Suggestions on 35mm Film Cameras and Lenses?

Hello, i'm looking for a 35mm film camera but since I am very very new
to photography I have little to no knowledge on what brands or models I
should consider. I am not sure how much I am (or should be) willing to
spend, but anything under 700$(USD) is reasonable.
As for the type of pictures I will be taking, B&W photos (for prints
smaller than 8X10) is what I will be working with, and hopefully later
on, color prints. Initially I plan to spend below 2000$(USD) to get
things moving including the darkroom.
Any suggestions, past experiences, and other miscellaneous input would
be greatly appreciated.
-Jon

Strangelove

Re: Suggestions on 35mm Film Cameras and Lenses?

Excellent link and some excellent photography.

No_name

Re: Suggestions on 35mm Film Cameras and Lenses?

These are draft guidelines for photographers seeking contract work with
the NPS historic buildings & historic engineering works surveys, i.e.
"work for hire". Like any other commercial photographic work, the client
specifies the format for work submission.
If you don't want to work to the client's specification, you find a
client that wants work in the format you want to work in and this client
finds a photographer who will do the job the way they want it done.
In this case LF B&W is chosen for its archival quality and for the
amount of detail resolution that can be captured in a large negative.

No_name

Re: Suggestions on 35mm Film Cameras and Lenses?

In article <4hgm7iF1rqgj3U1@individual.net>,
Thanks Chris.

Tim

Re: Suggestions on 35mm Film Cameras and Lenses?

IMHO one of the few Canon cameras he should avoid. The T-90 and the EOS-650
and 620 were only made for a few years. The T-90 was the first camera in
the series and it proved to Canon that they could no longer be competative
without a new lens mount and better batteries.
In the late 1980's I designed an adaptor for a popular external flash
battery to power the T-90, a friend made it for a customer, and the
manufacturer of the battery started selling them. As usual, I never
even got a thank you from the manufacturer.
While the T-90 uses the old manual focus mount, all three of them suffer
from the same problems. Parts are no longer available new (and have not
been for about 15 years). There were few made so that there are not many
damaged cameras around to scrap for parts. The light seals have rotted,
although they are easily replaced, most people can't do them on their own.
Shutters fail and can not be rebuilt. The 650 and 620 are paperweights
if the shutters fail, AFIK there is one person rebuilding T-90 shutters,
but that's a lot of labor and the cost may not be worth it.
If you already love the T-90 and have lots of lenses for it, buying another
one or rebuilding a broken one is worth it. For someone starting out,
it's a ticking time bomb.
Geoff.
--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm@mendelson.com N3OWJ/4X1GM
IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 IL Fax: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838
Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/

Gsm@mendelson.com (Geoffrey S. Mendelson

Re: Suggestions on 35mm Film Cameras and Lenses?

My "travel kit bag" is a Lowepro Off Trail 1.
It holds any "classic" SLR (without motor drive) and lenses up to about
135mm. Some older superwides (Leica 21mm f/4, to mention one) are a
tight fit - though they usually don't belong to my travel kit).
For larger SLRs there is the Lowepro Off Trail 2 (which I don't have and
haven't used).
I also have a Lowepro Off Road 1, which will hold any 35mm (or MF) SLR
and lenses up to compact 200mms.
The advantage of the Off Trail 1 is that it really is small and can fit
in any pack.

Chris Loffredo

Re: Suggestions on 35mm Film Cameras and Lenses?

That's an interesting set of features you're shopping for!
I feel kinda silly for suggesting it, but if you don't mind the thought
of using a 20 year old camera, give the T90 a look.
http://canonfd.com/t90manual/CanonT90.pdf (19MB)
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/canont90/index.htm
Manual focus. Modern AF works well, but doesn't always do so well at
night, even with lights, etc. to focus on. The older MF cameras
generally feature brighter viewfinders with more manual focusing aids.
I shoot lots of lightning at twilight and at night. I've borrowed a few
AF cameras, but none focus w/o various levels of trouble at twilight or
later.
Excellent ergonomics, particularly as compared to other manual focus
cameras you might be considering.
Flexible metering modes, including a multi-spot system that is
fantastic. The highlight/shadow (glorified exposure compensation)
feature augments the meter in an informative, intuitive manner, and is
easy and accurate to use. If you're into B/W development, the meter
integrates nicely with basic zone principles. See pg 51 in the PDF
linked above.
The shutter is held open by a permanent magnet, so long nighttime
exposures don't drain the batteries. (4xAA, easy and cheap to find.)
Cheap, high quality lenses available. (Note! They're cheap because
they won't work with ANY modern camera. Canon pulled a massive 'gotcha'
when they made their AF mount incompatible with older MF lenses. My
next new system will be a Nikon!) Typical prices:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/starka/CanonFD_ebay2.htm
As for lens suggestions, "I dunnow!" Get a standard 50mm f1.4 or f1.8,
and maybe something like a 24mm, and shoot them for a while. Then ask
yourself what lens you think would be interesting. Buy one, or two!,
they're cheap. Repeat as needed! :)
There are somewhat fewer OEM zooms available for the older cameras. If
you're a zoom nut, the 'old beater' route may not be best. At any rate,
check what's available before jumping in. Older zooms also tend to be
much heavier than their modern counterparts. (OTOH, they are
constructed of an amazingly durable substance known as 'metal' and are
nearly bombproof.)
Apart from being a 'dead' system, the only drawback is the shutter
design. The shutter will accumulate slight amounts of oil/dust/grunge
that will cause the camera to malfunction. Frequent use does a lot to
prevent this problem, but is not a 100% guarantee. The fix is a $100
disassembly and cleaning. Also, no mirror lock up.
Bodies go for about $250, a lot for something so old, but cheap
considering the features and overall build quality. As others have
mentioned, KEH is a good source, and offers a two month warrantee.
--
Yea, it's what I've got, so I'm plugging it. :)
-Greg

Greg Campbell

Re: Suggestions on 35mm Film Cameras and Lenses?

In article <4hfcfcF1r8830U1@individual.net>,
Chris, how large an SLR do you carry in your SLR travel kit? Do you
recall the type of bag that you carry?
Thanks.

Tim

Re: Suggestions on 35mm Film Cameras and Lenses?

In article <Nowsg.5746$Ep.369@trnddc08>, "jeremy" <jeremy@nospam.com>
wrote:
I came across an interesting site recently that shows photos taken of
abandoned buildings, primarily in the the Northeast:
http://www.opacity.us/
There are some pretty interesting images of abandoned institutional
buildings such as schools and hospitals.

Tim

Re: Suggestions on 35mm Film Cameras and Lenses?

You forgot taking the rear & front lens caps off, and replacing them on the
removed lens, and putting it back in the bag....By the time you get it all
done, the rare bird (or whatever) has flown away.....I may not get the
perfect, undistorted, sharp-as-a-tack, photo with the best possible lens for
the job, but at least there's some kind of a picture of whatever it was to
play with.....
Yes. I need a decent focusing screen for my F5. Right now, I have to depend
on the AF system, since my eyes are too bad to focus it well on the plain
ground glass screen that came with the camera....This is another reason why
I am using the 24-120 AF zoom lens. I shot a couple of rolls at a garden
party yesterday, and the AF was a godsend.....I couldn't have done it if I
had had to use manual focusing....It was bright and sunny, but that is a
barbed gift....The contrast between the bright sun and the dimness of the
viewfinder is too hard for my ability to accommodate....Most of the time,
all I could see was the image for composition purposes....All the data about
the shot was lost. I started out using the auto features because I didn't
know any better. Now I am forced to use them because I can't see well enough
to do otherwise....

William Graham

Re: Suggestions on 35mm Film Cameras and Lenses?

Do you remember the ads run by Nikon back in the 70s, touting their
"fast-changing" bayonet mount--an obvious jab at Pentax's screwmount system?
How one could change lenses in SECONDS?
It seems so silly now. Perhaps the act of twisting the lens into the detent
on the lens mount can be done in a couple of seconds, but how about taking
it out of the bag, removing it from its case or pouch, un-mounting the lens
presently on the camera, putting that lens securely away, then mounting the
new lens . . . Now THAT'S the time-consuming part.
BTW, I do appreciate the zoom lens on my digicam. It's not a DSLR, so I
don't have to endure dark viewfinders. I can't stand it when the microprism
screen or the split-image goes dark, and I have to make do with the matte
screen on my film SLRs. That is the one sore point about SLRs that bothers
me most--shooting indoors in available light, or shooting at night, is a
pain. There is much to be said in favor of sticking with a fast normal lens
whenever possible. They are a joy to work with. I particularly like the
prism focus ring rather than the split image device. In a bright day it is
a joy to watch as the shimmering effect disappears, as the lens snaps into
very sharp focus. Too bad it doesn't work so well beyond about f/4.