35mm SLR camera

extremefishin00

extremefishin00

Joined
Mar 24, 2001
Messages
584
I'm looking for a good 35mm SLR camera for beginners. I'm looking for something that has accessories that are readily available, and that cost between 200-300 dollars. Any info would be helpful.

Chris
 
Are you looking for something all-manual, or something that can be used fully automatic, all manual, or anywhere in between? Are you intent on buying new, or open to used? Are you interested in the SLR because you want to be able to see the actual image through the lens, or simply because you want an interchangeable lens system (in which case a rangefinder could do the job)? Are you looking to photograph mostly wide-angle landscapes, or telephoto wildlife shots, or what?

The more details you can give me, the better I can help guide you in the right direction.
 
The wife had one of those point and shoot things, and it broke. She always wanted to take good pictures, and we had a kid on the way. Her birthday was approaching, so I headed off to the camera store.

The guy in there was used to having photography newbies show up on his doorstep, so he showed me a bunch of cameras and we played around a bit. Eventually we gravitated to the Canon EOS Rebel. He had 2 that I liked... a Rebel-G and a Rebel 2000. After he pointed out several differences that I had no hope of comprehending, I figured out that both cameras were pretty much the same to me. The deciding factor was that he was blowing out his Rebel G models and had a real good package deal going.

I brought the Rebel G home to my astounded wife, and she got right to business. She loved it from the get-go. Now here is the part where I recommend something different. The wife has had the camera long enough now that she understands all of the differences between the "G" and the "2000". When she illustrates those features that are lacking on the G versus the more advanced model (She has to do this slowly and with many pencil drawings and hand gestures), it makes me wish now that I would have gotten her the Rebel 2000. On a good note, the G came with a free camera bag, strap, and a few rolls of film. Saved me from doing the dreaded "accessorizing" myself.

My other regret is the fact that I saved a hundred bux with the choice I made, but didn't buy myself a knife with said savings. Stupid, stupid stupid me.

The thing I like about it (when the wife demands that she wants to be in the pic and hands the camera to me) is that it is totally automatic if you want it to be. I just whip it up, it focuses itself, and if it is too dark, a nifty flash pops up out of the body all by itself and flashes away when I pull the trigger. I am nowhere near the skill level of even the most fledgling camera operator, so I like this feature. The wife sez now that she likes the manual operation alot better, and this is where the Rebel 2000 has it over the Rebel G, or so I am told.

I hope you have as much fun digging around for a camera as I did. I did find it enjoyable, wierd as that may seem.
 
If you are looking for a manual focusing camera take a look at the Nikon FE10 If want something a little more rugged and that will outlast you then take a look at a used Nikon FM2N. Personally I like my Konica Hexar. It has more features than most people will ever need with user friendly point and shoot capabilities and a excellent lens.

Frank Q.
 
Evolute,

If it's possible, I'd like to find something that gives me the choice between manual and auto, I didn't know there were cameras that did. If a camera like that wouldn't fit in my price range, then I'd like to go for manual operation. Right now I'm interested in photographing people, wild life, and possibly landscapes but more interested in the previous two. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by seeing the actual image through the lens or having the interchangeable system. I've actually looked at the Canon Rebel, but passed because it didn't look very rugged, but I might be wrong about that.

Chris
 
Hey there Chris hope this helps. SLR = single lens reflex. The image passes through the lens and a set of mirror prisms and then into the view finder. As for interchangeable lenses I think that a 35-70mm zoom lens would cover your needs. Most beginner SLR cameras are manual focusing but have automatic exposure(AE). That means that you just have to focus the image and press the shutter button. B&H photo has the Nikon FE10 with a Nikkor 35-70mm lens and case for $269. That kind of setup should serve you well.

Frank Q.
 
i dont own one,but i do own a pentax zx-150.
full auto,full manual, half and half,what ever you want.
300 bucks.
look around,im sure you can find one cheaper now. i got mine about a year and three months ago,so i assume the price has gone down.
check it out.
lots of good cameras out there in that range.
 
Hi, Extreme,

First, let me explain what I meant about SLRs and rangefinders. SLR is short for single lens reflex, which means that the camera is designed so that the image you see when you look through your viewfinder is the image coming into the lens, and looks just like your picture will (except for picture's borders; on non-professional cameras, there will be about 10% more on the edges of your picture than you saw through the viewfinder). With a rangefinder, the image in the viewfinder is formed by an entirely different lens than the taking lens which takes the picture. The image you see through the viewfinder on a rangefinder camera is formed by a lens an inch or two away from the lens that takes the picture. For most purposes, this makes no difference. However, for some uses (such as very close-up photography) the inch or two causes parallax problems which make it hard to frame your picture correctly.

Perhaps counterintuitively, rangefinders are simpler, lighter, less expensive designs. This is because the light path coming into a rangefinder only needs to go one place (to the film plane). On an SLR, the light path has to shift from going to the viewfinder to going to the film plane. This requires a more complicated design with a swinging mirror and a prism.

Anyway, if you want to take close-up pictures of wildlife, then a rangefinder probably isn't right for you.

The Canon Rebel 2000 is a decent choice. The Nikon FM10 is a decent choice, though a used Nikon FM2 is much better. I'd also suggest a Sigma SA-5. That's probably the best value for the money on the SLR bottom end.

Let me know if you have further questions.
 
I own the rebel G 2000, it great and easy to use, and will put out a good quality picture. I bought it about a year ago for about 400 bucks. I carry it with my police scanner and lots of film, you never know when some action will happen. Its also great with a telephoto lens, I used it while on a cruise ship to get some good shots. Its a great camera for SLR beginners, because it is extremely simple to use and can even be used by more advanced photographers.
 
Thanks for the info everybody. I think I'm going to check out the Canon Rebel G 2000 and the Nikon FM10, and pick from one of those two. Thanks again.

Chris.
 
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