PnS Film Camera

<p>Hi,<br>

I need your suggestions on PnS film camera.<br>

It has to be one that has a prime wide lens (I don't want zoom)<br>

about 28 to 35mm, with descent optic quality.<br>

I will primarily use it for candid and/or street photo.</p>

<p>thank you :)<br>

Toha</p>

<p>Nikon Lite-Touch (28mm)</p>

<p>Olympus XA (35mm) lens is OK, but not stellar.</p>

<p>Olympus MJU-II (AKA Stylus Epic) Razor sharp 35mm, AF, rainproof.</p>

The Ricoh GR1 series and the Nikon 28Ti and 35Ti also spring to mind.

<p>Yashica T4 or T5 ('T4-super' in the US). Both have a 35mm Zeiss Tessar. The T5/T4-super adds weatherproofing and a neat little waist-level finder on the top which might be useful for candids.</p>

<p>Hi Toha,<br>

I ( Maciek Stankiewicz) just answered similar question yesterday:<br>

<a href="00YhEv">http://www.photo.net/modern-film-cameras-forum/00YhEv</a><br>

<strong> I would go for Nikon Lite Touch AF600, also consider more advanced Ricoh GR cameras.</strong><br>

And remember: Olympus Stylus Epic provide much better image quality than famous XA<br>

which is for me a marvel of camera engineering but nothing special optically.<br>

...unless You like Vigneting, then XA is for You :) The good thing is that it's quiet.<br>

As i Mentioned go for <strong>Nikon Lite Touch AF600</strong><br>

<strong> But there is one more thing: Longest shutter speed.</strong><br>

Probably You would need to freeze the action and don't want camera to open shutter for full 1 second etc... <strong> Look for camera that have shutter priority.</strong><br>

<strong> Canonet 28 </strong>is inexpensive, have sharp 40mm f2.8 lens and longest shutter speed is 1/30.<br>

<strong> So Canonet 28</strong> with good iso 400 or 800 film would be the smart choice :) <br>

M. S.</p>

<p>Olympus MJU II (Stylus Epic in the USA) would be my vote. The f2.8 lens is superb. Found mine in mint condition at Goodwill for $8. Keeping it.</p>

<p>For an auto-everything compact camera the Olympus Stylus Epic/MJU II can't be beat. However, for street shooting you may want manual focus capability to use zone and/or hyperfocal focus techniques. A fixed lens rangefinder (e.g. Canonet QL17) would work well or another practical solution is a compact late model plastic 35mm auto-focus SLR (e.g. Canon Rebel) with 35/2 or similar lens. The latest consumer film SLR cameras are surprisingly compact.</p>

<p>Canon Rebel not recommended, too big and too noisy. Street shooting should be surreptitious and quiet. And using an SLR makes you get too much attention. Shooting with a small point and shoot is better, nobody will bat an eye if someone is using one of those.</p>

<p>I have both the Oly Stylus Epic and the XA. The Stylus doesn't leave the film leader out after rewinding, which is a PITA, because I develop my own B&W films. I have found the lenses (35mm, f/2.8) on either to be quite similar.</p>

 

<p>thank you for the responses guys!<br>

I've been shooting street photo with both d/slr, and I don't like it. it's too big and get too much attention.<br>

and then I turned to pns digicam, but with dissapointing result. bad dynamic range, terrible noise, no viewfinder (I need it sometimes), and slow AF with live view.<br>

so now I want to try 35mm pns. I'll take look at the local market and ebay.</p>

<p>have a great day everybody :)<br>

Toha</p>

 

<p>Don't expect much in the way of a viewfinder and AF capabilities with a point-and-shoot camera. The Olympus Stylus Epic/MJU II isn't exactly quiet either ... the film advance is quite loud and you will find the same with most fully automatic point-and-shoot cameras. The most quiet and compact of the bunch is the Olympus XA as it has manual film advance and manual focus.</p>

<p>It is easy to hold a Stylus Epic upside down in your hand and press the shutter for shooting from the hip undetected. The shutter pressure, weight, and size make it easy to use this technique and get sharp photos. Also, in bright light and fast film the Stylus Epic can reach a top shutter speed of 1/1000 second.</p>

<p>I keep wanting something sexy like a Minolta TC-1, Ricoh GR1, maybe Nikon 28Ti or 35Ti.</p>

<p>And I keep not needing one.</p>

<p>After almost 20 years I'm still getting all I need from the same Olympus XA3. Even with guesstimating zone focusing and wide apertures I manage to get most pix in acceptable focus. Simple, reliable, and I can use it for sneaky snaps at the theater, ballet or opera without disturbing anyone. It's really quiet.</p>

<p>I like my XA, but I really prefer a compact SLR. I would be tempted by an Olympus OM4 if I didn't have too many cameras already. </p>

<p>The stylus epic is great, and the XA is very quiet. Of the two I like stylus epic more, as it is tiny, it has a flash, it shoots faster, and the lens is better. My one serious gripe with the stylus epic is that it will flash unless you take the time to turn the flash off. That said, you can pull a stylus epic from your pocket, shoot a photo in any light, and put it back into your pocket in something like two seconds. If you zone focus an XA you can likely do the same thing in good light, but your chances of accidentally hitting the shutter at the wrong time are not zero.</p>

<p>Why not a Konica s3?</p>

<p>I've gotten into the same thinking lately, but it's not the first time. I seem to go back and forth regarding compact film cameras vs compact digitals. No question for me that I prefer the look the little 35mm film shooters offer. On the other hand I seem to have lost the discipline and patience required to shoot film having transitioned to digital around 1999. And the cost associated certainly precludes the sort of reckless abandon and experimentation that shooting digital allows.<br>

But as I say I'm in another film cycle again, and I just discovered some sleeper cameras from the 80's. Early AF point and shoots from Ricoh, with killer lenses. I happened on one in a casual conversation with a coworker, who mentioned he thought he had a Ricoh somewhere in his garage. Turns out to be a TF-500, which is a dual lens design featuring a 35mm f/2.8 lens and a 70mm f/5.6 "tele" lens. I gave him $10.00 for it. A rather homely looking camera, it has since grown on me because the 35mm lens is quite sharp. I believe it is a 4 element design. Particularly nice however is the speed at which this thing focuses and shoots. It has a cover over the viewfinder window that slides out of the way and opens the lens cover and the camera is ready to shoot immediately. The camera is always on! No on/off switch or waiting for a motorized lens to turtle its way out. Not that it is quiet.. far from it. Definitely not a stealth camera. <br>

Since getting the TF-500, some web research then led me to a couple of other Ricohs, the FF series. I just got an FF-3af with a 5 element/5 group 35mm f/3.2 lens that is really sweet and sharp. The camera is much nicer looking than the TF-500 (which looks a little like a bumper car) and it is smaller, although not shirt pocket, but rather jacket or loose pants/ cargo pants small. Also very quick to bring into use.<br>

The rolls I've run through these two have been more than satisfactory, so I'm looking forward to receiving the FF-90. The FF-90 features a similar design as the FF-3af, but features another 35mm, 5 element/5group lens, but f/2.8 instead of f/3.2. All reports I've found have simply raved about the lens on this camera and judging from what I've gotten from the FF-3af, I don't doubt it.<br>

These cameras might be worth you looking for. They are faster to operate than the later point and shoots from the 90's like the Stylus Epic, and T4, because there is no motorized lens or little mode buttons to deal with. Just open up the lens cover and shoot. If you google these models you can find some good info. They are very inexpensive to buy, quite well built, fast and feature great lenses. The downside is the motor film advance is quite noisy and keeps them from being budget Hexar AFs.. although the IQ they are capable of might qualify. And they are not tiny cams.<br>

As for Epic and T4 type cameras, I've got a Ricoh R1e that is very slim and pocketable, the same size and shape as the GR1. It has a 4element 30mm f/3.5 lens, and an especially nice bright line viewfinder, all in a package that will easily fit in any pocket. I've been very pleased with results from this camera. And another one is the Rollei Prego 30, which also has a 30mm f/3.5 lens, but a triplet design, also very sharp. The Prego 30 is thicker than the R1, and also has a simple "realfinder" type of window, like the Stylus Epic. Not nearly as nice a viewfinder as the R1e. Both very inexpensive if you can find them. The R1e viewfinder is awesome.<br>

Hope these suggestions are useful to you. </p>

<p>hi all,<br>

I've aqcuired a minolta riva mini from ebay. it's must be on the way to me now.<br>

also eyeing on some others like nikon lite touch, olympus xa, and the recently Dean suggested ricoh 3af. I will try several models and find out which one suits me the best.<br>

thank you so much :)</p>

<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/pentaxespiomini/">Pentax Espio Mini aka UC-1</a>. Tiny, 32mm f/3.5. Viewfinder is tiny too but has kind of nifty automatic LCD parallax indication by darkening top and right edges as it focuses closer. Silver version is much easier/cheaper to find than black. Small annoyance that is somewhat common on cameras like this is that every time camera is turned off the flash mode resets to 'auto'.</p>

<p>I recently picked up a matched pair of Olympus XAs for $20 (one has a fault though). I've taken the working one for a spin, I guess I'm still learning how to get the best out of it. Yes it's quiet, yes the lens is sharp, or sharp stopped down (I only took a few shots at mid-day with 400 ASA film). </p>

<p>Down side: it's easy to take a photo unexpectedly because the shutter button is electric and quite sensitive. So you pick up your tiny camera and accidentally put a finger in the wrong place, you've just wasted a frame. Also, winding mechanism leaves to be desired (wheel you turn with your thumb). Flash: dedicated flash only, not very powerful and only has 100 and 400 ASA settings. </p>

<p>Pluses: looks really cool, or it does to me. Everyone thinks it's a toy. Zone focusing should be intuitive once you get a feel for how far to move the lever under the lens. Can be used upside down or vertically, one-handed, with one finger on the shutter button and your thumb on the focus lever. Looks like you're just carrying it carelessly.</p>

<p>I think I'm going to bring it along next time I'm walking the streets having fun, we'll see just how easy it is to sneak some shots of women's..., er..., do candid portraits. </p>