which small film SLR at small cost?

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Lemaildetom

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thomas
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Hello,

I'm looking around e-bay because i want to buy a film SLR at a low budget (under 100 pound with a 50mm lens will be good).

I tried from a friend a olympus om-1 and i was really happy with the size and the feel of the camera, as well happy with the look and the price. But looking out there, there a lot of om-1-2-3-4... om10-20-30 and a all lot of other camera at the same price.

What would you recommend?

I would like something quiet small.
With at least a aperture priority mode and a manual mode with light meter.

As I don't know much about film camera, any tip will be nice, thanks :-)
 
I've just archived my sale thread for an OM2SP with 50mm f/1.8 as it didn't sell so I was going to put it on the bay. Not sure if I'm allowed to link to it now that I've archived the thread but it's not on eBay yet, if you're interested :)
 
And what about other brand? I've seen some pentax ME for 50 pound in good condition around. Are they equivalent to the om-1 in term of size and performance?



Thanks dean,
I had a look to your olympus om2-sp. What good things can you told me about it?
I'm not really decided in buying a camera this week but maybe in a few week time
 
Other brands, my first SLR was a Nikon FG, which you can pick up on the bay for around £50 with a 50mm lens. Canon's A1 is a very strong all-rounder though they do have a tendency to suffer from the 'cough', which is a weird noise when you release the shutter. That can be fixed by a CLA for reasonable money, though Canon FD lenses are still in pretty high demand and you can't use the lenses on later AF models like you can with some Nikon lenses. I haven't used Pentax or other brands, best bet is to have a look in the Film & Conventional section as there are a couple of threads on this subject in there at the moment.

The OM2SP is a cracking camera with spot metering but the OM manual cameras only shoot in manual, aperture priority or program modes, there's no shutter priority. 2SPs tend to eat batteries too as there's no 'off' switch for the meter. I picked up some from 7dayshop for a couple of pounds for five and they seem to have lasted ok up to now. All the OM bodies are quite small so if you have large hands you might find it tricky to access the controls quickly and the shutter speed is set with a dial around the lens mount, which does put some people off.

Mine's going on ebay in the next couple of days because I've got back to using my T90 and now I'm shooting with film rangefinders too, I'm not going to use them any more.
 
Small leaves you with Olympus OM or Pentax stuff. ME (super) and MX are smallest, ME offers Aperture priority only (same as Oly OM10), ME Super offers manual speeds as well. MX is all mechanical and all manual (like oly OM1).

There have been a few shots from me recently using just ME and standard 50mm f1.7. (SMC-M version, a reall cheap gem of a lens, better than the Zuiko f1.8 IMO)
 
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mid_gen said:
Love my Nikon EM. Simple, easy to use, indestructible, cheap as chips. No AF though.
Click to expand...

:plusone:..................about £40

also Canon AE-1....got a mint body from eBay at £19
needed light seals ........ kit £10 from USA

pick up a Canon FDn 50/1.8 about £20 if you wait on eBay
 
The Nikon FMs and FEs are fairly compact - not quite as small at the Olympus OM series and the Pentax ME/MX - and generally reliable. I prefer the FM because it's completely mechanical, and the battery only powers the meter.
 
If you want later ones with AF then any of the cheapy minolta 404, 505 etc are worth a look. They tend to be much lighter as they're more plastic in construction.
 
I have a Nikoin FE, great little camera but MF only - that and a 50mm lens should be around £100.
 
I had an OM1n before going digital, a great camera, I still have my late Fathers Nikon FE as a film camera semi-auto, probably plenty of choice out there so check what the best deal you can get ie extra lenses etc.
 
Minolta 7000AF plus 50 1.7, should be around £70 (because the camera comes free, you are only paying for the lens).
Or you could get a Pentax Spotmatic with 55 f1.8 for about £30, but everything is manual.
 
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Thanks for all of this, i'll keep doing some internet search from all the information you gave me here. I'll probably come back with more question in a day or 2.

Many thanks for all your replies.
 
I still have my Canon AV-1 with 50mm f1.8. I love it (but haven't used it for ages) - it feels so solid, the mechanical nature of it is still a joy to use. I doubt I'd get £50 if I tried to sell it, but I doubt I'll ever want to part with it.
 
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