What 35mm SLR body should I get?

Question

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?

Answer 1

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 8x10. 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 16x20, 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 http://hasselblad.com/products/v-system/503cw.aspx. 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/

Answer 2

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 http://photo.net/. 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.

Answer 3

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.

Answer 4

Películas en DVD para elegir en internet. Que puede ser mejor en un día de mal tiempo que una buena película de comedia así que he empezado a comprar unas cuantas películas en amazon, la verdad es que tengo de donde elegir, unas películas de calidad, un DVD de calidad y un muy buen precio, con estas películas transformas cualquier mal día en un día divertida.