Advice needed: Beginner's film SLR on shoestring budget

[jsrockit]

Vivitar V3800 w/50mm f1.7 lens. Made by Cosina, New, Still in production. One of the last of the Mohicans in 35mm film SLR. $189. Takes Pentax K-mount lenses.

$189 sounds like it is too much per the OP.

 

[rbsinto]

One of the various Nikkormat bodies would probably do very nicely.
Rugged. Cheap, and cheerful.
Check ebay. There are some available with lenses for well under $50.00

 

[nobbylon]

One of the various Nikkormat bodies would probably do very nicely.
Rugged. Cheap, and cheerful.
Check ebay. There are some available with lenses for well under $50.00

seconded, go for an FT2 with any 50.
after that go for a Pentax K1000 or indeed an OM1.

 

[Godfrey]

As others have said, there are tons of great old film cameras available for very little money from Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Olympus, Minolta, etc.

While I tend to go with Nikons myself, what's more important for someone who has little experience and no backlog of lenses they want to use is the condition of the particular camera you're looking at. A nice condition OM-1 is preferable to a beat-up FM2, a mint Pentax K1000 will win me more than a trashed Canon FTb.

I'd still recommend an FM or FM2 because their metal shutters are generally longer lasting and more reliable than the mostly cloth shutters of the Canon, Pentax, Olympus etc of that day, and their electronics are minimal (the meter only) and rarely have any problems. An FM is in some ways preferable to an FM2 as its shutter is simpler and it has the release gizmo on the AI coupling ring which allows pre-AI lenses to be used easily too. Not to mention that there are literally a bazillion Nikon lenses on the used market...

G

 

[BobYIL]

The SLRs from the '70s and '80s with no electronics other than the meter should be OK for the students and they are dependable. The German e*ay site is full of them, they go for peanuts.. just pick one with acceptable return policy 😉..

 

[NLewis]

I say go with the Nikon FM. Great camera. Best to scrape up the necessary funds now rather than having a) a camera which sucks; and b) the need to buy another camera later. The fact of the matter is, even a few rolls of film will cost more than the camera.

I'd suggest looking at eBay etc. for an FM that has already had a CLA and seals replaced. These are now 30+ years old. It's more, but costs less than getting a camera and then sending it out for CLA.

Another option is a Nikon autofocus camera. Cameras like the N65 have all the Nikon autofocus/autowinder/matrix exposure goodness of the F100, and don't need a CLA. They are being given away today. I bought one for $10, works great.

 

[n5jrn]

Pentax MX w/ 50mm f/2

I'll second that nomination. Much better than the more-often-chosen K1000: smaller body, brighter finder, DOF preview. And typically costs about the same, because many more beginning photogs have heard of the K1000 than have heard of the MX.

 

[swoop]

Vivitar 3800n. $200 for the kit with 50mm f1.7 brand new. Pentax K mount.

It's readily available and a good starter camera.

 

[BobYIL]

For example: http://www.ebay.de/itm/Pentax-Spotmatic-/260964747674?pt=DE_Foto_Camcorder_Analogkameras&hash=item3cc2b6099a 😀

 

[oftheherd]

Any of several Yahica FX models. Plenty of Yashica C/Y mount lenses, plus when she had become successful and fammous, she can switch to Contax cameras and lenses.

 

[ray*j*gun]

Nikkormat Ft or Ftn

 

[KoNickon]

Ricoh KR-5; several versions. K mount, non-battery reliant and all manual.

 

[pschauss]

No one has mentioned Fujica. The 6xx and 7xx's take the standard M42 lenses which gives a wide variety of lenses to choose from. Being a relatively unknown model they go for next to nothing.

 

[caasols]

OM2n with Zuiko 50mm f1.4
For me this is the best budget quality kit you can get.. if you're patient enough you can get them at very good prices.

 

[filmfan]

All you are going to get is a slew of personal opinions... if this thread lasts long enough, you will probably find almost every single classic SLR camera ever made mentioned.
My own subjective recommendation would be the Canon AE-1 as the Canon FD lenses are cheap, easy to find, and good quality.

 

[gavinlg]

I personally would avoid m42 mount cameras. Fiddly yucky little mount.

 

[nikon_sam]

Take a look at the Nikon N2020 (F501) body...
Can be used in manual, Aperture Priority or Program...
Uses either AA or AAA batteries...has an adapter for one of them...
Auto-Focus...not the absolute best but it does work...
Will not mount older non-Ai lenses...
Interchangeable Focusing Screens
Easy to load film...Motor drive advances film...I think you have a option to rewind manually or use the motor...
There's a lot going on in that little body and they are very affordable...

 

[KoNickon]

The AE-1 is all electronic -- I think the specification was for a non-battery dependent camera. Unfortunately that's also true for the AT-1, which is the manual exposure version of the AE-1 and a really nice camera itself.

I think a K mount or M42 mount camera is what will fill the bill best. However, the batteries for Pentax Spotmatics is hard to come by, and the MX is rather pricey these days. Look for a KM -- like the K1000 but has DOF preview. Takes readily available batteries too.

 

[Oldskewl808]

I think the best bang for the buck as far as vintage SLRs is the Minolta SRT series. It's pretty easy to find a cheap SRT101 and a fairly fast Rokkor lens for pretty cheap. They are rock solid, easy to use performers.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Another vote for Pentax K1000 or any other camera body with the K-mount. Hard to improve on simplicity! 🙂