Advice on first film camera

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melmel

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Hi, I'm looking to buy a film camera to play about with. Is it possible to get a cheapy camera that I can use in low lighting settings without flash?
Is it just a lens with a higher aperture i'm looking for, or is it more complicated than that ?

What sort of prices would I be looking at for something like this?

I've got a nikon d40x with the standard kit lens, but I always feel like I'd like something more compact/ that I could use in lower lighting conditions without a flash. If there's any reasonably cheap lenses that could do this job I'd like to learn about them tooooo.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated!
 
My first film camera was the canon 50e.
Using your camera in low light conditions is going to come from which film & lens you use so do some research into film speeds & low light lenses.
You'll need to combine the knowledge of these two things to get properly exposed shots.

Good luck
 
You can get quite a few film SLR cameras complete with 50mm f/1.8 lens for under £50 and combined with a fast film you will be fine without flash in lowish light. I recently got a cheap & cheerfull pentax MX with 50mm f/1.7 lens for £46 which works great for most things.

If you want a more compact film camera then there are point & shoot models like the Olympus Stylus Epic for about £20 with f/2.8 (built in) lens.

As they are so cheap you could get both :cool:
 
viewfromthenorth said:
The D40x is pretty compact and you might struggle to find something significantly smaller. The nikon F75 springs to mind if you want something modern and automated, but the Olympus OM is probably the smallest slr you'll find if you don't mind going fully manual.
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I had an Olympus OM-10 as a kid, which was a cracking camera. Unfortunately it got nicked :(
 
I had an Olympus OM 10 with 50 1.8 a few months back. Bought it for £20, sold it for £26 so mid £20s for a lovely camera with a nice lens.
And it is not exactly fully manual, it is just an Aperture priority camera. Set that to around 1.8 for your low light requirement and the shutter will be set automatically.
Don't get caught out by lower DoF as it is full frame rather than crop so 1.8 can be surprisingly tight (especially when you can't immediately see the results - which taught me a lesson!)
 
ernesto said:
And it is not exactly fully manual, it is just an Aperture priority camera.
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Unless you get the manual adapter with it which plugs into the front of the body and has a dial for shutter speed.
 
jokeruk said:
Unless you get the manual adapter with it which plugs into the front of the body and has a dial for shutter speed.
Click to expand...

Yes, which will probably double the price of the camera :)
 
melmel said:
Hi, I'm looking to buy a film camera to play about with. Is it possible to get a cheapy camera that I can use in low lighting settings without flash?
Is it just a lens with a higher aperture i'm looking for, or is it more complicated than that ?

What sort of prices would I be looking at for something like this?

I've got a nikon d40x with the standard kit lens, but I always feel like I'd like something more compact/ that I could use in lower lighting conditions without a flash. If there's any reasonably cheap lenses that could do this job I'd like to learn about them tooooo.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated!
Click to expand...

A film camera won't be much smaller than your D40, as mentioned above, and you'll struggle to match the ISO performance with film. Might be better off with a fast prime on that, Nikon 50 1.8 or 35 1.8.
 
I've shot film in low light in the past myself but its going to be much harder than shooting digital.

1 - you will need to be shooting between ASA800 - 3200, you will also need a lab that can process those speeds and its not going to be cheap.

2 - you cant review the images and re-take the shot if it hasn't worked or isn't up to your standards.

3 - You wont be able to do it with anything pocketable, the smallest would be something like a zorki 4 k, but even then you are limited to an F2 lens max aperture I think with the cheaper lenses and will need a light meter as well and it wont fit in your pocket by a long shot.
SLR's will be just as bulky and heavy as your DSLR.

4 - The other members are correct a fast 50mm (F1.8 - 1.4) on your current camera is the best and possibly the cheapest option.

6 - shoot RAW with your current camera and learn how to process the RAW files in either the bundled nikon software or in adobe camera raw, you have much more control over the image and can reduce the effects of things such us image noise that is often a result of shooting at high ISO's

7 - Get a tripod and a remote release for your camera, that way you can shoot static subjects at a lower ISO by using a much longer shutter speed.

8 - If you do go for a film SLR get a nikon one that way you can most likely use the lenses for it on your D40 as well using manual focus.


Lastly, welcome and I hope you enjoy your time here.
 
I picked up an OM 10 with manual adapter off the bay for £24 delivered. And a 50mm Zuiko 1.8 for a tenner.
 
Old film cameras are lovely objects for not much money. The only camera I have owned where I found myself picking it up and manually focussing on things just for the hell of it!

However, it quickly showed me that I have much to learn and have much too high a throwaway rate to be using film. I am still at the stage of 'that would make a nice shot' but get home and discover it didn't in reality...
 
iancandler said:
1 - you will need to be shooting between ASA800 - 3200, you will also need a lab that can process those speeds and its not going to be cheap.
Click to expand...

Err, just buy some ISO 800 or 3200 film such as colour negative Kodak Portra 800 or B&W Ilford Delta 3200 and shoot it? The process is the same for all speed films (of the same type obviously) unless your going to push it so any lab can do it (assuming C-41 colour negative) and most pro labs which also do B&W now do pushing/pulling for free. It doesn't come out as expensive as you might think.
 
I have recently got a Nikon F80 which is a very good film camera and aside from being film, virually the same as the digital nikon range. I also have (and am sellling in forum) the Nikon FE which is a proper camera, manual everything and great fun. If you want to get to grips with basics, thats a good way to learn.
 
Because film cameras are now so cheap you can afford to treat yourself to something top end - I have an F5 which I paid about £150 for; these were about £1500 back in the day. Just bear in mind you will need full frame lenses to go with it.
 
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