What do you miss most about your first SLR.

00silvergt wrote in post #5471220
If it gets dusty, replace the film! Simple as that.

I assume you've never had to retouche a print where the negative was scratched by a bit of something that had gotten in the camera?

^ The dust just changed places. Instead of the sensor it was on the negative and glass plates of the enlarger...

But that would be much cheaper and easier to fix than all the horror stories of folks essentially destroying their cameras...BTW, yes, I remember scratching and getting dust on the negs...

I totally miss the focusing screen.
Very easy to manual focus.
It must be the influence of AF
but the viewfinder in the 2 DSLR's I've used
are crap by comparison.

tmcman wrote in post #5474684
I totally miss the focusing screen.
Very easy to manual focus.
It must be the influence of AF
but the viewfinder in the 2 DSLR's I've used
are crap by comparison.

Nothing like a split prism to get the manual focus dead on...

My first was a Minolta X-300 (which I still have). I miss it's relative simplicity, the anticipation of what's coming back from the lab and not having to charge batteries. I don't miss the wait to get the prints back from the lab and having to change films.

Graham

i miss being able to see the shutter curtain when i open the back to load film

I miss having people who understood the workings of a camera at a basic level, simply by removing the lens and opening the back and firing the empty camera, to watch the shutter actuate at different speeds and the reflex mirror flipping up and down. Now it is all 'magic'.

I miss the focusing prisim

I miss multiple exposure mode

If compared to a modern film camera I miss the ability to wind the film back without winding it all of the way into the canister

^ The focusing screens were way, way more MF-friendly back in the day. Mostly because they had to be, really - and it's not like you can't get an "old school" focusing screen for modern bodies... But I'm with you on this one. I miss the aids.

Multi-exposure was cool too. I once took a shot of the moon rising across the sky, six exposures in one. Nothing like dividing your exposure settings by the number of shots and timing it all with a stopwatch out in the freezing cold, hehe.

I think many cameras have a C.fn for leaving the leader out on rewind - at least the more pro-level bodies. Say if you wanted to change ISO halfway through a shoot/roll... You'd waste the rest of the roll if you couldn't do that.

Yes, some do have the ability to rewind the film and leave just the end hanging out. My Elan 7e does, and it's a custom function. The Rebel 2000 that I used to have did not have this capability, IIRC.

Wilt wrote in post #5433923
My second SLR was Olympus OM-1, and there are several things about it that I miss...

• compact size and light weight
  
• HUGE OM viewfinder size
  
• OM lens size (small)
  
• Direct access to mirror lockup (no menu)
  
• Combination microprism center and coarse focusing ring

I absolutely agree. The OM1n was my first SLR. I just wish I could get that combination of features in a current DSLR. The viewfinder was superb compared to even the best of todays offerings.

chalkie wrote in post #5486277
My first was a Minolta X-300 (which I still have). I miss it's relative simplicity, the anticipation of what's coming back from the lab and not having to charge batteries. I don't miss the wait to get the prints back from the lab and having to change films.

Graham

That was another upgrade camera I was looking at for my XD-7. Wasn't there a higher model X-700 or X-750 or something?

00silvergt wrote in post #5492145
Wasn't there a higher model X-700 or X-750 or something?

Sure was. Nice cameras, too.

http://www.mir.com.my …res/classics/mi​noltax700/

Double Negative wrote in post #5491275
^ The focusing screens were way, way more MF-friendly back in the day. Mostly because they had to be, really - and it's not like you can't get an "old school" focusing screen for modern bodies... But I'm with you on this one. I miss the aids.

Multi-exposure was cool too. I once took a shot of the moon rising across the sky, six exposures in one. Nothing like dividing your exposure settings by the number of shots and timing it all with a stopwatch out in the freezing cold, hehe.

I think many cameras have a C.fn for leaving the leader out on rewind - at least the more pro-level bodies. Say if you wanted to change ISO halfway through a shoot/roll... You'd waste the rest of the roll if you couldn't do that.

Any one know where I can get a focus screen for an XTi (400D)? Can I install it myself?

Multiple exposures - love it, nice for trying to catch lightning too - you have to do everything in bloody photoshop these days

I never owned a modern film camera that would leave the leader out... I only researched or used consumer models though.