Which Analog SLR to buy ?

Hi,

 

Bought my first camera on 3rd august this year. The camera model is

Canon powershot A95 5MP.

 

I was thinking of selling it and buying an Analog (film) SLR camera

with lenses. I believe the price difference is not much.(?)

 

I need advice on the model of analog SLR that will be good.

 

Long term plans are to buy a digital SLR , but still use the same

lenses of the analog SLR. Is this possible.?

 

I can't afford a digital SLR now.

 

What's is the advice.?

Your budget? What features are you looking for?

Well, budget is maxs at 32,000 Indian Rupees.

Let's say about 500 USD to 700 USD.

I recommend an older Canon EOS ElanII (may have a different name overseas). In the US these used bodies go for around $130US. Very capable advanced amatuer/semipro camera in my opinion. Put the rest of the money into good lenses and they will all work with Canon's latest DSLRs when you do get one.

Well, for Canon I'd recommend a an Elan 7 or better and for Nikon an N80 or better - at least an N75.

 

To be more sprecific than this you really need to decide what you are going to be shooting.

 

-A

Features?. duh!, er... I am interested in nature photography. birds, wildlife etc.

wide angle and telephoto lenses (300mm may be).

 

And yes, I have no idea.

Oversea's the model name for the Canon EOS ElanII should be EOS-5 or EOS-10.

 

 

Mike

In that case save money for the lenses and buy the cheapest body that will work for you. A Nikon N90s can be had for about $150.

 

When buying lenses - be aware that some Nikon bodies - N75, N80 etc will not meter with manual focus lenses, neither will their non-professional DSLRs like the D70.

Bill, I will have to see if Canon EOS ElanII is still available. What about Canon Elan 7 ,7E, 7N or 7NE.?.Which one is better.? Body only.

 

Mike , i couldn't locate EOS-5 or EOS-10.

 

Anupamda, what do you say to Nikon N80 SLR Camera with Sigma 28-80mm

and 70-300mm autofocus lens ?. Will they be compatible to Nikon DSLRs.

For the $$ you can't beat the Nikon F4. Tons of pro features, durable, and reliable. Good luck.

<i>what do you say to Nikon N80 SLR Camera with Sigma 28-80mm and 70-300mm autofocus lens</i>

<p>They will be compatible but unfortunately, I don't think much of the lenses. This is practically the exact setup I started with but it won't let you do much that you can't do with your Powershot. And looking at your photographs I'd say you are ready to go beyond the cheap zoom and could benefit from a seriously good SLR setup.

 

<p>So here's my suggestion - buy something like the N75 or N80 or if you have access to used equipment a F100 ($450) or N90s($150). For Canon an Elan 7N or better should be almost equivalent. With the rest of the money look for good, fast and sharp primes. Good fast f2.8 zooms still cost a lot of money and if budget is a concern I'd suggest getting primes rather than compromising quality. Start with a 50/1.8 normal lens for about $60 and then get a 100mm-ish macro/portrait lens. That is what I did - only I chose high quality manual lenses as they are really cheap. They did not meter with my N80 so I sold it to get the N90s. If you are planning on a DLSR however, I'd stick to AF lenses.

<p>

Finally, spend on a tripod. It's as important as your lenses and almost certainly more important than the camera. :-)

<p>

-Anupam

It's a 'film' (or 'chemical') SLR, not 'analog'.

 

And I would go for an Olympus OM1-4. They are pretty much the smallest 'good' SLRs, the

lenses are fantastic, and they are durable as heck.

 

Unless you plan on shooting Nikon DSLRs. I'm not sure if older Nikon lenses will mount and

meter on the sup-professional Nikon DSLRs, but if they do I'd get a Nikon FA.

Kalaga,

The Elan 7's are basically the same. Biggest difference is the "7e or 7Ne" have Eye Control Focus (ECF)which some people like and some don't.

 

The Elan 7's are the predecessors to the 7N's. Only differences are that the "N's" have some better external flash ETTL capabilities, something you would probably never notice or require. Other than that their differences are cosmetic in their appearances.

 

There are some reviews on all the camera bodies mentioned here on PN somewhere.

 

I have the Elan 7e and more recently have acquired the EOS 3. Both have the ECF and I personally could not live without it! You should be able to find some used 7's within your budget. The 7N's will probably be nominally higher as they are newer.

 

The EF 50mm, 1.8 is a fine prime lens for the $60-70.00 (US) and one that should probably be in every camera bag. A lot of bang for the buck!

 

Canon EF lens mounts encompass both their SLR film and digital image media.

 

I would think a Elan body, EF 50mm, 1.8, bag and a few accessories along with a stable tri-pod should fit within your budget. In US dollars I think it could all be had for less than $400.00 and be a very usable EOS system.

 

Happy hunting!

What do you want an SLR to do that your A95 won't do? Buying equipment is very tempting, but I think it's always useful to analyze what exactly you want it for.

If you want to learn get a used Pentax K1000 and a 50mm lens.

The Canon Elan bodies are great. I used to have the Elan IIe (the "e" stands for Eye Control Focus). The Elan II/IIe was replaced by the Elan 7/7e, which was replaced by the Elan 7N/7Ne. So if you are going to be buying new, it's going to be the Elan 7N/Ne. The main difference between the Elan 7/7e and 7N/Ne is that the "N" models have Canon's latest E-TTLII flash metering system, which is much improved over Canon's original E-TTL.

 

The Elan 7N has a great featureset. It has mirror lock up, accepts an electronic cable release-- get the inexpensive Canon clone remote that sells on ebay for only $8:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Remote-Switch-f-Canon-Digital-Rebel-XT-300D-33-RS-60E3_W0QQitemZ7549111094QQcategoryZ64345QQcmdZViewItem

 

--it accepts a vertical grip/battery pack, has FP high speed sync flash so you can sync the flash at any shutter speed, has wireless remote flash (with multiple Canon EX flashes), and will accept Nikon F, Leica R, Leica Visoflex, Contax/Zeiss (RTS), Pentax 42mm Screw Mount, and Olympus OM manual lenses using the appropriate adapters-- you can read about using non-Canon lenses on Canon EOS bodies here:

 

http://www.outbackphoto.com/the_bag/paul_lens_adapters/essay.html

 

These above options aren't available with a camera like the Nikon N80.

The Elan IIe is an EOS 50e internationally. The Elan 7e is an EOS 30. The EOS 5 & 10 are nice cameras but somewhat older. I personally like the EOS 5 the best, but they are all quite good cameras, and any Canon lenses you bought for them would work on a new Canon digital SLR as well.

I have a Nikon FM10 with a Nikon 45 f/2.8 Tessar pancake lens. It's a very nice package, fully manual, totals about $500. I find the 45 f/2.8 to be a much better lens than the 50 f/1.8; more color and contrast, equal to better resolution.

I could locate an EOS 30 (Elan 7e) for 433$ body + battery pack, 28-80mm for 100$ and 70-300mm for 240$. Good buy?.

 

I am not sure of the lenses. Any suggestions.?

Kalaga - the ElanII is readily available used in the USA, and yes I think it is called the EOS 50 overseas. I don't think the Elan 7 or 7N contain any major differences from the ElanII. The ElanII is a very capable camera. In fact for wedding work the dark red autofocus assist light on the ElnaII is much more pleasant than the bright white light on the newer bodies. The ElanII will be less expensive, leaving more money for lenses. As far as the "eye control" option "e" goes, I don't use it but it does work.

I second the Pentax K1000<br>

Then get a few high quality old manual primes from ebay for next to nothing.<br>

I got over 6 lenses from there including a 35mm F/2, 50mm F/1.4, 50mm F/4 macro, 135mm F/3.5, 200mm F/4, 300mm F/4. Combined they cost me around $350. The quality of these pentax primes are unbeatable, maybe only by leica. They are easily comparable to contax/zeiss, if not better than a few.

Venu,

 

I dont know much about the Canon's but Nikon N80 body (brand new) should be available for a little more than $200 after discount. check out at buydig.com etc. Thats a pretty decent camera with all the pro features one would need. regarding the Lenses, even I would suggest to go for 50mm (f1.8) prime along with other zoom lenses what ever you prefer.

 

Reagrds

Raju

My new Pentax *ist DS DSLR uses ALL of my old Pentax lenses. Great functionality, very economical.

I could locate the EOS 30 (Elan 7e) in my city and I got a good price on it.

 

Thank you friends. I truly appreciate the suggestions I got from you all.

 

Thanks to

 

Anupam Basu

Bill Akstens

Mike Cary

James C. Turner

Andrew Robertson

James (Jim) Johnson

Steve Dawson

Mike Mansor

Peter Phan

Jim Strutz

bernard korites

Mike H

Gunavardhan Raju

Jeff Polaski

 

Anupamda , I tried as you adviced, but could not locate any of the film SLR Nikons in Bangalore.

 

Bill, I got the EOS 30 (Elan 7e). No higher versions like 7N/7Ne were available.

 

James (Jim), I settled on EOS Elan 7e.

 

Peter Phan, I am very apprehensive about buying stuff from internet. So I tried to locate one in my city, Bangalore. Got the EOS Elan 7e.

 

Jim Strutz, thank you for that information. Evidently, the correct model name works. The same model is called by different names. I don't understand why?.Very amusing though.

 

Gunavardhan, as you know, you can bargain in India. And that's what I did exactly, with happy results.

 

RitzCamera has got very good prices, but they do not ship to India. Same with Amazon and others.

 

And yes, I also got the Canon 28-80mm lens.

 

So Canon EOS 30 Film SLR + 28-80mm lens in the end.