First film camera

Jackp93

Jackp93

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Jack
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Hi all

I have a real hankering for a film camera but cannot make my mind up on what to go for. My criteria is

Not too large as will become a travel camera
Must be of a reasonable quality ie not a point and shoot
Ideally a cool looking one as will probably become a desk ornament


My budget is £220 or less

The ones I’ve looked at so far are

Olympus om-1
Konica iii
Olympus travel 35
Olympus pen ee2
Bencini comet (girlfriend is from Milan)
Leica R3
Minolta xe
Carl Zeiss contessa

I just keep going round and round in circles so any advice would be amazing. I should say my skill level is amateur who’s been shooting for 5-6 years so I’m ok.

Thanks

Jack
 
Sorry forgot the Olympus pen Ft as well. I’m quite intrigued on the half frame cameras
 
Due to the age of old film cameras it's all about operational condition
Film door light seals must be intact any damage and light will enter and affect the roll film.
Light meter , Does it work
Battery chamber ( most have one or 2 batteries for the light meter to work , Have they leaked acid into the chamber and iton the electronics .
Mirror foam , most have a small strip of foam that after 4 or five decades crumbles , It is there to cushion the mirror when mooving up,
If it comes with a lens / lenses they must all work accurately
Does it operate accurately at all shutter speeds
Maybe more my old brain has forgotten .
Have fun.
 
I got this a couple of weeks back. Its not lightweight though.

www.talkphotography.co.uk

Nikon film camera query.

I am considering getting a film camera and would like to know your thoughts on a Nikon F60 available here. My reasoning for this particular model is as below: 1. Needs to be a Nikon as I already have some AF-D lenses. 2. Needs to have some form of automation. 3. Needs to be cheap. Thanks...
www.talkphotography.co.uk www.talkphotography.co.uk
 
I'd suggest looking at the Pentax M- or A-series cameras. At least you get an abudance of lenses for this system; any K-mount lens can be used, the modern ones with some limitations.
 
Jackp93 said:
...Bencini comet (girlfriend is from Milan)
Leica R3...
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If you're looking at both of these, then it's going to be somewhat difficult to give any useful advice.

The Bencini was at the bottom of the bottom in terms of facilities and quality, while the Leica was pretty much at the top on both measures.
 
Your list covers several camera styles.
It would be a start to decide what you would want between an SLR, scale focus, point & shoot, rangefinder etc...
If I were to choose only one, I'd go for an SLR, probably the most adaptable.

Good luck....
 
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Look at a Pentax MX great little camera, plenty of K mount lenses still around as well. Small but very capable
 
Depends where you are, and if you have any decent camera shops around your way? Buying on eBay is always going to be a lottery. But, if push comes to shove I'd probably recommend something like the Fujica cameras. Quite cheap, and well made. Something like the 605 would do you nicely.
 
Try an SLR that takes M42 mount lenses. Plenty of Pentax cameras from the 60's and 70's before K mount came along. The M42 opens up a whole host of lenses.

Spotmatic from a shop like West Yorkshire Cameras for example.

Or the Olympus OM range.
 
Thanks for all the great advice however I’m now more undecided than ever. I’ve managed to narrow it down slightly and have now compiled a list of all the sizes. As it’s a travel camera I think I’ll definitely go for one of the smaller ones. Here’s my list so far, I think anything over 140 is to be discounted

IMG_9968.jpeg
 
Have you not considered a (35) Rangefinder Camera - all the Olympus from the Trip 35 to the 35 SP are good

(PS - reading all the thread U see that you have!)

TP_35SP.jpg




SLR - I'd go for the ME Super, (the Pentax Leica), really small for a SLR, but it depends how many lens you are taking - the Pentax 50mm f1.7 is a good lens
 
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Olympus OMs are great for travel, small but still robust and the Zuiko lenses can be excellent. The only issue I found is that they're a bit too compact to be comfortable for my sausage fingers.

If you're tempted by a fixed lens rangefinder, the Yashica Electro 35 GX and CC are significantly smaller than the Yashica GS cameras with great lenses (40mm and 35mm respectively) and offer aperture-priority but they don't take modern batteries. I use a couple of spacer adapters in my GX and common LR44 batteries, the metering doesn't appear to be unduly affected.
 
Haha well my decision has been made I had a cheeky bid on a canon Demi c with both lenses. Not expecting it to be accepted and it was, now my next question what colour and black and white film is best for it
 
Jackp93 said:
Haha well my decision has been made I had a cheeky bid on a canon Demi c with both lenses. Not expecting it to be accepted and it was, now my next question what colour and black and white film is best for it
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Congratulations on your film camera purchase. If it was me I would but a roll of x24 exposure Kodak Colorplus film and have it developed and scanned at film dev. You can then check for light leaks and any other anomalies before you end up spending loads on film and a good way to see if everything is functioning as it should be. Fingers crossed for you and would love to see the results when you have shot the roll of film. (If you are developing your own film a roll of Ilford HP5 Plus would do the trick) I only mention to buy a colour film first because it is cheaper than black and white to process and scan. There is one anomaly in this advice you could shoot a roll of Ilford XP2 which is black and white but is processed using colour chemicals but I don't want to confuse the situation. Good Luck.
 
Jackp93 said:
Haha well my decision has been made I had a cheeky bid on a canon Demi c with both lenses. Not expecting it to be accepted and it was, now my next question what colour and black and white film is best for it
Click to expand...
Congrats on your purchase!

The film question is tough as each of us can be attracted to different aspects of various films so you're more likely to get lists of personal favourites than a definitive answer. Your first film should be nothing special, one you can run through the camera to check all the functions are .. uh .. functioning correctly, check for light leaks, etc. After that the world of film is your mollusc of choice.

As a starting point I'd recommend checking out the F&C section, there's a mega-thread of pictures to scroll through (Show us yer film shots) that showcases many of the options and there are various film groups on flickr if there's something in particular you like and want to see what it can achieve. A recent thread brought up Ilford FP4 Type 517, it's a 35mm motion picture film that's been respooled into regular canisters and is being offered at £2.99 a roll, which is a bargain but it might not be the best choice for a first film as it's designed for outdoor use so the lighting might not result in what you expect and if you're outsourcing your development they may not be familiar with it (a datasheet is available and there doesn't appear to be any special treatment required but I felt it was worth mentioning).

Expired film can be a cheaper option but it's a lottery. If it's been stored well then there can be little to no difference compared to fresh film but if it's been kept in a box full of dust on top of a radiator in direct sunlight (ebay description, "hermetically sealed in a condensation-free refrigeration unit until removed and given the blessings of the saints before dispatch") you won't know until it's developed. That said, I've been lucky with expired film far more often than I've been unlucky, a dodgy roll is very much the exception IME.

Good luck and I'm looking forward to seeing your results!
 
Nikon FM2, prefer it over the OM2 that I had.

The main aspect being the winder for the OM2, once you wind it forward to a frame. You have to shoot a frame before putting it back in your bag because there is no off button. The shutter will still go off.

With the FM2, when the winder is in the rest position, the shutter is locked. The winder basically is the on/off lever.

edit - the price of these has shot up from around £200 to £300 in the last year!....WTH.
 
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