Which Film camera

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abdabs

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Jill
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I'm from the digital era but I am really keen to buy a film camera for personal use. With digital u can just keep clicking and delete later or Photoshop till your hearts content. I want to stop and take my time thinking more about exposure abd composition and the excitement to wait for them to be developed like I say it's for personal use I won't be using it for clients. Which is a good start off camera to get me going
 
Which sort of camera do you want? SLR, TLR, Rangefinder?

Seeing as you have a 5d Mkii, you might want to look at a film Canon EOS camera so you can use your lenses, it depends on how much you want to spend.

If you want something a bit older and manual focus though there are too many options to mention here, everyone will chip with their recommendations.
 
Thanks for your reply that's how naive I am to the world of film didn't even think of a canon and using my lens. Is a budget of about £500-800 a bit of wishful thinking
 
****Is a budget of about £500-800 a bit of wishful thinking***

Many of us are using film cameras from £5-£50, unlike digital the lens is most important (and the photographer of course) and not so much the camera body.
 
For that budget you could even make a good start in medium format.
 
Edtog said:
If you use Canon then you can easily pick up an EOS1 with booster for less than your budget.

http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/..._eos-1v.html?lang=us&categ=crn&page=1996-2000

Just depends if you want to carry it around as they are quite heavy.
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You could pick up a pair of minty EOS 1v cameras for your budget.

There was a 1v in the classifeds recently, that is as good as the canon EOS film cameras got and is certainly a match for you 5DMkII. Was up for £250 or 280 something like that. 45 point AF, 10 frames per sec with the booster and Ni-Cad pack. if you get the data kit too (which usually goes for £150ish second hand when they come up, not that common) then you can even download the EXIF data for you pics!!

The EOS 1v is still on Canons website under current models:
http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/SLR/index.aspx
 
Thanks everyone loads of help I will definitely look into the canon ones and when I get access to the classifieds I will keep a look out.
Out of interest what are the £5-50 ones that some of u have that sounds very appealing
 
abdabs said:
Thanks everyone loads of help I will definitely look into the canon ones and when I get access to the classifieds I will keep a look out.
Out of interest what are the £5-50 ones that some of u have that sounds very appealing
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Hours of fun looking through what members of this part of the forum have aquired - link. Put the kettle on before settling down to read!
 
Part of the reason why I shoot with film cameras is because I like the all manual, all metal nature of the cameras that I have. I could've gone for the Nikon bodies so I could use my digital lenses, but chose not to. Just because you have those EF lenses doesn't mean you necessarily have to - it's just like shooting a Canon digital but with the medium being film emulsion rather than a digital sensor, but you miss out on all the charm that older film cameras really have to give.
 
Lol I've just started reading that thread and realised it had over 100 pages when kids are in bed I will read with a pen and paper and make notes
 
Have to agree with those saying don't get an EOS, go for something different if you want to slow down. An EOS film body will be just like using your 5DII but with a tiny, one use memory card of only 36 shots. I am having similar trouble with my contax G2, the pinnacle of film rangefinder technology but too automated to make you slow down and think. Go for something manual but with a built in lightmeter. I would recommend an olympus OM-2n and lenses personally. Small, well built camera with superb lenses that can be carried round with you all day!
 
abdabs said:
Thanks everyone loads of help I will definitely look into the canon ones and when I get access to the classifieds I will keep a look out.
Out of interest what are the £5-50 ones that some of u have that sounds very appealing
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erm well if you can say what sort of camera you want, or what you want it to do, it could filter out a flood of answers...e.g. 35mm only? all manual camera (no batteries)? semi auto and manual? auto focus yes/no? simple point and shoot? and so on.
 
With a budget of £500-£800, I'd get a EOS-3 body to share lenses with the 5Dii (yes, everyone, you knew i'd say that :lol:) and spend the rest on a decent Medium format camera kit and a couple of lenses. There was a "what MF kit" thread here, here, and here
 
menthel said:
An EOS film body will be just like using your 5DII but with a tiny, one use memory card of only 36 shots.
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Great post (including the bits I snipped out obviously). Don't get me wrong, film is a great medium to shoot with, but with all the same 'autofocus hocus pocus' shooting with a recent EOS film body, it was designed in a similar vain to most digital bodies - allowing you to burn through as many shots as possible, as quickly as possible. Motor drives, fast fps and all that. I'm not knocking them, and that is what the market wanted at the time, but as a camera to slow down with? Completely the wrong choice IMO. I'm biased in saying this because I'm essentially recommending what my preference is (and this sort of thread tends to attract those sorts of posts, really), but I genuinely think it's pointless just getting a film 5dII replacement. A camera to slow down with should be one where you advance the film yourself, where you set the shutter speed and aperture through knobs rather than a command dial (à la digital), and where you wind the film manually back into the cartridge when you have finished shooting with it.

Brian, it appears that Jill is not really acquainted with all the various sorts of film cameras available which is probably why there wasn't anything specific mentioned. Go easy!
 
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freecom2 said:
Great post (including the bits I snipped out obviously). Don't get me wrong, film is a great medium to shoot with, but with all the same 'autofocus hocus pocus' shooting with a recent EOS film body, it was designed in a similar vain to most digital bodies - allowing you to burn through as many shots as possible, as quickly as possible. Motor drives, fast fps and all that. I'm not knocking them, and that is what the market wanted at the time, but as a camera to slow down with? Completely the wrong choice IMO. I'm biased in saying this because I'm essentially recommending what my preference is (and this sort of thread tends to attract those sorts of posts, really), but I genuinely think it's pointless just getting a film 5dII replacement.

Brian, it appears that Jill is not really acquainted with all the various sorts of film cameras available which is probably why there wasn't anything specific mentioned. Go easy!
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Glad I said something sensible for once! ;)
 
Maybe I'm just not in tune with everyone else, I don't know - but I don't necessarily see that having a camera that works with the same kind of feel as a modern digital one is necessarily a bad thing. I enjoy shooting with the EOS-3 and my 7D as a pair - it's great to be able to share the lenses, and not to have to keep swiching mental gears beween film and digital camera. For me it'd be worth the £100 or so for a decent EOS-3 body, purely not to ever have to shoot on digital with a B&W conversion in mind! Just because it's got AF and a motordrive, doesn't mean it's got to be running at the full 7fps all the time, anymore than it means you need to go out and shoot 700 frames in an afternoon on a digital camera. I've come back from a full day's shooting on the digital, and only taken 20 frames, but they've been good (by my standards at least) ones.

I understand and enjoy the appeal of older MF cameras - anyone who spotted my recent escapades with a T90 body, and the fact that I decided that it wasn't for me will know that I've a soft spot for the Canon F1/A1 era of cameras. But, at the end of the day, the most important contribution to the quality of the image (other than the nut behind the camera) is going to be made by the glass on the front of the camera. I enjoy shooting with the Canon A-1 and my selection of FD/FDn glass, but there's no way that it can match the IQ of the box of Canon EF L lenses I'm lucky enough to own. As the OP has a very nice 5Dii, it's reasonable to assume a few items of L glass to go with it, and with a budget of £5-800, I'd definitely stick by my recomendation of spending a few bob on a EOS-1/EOS-3 to use some of that lovely glass.
 
I guess the point is you don't slow down. I had an EOS 650, it took great shots but it was basically point camera, set aperture/shutter and then expose, same as my 7d. I didn't slow down (apart from waiting for the AF to get a decent lock!) and that is what the OP has asked for. She may as well set the 5DII to full manual (inc focusing) and see how that goes rather than spending out on an EOS film body. That's my take on it anyway.
 
menthel said:
I guess the point is you don't slow down. I had an EOS 650, it took great shots but it was basically point camera, set aperture/shutter and then expose, same as my 7d. I didn't slow down (apart from waiting for the AF to get a decent lock!) and that is what the OP has asked for. She may as well set the 5DII to full manual (inc focusing) and see how that goes rather than spending out on an EOS film body. That's my take on it anyway.
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But that's just it Jim - I couldn't slow down from how I shoot on digital - I've never really got into the whole blaze away shooting style on digital anyway, and I tend to spend half a hour per frame faffing around with the tripod, filters, cable releases, and all the other impedimenta anyway - be it shooting on digital, 35mm, 120 of if i'd hired a 10x8" plate camera :lol: As I said - maybe it's just me that's out of step - but there are an awful lot of landscape-ey photographers out there, even shooting digital, who are the same. :shrug:
 
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TheBigYin said:
But that's just it Jim - I couldn't slow down from how I shoot on digital - I've never really got into the whole blaze away shooting style on digital anyway, and I tend to spend half a hour per frame faffing around with the tripod, filters, cable releases, and all the other impedimenta anyway - be it shooting on digital, 35mm, 120 of if i'd hired a 10x8" plate camera :lol: As I said - maybe it's just me that's out of step - but there are an awful lot of landscape-ey photographers out there, even shooting digital, who are the same. :shrug:
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Perhaps we need to know this from the OP, although the metioing of film and slowing down does seem to suggest that she wants something more manual. I envy you your time to slow down and shoot as you do, I just don't have the time, complaining wife and manic toddler just don't allow it! ;) I would love a MF camera but my lack of time and the above factors just make it a pointless spend for me at present. :)
 
I'm with TBY here, I have an EOS1v and An Oly OM-2, my shooting on the pair of them isn't really that different, if I want to really slow down I use my Zeiss nettar, that makes you think but then it doesn't have a lightmeter or optical focussing system.

Personally with £500-800 to blow I'd look at:

EOS-1v you can pick up a REALLY good one for £250-300 (or an EOS-3 for half that, which is 90% the same camera) and you have something that uses your current lenses and is familiar enough to get good results from and learn about film.

spend the rest of something medium format, probably Mamiya RB67, its manual, no light meter, some nice lenses and its a proper medium format camera. Then you can really find out about the resolution and tones you can get with film (I'm looking for one at the moment :)).
 
menthel said:
Perhaps we need to know this from the OP, although the metioing of film and slowing down does seem to suggest that she wants something more manual. I envy you your time to slow down and shoot as you do, I just don't have the time, complaining wife and manic toddler just don't allow it! ;) I would love a MF camera but my lack of time and the above factors just make it a pointless spend for me at present. :)
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That'll be your problem right ^^^ there :lol:

No - I understand that not everybody is able, or happy to shoot the way I do - It just gets to me sometimes that people assume that you just blaze away because you have a motor-driven AF camera.

I think that my dislike of shooting people-photo's comes from the fact that I take so long to get the shot setup just right, I can feel them getting wound up and annoyed, and that makes me rush, and flap, and not enjoy shooting. So I try and avoid shooting anything that moves if at all possible :lol:
 
TheBigYin said:
That'll be your problem right ^^^ there :lol:

No - I understand that not everybody is able, or happy to shoot the way I do - It just gets to me sometimes that people assume that you just blaze away because you have a motor-driven AF camera.

I think that my dislike of shooting people-photo's comes from the fact that I take so long to get the shot setup just right, I can feel them getting wound up and annoyed, and that makes me rush, and flap, and not enjoy shooting. So I try and avoid shooting anything that moves if at all possible :lol:
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You should hear the volume of complaining when I point the camera at her! :eek:
 
U have all given me so much to think about. The main criteria for me is to slow down for personal projects. Professionally I shoot kids and take maybe 150 -200 in a sitting and u obviously can't slow down although I do shoot manually except focusing I can still click away. So the prospect of shooting completely manual is probably what I want I think it will make me appreciate photography more and not the fact I can correct it later in Photoshop.
Although the idea of using the lenses I already have is also very appealing
 
abdabs said:
U have all given me so much to think about. The main criteria for me is to slow down for personal projects. Professionally I shoot kids and take maybe 150 -200 in a sitting and u obviously can't slow down although I do shoot manually except focusing I can still click away. So the prospect of shooting completely manual is probably what I want I think it will make me appreciate photography more and not the fact I can correct it later in Photoshop.
Although the idea of using the lenses I already have is also very appealing
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I think with your budget, you can do both, grab an EOS-1 or 3 as suggested and then (also as suggested) grab either some medium format kit if you have the time and energy to devote to it or get a decent 35mm SLR with some nice primes, you can get some that are substantially smaller than DSLRs and therefore much easier to carry! I am sure we will all be happy to help you spend your money! ;)
 
abdabs said:
I'm from the digital era but I am really keen to buy a film camera for personal use. With digital u can just keep clicking and delete later or Photoshop till your hearts content. I want to stop and take my time thinking more about exposure abd composition and the excitement to wait for them to be developed like I say it's for personal use I won't be using it for clients. Which is a good start off camera to get me going
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I'd go for one of the Nikon FM range. All manual, just needs a battery for the meter, and they're built to last.
 
Is that the trouble with Canon, that you can't go back far enough to a model similar to the FM and still retain use of your stock of modern glass ?

Anyway, I think the OP's requirement is ideally a Medium Format camera, but there needs to be some serious thought about what the end product will be and the equipment needed to produce it.
 
See if dubnut will sell you one of his newly aquired Pentaxes, they're small and will do the trick with great glass.

I've just got an MX, as with Garry's Nikon FMs it's just a battery for the meter, the camera's all mechanical. Same with Olympus OM1.
 
I'm checking eBay our there are a couple of Olympus om10 with 50mm lens fir around £10 is that a rubbish camera. There is an Olympus om1 with a sigma 39-85mm lens starting price £50 is that a reasonable price.
There seems alot of canon still looking at pentax's
 
abdabs said:
I'm checking eBay our there are a couple of Olympus om10 with 50mm lens fir around £10 is that a rubbish camera. There is an Olympus om1 with a sigma 39-85mm lens starting price £50 is that a reasonable price.
There seems alot of canon still looking at pentax's
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There are a couple pentax's me one with a 50 mm lens price £90 and one body only at min £7
What would be the max u would go on these cameras want to try and get a bargain to play around with for now until i research it more to spend more
 
garry71 said:
I'd go for one of the Nikon FM range. All manual, just needs a battery for the meter, and they're built to last.
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I agree, I've got two FM2n's and I must say they are great. A real pleasure to use.
 
have you trudged through the second hand dealers? ffordes etc? there are plenty about. i've got a Canon AE1 myself, i love it, even if it has been alittle neglected the last few months :)
 
abdabs said:
I'm checking eBay our there are a couple of Olympus om10 with 50mm lens fir around £10 is that a rubbish camera. There is an Olympus om1 with a sigma 39-85mm lens starting price £50 is that a reasonable price.
There seems alot of canon still looking at pentax's
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Well don't buy the OM10 as there are better cameras for £10-£30 more, and old sigma zooms are not generally praised. You might like the OM1 but at least buy one with an Olympus (Zuiko) 50mm lens for starters.
 
I like the old M42 pentax cameras, I'm selling my ESII to go for something a touch more mechanical probably an early spotmatic (and free a bit of cash up) the ESII is lovely though, has an aperture priority mode and does awesome long exposures with it (can nicely auto expose Adox CHS25 at night, 8-10min exposures!). A spotmatic F would be a good choice, the do the open aperture metering so you don;t have to stop down to meter.
 
abdabs said:
I'm checking eBay our there are a couple of Olympus om10 with 50mm lens fir around £10 is that a rubbish camera. There is an Olympus om1 with a sigma 39-85mm lens starting price £50 is that a reasonable price.
There seems alot of canon still looking at pentax's
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Nothing wrong with the OM10 but they are getting old and are starting to jam up. They're actually rather nice to handle, but the builld quality is better on other models. For the prices they go for you may as well spend £50 on a single digit body in reasonable nick, and as said before you want a Zuiko lens on it, 3rd party lenses with the aperture ring at the base of the lens are not nice to use on OMs as the manual shutter speeds are on a ring round the lens mount, with the aperture ring right next to it can be a nightmare! The Zuiko lenses all have the aperture ring at the end of the lens well out of the way of the shutter speeds. :thumbs:
 
I've just bought a Minolta Dynax 7 with grip; I couldn't find (or afford) a Dynax 9 that had been converted to take the later SSM lenses. Lovely camera with the advantage that it takes all Sony mount lenses including the Zeiss ones!
 
RobY said:
I've just bought a Minolta Dynax 7 with grip; I couldn't find (or afford) a Dynax 9 that had been converted to take the later SSM lenses. Lovely camera with the advantage that it takes all Sony mount lenses including the Zeiss ones!
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It might interest you then that the SSM/ADI upgrade board is now available again from a German camera servicing company called Runtime who received the last 200 boards from Konica Minolta and have negotiated with Sony to get the boards manufactured again. It costs about 250 euros and you have to send the camera to a service centre and get them to send it onto Runtime.

http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/dynax-9-ssm-upgrade-available-again_topic45829.html

Theres a lot of infortmation in the thread linked above. I know you've already brought a Dynax 7, but it might be useful to others considering buying a Dynax 9 (I've always wanted one!)
 
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