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Best 35mm SLR Camera for Beginners?

Posted by Cliff on from the for-growing-shutterbugs dept.

TibbonZero asks: "I've been thinking of getting into photography, but want to stay with 35mm film instead of going digital. Used 35mm SLRs seem to be the best bet, but which ones should I seriously consider? I would like to spend less than $200 on the camera itself, and start off with some cheaper lenses. It seems to me like there's still a lot more bang for your buck in film vs digital cameras at this point, even with film processing costs (I have almost a whole darkroom setup that my father used to use). I think I want a manual focus camera." Don't forget, a 35mm camera (film or digital) would make a nice Christmas Gift for that budding photographer in your life!

2 of 812 comments (clear)

  1. Pentax K-1000 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's the prototypical student camera. No auto-anything, no motor, no
    electronics. Just a meter to help you out with exposure. They don't make it
    any more but you can find them on eBay, and there are plenty of similar
    cameras. Built like a tank and many pros still use them. Or at least that's
    what I've heard, I haven't seen a pro use anything but medium/large format
    and/or digital these days!

    If you learn on a camera like this, you will *understand* photography better
    because you will have to make every decision yourself. You have to learn to
    constantly keep in mind the following: composition, shutter speed, aperture.
    Once you learn to juggle those variables and "think" in photograph terms you
    can switch to any other camera with manual capabilities.

    Don't worry too much about the type of body though. Just make sure it's an
    SLR with minimal "automatic" stuff. Then spend the rest of your money on the
    lenses, or tickets to far-away places where you'll take lots of cool pictures.

    Think about this: when you press the shutter on the camera, it is just an
    empty box (a well-aligned box, but still just a box). So don't waste your
    money on the camera body. I see people blow big bucks on the camera and then
    with "money left over" they buy some crappy Sigma lens.. don't do that.

    Also, you might want to consider a medium-format camera or something where you
    have to individually load sheets of film. I personally never liked 35mm
    because of the small size and the annoying canister and was glad to dump it in
    favor of digital.

    Good luck, remember to shoot as many shots as you can afford and never be afraid that you're "wasting" film.

    1. Re:Pentax K-1000 by Apro+im · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The parent makes excellent points - only thing is that if you get a manual-everything camera, even with a lot of practice, quickly getting a picture is nigh impossible. I might get a low-end camera which has the option of manual everything, but even with my Canon A-1 (as old as I am!), I'm often frustrated by the need to just *focus* before I take a shot. (Maybe if I used it more, that'd come a lot more naturally to me.)
      Also, if you're developing your own, of course you can always try to compensate for bad settings at development time.