Film slr for my dad?

Dubn83

Dubn83

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David
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Hey guys, when I was bout 13-14 I wanted to get into photography but as an ungrateful teen I didn't was to use/have my dads camera that he had had for yrs & traveled around the world with. So he traded it in on a canon 500n for me and I no now from my mum that he didn't get anywhere near what he want/it was worth (at cost or in sentiment). And it was only a few yrs b4 I lost interest in photography, and got into cars ect :(

Now I'd like to get him a replacement, and I know he won't like a new dslr as he can't use my d3100. And I no his old one was Pentax, but not sure witch (and if I ask him the car will b out the bag). So has anyone got any idea what slr I should look at, he's 60 now and went to oz when he was I his mid 20's as his 1st real trip aboard-so think that when he would have got it?

Thanks dave
 
Could he not get on with a bridge type camera? My dad did and he's 84 this year, tbh 60 isn't exactly old (I'm 58 :) )
Matt
 
I'm not buyin it as a new camera, he has a point-&-shoot canon that he brought a yr or so bk. and he snaps with his iPhone, it's more for a replacement of the one he had that I no he would of kept forever had I not been such a pain and wanting a new camera that he did not have the cash for bk then!
 
Couldn't you ask your dad that you are now interested in photography and want to start with something simple (a film camera) like the camera he had, and he might remember. Also you might have some old photos of him with his camera.
 
I would have said the K1000 straight away because that was the camera of the moment, but I'm not sure the time line matches his age.


  • K2 (1975–1980)
  • KX (1975–1977)
  • KM (1975–1977)
  • K1000 (1976–1997



  • ME F (1981–1988)
  • ME (1976–1980)
  • ME Super (1980–1987)
  • MG (1982–1985)
  • MV (1979–1982)
  • MV1[3] (1979–1982)
  • MX (1976–1985)


If he didn't own a k1000, It is likely he aspired to it...:)
 
Dubn83 said:
Now I'd like to get him a replacement, and I know he won't like a new dslr as he can't use my d3100. And I no his old one was Pentax, but not sure witch (and if I ask him the car will b out the bag). So has anyone got any idea what slr I should look at, he's 60 now and went to oz when he was I his mid 20's as his 1st real trip aboard-so think that when he would have got it?

Thanks dave
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Something like a Pentax ME Super? You could also look at the Olympus OM range from the same period, also small, light and well made.
 
If it was before that then it would have been one of the Spotmatic series, do you remember if it took screw mount or bayonet type lenses as that will narrow it down as to whether it was one of the cameras above, or a Spotmatic type (of which there were roughly 7 distinct types).
 
The burning questions would be:

Does he still want to shoot film?

Why can't he use a D3100?

How much do you want to spend on this?
 
He might want to, he might not, I don't think its about shooting film.

The op wants to replace the camera his Dad sacrificed for him when he was an ungrateful teen.

It says all this in the opening post
 
It's simple... Talk to your dad and find out... Tell him what you've told a bunch of strangers, how hard can it be...

And what would I give to be able to do that simple thing...
 
joxby said:
He might want to, he might not, I don't think its about shooting film.

The op wants to replace the camera his Dad sacrificed for him when he was an ungrateful teen.

It says all this in the opening post
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So the op should buy his dad a Leica M? If his dad wants to shoot film he will be overjoyed. If he doesn't he can watch an asset gain money and sell it when necessary. If he doesn't need to sell it, the op will inherit it and can use it and love it, or sell it and bank the profit.
 
Sorry, hit Post before I intended to, and intended to type more, but, really, my post stands, and I really would like to know why his dad can't use a D3100 and if he wants to shoot film.
 
TheBigYin said:
It's simple... Talk to your dad and find out... Tell him what you've told a bunch of strangers, how hard can it be...

And what would I give to be able to do that simple thing...
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Not really that simple. As he mentioned previously, that would "let the cat out of the bag". He wants it to be a surprise, thus coming here rather than to his dad.

kenm said:
So the op should buy his dad a Leica M?
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No. His dad used a Pentax. What's that got to do with Leica?

kenm said:
If his dad wants to shoot film he will be overjoyed. If he doesn't he can watch an asset gain money and sell it when necessary. If he doesn't need to sell it, the op will inherit it and can use it and love it, or sell it and bank the profit.

Sorry, hit Post before I intended to, and intended to type more, but, really, my post stands, and I really would like to know why his dad can't use a D3100 and if he wants to shoot film.
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Like someone else said, it doesn't seem to be about his wanting to take film photos. It's about a son replacing the camera his dad loved and sacrificed for him when he was a teenager. The OP also mentioned his father has a point and shoot and his phone that he's happy with.

I'm currently tracking down a necklace my mum used to own and let me borrow over a decade ago. Being a reckless teenager, I lost it. My mum no longer wears jewellery so it'll sit in her jewellery box but that's not the point - it's the sentiment behind it. It meant a lot to her at the time.

OP, I'd recommend taking the list that joxby provided and google - see if you can spot it that way. If not, go with the one that would closest match the date he went to Oz and explain afterwards. It might end up not being the same model but the sentiment behind the search will mean the same (or it would to me!)
 
Okay, hands up on this one, I liberated nearly every camera by dad ever owned, and if I turned up with all of them wrapped in boxes with bows on, I would end up with most of them stuffed up or down my various orifices.

What it has to do with a Leica, is that he OP’s teen actions lost his dad money, and if he wants to repay that, getting him a camera that will appreciate rather than one that is worth sweeties, would be a nice thing to do.

A camera is not a necklace, and I accept the sentiment part of everything, but an early Pentax is still an early Pentax.
I like F&C but oh. Please, I am just about off.
 
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I didn't mean my reply to come as nasty or anything so I sincerely apologise if it does.

But the way my mother feels about the necklace is how I feel about a couple of cameras within my collection - and why not? One of those is a really shoddy Zenit with a wonky lens mount and sticky aperture blades but I'd be bloody gutted if I lost it. It's not gonna get me any money in the future - probably like the OP's dads pentax - but that's not why I have it. Actually, that's not why I have any of my cameras.

It's not about repaying his dad for the monetary loss. As the OP said himself, the camera was one he was likely to have kept forever had he not insisted on a brand new camera his dad couldn't afford.

I guess I just don't understand why all the questions came about, about digital cameras, buying a new digital camera, a new film camera, buying a leica or just asking him came about when the OP himself expressed over a few posts why he's doing this and not that. :shrug:
 
H'mm when the dust settles and at the end of the day, an exact replacement camera ain't going to be the same as the one he had for years if he considered it to be his "pride and joy" or "it went around the world with him" or "old faithful" or "never missed a beat" etc
 
Rite sorry guys, didn't mean to start a fight!

I'm thinkin of doing this as a sentimental gesture, that I no he will use every now and then he dosnt keep thing he dosnt use ;)

And I no it's not goin to b the exact same camera, as he traded it in it either got broke up, sold secondhand and is binned/in someone's loft or just maybe still being used (here's hoping).
But it'll mean more if I get the rite model otherwise I'd of asked "witch would be the best Pentax 35mm slr to get".

I'm goin to ask he's brother and sister & my mum to see if they no witch one it was. But the model/yrs list posted was helpful.

Thanks guys
 
Fight? nah. Frank exchange of views? That'll be it.

Only you know the exact years so maybe you can make an educated guess with the help of family and Joxby's list.

My only point is that if you want to by senior a gift, that's great, but do you really know that he would want a replacement of a 40something year old camera? If I was getting a present, I would want something useful, or beautiful, or both, and a elderly Pentax, despite being a great camera in its day, and also a great starter camera for somebody now wanting to shoot film, is neither.

Toadstool, you didn't come over as nasty, and I apologise for making you feel the need to apologise, but I just do not get any sentimental attachment to cameras - there are nice ones, sexy ones, and desirable ones, but sentiment? Never felt it.
 
kenm said:
Toadstool, you didn't come over as nasty, and I apologise for making you feel the need to apologise, but I just do not get any sentimental attachment to cameras - there are nice ones, sexy ones, and desirable ones, but sentiment? Never felt it.
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Whereas I'm an overly sentimental fool :lol: If my son/daughter thought back to that situation and got me a replacement for whatever it was all these years later I'd be overjoyed no matter what it was :love: :lol:

Good luck in your search, OP!
 
Its not even about cameras, its about a Dad and his Son.

Despite not knowing the camera model, I wish it was this easy, A reg Lada estates are pretty thin on the ground...:lol:
 
This thread is an object lesson in reading what people asked, not what you think they should have asked. The OP wants to do something sappy and sentimental, and some people are basically telling him he's wrong.
 
David, I can't see that anyone has asked so I will if that's alright.

How old are you now? That way I can gauge when you were 13-14 and work back to see which Pentax was around in that era. Failing that, I would say get your dad a MX, preferably black. They are so dandy and if he wants to relive the old days, this is a great camera with which to go back to basics. It is a great deal of fun and so easy to use. I had one and it was a better camera on which to learn photography than the one I gave it up for - the Canon A-1.
 
I quite like the Leica idea mentioned before as a real 'wow I'm sorry' statement.
 
For a person of that age it's surely a Pentax MX, brilliant, simple, a joy. Preferably with the 50mm f/1.4, but you'll more likely find it with the f/1.7, which is fine (and what he'd more than likely bought).

(I'm a little older, went to Oz aged 25, bought a Spotmatic II on the way, moved to Pentax ME in 76. Wish I'd known about the MX in those days.)
 
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