Want an old camera, but don't know what's best?

[NickSimcheck]

Because of my youth, I have shot digitally for more years then I have film. Now I'm getting the itch for the higher dynamic range of B&W film.

I know hardly anything about pre-1980's cameras, but what I do know is I want something that's completely manual. No battery neccessary. I'm thinking rangefinder, Leica or Voigtlander maybe? I only want 3 lenses, 35mm, 50mm, & 85mm. Sharpness is key.

Leica has an "M" mount and a screw mount right? Which is more widely used and avaible? Quality?

I'm truely lost, I feel worse then an old guy when he asks "What is Noise?"

Somebody care to be a history teacher please!

[Ronald S. Jr.]

You're talking a good load of money for a Leica M setup. True quality and very unique, but extremely costly. I'd say a good twice as much as your current digital setup. Ever think about a Hassy MF setup? Maybe a Contax?

[NickSimcheck]

You're talking a good load of money for a Leica M setup. True quality and very unique, but extremely costly. I'd say a good twice as much as your current digital setup. Ever think about a Hassy MF setup? Maybe a Contax?

Forgot, I want to stay under $2,000. Scratch Leica M then.

Contax G2? I know it's not totally manual, but what the heck. I can alway choose to shot manually.

[Steve Parr]

My brother has a pretty nice Bronica set-up. He was going to get a digital back for it, but that was about $20,000.00. He opted to keep shooting film.

There are a lot of medium format rigs on eBay...

[NickSimcheck]

There are a lot of medium format rigs on eBay...

Doesn't tickle me like the idea of a 35mm rangefinder...

[Steve Parr]

Doesn't tickle me like the idea of a 35mm rangefinder...

Well, then you're in luck:

Konica (http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2 F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=konica+rangefinder&category0=)

Canon (http://search.ebay.com/canon-rangefinder_W0QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoent rypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfromZR10QQfrtsZ0QQfsoo Z1QQfsopZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQsacatZQ2d1)

Nikon (http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=C6&from=R10&satitle=nikon+rangefinder&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=92071&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp=)

That should get you started...

:lol:

[cdifoto]

You could just get something like an Elan 7n or similiar and make use of your current gear...


...just a thought.

[NickSimcheck]

Well, then you're in luck:
[/URL]
[URL="http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=C6&from=R10&satitle=nikon+rangefinder&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=92071&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp="]Nikon (http://search.ebay.com/canon-rangefinder_W0QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoent rypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfromZR10QQfrtsZ0QQfsoo Z1QQfsopZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQsacatZQ2d1)



How dare you attempt to subdue me into the darkside.

[NickSimcheck]

You could just get something like an Elan 7n or similiar and make use of your current gear...


...just a thought.

True, true.

My itch might get scratched with EOS/FD mount Canon. But I just get the feeling it won't.

[cdifoto]

True, true.

My itch might get scratched with EOS/FD mount Canon. But I just get the feeling it won't.

Yeah I wasn't sure if an EOS filmer could be your cortizone or not. :)

[gjl711]

Why the Canon A1 of course. Simply a classic. Great body, big, heavy, built like a tank and you can still get lenses on eBay and they had some good ones. Their 50mm 1.4 is a great lens sucking in a lot of photons allowing for a lot of creative lighting opportunities. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_A-1

[Bob_A]

An Olympus OM-1 with a 50mm f/1.4 lens is a nice combo that shouldn't cost much. I wish I never sold mine ...

[stupot]

yeah the OM-1 is a classic, completely mechanical.

[DocFrankenstein]

To tell you the truth you don't have to get a NEW leica. A lot of people are selling that stuff nowadays and you'll be able to pick up an M4+ for very reasonable amounts.

I'd also consider the Voightlander's Bessa. The bodies are superior to leica, at least in the viewfinder design.

And there's huge amounts of contax and nikon glass which is very sharp for very little money.

Not knowing if you'd like it or not, consider picking up a kiev with a 50 and a 35mm. You can hunt the whole RF package with 35, 50 and 85 for under 100 bucks probably.

But then the perceived value won't be there.

[condyk]

I'd quite fancy a Pentax K1000, one of the older models before they shifted production to China. Nice manual design and there are plenty of well priced K Mount lenses around. You can also use them on the new K1000D DSLR.