Advice needed: Beginner's film SLR on shoestring budget

Nikon F3. She would outgrow the others very quickly. There's a great one in the classifieds (Misc.) for $80 if anyone is in the US to buy it.
 
I like using the Spotmatic cameras from Asahi Pentax. They were strongly built easy to use, had a wonderful range of screw mount lenses and produced great images. They are still regarded as classics but because so many were made they are cheap to buy.

All cameras of this era used mercury batteries which had a slightly different voltage and discharge pattern from more modern batteries. In the case of most cameras modern batteries can be substituted - either silver batteries or aircells but both bring problems. Silver batteries have a slightly different voltage and throw the metering off. Aircells are expensive and die quickly.

Spotmatics have a HUGE advantage here apart from its great lenses and strong build.

The exposure meter uses a circuit type not used by any other camera of the era and metering worked on a principle of centering an indicator / arrow in a gate. When centred the exposure was correct. Because of the way the electrical circuit worked you do not need expensive and inconvenient aircell batteries that match the original battery's voltage. A cheap and readily available silver battery which has a slightly different voltage will work and not throw the metering off.

You may think this is a small issue but believe me its not when you come to having to find and buy suitable batteries. I know of no other camera of the era that has this characteristic.

Here is a quote I found on another site:

" Availability of batteries for the Spotmatic is better than other cameras of the era because the Asahi engineers built in a bridge circuit in the metering which makes it battery voltage independent. This means you can use the original 1.35 mercury PX400 battery, or a 1.5V silver-oxide replacement without problems. An exact fit PX400S is available, or you can use a #392 cell with a small rubber-O ring (purchasable at any fine home repair center or DIY store) as a spacer. I believe a #397 also fits as well."

PS The Pentax K1000 camera is basically a Spotmatic with a bayonet mount if thats what is preferred - but you will pay more for these and their lenses. They are still widely used by photography students.

If you are willing to go for a later camera I could also suggest a very cheap more modern camera that can be used in full manual mode if wished. The Nikon f801s (also known as the Nikon f8008s in some markets.) Solid reliable and with a standard 35mm - 70mm consumer grade zoom still very cheap (probably available for around $100 in good condition.) Another advantage is that it runs on standard AA batteries. This camera is a gem but is cheap due to the large number made and their relative recentness of manufacture. They have not become a cult camera but are probably not far off in the eyes of Nikon shooters who understand just how good they are.
 
If you want to be able to upgrade later, I'd get a Yashica FX2000 Super (built by Cosina). They (and a matching Yashica-branded 50mm lens) are available for a song, but allow you to switch to the wonderful world of lenses in the Contax/Yashica mount, i.e. Carl Zeiss lenses. Just make sure you get the earlier "Made in Japan"-version, and not the final couple of years of production in the PRC...

All-mechanical except for the meter. Simple Silver batteries that will last forever.
 
I recently got my girlfriend into photography (I bought her an XA... she can't seem to put it down), and we recently found a Nikon FM in a local kijiji (like a canadian craigslist, run by ebay) ad for $70 body only, $100 + 50/1.8 series E. Not too bad, I mean, get a couple of friends, $20-30 each, and you have yourself a lens and a camera! If not, that pentax raymond suggested in the classifieds is a great start.

I also found a few Nikon EMs + 50/1.8 series e lenses for $40-50... a little limited, but a whole lot of fun to use.
 
looks like I might be buying the Pentax SP500 off the classifieds for a gift for my daughter, thanks to Peter M for the battery info and raymond and paulfish for their recommendations
 
I'd probably go for a "living" lens mount, and I think in manual/batteryless SLRs, that basically means Pentax or Nikon. If she know nothing about photography, I'd look at something with aperture priority, or even Program mode.

For a very low budget, how about a Pentax P30T?

I think a "living" mount is quite good for getting started with, as it means the user can go back and forth to digital if they want, and lens availability is only getting better, not worse.
 
The SLRs from the 70's might be okay but you can get a used dud if you purchase used at auction - and how long is the life? What if it needs servicing? Then you're out. Factor in shipping and possibly a lens. The $189 gets you a new camera, recently manufactured, with a warranty and possibly free shipping.

Actually, however, this particular camera (Vivitar) comes up used sometimes on auction sites for next to nothing because students buy them for a photography class then pitch them.

I've had this camera since around 1990 - still alive and kicking, have taken some really nice shots with her. Most of the albums of my 1st child. Now I have slapped a 19mm 3.5 Vivitar on it and it's my dedicated ultra-wide camera.
 
Any of the old screw mount body cameras, there lots to choose - Pentax, Vivitar, Ricoh, Hanimex, etc., would be highly recommended. Cheap, tough, reliable, and tons of lenses to choose from.
 
I think Nick's suggestion of a brand-new all manual camera in a "living" lens mount (ie. Pentax K) is an excellent one. Brand-new should mean no initial troubles (which can be off-putting) with light seals, battery voltages etc. There are plenty of inexpensive K-mount lenses around. And if there's ever a desire to "go digital" within the system, then Pentax provides you with pretty good options to use old lenses. I recently picked up a 2nd-hand K200D for very little money (<$300) and it makes a nice little package with old Pentax prime lenses. Sure you have to do stopped-down metering, but Pentax make it easy with a dedicated button to stop down, meter and set the shutter speed all in one operation. There's also a prompt to specify focal length when mounting an old lens (which registers in EXIF data and appears to alter the metering).

But that's getting way ahead of ourselves - the Vivitar Nick mentioned seems a good option. Also worth considering is something like a KM, or K1000 or MX which has been serviced to replace light seals, adjust metering voltages etc. I picked up my K1000 that way. Perhaps more expensive, but it's worth knowing that you're not buying problems.

If you want to relax the all-manual requirement then many older Canon EOS cameras go for silly-cheap prices - and EF really is a living lens mount. For example:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CANON-EO...883805?pt=AU_FILM_CAMERAS&hash=item519b6bcb1d

(An example only, from a seller I've bought from. No connection otherwise, and no suggestion of buying this one, as shipping from Australia would probably be too costly.)

Put an EF 50mm/f1.8 on it and you've got a nice AF camera for not much money.

...Mike
 
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