Cheap professional film camera?

Question

So I want a cheap professional camera.
I want it to be a good quality camera.
That is once again not going to be that expensive.
I want to do a lot of vacationing, so I want to really...capture the moment.

Answer 1

If you really want a professional film camera is cheap, I would suggest looking for a used Canon 1 series. You can get a 1N used for around $500 and a 1V for around $900 (some with motor drives included).

example:

http://www.keh.com/OnLineStore/ProductDetail.aspx?groupsku=CE029990407150&brandcategoryname=35MM&Mode=searchproducts&item=0&ActivateTOC2=false&ID=&BC=&BCC=&CC=&CCC=&BCL=&GBC=&GCC=&KW=Canon%201V

If you are only going to use it on vacations, why not buy a Canon Rebel K2 or one of the consumer grade film SLRs? These will be a lot cheaper - only a few hundred tops. I would also suggest considering digital for something like this. Do you really want to mess around with film?

Answer 2

The people who hang in this subject on Yahoo are too much oriented towards both digital and 35mm slrs.

There are no digital professional cameras in my opinion, what you need to look for now is a Mamiya, Pentax, Rollei, and other mfgs 645s, or 67s, even 6x6(and those are in centimeters). They are single lens reflexes, they take interchangable lenses, and they give you a negative that is big enough to do something with rather than digital or 35mm. A 67 camera gives you a negative that is 4x the size of a 35mm. Used 645s are not all that expensive, but the lenses can be. 67s are more expensive. They make 645s and 67s that are auto focus, but my Mamiya RB67 is straight manual, you have to set the shutter speed, the aperture, advance film and **/c.o.c.k** the camera. You don't need a big expensive light meter, you can get one for less than 100 bucks.

Answer 3

Nikon has some great film camera that are dirt cheap. I personally recommend the N90s. They can be found on eBay and other camera stores. I got mine with an SB-22 speedlight and a 35-70mm f/3.3-4.5 lens for $150.

The other N series film bodies from Nikon are great as well, but not as feature packed. The N70 and N80 are a bit newer, while the N8008, N6006, and N4004 are good, but older.

Answer 4

Then you are buyng a used camera. You are buying an SLR (single lens reflex) that allows you to see the action. You are choosing one that has a variety of lenses. You are buying 35 mm for the greatest choice in films. You are getting one that has aperture priority automatic exposure so you can override it for depth of field and allows you to go to full manual. You are getting two lenses: one "normal" lens 45-50mm that is very fast (large opening, low f stop number) so that you can take natural light pictures in low light and a modern zoom that goes from about 30 to about 90-120 mm with moderate speed so you have flexibility to frame your shots. You are probably looking at Canon or Nikon.
On the other hand, if you leave off the word film, you are looking at a digital camera with all those choices and the ability to take a lot more photographs cheaply (since you don't have to print them to see them.)

Answer 5

There is no such thing as a "professional" film camera that is cheap that is still in production.

Also remember when it comes to film cameras the LENS is more important factor than the body. (In digitial they are equally important)

I would look into the Canon EOS ELAN 7NE or Rebel K2.
They are still in production. Importantly the lenses for these cameras can be used on the Digital Canons as well.

Answer 6

Nikon's D40 is small, cheap and will give you pro-quality shots.

It's fast (instant) and easy to use.

Get the 18-70 lens and SB-600 flash and you are all set to make great pictures.

Answer 7

I use a Kodak easyshare C743. It takes really good pictures & it was cheap. I got it for $150. I think it was on sale though.
Canon's are good too.

Answer 8

http://www.keh.com/OnLineStore/Home.aspx

A good source for new and used equipment.