What 35mm SLR body should I get?
My father is building a darkroom in our basement because of a new interest in photography. I have loved the art since I was about 10, so I want to take advantage of this opportunity. I really don’t like point-and-shoot cameras, because they ruin the entire appeal of the art, which, for me, is the versatility of the camera.
I have used SLR cameras before and developed their film in several classes, so I don’t believe I need a “beginner’s” body. I want to avoid things like autofocus. I can go with or without flash, but what I’m primarily looking for is a quality, metal body.
Any suggestions?
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Posted: March 6th, 2009 under Uncategorized.
Tags: 35mm Slr, Flash, Slr Cameras
Comments
Comment from Sinyckel
Time March 10, 2009 at 7:54 pm
I’m new to this too. My wife prefers Canon’s Elan 7 series while I am a fan of the Nikon F 75. It is my experience that the F 75 is a little more user friendly than the Canon, and the lenses for the Nikon AI mount can be found cheaper than the lenses for the Canon EF mount. I however do agree with the gentleman above me, if you could get yourself a medium format, that would be alot of fun to tinker with. Good luck, hope that helps.
Comment from fhotoace
Time March 13, 2009 at 8:11 am
It sounds like you are starting out right and that eventually you will be shooting professionally.
That narrows your choices down when it comes to SLR cameras.
Two words … Canon and Nikon.
If you choose Canon, be sure to purchase one that will use the current standard of Canon lenses which will fit the Canon DSLR camera bodies. Nikon, same thing although with Nikon, all their AF lenses (as well as AI manual focus lenses)will fit their pro level DSLR bodies.
Nearly 90% of the images I supply to clients are now digital. That is a huge change from just five years ago.
All current auto-focus cameras can be used the the manual mode, so don’t automatically reject those. You will find that there are very few film bodies (metal based body material) made by either Canon or Nikon, so you may find yourself purchasing a good used one. I have purchased many used 35mm bodies over the years and they have always worked flawlessly.
Since you will be using your own darkroom, you will experience something that will always enhance your image making skills, no mater what format you use.
Comment from wackywallwalker
Time March 15, 2009 at 2:11 am
As an advocate of film photography I have to ask why 35mm? Is it the portability? Is it the speed? Or is it another reason such as the price of the film? If you can asnwer yes to all of the previous questions then perhaps 35mm is the best choice for you
The reason I ask these questions is because it sounds to me as if you are approaching photography from a fine art perspecive. As such you may be interested to know that many fine art photographers prefer to use a larger format film such as medium or large format. 35mm film is not the apex of quality in terms of film formats. The reason for this is because of the unparalled quality medium format or large format film has compared to 35mm film, especially when enlarged beyond 8×10. You don’t even have to be a photo connosieur to be able to tell the difference between different formats. If you were to take a photo of the same subject with a 35mm, medium format, and large format camera and then enlarge the photos to 16×20, you could without any training quite easily see the progression of quality between the formats. If you are interested in learning more about medium and large format films, there are lots of disussions on the subject at photo.net. Personally though at this juncture in photo history where film cameras are being sold for a fraction of the value they were only a few years ago, I would go for one of the best film cameras ever made: the Hasselblad 500 series cameras: 500c, 500cm, 503cx, 503cw. Either by going to ebay, keh.com, or camerawest.com, you can get a used Hasselblad for a bargain, for around $600. If it seems like a lot but you have to consider a new Hasselblad 503cw will cost you around $4,300. The best things about these cameras is the overwhelming amount of accesories, and their versatility. Simply by changing the back of the camera you can shoot film, polaroid or digital(still way too expensive for amatures). Anyhow some will say the film cost more, but for the most part you don’t waste film like you do with a 35mm. Using a larger format camera you are more concious of your image making. As for the price of film about 12 shots costs around $3-$4 and if you develop your own film, it is still quite cheap. It may cost more to shoot, but if you prefer quality over quantity, then I would suggest you consider a bigger format camera. Below are some links you should read/
Comment from mattzcoz
Time March 7, 2009 at 2:22 pm
I’m with you on a lot of this, but I’m not so hot anymore on having to spend time in a darkroom.
My suggestion is to check out the info at. The site founder is pretty knowledgeable in his own right, and all the articles are followed by a pretty extensive list of user commentary, usually with some good info.
Given that you’ll have the darkroom, you might even end up considering getting a medium-format camera instead of a 35mm SLR.