Nikon film body

Auraomega

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Robert
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I'm interested in playing with film but have only a limited budget (£40) to get a body. It's hard to find information about most of the film bodies going on eBay so I was wondering if there was any bodies that would be recommended at my budget.

Also, is there any sites that would be helpful for the specific differences in film and digital photography as things such as type of film are obviously an unknown to me.
 
I would say the best option you would get for the money would be the F801, also known as the N8008 if its an import. It was a fairly early AF model with a few electronic modes that were new in the day. To make a comparison, it was probably seen as being something like the D5100 is today. For a slightly better body if you can get an F90 then go for it, which in its day sat 1 model below the pro F3/F4 range.

The important thing to remember is that with film, the body made very little impact on the final photo. It was there simply to open the shutter and wind the film on, and as long as it did that, then the results (given the same film, lighting conditions etc) would be the same regardless of whether you had a pro model or the entry level model.

If you're happy to focus manually, the F301 mentioned above will do the job nicely
 
I would say get a Nikon FE or FM.

-Both have metering incase you are worried about making a bad exposure.
-Built to last for ages with metal construction, etc.
-FM able to fire even without batteries
-Takes old Nikon lenses with aperture ring
-Can get one for cheap off eBay.
-Manual focus though, although I see that as part of the fun in using one.
 
i will be putting up for sale a Nikon EM body...do you have lenses ..?

as well ...... a mint EM with 50mm/1.8 E lens and carry case and winder
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I didn't realise there was a board dedicated to film, the Android app was a bit awkward!

@Nawty:
3 of my lenses are but my UWA isn't suitable for FX apparently, either way the other 3 lenses are all FX and have the aperture dial on too.

@demonicangelz:
Both the FE and FM seem to be around the £100 range, I presume they're more collectors items?

Having a look on eBay it seems the N80 and F801 are coming in at budget and are fairly common so I'll give this a go, I'm also going to pay a couple of the charity shops and second hand places local a visit as I saw some rather old looking lenses in one a while back, might be worth seeing if they've got any bodies going too.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I didn't realise there was a board dedicated to film, the Android app was a bit awkward!

@Nawty:
3 of my lenses are but my UWA isn't suitable for FX apparently, either way the other 3 lenses are all FX and have the aperture dial on too.

@demonicangelz:
Both the FE and FM seem to be around the £100 range, I presume they're more collectors items?

Having a look on eBay it seems the N80 and F801 are coming in at budget and are fairly common so I'll give this a go, I'm also going to pay a couple of the charity shops and second hand places local a visit as I saw some rather old looking lenses in one a while back, might be worth seeing if they've got any bodies going too.

I don't think we do 'collecting' here in F&C- no shelf queens allowed! The FE and FM are definately in use by F&C posters...
 
I don't think we do 'collecting' here in F&C- no shelf queens allowed! The FE and FM are definately in use by F&C posters...

Last roll of 35mm (T-Max 400) was shot on my FE on Sunday; I'm sure some people collect them, but it's a wonderful camera to use.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I didn't realise there was a board dedicated to film, the Android app was a bit awkward!

@Nawty:
3 of my lenses are but my UWA isn't suitable for FX apparently, either way the other 3 lenses are all FX and have the aperture dial on too.

@demonicangelz:
Both the FE and FM seem to be around the £100 range, I presume they're more collectors items?

Having a look on eBay it seems the N80 and F801 are coming in at budget and are fairly common so I'll give this a go, I'm also going to pay a couple of the charity shops and second hand places local a visit as I saw some rather old looking lenses in one a while back, might be worth seeing if they've got any bodies going too.

Bought a FE and FM for £30+ each recently off eBay. Not in the best of condition, but it works. Since you are just trying it for fun I suggest looking for one and buying it if its cheap.
 
Not everybody is that interested in using the old greats, if I was really just interested in the film product I'd have a look at the F**'s.
Ok they're plastic cheaply made things but cheap to buy now with few of the degradation problems that the old metal body's come with.
They have af, usually meter pretty well and are quite reliable, most still give the option of shooting all manual.
So, I dunno......F55 upwards...??..:)
 
Not everybody is that interested in using the old greats, if I was really just interested in the film product I'd have a look at the F**'s.
Ok they're plastic cheaply made things but cheap to buy now with few of the degradation problems that the old metal body's come with.
They have af, usually meter pretty well and are quite reliable, most still give the option of shooting all manual.
So, I dunno......F55 upwards...??..:)

It's a good point - why do you want to shoot film?

If all you want is the effect then a F55 / F80 is what you want and can be had dirt cheap, add something like a 28-80 and you're away for peanuts.

If you want to get into the whole feel of manually adjusting things, winding the film on and generally get all retro with it the the FM / FE are the thing for you.

I have an F80 and a FM2n and I have to admit that when I shoot film, it's nearly always with the FM2n :)
 
Get an F801 or F301, brilliant cheap cameras! they can be had for under a tenner.
 
I had an F401 and an F90 and they were both really nice cameras to use and the F401 is still a really cheap camera.

Andy
 
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