making the right camera choice

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impaul

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Paul
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I've been playing around with my Canon 350D for about a year now but have just sold it and a couple of lesnes to fund a compact digital for my holiday snaps etc. But I still want to do some creative photography with an SLR.

I'm not hugely serious about my photography so i always found the cost of lenses etc very restrictive, only being able to afford the cheapest lenses at 2nd hand prices. So i decided to look into buying a film SLR which would allow me to get more for my money.

I'm still a reletive novice so like the idea of a basic fully manual camera that will allow me to continue learning as I go. From the searches I have gone through the cameras that people seem to recommend are

Canon A-1 or AE-1
Olympus OM1 or OM 2
Minolta X300

From what I can gather the A-1 is a bit more electronic so might be more at risk of something not working if i'm buying from ebay?

I think I like the sound of the OM1 but will this be a good option in terms of being able to buy a variety of lenses to play with at reasonable prces? I have come acros the Zuiko lenses, but will other lenses fit also? I get very confused as to what lenses fit what cameras :bonk:

I hope this hasn't been too much of a repetative post, but i just wanted to confirm some of my thoughts. I know lots of people already have a collection of lenses so they are more brand specific when chosing a camera.

Thanks,

Paul
 
To be honest with you, all the cameras you mention are very good. The Canon AE-1 offers manual control with shutter priority, whilst the A1 has this and aperture priority and program exposure. There was also an AE-1 Program which replaced the original AE-1.

The Olympus OM-1 was a manual-only camera and therefore mechanical, which means the batteries only operate the metering system, not the camera itself. The OM-2 was manual and automatic, but both are extremely well made and reliable cameras. You may also wish to consider the OM-10 which was a popular camera. However, this does require a manual adapter if you wish to have full control with it. Olympus/Zuiko lenses are outstanding.

The Minolta X-300 is aperture priority and manual - again an excellent camera, as is the X-700

At the end of the day, it's down to personal preference. You won't go wrong with any of them, and lenses are easy to get hold of second hand. There are independent lenses available to fit so you are not restricted to just buying the camera manufacturers' own lenses. So long as the lens has the appropriate mount, for example, 'OM fit' for Olympus, then they'll fit on.

Decent independent brands include Tamron, Sigma, Tokina and Vivitar, but there are others available on e-bay and in used camera dealers.
 
another all mechanical camera to have a look at is the nikon fm's




fm2n ( on left ) if its within your price range or even the earlier fm
 
Cool camera donutagain I have a FM2n which takes film only

Where did you get yours converted so it will take a SD Card and how big is the sensor? :LOL::LOL:
 
donutagain said:
another all mechanical camera to have a look at is the nikon fm's
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Indeed. As a Nikon film user myself, I'd agree 100%.

Paul - just to expand on my earlier post, if you prefer mechanical cameras, you could also consider a Pentax MX or the K1000. The latter is more basic with match-needle metering, but the MX is more compact and similar to an Olympus OM-1.

As mentioned, the Nikon FM2 or the earlier FM are superb manual cameras. The FE2 is automatic and manual, but the FM2 was only discontinued in around 2001 and replaced by the FM3, which is manual and automatic.
 
this is an interesting idea, most of us are going digital, but we forget that the cameras mentioned were a long time in development and perfection, they were the pinnacle of achievement and yet are consigned to the collector's shelf. They still do what they were built for. Having said that I look at my old images and don't know whether it was poor processing or my technique but I don't like what I see.
 
Thanks guys, some great info here. I had a look around on ebay and some of these cameras still fetch high prices. Some of the Nikon cameras are going for more than I just sold my 350D for. Obviously still plenty of people enjoy using them!

I think i'll end up buying any one of these cameras then, just wait and see which I can find a good deal on. Might not have much change left over from my DSLR in the end!
 
impaul said:
Some of the Nikon cameras are going for more than I just sold my 350D for. Obviously still plenty of people enjoy using them!
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With regards to dealer prices, of course much will depend on the condition of the camera, but also how sought after that particular model may be.

Also bear in mind that all the cameras mentioned, apart from the Nikon FM2n & FM3, ceased production in the early to late 1980s (depending on model). The FM3 is the most recently discontinued of all the cameras mentioned (around 4 years ago), so this will command a high price.

You mentioned at the beginning you like the sound of the OM-1, and if you're happy with a mechanical camera and setting everything manually (which I do personally), then you'll love using that one.
 
Hi Paul

Apart from the various SLRs you are looking at, you could also consider a Rangefinder. The biggest advantage of a rangefinder is the size; it can easily slip into your pocket, and you carry it everywhere.

Ujjwal
 
Also worth a look are cameras with M42 mount, lots of choice of cheap but excellent manual focus lenses.
Body's are only as good as the glass they shoot through.
 
Knikki said:
Cool camera donutagain I have a FM2n which takes film only

Where did you get yours converted so it will take a SD Card and how big is the sensor? :LOL::LOL:
Click to expand...

just send all your film cameras to me and i'll convert them for you ,,,,turn around time is a bit slow though ,,,about twenty-five years at the moment :LOL:
 
joxby said:
Also worth a look are cameras with M42 mount, lots of choice of cheap but excellent manual focus lenses.
Body's are only as good as the glass they shoot through.
Click to expand...

Do the old Pracktika SLRs use those lenses?

I've seen a few Pracktica cameras selling on ebay. Any ideas which would be good ones to go for? There seems to be BC's BX's, MTLs.....

Thanks for all the advice guys, this has been really helpful.
 
impaul said:
Do the old Pracktika SLRs use those lenses?

I've seen a few Pracktica cameras selling on ebay. Any ideas which would be good ones to go for? There seems to be BC's BX's, MTLs.....

Thanks for all the advice guys, this has been really helpful.
Click to expand...

yeah

I had an mtl 5b (I think) but it died not long after I got it
 
impaul said:
Do the old Pracktika SLRs use those lenses?

I've seen a few Pracktica cameras selling on ebay. Any ideas which would be good ones to go for? There seems to be BC's BX's, MTLs.....
Click to expand...

Some Praktica models used bayonet fitting lenses, such as the B100/200, but others such as the MTL-3 accepted M-42 screw fitting.
 
... although M42 > various body adapters are available :D

Arthur
 
I just got a minolta x300 from ebay in the end. 13 quid so nice and cheap! fingers crossed it works.
 
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