I want to have a forray into the world of film photography. Been looking for something mainly on ebay. Please can i have your opinions on the canon 300 and the canon ae1. Very different beasts i know but the two that have caught my eye. How much should i be paying for these. I know it entirely depends on condition but lets just say they are working! Any other suggestions very much appreciated. Please dont suggest high end i only have small pockets with even smaller wallet!
Glad to hear you're interested George! The only slr I have used is my Nikon FE which I've had for donkeys. I would suggest something that has been in use and not stuffed in an attic for years.?i'm coing to tag Dave - although he's finished on here he is a huge font of knowledge in cameras. I will also have a look on eBay and see if there's something I think looks good. So glad you're delving into this!! Are there any second hand camera shops near you? Might be worth checking that out too? They would have checked everything is working... @chewyteeth - hi Dave, can you be of any assistance here? :)
@grizzlysghost - your knowledge of cameras is immense too! Can you recommend something please Aaron? @peterdegraaff I know you work in many film formats, wondering what you recommend George does for buying second hand SLR ?
Thank you guys!
@gwhit123 an important issue George is to check on the kind of batteries the camera uses. Early SLRs tend to use mercury batteries which are not made today. I am not a Canon user but @grizzlysghost and @cmc1200 are. I prefer Olympus.
@ingrid2101 there are plenty of great cameras out there. Believe it or not one of my most reliable cameras is a Chinon SLR. I always suggest Olympus OM series SLRs.
Looks like you got some great answers here allready. Id like to ad if you have lenses you really love try to find a body to house them. I found a canon rebel for 20.00 on ebaby. Good luck and have FUN!!!! tag us when you post your film shots. Would love to see them=D
@gwhit123 You know I even picked up film point and shoots for my kids at a thirft store for a few bucks. They have a blast with them. You can find great deals on ebay. Just have fun!!!
I don't have an easy way to access ebay.uk, but this one is a shock to see on ebay at this price and is still a HUGE bargain even with the shipping cost to the UK. $20 buy-it-now? Crazy! One of the very best SLRs I've ever owned. It takes Pentax lenses, which are very affordable and comparable to more expensive Canon and Nikon lenses.
Thanks aaron, that does seem like an incredible deal. With a camera this old do i need to have any knowledge of servicing/upkeep other than don't drop it?? (I know that one!)
Concerning upkeep, most SLRs are pretty reliable. In some, the light meters might be a little off over time, so your images may be slightly over or underexposed. The first and most important test is to make sure the shutter trips on all shutter speeds. If that happens, you are 90% set! Most film photography is NOT point and shoot, so be ready for some frustration and learning; keeping in mind that getting over the hurdles will help your overall photography tremendously!
Not really an answer to your question, however I purchased a canon eos 500 film slr last year with a standard lens for £35. I love it!!! Hope you enjoy film photography!
Just looked under completed listing (advanced search) and you could pick up a bargain - check it out. Go to advanced search, listOlympus OM40 and click completed listings- anything in green has sold. It'll certainly give you an idea, I'd say £30-40 seems to be average taking into consideration some are body only but this is a good time to have a sale ending! Lots of people on at this time. If you have patience (snigger) then you probably could pick up a real bargain. Good luck!
@ingrid2101 didn't win that one :-( sniped at the last second! I did win a OM20 though with the same lens. few less bells and whistles and no full auto (not sure i would want that anyway). so happy i think!
Yes!! If you have an advantage card at Boots you can use points to get film. I'm sure with four children you could build some points up!
I'm really excited for you!!
OK, I'll own up, I've not read the whole thread (as I'm on my phone - so it's fiddly)
But as someone who owns a few film cameras (over 100) I'd always say start either with an Olympus OM10 (with a manual adapter) or, go Soviet - and get yourself a Zenit (the TTL is probably the best one for all round usability)
@gwhit123 well done. Olympus is the way to go. The OM-10, 20 etc were consumer cameras, unlike the OM-1, OM-2 etc series which were designed for professionals. The manual adapter gives you full control over the shutter and aperture speeds through metering. You should be able to pick up a manual adapter cheaply on eBay. Otherwise I have a spare manual adapter, but I am going overseas this week.
Peter - the OM20 doesn't need a manual adapter does it? (I'm almost certain it had the manual option built in - but on my phone with poor reception right now)
@peterdegraaff - as an aside - that Butkus bloke has put the most amazing resource on line - I've used probably 20 of his online manuals for various of my collection....
..... and yet I tried to donate to his site a while back - and his paypal links don't work
I've always been a Pentax fan. The bodies are sturdy and the Takumar optics are great. I know, I've had them on the workbench and tested them against both Leica and Nikon optics, and they held there own against that competition. Both Bodies and Lenses are on Ebay at reasonable prices.
Dude sorry only saw this this morning, wasn't much help. The OM20 is okay, not as good as the OM4 and OM2 but a fraction of the price, the Zuiko f1.8 is a good lens, the EOS 300 would have been a bad purchase, they often don't sell when they're even only £10. I would have only suggested the KR10 which Aaron suggested anyway.
@styru
he has two home pages, I can't remember which is current but I donated about a month ago and it went through fine.
@chewyteeth thanks dave. Yeah i had a look at the whole om range on @peterdegraaff suggestion and the high end single digits did look good but more than i wanted to spend as this will be my first film camera.
yeah I have an OM1 and an OM2sp and I've used an OM10 also. I also have an Olympus Trip 35, an Olympus Pen FT and an Olympus AF. Good company despite their terrible accounting scandal. Next question is what film. Try to get some cheap film on ebay, I'd suggest a mixed lot so you can have a play, and I pay about £1 a roll as a guide, thats when buying private auctions of about 10-20 rolls. don't buy them singly, don't use business sellers, or Boots which is ridiculous price wise, or Jessops or Asda (although Asda isn't too bad at about £7 for three Fuji C200. Poundland randomly, depending where you are, sells Agfa vista at £10 for 10 or singly. I spent about £13 last time I bought film and got a mix of 11 rolls, one slide film, one black and white and a range of ISO. Expired is fine. and if I was you I'd get camera batteries on ebay also. You'll have great fun and try to shoot on manual as soon as. Also when it comes to developing, some ASDA stores do colour to CD for only £3, and subsequent rolls on the same CD for £2 but if you don't have that option I wouldn't use Jessops which has sadly started trading again. AG photographic in Birmingham and Fujifilm at Burnley both do postal developing for reasonable prices, but check the prices before you buy slide film, or black and white film, and there's some obsolete film which is still being sold on ebay which you mustn't buy like Kodachrome and Agfa Scala. Finally check out dorset based Rocky Cameras for your lens needs if you want to build on the 50mm. he does OM zooms from around £8.99.
I'm not saying you need to buy other lenses, I sell most of the ones I get with cameras and just keep the 50mm but its a good place to go if you're into macro, wildlife or street photography and have specific needs. He's got a 135mm for 6.99 and a couple of zooms for less than a tenner. Just bookmark it for when you might need.
@chewyteeth thank you dave. Cery helpful. Could i ask your opinion about lenses, i cant really find reviews of lenses fron this time period. I have been looking at 28-70 zooms. One by tamron £30, and one sigma £15. Both 3.5. Is there anything to choose between them or should i go for the cheaper one?
@styru@peterdegraaff well as you know I am a dedicated Olympus gal but if you want to start off without the slr process and warm up to the idea of film go with a wide e or a range finder 3 mm. My profile pic was shot with the Wide E.
@chewyteeth I may want to do a lens trade with you since I just love a 35 over a 50 mm.
yeah but a 35mm f1.4 who can afford that even if it exists in the world of film. I like my fast max f stop on my fifties and they're affordable. Although everything changed recently when I got my Nikon FM, there're zooms by Vivitar that beat my Zuiko and Rokkor f1.4 primes, sirrrrriusly!
@chewyteeth in Wikipedia user the Olympus OM listing, after going through history, at the bottom of page they list all the specs of cameras and lenses, including weight, element numbers, etc. If my memory is right there were at least 4 different 35-70mm lenses. The second one listed at around 250 grams is one I am after eventually. My problem is I am happy to shoot mostly with 50mm 1.4, otherwise I use XA-2 or LC-A for wider angle
@chewyteeth ...Spotmatic II, by far. Even the older Ashai Spotmatics are great. I avoid the newer Pentaxs with the K-mount lens system. I never had a problem with the Takumar screw mounts. Kinda like to older Leica screw mounts. It only takes a second longer to mount the lens and I do believe the glass in the older mounts is superior to those in the K-mount.
I would recommend you the Nikon FM2 and the Nikon EL2. Both are professional grade cameras. But it doesn't matter if you want to go pro with shooting films as any of the film cameras will cost about the same.
A few things about the Nikons; the FM2 gives you great range of shutter speeds.
While the EL2 has a mode for automatic shutter speed, even though it is a mechanical camera.
You can find out more at mir.com. (I don't know why I'm unable to post links)
I had a Canon AE-1 but the problems I encountered with the Canon were:
- Availability of lenses.
- Lens mount of Canon film cameras was Canon FD mount. While the DSLRs have EF mounts. So, those awesome old lenses won't fit on your Canon DSLR (if you have one).
- No service centres. And even the 3rd party repair shops did not help.
But I don't know how difficult or easy it would be to find service and accessories where you reside.
I don't know the country of your residence. But to buy a film camera I'd say to check out amazon and ebay. Or if there are antique shops in your area. I can't say much about the price of the cameras. But here, in India, one can get a film SLR in almost new condition in under $100. (:
Hope this helps (:
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@chewyteeth - hi Dave, can you be of any assistance here? :)
@peterdegraaff I know you work in many film formats, wondering what you recommend George does for buying second hand SLR ?
Thank you guys!
I don't have an easy way to access ebay.uk, but this one is a shock to see on ebay at this price and is still a HUGE bargain even with the shipping cost to the UK. $20 buy-it-now? Crazy! One of the very best SLRs I've ever owned. It takes Pentax lenses, which are very affordable and comparable to more expensive Canon and Nikon lenses.
Here's a shot of mine, and another link to some photos I've taken with it: http://365project.org/grizzlysghost/365/2011-04-12
http://365project.org/tags/xr-p
How much should i be paying for an olympus om40 w/zuiko 50mm 1.8 in apparently good condition, being used recently
I'm really excited for you!!
But as someone who owns a few film cameras (over 100) I'd always say start either with an Olympus OM10 (with a manual adapter) or, go Soviet - and get yourself a Zenit (the TTL is probably the best one for all round usability)
.............................
Feeling Blue - my 365 Click HERE
Nice buy. Have fun with it!
The OM20 has the manual shutter speed ring. This would make it fully manual wouldn't it as the aperture is selected on the lens??
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/olympus/olympus_om-20/olympus_om-20.htm
..... and yet I tried to donate to his site a while back - and his paypal links don't work
Dude sorry only saw this this morning, wasn't much help. The OM20 is okay, not as good as the OM4 and OM2 but a fraction of the price, the Zuiko f1.8 is a good lens, the EOS 300 would have been a bad purchase, they often don't sell when they're even only £10. I would have only suggested the KR10 which Aaron suggested anyway.
@styru
he has two home pages, I can't remember which is current but I donated about a month ago and it went through fine.
what's your favorite Pentax body?
I've been watching the MX recently.
yeah I have an OM1 and an OM2sp and I've used an OM10 also. I also have an Olympus Trip 35, an Olympus Pen FT and an Olympus AF. Good company despite their terrible accounting scandal. Next question is what film. Try to get some cheap film on ebay, I'd suggest a mixed lot so you can have a play, and I pay about £1 a roll as a guide, thats when buying private auctions of about 10-20 rolls. don't buy them singly, don't use business sellers, or Boots which is ridiculous price wise, or Jessops or Asda (although Asda isn't too bad at about £7 for three Fuji C200. Poundland randomly, depending where you are, sells Agfa vista at £10 for 10 or singly. I spent about £13 last time I bought film and got a mix of 11 rolls, one slide film, one black and white and a range of ISO. Expired is fine. and if I was you I'd get camera batteries on ebay also. You'll have great fun and try to shoot on manual as soon as. Also when it comes to developing, some ASDA stores do colour to CD for only £3, and subsequent rolls on the same CD for £2 but if you don't have that option I wouldn't use Jessops which has sadly started trading again. AG photographic in Birmingham and Fujifilm at Burnley both do postal developing for reasonable prices, but check the prices before you buy slide film, or black and white film, and there's some obsolete film which is still being sold on ebay which you mustn't buy like Kodachrome and Agfa Scala. Finally check out dorset based Rocky Cameras for your lens needs if you want to build on the 50mm. he does OM zooms from around £8.99.
I'm not saying you need to buy other lenses, I sell most of the ones I get with cameras and just keep the 50mm but its a good place to go if you're into macro, wildlife or street photography and have specific needs. He's got a 135mm for 6.99 and a couple of zooms for less than a tenner. Just bookmark it for when you might need.
@gwhit123
choose lenses in order Zuiko (Olympus) Kiron, Tamron, vivitar...
expensive postage but I would hold out for the Olympus 35-70 like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OLYMPUS-OM-ZUIKO-35-70mm-ZOOM-LENS-WITH-SOFT-CASE-MINT-CANON-NIKON-/111054917360?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item19db638ef0
Or vivitar do a faster one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vivitar-35-70mm-f2-8-3-8-macro-zoom-Olympus-OM-fit-lens-in-VGC-/130893722543?pt=UK_Lenses_Filters_Lenses&hash=item1e79dfb3af
Sigma I've not seen good reports of.
@chewyteeth I may want to do a lens trade with you since I just love a 35 over a 50 mm.
yeah but a 35mm f1.4 who can afford that even if it exists in the world of film. I like my fast max f stop on my fifties and they're affordable. Although everything changed recently when I got my Nikon FM, there're zooms by Vivitar that beat my Zuiko and Rokkor f1.4 primes, sirrrrriusly!
@phillyphotos I recently picked up an Olympus 35 Model 4.
I saw there was a 3.5 and an f4 both reasonably priced. I'm into Vivitar at the moment.
Hello.
I would recommend you the Nikon FM2 and the Nikon EL2. Both are professional grade cameras. But it doesn't matter if you want to go pro with shooting films as any of the film cameras will cost about the same.
A few things about the Nikons; the FM2 gives you great range of shutter speeds.
While the EL2 has a mode for automatic shutter speed, even though it is a mechanical camera.
You can find out more at mir.com. (I don't know why I'm unable to post links)
I had a Canon AE-1 but the problems I encountered with the Canon were:
- Availability of lenses.
- Lens mount of Canon film cameras was Canon FD mount. While the DSLRs have EF mounts. So, those awesome old lenses won't fit on your Canon DSLR (if you have one).
- No service centres. And even the 3rd party repair shops did not help.
But I don't know how difficult or easy it would be to find service and accessories where you reside.
I don't know the country of your residence. But to buy a film camera I'd say to check out amazon and ebay. Or if there are antique shops in your area. I can't say much about the price of the cameras. But here, in India, one can get a film SLR in almost new condition in under $100. (:
Hope this helps (: