Advice Requested: Choosing a Film SLR System

I'm a Canon FD mount SLR shooter, but since you have Nikon DSLRs, you should heed the advice here and get the best Nikon you can afford.

One other quibble with the FD system is that it doesn't fit on any digital camera made by Canon, although there are adapters to the 4/3 system.
 
Can't speak to the glasses/VF issue, but the OM line-up is a pretty astounding value. And there's no catch. The system is easy to use and loaded with great lenses.

Haven't used them but Nikons are probably awesome too.

Given the bargain prices of used SLR gear it seems like you can't really go wrong with any of these systems...
 
I, too, prefer the manual focus route and purchased a Nikon FE for telephoto use when I need it. It is sturdy enough to handle most of the abuse it encounters while I'm out. I got mine from KEH as bargain grade for ~$70 but I don't know why it was bargain grade because it looks and works like new.

Another bonus with the FE is that it will accept non-AI lenses and KEH has a 50/1.4 for $140. I don't know how that particular lens performs. This lens along with an FE would end up costing ~$215. 🙂
 
I would also recommend sticking with Nikon, since you already have a number of lenses. Also, even though you stated that you aren't interested in autofocus, consider the F4. You can interchange the focusing screens in the finder to whatever you like, including a number of screens that are very good for manual focus, and you certainly don't ever have to use the autofocus if you don't want to, but you do gain the killer matrix metering, as well as a pretty snappy motor drive. Also, if you do ever find yourself in a situation where autofocus is called for, it is there waiting. Also, if you stick with nikon, you will have the added bonus of any future lenses you pick up working on both your digital and your film body.
 
Since you already have some good Nikon manual focus lenses and wear glasses, I think the choice is obvious. Get an F3HP! I also wear glasses, and the HP finder really makes a difference when you're out shooting.

The 80/20 metering took some getting used to when coming from the more typical 60/40 metering pattern, but once I did, I found it quite useful, like a pseudo-spot meter.

They are also extremely solidly built and are very satisfying to shoot with. Sometimes I shoot pictures just to advance the film with the ultra-smooth advance lever.

Go for it, you won't regret it!
 
One can't go wrong with an F3. And you have the option for the new Zeiss glass. buy the last Ais 1.4 and save some money for a Planar😉 and the Distagon...
 
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The advice to stick with Nikon since you have the lenses is good.

However, I'd stick up for the K-mount Pentaxes, too, just as good user SLRs. They have really nice bright viewfinders, and are compact and well made. Everyone recommends the K1000. This seems to be the product of some mild group-hysteria (kidding!). There are better bodies with more features for less money. Many of the M, P and A series bodies, for example.
 
I'm not sure why you'd be choosing a Pentax Spotmatic when you can have an ME Super with Pentax-M 50/1.4 for about $150 in great shape.

That said, I just bought a Spotmatic F with SMC Tak 50/1.4 on eBay for 90 dollars shipped. I had just been looking for the lens, but they keep selling for over 100, and then I saw the camera. Hell! This'll be my second F; I think I ought to keep this one, this time.

Incredibly, i just gave away my last two Wein cells last week, because I no longer had a camera that used them 😱
 
Of course, if you want quality German Optics, cheap prices, compatibity with an RF body, and are a glutton for punishment... Kodak Retina Reflex-S with a 50/1.9 Scheider Xenon...
 
I use Leica M and Nikon bodies. I mostly gave up on the Leica R system, regardless of the superior glass. No one beats Nikon, when it comes to SLR bodies.

My suggestions:

F
F2
F3
FM
FM2 / FM2n
FM3a

F4 and F100 if you want AF.

The Nikkor-H.C 2/50mm is a real sleeper. Very cheap, but an excellent piece of glass. I also recommend the Zeiss ZF Planar 1.4/50

One big advantage of the Nikons system is that you can still get them serviced. Aside from Leica, there is no more fanatical user / collector base out there.
 
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Brian Sweeney said:
Most Fast 50s are going to give will have harsher Ringed Donuts due to over-correction of spherical aberration. It does give a sharp and harsh look at the same time.

In the Nikon world, the 5.8cm F1.4 gives an older look, more typical of a 1950s Leica RF lens.

Most M42 lenses are Stop-Down metering. Few exceptions are the last series Pentax screwmounts and Fujica ST801/901. The bodies work in Stop-Down metering mode with regular M42 lenses. I have an St801, it's Fujica 50/1.8 is quite good.

Remember that in the "heyday" of manual focus SLR photography (60s and 70s), no cared about the out of focus areas. They wanted Fast Glass, sharp and contrasty.
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I find that the out of focus areas, if filled with harsh ring donuts, tend to distract from the focal point of the image. I didnt know the reason though - thanks for the info.

I'll have to look into the 5.8cm lens. I'm not at all familiar with it.

Yeah, the SMC and Super Multi Coated pentax screwmounts work with open aperture metering.
 
I'm not too fussed about new lenses. I'm fine buying older nikkors. 🙂

The 105/2.5 is very very nice. I dont use it too much because (1) I mainly shoot film and (2) on my D70 I find it a bit long or a bit short usually, depending upon the circumstances of course.

Pentax is super backwards compatible though. For sure.

I would be interested in seeing that comparison. I hope you make a thread for it at some point.

Chris101 said:
The real advantage to the Nikon system (in addition to the fact that you already own some Nikkors - the 105 f/2.5 is supposed to be very nice) is the fact that it is still producing lenses, and cameras for the same mount system. Neither Oly nor Pentax (nor Canon, although you did not mention them) are backward compatible. Nikon is getting less so (G lenses for example) but for the most part, new lenses work on older cameras. Nikon also still sells two current film SLR cameras, one of which is manual focus! (The FM-10. Nikon doesn't make it, Cosina does, but it is a Nikon design, and says Nikon on it.)

If you are mostly a 50mm shooter, and a bokey fan, you will probably want to look at the OM system. There are lots of cameras in the used stream, and lenses are also abundant. I am still working on a request to compare and contrast the overall look of Nikkor 50mm with Zuiko 50mm lenses. The Zuikos look better to me. Although older Zuiko lenses can be put on newer Olympus cameras with adapters, newer lenses do not fit on OM cameras.
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Chriscrawfordphoto said:
I love the OM system, it is my main 35mm system and has been since I was 11 years old. The cameras are tiny, they operate quickly, they are easier to focus than most other manual focus systems I have tried, and the lenses are great. The viewfinders are huge and are hard to see all of the image even without glasses, but if you get an OM-4, OM-3, OM-4Ti, or OM-3Ti the cameras have built in eyepiece correction so you don't have to wear glasses with them.

About Pentax Screwmount. I have a Spotmatic and some lenses. The lenses are built tough and are superb optically. The pre-F spotmatic bodies have an on-off switch for the meter so you can leave the lens cap off.
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I have to say, the OMs do seem very small. How do they compare in size to the nikon slr bodies? They certainly look more attractive. 🙂

Unfortunately my vision really is pretty bad. Diopter adjustments wont provide sufficient help.

I would really like to go with the pentax screwmount system but I dont think I can get over the stop down metering. I think that would bother me. I'd have wanted to use the SLR for color slides which would require metering. I'd rather not have to carry my sekonic meter around. I like to travel light.
 
bmattock said:
I would suggest that a person with a Nikon dSLR and some glass might well want to invest in a Nikon film system that would allow glass interchange as well.

However, I would still recommend Nikon if one has a sizable investment in Nikon glass already and wishes to preserve it.
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Good call. I dont mind starting up anew with a new system for film and keeping with Nikon for digital though. I rarely use my D70 these days. Film is where its at for me.
 
The Pentax K-1000 is a great camera but every photo professor that still teaches film recommends them so they are more expensive than what you'd expect in today's market where film cameras can be had for next to nothing. For around the same price as a K-1000, maybe just a little bit more, you can get a Nikon FM or FE, both of which are more sturdy and have brighter a viewfinder than the Pentax. Try to avoid the older FM's with the shutter lock on the collar around the shutter release button.
 
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