Help: What type of camera for my project...?

retrogamer1990

retrogamer1990

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Nick
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Hello everyone,

I'd like to start a photographic project that involves going out and candidly photographing the people that come out at night, who they are and what they get up to (a recent experience led me to believe that there's some pretty interesting shots to be had!)

anyways, I'm pretty stuck as to what camera I should use though. I really like using ilford 3200 BW film so I want a camera that can meter with it. AF would be preferable but in low light it might not be reliable so I'd need some sort of manual control.
As I want to use a high ISO, grainy film, I have thought about using a medium format camera to improve the quality of the images, but I'd want one that meters so I don't end up screwing up shots or missing them.
I also need a camera that's pretty discreet as I don't want to lug around an huge camera and get noticed taking pictures or mugged.

My problem is, cameras that have all these attributes tend to be astronomically priced, and therefore risky to take out.
but hopefully someone can help me out and suggest something inbetween or that I havent thought about :) otherwise I'll either have to get a cheap 35mm af nikon and sacrifice quality or take a risk using a conspicuous medium format camera with manual controls. :thinking::thinking::thinking:

thankyou in advance
Nick :)
 
If you go around taking uninvited candids of people at night, you'll get a kicking for sure - probably sooner rather than later. I just hope you know what you're doing.

For low light photography, nothing beats full frame digital.
 
HoppyUK said:
If you go around taking uninvited candids of people at night, you'll get a kicking for sure - probably sooner rather than later. I just hope you know what you're doing.

For low light photography, nothing beats full frame digital.
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yeah you're probably right, hence wanting to be discreet :p and I can't afford that really :(
thanks for the advice :)
 
You can get either a manual or auto focus 35mm SLR for next to nothing off ebay, probably with a 50mm f1.4/1.8 lens. That shouldn't be much of a problem.

Another option could be something like an Olympus Trip. These are cheap and you don't focus them, you set the aperture or set it to auto, set the focus to 1m, 2m, 3m or infinity and they are quick to shoot with, you just frame the shot and shoot.

As for photographing people who come out at night... I hope you make sure you're well insured :gag:

PS. Trip is small and will fit in a coat pocket so you can be more discrete and less likely to get mugged for your camera.
 
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woof woof said:
You can get either a manual or auto focus 35mm SLR for next to nothing off ebay, probably with a 50mm f1.4/1.8 lens. That shouldn't be much of a problem.

Another option could be something like an Olympus Trip. These are cheap and you don't focus them, you set the aperture or set it to auto, set the focus to 1m, 2m, 3m or infinity and they are quick to shoot with, you just frame the shot and shoot.

As for photographing people who come out at night... I hope you make sure you're well insured :gag:

PS. Trip is small and will fit in a coat pocket so you can be more discrete and less likely to get mugged for your camera.
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thanks mate :thumbs: yes I did consider a few manual nikons, seems like the most realistic option really
I'm not worried about getting hurt, I'm young, I can heal :p
 
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Most people on a night out are fine, if they notice you just give them a smile and a wave :) Most are too drunk to care, and you may even get flashed now and then :p
 
You mentioned you can't afford a full frame setup. But a Nikon D300 coupled with a sigma 30mm f1.4 shooting wide open at ISO1600, will give you the same effect as a D3 shooting at f2.8 and ISO64000
Before you baulk at the f1.4 sliver of depth of field, it's actually not as bad as you might think, because it's still a "wider" angle lens at 30mm, and at a distance of 20 feet, you have a depth of field of eight feet when shooting wide open at f1.4
Referrence : http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

Seeing as a lot of your work is candid, I can't see you getting too close and managing to keep a straight nose :p

Of course, the 30mm focal length gives you an effective 45mm effect with the crop sensor.
 
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If you want to shoot film then it may be difficult to find a compact that will shoot 3200iso film, the trip certainly won't. Something along the lines of an Olympus OM 2 with the 50mm f1.8 may be better. They are small, relatively discrete and heavy enough to be used in self defence just in case!
 
Far short of a vintage MF rangefinder (which won't have a meter anyway), you'll struggle to get anything MF that's affordable - you're looking at £300 - 400 for a modern Fuji rangefinder, which are probably the most compact type of MF.

An OM2 or a Nikon FM or FE are cheap and robust, if you can get used to manual focus, or Nikon F80's are cheap as chips these days - I got a gripped one in great condition for £30 on Ebay.
 
menthel said:
If you want to shoot film then it may be difficult to find a compact that will shoot 3200iso film, the trip certainly won't.
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That's true, mine only goes to 400, but it does have a f2.8 lens.

I don't know if I'd be happy at the thought of one of my family going out at night with an SLR. Time for some serious Googling to find something suitable I think.
 
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OM2 SP will meter for ISO3200, Twin Digit OMs won't.

My Super A also meters for 3200 and is a fair bit smaller and lighter than the OM.
 
retrogamer1990 said:
thanks mate :thumbs: yes I did consider a few manual nikons, seems like the most realistic option really
I'm not worried about getting hurt, I'm young, I can heal :p
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think my nikon F70 was £12 inc postage on ebay, meters great :) just get an old nikon 50mm that can meter with it and bob's your uncle
 
thankyou for all the help and advice, I've finally decided to bid on a Nikon F801 on ebay with a 28mm lens, for something like £30. Pretty small, goes to 3200 iso and it's not the end of the world should something happen to it. :thumbs:
there was a medium format fuji 645 with a broken rangefinder for £100 but I passed on it, dont want to be missing focus all the time.
 
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There are some Fed 4's on ebay for £39. I looked at a few ad's and they say that the meters can't be guaranteed but that might not be a deal breaker.
 
woof woof said:
There are some Fed 4's on ebay for £39. I looked at a few ad's and they say that the meters can't be guaranteed but that might not be a deal breaker.
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hmm, didn't realise they had meters built in, thanks for that :)
 
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