Advice Requested: Choosing a Film SLR System

[ampguy]

I'd go for the F3 and keep trying for a 50/1.4 that you like (there are many versions). There's just so much good cheap glass in the Nikon system, and you already have the 105/2.5, which they just don't make for other systems.

 

[Merkin]

If the small size of the olympus is appealing to you, consider a Nikon EM body. It is about the same size as the olympus, the downside being that it is an aperture priority camera. On the upside, they are quite cheap, and could be a handy second body to have around for when size and weight is a major concern. Pair it with the nikon 45mm f2.8 pancake and you have a kit that is as small as any olympus kit, with the added bonus of being compatible with the rest of your system.

 

[JohnTF]

If the small size of the olympus is appealing to you, consider a Nikon EM body. It is about the same size as the olympus, the downside being that it is an aperture priority camera.

FG 20 as I recall is very similar to the EM, but has controls, so I would scratch the EM as having no advantage and many disadvantages.

I bought an FM 10 at a camera show and sold it, for $100 with basic zoom. Modern, basic, no AF. They cost more in the Fall when students buy them.

I really liked the N90s, and have seen them sell for as low as $50 with a lens at a camera show, you can turn off features you do not want to use.

You could walk into a shop and just see what they have and how it feels. Lots of choices in Nikon, but I would tend to newer stuff, less possible headaches.

I think Sigma and Cosina both make student cameras in the $125 range, you certainly could consider them.

Almost too many choices. ;-)

Regards, John

 

[Merkin]

FG 20 as I recall is very similar to the EM, but has controls, so I would scratch the EM as having no advantage and many disadvantages.

I bought an FM 10 at a camera show and sold it, for $100 with basic zoom. Modern, basic, no AF. They cost more in the Fall when students buy them.

I really liked the N90s, and have seen them sell for as low as $50 with a lens at a camera show, you can turn off features you do not want to use.

You could walk into a shop and just see what they have and how it feels. Lots of choices in Nikon, but I would tend to newer stuff, less possible headaches.

I think Sigma and Cosina both make student cameras in the $125 range, you certainly could consider them.

Almost too many choices. ;-)

Regards, John

I was unfamiliar with the FG 20. That definitely sounds like the better choice.

 

[pagpow]

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

It sounds like you got this about done, and I haven't gone through the whole series of posts -- so ignore if irrelevant, but your comment above leads me to ask whether you've considered/looked through an SRT Minolta. They have a rep for being easier on folks with glasses. Don't know if that also holds for later Minoltas.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

The Spotmatic F meters at full aperture with SMC and Super-Multi-Coated Takumar lenses.

The Spotmatic F *DOES NOT* require an expensive, short-lived Wein cell.
It will meter accurately using modern 1.5V 625 cells, alkaline or silver.

Chris

Something tells me that when I go over to Pentax Forums and check out the question I posted about this very thing, you'll have answered it there too!

 

[johnastovall]

Leicaflex SL2 have DAG CLA it and convert to silver oxide batteries and it doesn't get any better with all the cheap R glass out there...

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Was going with the spotmatic F because I could open aperture meter with those lovely takumar lenses. Cant do that on a k-mount body. 🙁

Are the K mount lenses built to similar standards as the taks? I think, if I remember right, that the 50/1.4 in k-mounts have different optical formulas than the SMC version.

They are all pretty much the same. I believe one version of the SMC Tak 50/1.4 may have an extra element, but otherwise, the forumulae are close to identical. And I got pretty much the same photos out of an SMC Tak and Pentax-M 50/1.4.

The M lenses are probably the best built K-mounts, though they are a bit of a pain to use on digital (you need to meter with the "green button" in manual mode) compared to the Pentax-A's. They are also very small. One of my favorites is the totally obscure Pentax-M 24-35mm zoom.

I'd say the Pentax-M's feel as good as the SMC Taks, though they do feel quite different from one another. Pentax-A is also very well built and works easier on digital. FA's are less well built, save for the FA limiteds, which in my view are some of the best prime lenses ever made (at least the 2 I have are superb). The FA limiteds feel more like the SMC Taks than anything else Pentax has made.

 

[robin a]

Hi,screw mount Pentax,compose first then set apature........easy.

 

[nobbylon]

With the lenses you got, buy a used FM2 or maybe F100.

seconded, and just add to the lenses you already have. I had an Om1 system but sold it all to concentrate on one system. Sounds like an fm2 would fit the bill and can be picked up cheaply, I got mine for 70 euro. I still think the F100 is one of the best Slr's made though and you can switch to manual focus

 

[david.elliott]

Thank you all for your replies and followups. You've all been very very helpful. Sorry that I didnt have a chance to reply specifically to each post.

I believe what I will do is go for an F3HP with a 55mm micro (f/2.8 hopefully). The micro seems to have smoother bokeh and I can probably live with the loss in speed - I hope. Also, obviously, it will let me take macro shots up to 1/2 lifesize without an extension tube.

I may sell my 24/2 nikkor to help fund things. Really, I'm not much of a wide angle guy.

Still tempted to try the OM and screwmount Pentax systems one day though. 🙂

 

[oscroft]

Hi David,

Just seen this thread. You have had lots of advice already, but...

-Nikon
-Olympus OM
-Pentax Screwmount

I've had the privilege of using all three systems.

I started out in SLR photography, in 1969, with Spotmatics and their excellent Takumar lenses - the 28/3.5 is still one of my favourite ever lenses. I took my original SP500, with the 28, to Everest base camp and back in 1985.

I've also had a Nikon system based around an F3HP, and I think that's one of the best SLR bodies ever made - I'd still have mine today if I hadn't managed to get it soaked in a severe storm in a Malaysian rainforest in 1991 - after drying out and servicing, it worked OK, but I wasn't sure I had confidence in it any more.

Getting back to 35mm SLR in recent years, I've gone for an OM system. With prices the way they are now, I have several OM2s and OM1s, and a lot of Zuiko lenses. I love the lenses - I think they're amongst the best value-for-money lenses to be had right now, and very plentiful on famous auction sites. When I started my shopping a few years ago, I hankered after another F3HP, but Nikkor lenses were scarcer and pricier.

If starting again today, I'd go for Nikon (perhaps an F3HP and an FM2a), or Olympus (OM2n and OM1n). I wouldn't go for screw thread Pentax, because they're older and longer in the tooth, and screw thread lens change is a pain.

(But, even with my current OM commitment, I still often think of getting another F3HP and another Spotmatic - just for old times, you know).

I hope this is some help, but I fear it really isn't 😉

Cheers,

 

[Vics]

Get the Nikon.

Get the Nikon.

Go for the F3HP for all the reasons you give, PLUS the best reason of all (and I think it's still true) precision framing. Only the Nikon F, F2, F3, F4 etc (not the FM or FE series) offer you 100% of the frame in the viewfinder. WYSIWYG! I have a lot of Nikon F gear and if I were still doing that kind of work, that precise view would be really impoprtant for me. I never owned an F3HP, but I did rent one for a weekend and that finder is wonderful!
Vic

 

[Seele]

Dave,

The way I understand it is this:

You have invested in a digital SLR-based Nikon system and want to go film, but the lens you want to use mostly disappoints, therefore you are looking at other systems.

But to my mind, if you can find a Nikon standard lens which impresses you then you would not be in this predicament in the first place.

If I were you, I would look into a better standard lens: the Nikkor-H.C. or H would be a good one, see if you can locate an example, properly Ai-converted and give it a try. I would not be too fussed about it being H.C. or H; the difference is just multi-coating and single-coating respectively, but then, people pay Voigtländer extra for single-coated lenses! If that proves satisfactory to your taste (which I think it will), then sell the 50/1.8, and it is likely that you will get a bit of money left over, then you can decide which Nikon manual-focus film body you would want to acquire.

 

[JohnTF]

I was unfamiliar with the FG 20. That definitely sounds like the better choice.

Price became very close, and I used to carry them when I needed something light that might get damaged, you could replace them quite cheaply, -- I gave away most of them, I have one left, which is going to a friend's daughter in NY.

I had a friend who used the EM with a Series 1 zoom, because he just did not want to set much and he had a flash that worked well with it, but the FG 20 took the same flash, case, etc. and you could turn off the beeper, and set your exposure speeds manually so it appealed more to me, the SBE flash was small and worked well.

On, the OP's choice of an F3HP and the macro, it is a good time to find one, both seem to be a very good price right now. The macro used to be expensive, seems reasonable now.

Regards,John

 

[Roger Vadim]

Good choice, the Micro-Nikkor 55/2.8 is a hell of a glass, much sharper then the 50/1.4 and lovely transitions from focus to oof. Or bokeh or whatever people call that...
I also have the H.C. 50/2, wich is also smooth, but tends to flare a bit. The Micro is a real sleeper, I'd say its on par with a Summicron, but thats personal (being an SLR kind of guy)
have fun with your new kit