Getting Started With 35mm?

Hi,
I know for sure this has been asked an infinite amount of times before, but I just don't seem to get along with the search function.

I'm shooting digital (and will continue to do so), but lately I've gotten more and more interested in trying out film.
As my interest in photography awoke after digital cameras made their main breakthrough; I've never even tried "traditional" photography.

I'd like to get a 35mm SLR with a few primes, but what would you recommend I get?
I'm completely lost on brands, systems, lenses, film types, everything.
A truckload of books are on order from the library, but more links to where a beginner should start are gratefully accepted!

Thanks,
-Martin (BrewsterPilot)

Go completely Retro and get a Pentax K1000 and at least one Pentax 50mm prime. The 50mm f/1.7 (either A or M) are both REALLY good.

I picked up an EOS 500 from ebay for about £6. It didn't have an eyecup or strap but otherwise it looked new and works perfectly. An eyecup cost about £1 from ebay and I have a spare strap so in all it was a real bargain and all my ef lenses work perfectly on it.

I JUST GOT DONE ordering an ElanII on the 'bay for a little over 40 bucks US. I decided I wanted as much interchaneability with my EF digi stuff, and I already have adapters to use some old manual lenses on my Canon stuff.

The only downside to the Canon AF film stuff that I can see is that none of them have nice big viewfinders like the really old stuff. I recently actually drug out all my old film bodies, and ALL of them had better viewfinders than my Rebel (film) and much much better than even my 40D

BrewsterPilot wrote in post #6183172
I'd like to get a 35mm SLR with a few primes, but what would you recommend I get?

Are you looking for autofocus? That's a big consideration. If you don't want AF you can look at some of the older stuff.

As for film types, are you thinking slides or prints? B&W or color? Daylight, studio lighting, or high-ISO?

By and large, films are very much a matter of taste. You could try searching on Flickr for tags with specific film types.

One thing to consider: do you know where you're going to get your film processed? The thing that pushed me to digital 3+ years ago was that for each roll that I got processed I had to go somewhere new because the previous place had quit handling film.

And if you're going to do slides, do you have a source for a projector, bulbs, and carriers (carousels, slide cubes, or whatever)?

... or a good scanner


On the original question: If you want to use EF lenses, a Canon Eos 1n, Eos 3 or Eos 5 is nice, as well as some of the newer models (Elan in the US? I think it's Eos 30 over here).

If you don't want or need AF, something like a Nikon F3 or FM might be nice, or, ultimately (IMO) a Leica M

There are off course cheaper choices.

I'd go with Canon EOS, of course- so you can use your exisiting lenses! When I find a cheap EOS 35mm I will pick one up. I have a Minolta SLR that I got years ago but it only had the kit lens, I don't plan on adding anything to that camera.

Martin,
If you're not committed to using your Canon lenses, and you have a reasonable budget, I'd suggest that you try out medium format instead. Even getting by with a single prime lens is far more flexible than you might imagine, and the difference between MF and 35mm is astonishing. There are lots of different options for just a few hundred dollars.

I'm going to put my reputation on the line here but I believe Nikon make the best film cameras to come out of Japan.. I've been a Nikon film user since 1975..

If you are looking for a manual focus Nikon check out the Nikon FE2.. I bought mine in when they were released in 1983 as a backup for my Nikon F2AS Photomic.. They are one tough camera and I still have it along with a MD12 motordrive,, it still going strong.. The FE2 is a full manual camera with aperture priority automatic (AV mode).. The good news is there are still plenty of Nikkor AI-S manual focus lenses around at good prices..

http://www.mir.com.my …konfeseries/fe2​/index.htm

BrewsterPilot wrote in post #6186941
Hi,
Thank you all for the replies so far! I really appreciate it!

As all my current lenses but one are EF-s, I wouldn't benefit much from getting a Canon over some other brand.
Where AF is concerned it is not a necessity by any means; if shooting with film I think the mere cost of developing is enough to get it right the first time...:p
After looking up the different film types I imagine I'd mostly be using daylight film most of the time, for prints. Most shops still develop film where I live.

I'll look into all your suggestions for cameras at depth tonight, after a quick glance they all seem like good choices.

Thank You,
-Martin

Check the thread I started on this:

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=556316

Some of the links posted got me going in Google

The link Vondo posted really has some good leads:

http://photonotes.org …beginner-faq/cameras.html

I found several references to "stay away" from the A2E,

http://photonotes.org/​reviews/5-50-30/

and how the Elan 7 is in some ways a step back

http://photonotes.org/​reviews/eos-elan-7/

Gonna definitely second the medium format suggestion. Image quality with 35mm should be equal or lesser than your digital bodies, but MF film is right up there with the 1DsIII and the like. Even a cheap TLR (I think B&H sells one called the Seagull) would do nicely, and not break the bank. I've been messing with an old kodak fold-out, lately

DrPablo wrote in post #6185835
Martin,
If you're not committed to using your Canon lenses, and you have a reasonable budget, I'd suggest that you try out medium format instead. Even getting by with a single prime lens is far more flexible than you might imagine, and the difference between MF and 35mm is astonishing. There are lots of different options for just a few hundred dollars.

I would agree. A lot of options for under 100 dollars as well.

Personally, I just collect cheap 35mm stuff. If I like a lens in some system I'll pick up the body for it. So I'm shooting pentax, nikon, canon FD and some others. They're all awesome, some better than the others, but the primes are all awesome and the important parts are the film I'm choosing and what I see.

With medium format do you have to develope yourself?

DStanic wrote in post #6188161
With medium format do you have to develope yourself?

Is that a problem?

With 35mm you might want to develop it yourself as well... as with any film, if that's your thing.

DStanic wrote in post #6188161
With medium format do you have to develope yourself?

Depends. I have a lab around that'll develop medium format for me. It's a 20 minute drive, but I'm out that way about once a week anyways, so I just drop it off/pick it up on those days...