Suggestions for an everyday carry SLR?

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Pfreddee

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The Nikon FG which I had such high hopes for has developed a wonky shutter, and since I paid $27.00 for the body, it isn't worth fixing. My Olympus OM1 is all over the place with its meter, even with the adaptor for hearing aid batteries. Everything else is working fine. I would like to have an SLR devoted to B/W, but it seems like a crap shoot choosing a used film camera. Any suggestions?

(I could use the Oly with a hand-held meter, I suppose, just like my Contax.) The camera doesn't have to be a Nikon or an Olympus, BTW.

Thanks to all who reply.

With best regards.

Pfreddee(Stephen)
 
The Nikon FM, FE series are nice. My FE2 continues to work well after 30 years of use. The S-76 batteries it uses are very common and easy to find. The FE2 uses a flywheel and inertial damping to minimize mirror shock.

Mike
 
I have a couple of Pentax ME Supers. I sent one I was given to Eric Hendrickson for an overhaul- $50? as I remember? The Pentax M 50mm f/1.7 lens is an amazing value for its quality- another $40.

Uses LR44 batteries. Almost as small as the OM-1, great metering, nice viewfinder. And other Pentax lenses are all over the place.
 
The FM/FE series are nice, and not expensive, esp considering you already have a lens.

But personally I'd just keep shooting the OM1 with the handheld meter.
 
The Nikon F3 is an unstoppable camera, though a bit on the heavy side. It takes modern batteries and the meter is pretty good.
 
How about a Minolta X-570 (aka X-500)? The metering display makes it easier and faster to shoot manually compared to an X-700, though you lose P mode (A is still present). I bought one as a B&W partner for my X-700 based on the page here: http://www.rokkorfiles.com/X-570.htm and loved it. I found that the shutter/mirror sound in the well-used 570 was significantly different from, and smoother and quieter than, my 700 (which I've owned since new), but I can't find any evidene of a change in shutter mechanism. The VF is a huge, bright, high-magnification affair that IMO is the single best thing about these bodies - it truly makes them a pleasure to shoot, especially when using a contrast filter for B&W.

Lenses are nice too :)

Downsides? The capacitors may need replacing, and any camera of that age is likely to benefit from a CLA. These "basic" bodies seem pretty robust. Shutter only goes to 1/1000. Does not work without batteries (but they are tiny and cheap and last for ages). That's about all I can think of.
 
I have had good luck with Fujica St 801 and 901. They take M42 mount lenses so there is a great variety to use.

Yashica had a line of FX cameras that might be worth a look. Most have held up well over the years. They had cameras from metered manual to aperture preferred to both aperture and shutter preferred models. The Yashica lenses tended to be very good, and they take the Contax lenses as well.
 
There really aren't too many bad choices in that golden age of cameras (riiiiight during the transition from fully mechanical to semi-automatic w/ electromagnetic shutters).

Choose based primarily on ergonomics and then creature-comforts (like metering, max shutter speed, battery-less operation etc). Most of the late-70s cameras are solid enough, and of reasonably similar sizes (obviously some are smaller and some larger)...
 
If you have a Contax, a Yashica might be a good body. That is, if your contax sport the contax/yashica mount.

I have the FX-D Quartz which I started to love so much it became my choice for "one camera, one lens-challenge". It's not bulky or heavy, rather light and small for a SLR. I haven't had any trouble with her more than once or twice where I have accidentally turned the front positioned mode knob to self timer, not a big deal.

Oh, yeah the leatherette on the FX-D Quartz and some other similar models suck, when I got mine (from a friends clean out) the leatherette turned into crumbs from the slightest touch. I just removed it and cleaned of the left over glue. Haven't bothered getting replacement skin for it, works fine as is.
 
Pfreddee said:
The Nikon FG which I had such high hopes for has developed a wonky shutter, and since I paid $27.00 for the body, it isn't worth fixing. My Olympus OM1 is all over the place with its meter, even with the adaptor for hearing aid batteries. Everything else is working fine. I would like to have an SLR devoted to B/W, but it seems like a crap shoot choosing a used film camera. Any suggestions?

(I could use the Oly with a hand-held meter, I suppose, just like my Contax.) The camera doesn't have to be a Nikon or an Olympus, BTW.

Thanks to all who reply.

With best regards.

Pfreddee(Stephen)
Click to expand...

I also have an FG and an OM1n. They both work, but I did send my OM to John Hermanson for an overhaul. It came back working like new! And at the price of an FG, just buy another - they work fine when they work - the exposure is dead on, especially with flash.

But I also like the Nikon N80. Again cheap, so if something happens, just replace it.
 
Nikon FM3a, if finances permit; or else an FM2 or FM2n. Or an F3 if you like 'em a little bigger.
Olympus OM2n or OM4Ti.
Pentax MX.
Fujica ST-705 or -801.

Or a Mamiya 645 Pro TL. ;)
 
Loads of good suggestions so far - i assume that AF SLRs are out of the equation. I will second the Pentax ME super and the Minolta X-700, both beautiful cameras. If you are on a budget, have a look at chinon cameras, the CE-5 is a very dependable camera. Cheap mechanical SLRs like the little Fujica STX-1 or the the ST-series are excellent cameras if you don't want to spend too much money.

By far my favourite SLRs are the Pentax MX and the Minolta XD-7.

e-thesis+053.jpg
 
The Minolta XD-series are nice camera's! Love mine.

Loads of good cameras, they're old so some could malfunction, but most of them are very nice. Looking at the fact you had an OM and a Nikon, it seems it makes sense to get either a Olympus OM or Nikon body as you have the lenses for it.
 
Surely it would be very hard to go past a good OM-2 ... better metering would be hard to find and the viewfinder has few equals. My faultless OM-2 with 50mm f1.8 Zuiko cost me the grand sum of fifty dollars.
 
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142585

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142585

There are many good cameras out there.
Not being fair about non servicing!
It seems a "rule" that every Leica requires a CLA or similar..
These are all old cameras.
Yet nobody does anything to these now "cheaper" cameras!!
They may need a repair or service.
Light seals and mirror bounce foam worn away..
You have an Olympus.
Either look for a working one, or repair the one you have.
Find a body for your lens.
A Nikon-F will always work, but mostly forget about meters.
The Photomics are all questionable due to worn parts.
I have used Canon,Fuji,Minolta,Nikon,Pentax.
They are all good.
Find something that fits your hand and eye!
 
If you have an FG, just get an FE and keep your Nikon glass. As for the wonky meter in OM, just turn the meter off. It is good to learn how to shoot without a meter, even a working meter will sometimes not give you the best reading for a particular shot. Sometimes you want a little more exposure on a dark area, or a little less on a bright area.

I only use a meter in my F3P for shooting birds and things with slide film and super tele lenses.
 
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