Film Camera

NJurkiewicz

NJurkiewicz

Active member
After being involved in the world of digital video for the longest time I want to start working with still images. I am looking at starting this whole process with a good ole vintage film camera. I was curious if anyone could give me a recommendation of camera, lenses and film to start with? I've been recommended a pentax k1000 and was wondering if that is a good option? Also I don't have the availability or option to be mobile enough to go to shop so are their do's and don'ts for buying camera online? I thank you all in advance for the help!
 
the k1000 is grate i would buy one and its suposed to be the best film camera to learn on so i would get one if i where you. in terms of dos and donts make shure you trust the person you are buying it from this is more so if you are buying it in person. but aslong as everything is working and all then i would not worry to much about condtion and stuff. and for a lens i would get a 50mm that will work well and teach you alot. the other place you could buy is a camera show some citys have them and some towns so go on your local kijiji or cregslist and search camera show you never know somthing might come up and those tend to be grate place to buy stuff. good luck and feel free to ask if you have more questions
 
Buy from keh.com. Even stuff in BGN condition on there is usually really good.

As for what camera, pretty much any 70s-80s manual focus SLR with a fast 50 is a good choice. The Olympus OM series are my personal favorite MF SLRs, but they're a little on the pricier side. A Minolta SRT 101 is also a great choice. They're cheap, absolutely bomb proof, and all the lenses are great. You pretty much just want to find any manual focus SLR with a working meter and a 50mm lens though. Just stay away from old third party zoom lenses. They all suck.
 
omnidata's omniscient guide to film photography:

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13169087:plorr said:
Buy from keh.com. Even stuff in BGN condition on there is usually really good.

As for what camera, pretty much any 70s-80s manual focus SLR with a fast 50 is a good choice. The Olympus OM series are my personal favorite MF SLRs, but they're a little on the pricier side. A Minolta SRT 101 is also a great choice. They're cheap, absolutely bomb proof, and all the lenses are great. You pretty much just want to find any manual focus SLR with a working meter and a 50mm lens though. Just stay away from old third party zoom lenses. They all suck.
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Is there a big difference between buying on keh.com versus ebay? Also I am looking at getting thishttps://www.keh.com/250932/pentax-k1000-35mm-camera-body is buying at the bgn price still going o be good quality? Is there a big difference between the Olympus and the Pentax? I was also thinking about getting this lenshttps://www.keh.com/242034/pentax-50mm-f-1-7-smc-m-k-mount-manual-focus-lens-49 is it best to get it at the ex condition? Any recommendations on a different lens? Also what is the difference between the k1000 and the k1000 SE?
 
SE adds a microprism spot focusing aid, that's all.

Also the K1000 is overrated and therefore overpriced.

Anything that's essentially a box with a shutter will work.
 
13169678:omnidata said:
SE adds a microprism spot focusing aid, that's all.

Also the K1000 is overrated and therefore overpriced.

Anything that's essentially a box with a shutter will work.
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Would you recommend then the Olympus as well? If so which in the OM series tends to be the best and as far as 50mm goes which aperture tends to do better f/1.8, f/2?
 
Also what about something like a Canon AE1? Is there really a best one to go and get or are they pretty much all the same at this point?
 
There is a big difference between Ebay and Keh.

People are chumps on ebay. Its likely that a camera/lens your average ebay seller rates as "mint", keh would rate as BGN. They are extremely picky with grading. You will definitely be happy with the condition of anything you buy from keh even if its BGN.

EX, EX+, or LN, you'll probably need an electron microscope to spot the imperfections.

And yeah, all the 70s/80s SLRs are pretty much the same. They're all built sturdy and especially all the 50mm lenses were good. Any of them are capable of taking great pictures as long as you can properly expose and focus.

I personally prefer the OMs for their compact size and huge viewfinder. Their lenses are great too, but then again, so are the Pentax lenses of that era.

Just pull the trigger on something and start shooting.
 
13169837:plorr said:
There is a big difference between Ebay and Keh.

People are chumps on ebay. Its likely that a camera/lens your average ebay seller rates as "mint", keh would rate as BGN. They are extremely picky with grading. You will definitely be happy with the condition of anything you buy from keh even if its BGN.

EX, EX+, or LN, you'll probably need an electron microscope to spot the imperfections.

And yeah, all the 70s/80s SLRs are pretty much the same. They're all built sturdy and especially all the 50mm lenses were good. Any of them are capable of taking great pictures as long as you can properly expose and focus.

I personally prefer the OMs for their compact size and huge viewfinder. Their lenses are great too, but then again, so are the Pentax lenses of that era.

Just pull the trigger on something and start shooting.
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Thanks so much for the help! As far as 50mm lenses go is their any difference between f/1.4, f/1.7, f/1.8, and f/2?
 
If you are just starting out it really doesn't matter, there's always a better camera, stop chasing it, get a real cheap and cheerful slr with shutter speed dial, aperture on the lens, 50mm and go out and shoot.

Don't become a gearslut.

Any 50 can easily cut it for most photographic work.
 
13169864:NJurkiewicz said:
As far as 50mm lenses go is their any difference between f/1.4, f/1.7, f/1.8, and f/2?
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Depends wildly on manufacturer and type.

You can write a 9000 page thesis on the 50mm but in general: lower f number = larger aperture = more light = larger size = more bokeh (Definitly not always better) = more #artz = higher price = better in low light = but it's not necessarily sharper at that lower f number and will quite often have more distortion.
 
13169869:omnidata said:
If you are just starting out it really doesn't matter, there's always a better camera, stop chasing it, get a real cheap and cheerful slr with shutter speed dial, aperture on the lens, 50mm and go out and shoot.

Don't become a gearslut.

Any 50 can easily cut it for most photographic work.
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Seriously. The sooner you actually heed this advice, the quicker you will start becoming a better photographer. If most people (myself included) spent all the time/money that they spend on gear on going to galleries or reading photo books, they'd be better off.

Next time you find yourself browsing keh for yet another camera or lens, buy this instead:http://www.amazon.com/The-Photographers-Playbook-Assignments-Ideas/dp/159711247X
 
Done, and done thank you all so much for the advice. I tend to over think things and I get it. Just ordered a Canon AE1 with the Canon 50mm f/1.4.
 
13169936:NJurkiewicz said:
Done, and done thank you all so much for the advice. I tend to over think things and I get it. Just ordered a Canon AE1 with the Canon 50mm f/1.4.
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JK I second guessed myself but whatever I ACTUALLY placed an order on a Pentax K1000 with a 50mm f/1.7. I'm excited to start shooting!
 
13169940:NJurkiewicz said:
JK I second guessed myself but whatever I ACTUALLY placed an order on a Pentax K1000 with a 50mm f/1.7. I'm excited to start shooting!
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If you don't win it(they usually go for over 100$ for some strange reason - don't buy it for over 50) there are plenty of other great options.

Check out less-known cameras like the Minolta SRT (101,201, whatever, they're all mostly the same). They're cheap as hell, built like tanks, and you can build a solid lens system for something like 50$ or less.

Really, any old Minolta SLR is going to be cheaper, and in many cases better than it's contemporary from many other japanese SLR brands. The K1000 is overrated like crazy because everyone talks about them (you can get virtually the same camera if you buy a Pentax Spotmatic - only real difference is it uses the older screw-in lenses) and it will cost half as much.
 
13170890:DingoSean said:
If you don't win it(they usually go for over 100$ for some strange reason - don't buy it for over 50) there are plenty of other great options.

Check out less-known cameras like the Minolta SRT (101,201, whatever, they're all mostly the same). They're cheap as hell, built like tanks, and you can build a solid lens system for something like 50$ or less.

Really, any old Minolta SLR is going to be cheaper, and in many cases better than it's contemporary from many other japanese SLR brands. The K1000 is overrated like crazy because everyone talks about them (you can get virtually the same camera if you buy a Pentax Spotmatic - only real difference is it uses the older screw-in lenses) and it will cost half as much.
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The bid didn't work out, you were right. I decided to go with KEH.com this time and ended up with a Minolta SRT 201 and 50mm f/1.7. Got it all for $80 with shipping. I'm super excited to start shooting now!
 
13172176:NJurkiewicz said:
The bid didn't work out, you were right. I decided to go with KEH.com this time and ended up with a Minolta SRT 201 and 50mm f/1.7. Got it all for $80 with shipping. I'm super excited to start shooting now!
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Good choice.
 
13172176:NJurkiewicz said:
The bid didn't work out, you were right. I decided to go with KEH.com this time and ended up with a Minolta SRT 201 and 50mm f/1.7. Got it all for $80 with shipping. I'm super excited to start shooting now!
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I have that exact same camera and lens combo. Foolproof.
 
13172334:DingoSean said:
I have that exact same camera and lens combo. Foolproof.
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Thank you guys so much for the help! Can you recommend a filter for the lens and a place to get lens caps since those aren't shipped with?
 
13172349:NJurkiewicz said:
Thank you guys so much for the help! Can you recommend a filter for the lens and a place to get lens caps since those aren't shipped with?
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Caps aren't necessary, if you do want them: Ebay.

Filter is not necessary, only dark red is cool for maximum contrast = maximum #Artz.
 
13172349:NJurkiewicz said:
Thank you guys so much for the help! Can you recommend a filter for the lens and a place to get lens caps since those aren't shipped with?
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If you want a lens cap, just go on ebay and find a cheapo one for like 99c or something ultra cheap.

For a filter, like Omnidata said, a red filter, or an orange filter will also work well. I have a set of Marumi colour filters that works well, and they didn't cost me much at all. the R2 and the YA2 would both be cheap, shouldn't cost you more than like 10 bucks for either, and they'll be good filters for shooting black and white with.

Otherwise, any random whatever UV filter will do fine, but I wouldn't worry about it really at all.
 
13172349:NJurkiewicz said:
Thank you guys so much for the help! Can you recommend a filter for the lens and a place to get lens caps since those aren't shipped with?
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Don't bother with filters. Spend the money on film instead.
 
13172842:DingoSean said:
Really, this is the best answer. A set of filters could buy you 100+ shots of pro quality film.
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Cool I'll just get a UV filter and a lens cap for cheap then. What is recommended film for B&W then color?
 
13173171:NJurkiewicz said:
Cool I'll just get a UV filter and a lens cap for cheap then. What is recommended film for B&W then color?
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I'd only get a red or orange filter for Black and white and not even use one for colour, personally.. UV shouldn't honestly effect your film enough to the point of actually needing a filter...
 
For black and white, get Arista Premium. Its a generic version of Kodak Tri-X except cheap as absolute fuck.
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/192244-Arista-Premium-400-ISO-35mm-x-24-exp.

For color, kinda depends on what you're shooting and personal preference. You'll probably want to stick to negatives for a bit, since slide film requires very precise exposure and processing is harder to find and more expensive. Try out a few different films and see what works well for you.

Kodak Ektar is great for landscapes (super fine grain with very saturated colors for a print film).

Portra 160 is probably the highest quality film for portraits, if theres enough light.

Portra 400 is my personal favorite all around. Tight grain for a 400 speed film, and I personally love the color rendition of it. Most of all I love its incredible latitude. I've found that I can expose it a stop over or under with no change in processing and get good exposures. My camera bag has consisted of nothing but my Mamiya 6, 75mm, .6 ND, and Portra 400 for the past couple months, and I haven't found myself wishing I had anything else yet.
 
13173191:DingoSean said:
I'd only get a red or orange filter for Black and white and not even use one for colour, personally.. UV shouldn't honestly effect your film enough to the point of actually needing a filter...
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Thanks for the advice! What film would you recommend buying?
 
Thank you all so much for the help. I am super appreciative! I'll hopefully post back soon with some results of my first shoot!
 
Read through the giant thread on film photography in here. That thread helped a bunch when I was first figuring things out (and still am)
 
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