was looking at the Nikon F90. Are there any other good, cheap cameras that would do? Less than £50 would be ideal. It doesn't have to be Nikon as I quite like Canon (maybe the EOS 3000V).

Cheers

Brian
 
meddyliol said:
I am looking into getting a 'cheap' film camera to get back into darkroom work. I was looking at the Nikon F90. Are there any other good, cheap cameras that would do? Less than £50 would be ideal. It doesn't have to be Nikon as I quite like Canon (maybe the EOS 3000V).

Cheers

Brian
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If you're looking for a camera with a similar layout and form factor to digital Nikons that uses lenses with more modern features (e.g., VR), then I'd go with a Nikon F80. They're great cameras for the money. I bought one a while ago for about £20 on eBay.

Another good one that I like that's quite cheap is the F801. It won't work with VR or G lenses, but it works very well with D lenses and older. It also shows you the actual depth of field through the lens, unlike most modern cameras, which usually don't show anything faster than f/2.8. I picked up mine for £5 on eBay.

There are heaps of affordable options though in film cameras. You might get more responses and suggestions if you posted in the film section though.
 
Thanks for that. I couldn't find the film section. Will have a look at the Nikon F80 though.
 
meddyliol said:
Thanks, but it appears that I don't have permission to view the classifieds.
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Yes, to view the classifieds you have to be an established member, which means that you have been a member for a certain length of time and have made a certain number of posts. I believe it is 60 days and 25 posts though I could well be wrong. Sure someone could confirm the actual numbers.

Edit: Knew someone would come along and beat me to it!
 
Bythesea said:
Yes, to view the classifieds you have to be an established member, which means that you have been a member for a certain length of time and have made a certain number of posts. I believe it is 60 days and 25 posts though I could well be wrong. Sure someone could confirm the actual numbers.

Edit: Knew someone would come along and beat me to it!
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Correct.
 
H'mm quite a few people recommend the F80, so what's wrong with the F90x it seems just as cheap..the focusing is very quick and can't think of anything important against it...erm well the sticky back.
 
Not quite an F80 or F90, but if you want something cheap (well - free) to try out, I have an F-401s waiting to be given away for just the cost of postage.


Steve.
 
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FWIW, my thoughts would be, if you aren't bothered about actually wanting an old-school type manual / mechanical camera, and you've got good quality modern autofocus lenses, then you'd be best served getting something that will work with the existing modern good quality glass. So, going for one of the Nikon bodies as mentioned above makes pretty good sense. My go-to 35mm camera for example is the EOS3, for precisely that reason - i've a bag full of 2-3 year old Canon L lenses that will all work perfectly with it. If I want to shoot something more "involving" for want of a better word - i've got lots of different kit, but if I just want to take photographs, know they'll come out exposed as I wish, and have the end result on film rather than a memory card, I reach for the EOS-3 almost every time.
 
Thanks for the offer Steve but I think I will go for the F80 or F90. Can you get rechargeable batteries for the F80?
 
meddyliol said:
Thanks for the offer Steve but I think I will go for the F80 or F90. Can you get rechargeable batteries for the F80?
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Most film cameras aren't like digital cameras, you won't need to constantly charge batteries. The batteries should last for many rolls. Half of my cameras don't even take batteries.
 
skysh4rk said:
Most film cameras aren't like digital cameras, you won't need to constantly charge batteries. The batteries should last for many rolls. Half of my cameras don't even take batteries.
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Bear in mind that some have built in motor drives for the film wind so that will tend to discharge batteries. The type I use which relies on your thumb to wind on though often last years on the same battery.


Steve.
 
meddyliol said:
Thanks for the offer Steve but I think I will go for the F80 or F90. Can you get rechargeable batteries for the F80?
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No problem. An F80 or F90 would be a good choice. The F80 takes two CR123A batteries which are available as rechargeable - although you will have to buy a separate charger.

The F90 takes four AA batteries so the same applies.

That would be enough for me to choose an F90 over an F80.


Offer of the F-401s open to anyone else who might like to try film out. I will include a fairly non-descript (but working) Tamron zoom lens.


Steve.
 
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What about an F75 with Nikkor 28-80 lens for £39.95? Is that a good buy?
 
I have just bought the F75. Thanks for all of your replies.

Brian
 
That should work. It takes two CR2 batteries. I have no idea why Nikon used a variety of different batteries on a series of quite similar camera bodies!


Steve.
 
meddyliol said:
I have just bought the F75. Thanks for all of your replies.

Brian
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I changed my mind and won an F80 with 35-80mm lens on ebay for £32. Just hope it's OK.
 
h'mm you asked what camera to get and didn't for the lens, the 28-80mm lens would be more useful, but hey what's a few mms when you can use your feet ;)
 
It has to be the AE-1 if you are looking for an SLR, such a great camera with a good range of lenses. And really cheap too
 
Ohhh no no no..... The sensible man has gone for a Nikon.:D
 
Andysnap said:
Ohhh no no no..... The sensible man has gone for a Nikon.:D
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...and I've all ready posted I wished I'd got a Canon, not because the Nikon wasn't a good camera it was because I had to wait 6 months to get the popular 28-80mm AF D lens.:(
 
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