Great film cameras you always meant to try but never got around to it.

I thought about the Canon T90, but didn't bite. I wish I would have bought a Canon EOS film camera.

 

1. The Canon T-90 is one of the best film cameras ever made. It's like a EOS camera without AF, only better. Unfortunately it has a sticky magnet problem that makes it hard to fix and hard to keep working.
    
   
2. There are LOTS of film EOS cameras and not the least of them is the EOS-1 family and the EOS-3. Prices are a little higher than the usual EOS cameras. The latter are often available, sometimes with a lens, for less than US$40.
   

Same problem with the Contax RTS cameras. Wonderful cameras with a marvelous user interface ... and fragile electronics for which no spare parts are available ... anywhere. :( I still have 2 working -- an RTS III (bought from KEH used in the old days) and an Aria (bought new which was pretty unusual for me). The Aria seems to be much more durable. The RTS III had a problem that sidelined it for years till my former Yashica tech tracked down a part in Japan. But it sure is GREAT! A bit heavy in a way that the even more troubleprone RTS I was not -- especially if you power it with 6 AA cells. Heck it even shoots Infrared film with no problems. Note that ALL the problems I've had with RTS cameras were related to the meter -- ALL of them. The problem is different, but it's always related to the in camera display and the metering. Sorry, got me going there.:mad:

 

I've been pretty lucky to shoot with a lot of great film cameras at one time or another, at least in 35mm.

 

No more nearby camera stores with old dusty shelves that I could go to fondle those high priced (or just interesting) cameras. No more places to find that old Leica filter sitting in a box full of filters and feel like you struck gold. Now you have to live in New York.

1. The Canon T-90 is one of the best film cameras ever made. It's like a EOS camera without AF, only better. Unfortunately it has a sticky magnet problem that makes it hard to fix and hard to keep working.
    
   
2. There are LOTS of film EOS cameras and not the least of them is the EOS-1 family and the EOS-3. Prices are a little higher than the usual EOS cameras. The latter are often available, sometimes with a lens, for less than US$40.
   

Thank you for that info, JDMvW. Who knows, with the release of new Ektachrome I may look into getting an EOS film camera. Nothing quite like viewing slides on the screen, or blank wall since I don't have a screen anymore.

The Canon EOS 1, IN, and 1V (View by series - Canon Camera Museum) are all good. The 1 and 1N are nowadays down to the multiple pizza-level of cost, but the 1V (the last Canon film SLR) can still go for up to hundreds of dollars (see "sold" listing on eBay)

 

Since the lenses can be used on digital EOS cameras, they are what you'd pay for a new or used current model). The exceptions are the low=priced "kit" lenses, which are still pretty decent optically.

The EOS 3 can sell for $100-200, sometimes with a lens.

 

The EF-S lenses will only work on the later APS-C cameras, BTW.

Nikon FM-3A + 50/1.2 ai-s (in 2002)

Olympus OM-3Ti (earlier, in 1996)

 

I used to consider them the best in the world.

One of the Speed Graphic cameras. Maybe not 4x5, but one of the smaller MF bodies.

All those, older, Hollywood movies i saw as a kid.....all of the Real Photographers used a Graflex of one kind or another. :)

Nikon SP

Leica IIIg

Mamiya 7 (especially for weddings)

4x5 Speed Graphic (my father had a German clone)

I've had all the great cameras I wanted to try. My favorite is Nikon's F3HP.

Mamiya 7

Thank you for that info, JDMvW. Who knows, with the release of new Ektachrome I may look into getting an EOS film camera. Nothing quite like viewing slides on the screen, or blank wall since I don't have a screen anymore.

 

In my college days, I would show slides in the dorm with a sheet taped to the wall. The wall was otherwise dark brown.

In my college days, I would show slides in the dorm with a sheet taped to the wall. The wall was otherwise dark brown.

That would have been rough for white balance!

Nikon F4..... was a dream in my college days (1994 or so).....

Too many years ago I had a camera catalogue which I used to pore over enviously, with no hope of buying any of the contents. The very top model, I think it was £300, by far the most expensive, was the Bertram Camera. Edited November 9, 2018 by John Seaman

In no particular order:

Arca Swiss Discovery, M6 (own a M3 tho), OM2n, Canon F1N, Nikon F & 3HP, Minolta SRT/XD/700, ROLLEI 6008p.

There's just as many if not more lenses I would love to try.

Any Hasselblad, Leica SL2, Contax RTS and Contax G2 come to mind.