beginner's question about buying an old 35mm slr

[mike_smith54]

I'm looking to purchase an old slr and can't decide between the Pentax k1000,

nikon fe, or the canon ae-1... any suggestions or recommendations?

[yann1]

A Nikon fe is a nice camera, but you must use batteries, pentax K1000 is said to be one of the greatest slr... a canon AE-1 should be the cheapest of the three... You decide.

[mike_earussi1]

Because you're buying used look for condition over model or brand, as long as it has the features you want. Also remember that whatever old Nikon or Pentax lenses you buy can be used on their digital bodies should you decide later on to buy one, though in manual mode only, but not the Canon.

[colin carron]

I suggest the Nikon FM2, FM2n or FM3A. It is a rugged fully mechanical camera (batteuies only for the meter). This is helpful if you ever need a repair. The more automatic functions a camera has the more likely it is that spares are no longer available. Although I actually prefer the handling of the FE2 but would go for the FM2 these days as the electronics of the FE2 are more difficult to get fixed.

 

I would go for Nikon as the range of available AI and AIS lenses is vast. My second choice would be the Pentax K1000 for the same reasons as above but I think Nikon lenses are marginally better than Pentax.

[nancy s.]

There is another consideration you need to make... As you enter photography, what system will you want to be with in a few years? I am Nikon and so I have a collection of Nikon lenses that work on Nikon lens mounts. If you go with Pentax or Canon you will likely be buying more lenses in the future, so you may want to consider whose you are going to buy.

 

That being said, I would recommend the Nikon FM. It is mechanical and synchs with the flash up to 1/125 shutter speed. I have taken a LOT of photos with my FM. It is a good camera. This was my first serious camera.. tho I have shot the K1000 and find no defects with it.

[rob_sato]

Pentax K1000, great to learn with,full mechanical reliablity but no auto modes, no depth of field preview. Can possibly limit expansion. No motor drives, low flash sync (1/60 second). Great collection of K-mount lenses from tons of different companies and even screw mount lenses with k adapter.

Nikon FE. Good compatibility with much older Non Ai (cheap ) manual focus Nikon Lenses as well as more modern ones. Depth of field preview. Full manual override as well as motor drive (MD-12 at 3.5 frames per second), no mechanical backup (except flash sync and bulb). So so flash sync.

Canon AE 1, auto exposure , easy to use, full manual override. Large range of accessories. Dead end system. The Canon manual focus line has NO compatibility with the autofocus/digital line of Canon lenses. No mechanical backup, not even flash sync or bulb.

So so flash sync.

I would put the Nikon FE first, the Pentax K1000 second and the AE1 third in terms of desirability as a first SLR.

[William Kahn]

The Olympus OM-1 is another good camera to start with. It's about in the same class as the K-1000.

[fotch]

I have owned all three and the only one that I still have (and use) is the Nikon FE. I have other Nikon bodies as well, my favorite is the F3.

 

IMHO, Nikon is the best built, best thought out SLR out of Japan.

 

Good Luck.

[walter_degroot]

You would be wise to get a Nikon, but if for some reason you decide on a pentax k1000, it is so popular that it is priced much higher than other , sometimes better pentax cameras.

[Mike D]

I have an FE which is a real jewel of a camera. It fits all my Nikon lenses including a large selection of Nippon Kogaku lenses which are fairly decent lenses and dirt cheap.

[don_e]

Why those three? I'll assume they're available for you to play with, and that there are no issues with matching your choice to lenses and other kit, and that they are all clean and working.

 

The key to selecting a mechanical slr is the combination of weight, balance and bulk I'll call 'heft'. Mount the lens that will be the most used (this will not be a zoom). Which camera falls most easily to shooting position? Pick it up from a table or from your shoulder, confirm shutter, aperture, scale focus, complete the sweep putting the viewfinder to your eye, frame, adjust focus, release shutter, return camera to original position.

 

Whichever one completes this circuit smoothly without you having to fumble about, without having to grip the body tightly with your right hand, the one that feels balanced in your hand, is the one to buy.

[steven_clark]

Keep in mind that while the lenses for an AE-1 can't be used on a digital, everybody else know that fact and as a result they are dirt cheap.

[JDMvW]

If you want a modern camera, but with film, consider one of the older model Canon EOS cameras. The very best of them are pretty expensive even now, but there are a number of very capable models that sell for practically nothing. Consider, for example, the Canon 650 (the first EOS camera) or its 'professional' variant, the Canon EOS 620. Both of these sell typically for as low as $30 for a body. The lenses, of course, are the same as those that work on the latest Canon EOS digital cameras. In fact, sometimes, people sell a camera and lens combination for less than the value of the lens alone. I've got several of these as film back ups for digital.

If you go Nikon, be sure that you get only later AIS models, since earlier lenses are not compatible with many Nikon digital cameras (see the list at http://www.nikonlinks.com/unklbil/bodylens.htm). The claims made for complete Nikon compatibility over the years are somewhat overstated, as many of us who had non-AIS lenses discovered. You can, of course, use your old Nikon lenses manually on most Canon cameras (film and digital) with a cheap adapter. About the only kind of lens that doesn't work well on a Canon EOS camera are the older Canon FD lenses--go figure! As noted above, they are quite cheap for that reason.<div></div>

[ben_hutcherson]

AE-1s are fine cameras, however I wouldn't own one as my main camera.

 

I would suggest, rather, considering either an FTb or the older, mechanical F-1. Neither should be too terribly expensive, with the F-1 costing probably about as much as a decent condition K1000. Unlike the K1000, though, you get a full pro-level body with interchangeable screens, prisms, and prisms. Plus, you also get a 1/2000 top shutter speed, self timer, mirror lock up, and a meter off switch so that you don't run down the battery if you forget to cap the lens.

 

FD lenses are excellent, very cheap, and plentiful. I paid $225 for a Canon 400mm 4.5 with perfect glass and near perfect barrel. The 400mm 4.5 is built like an L lens(although it isn't one) and contains low dispersion glass for excellent CA control and excellent sharpness. In short, it's an astounding lens for a bargain-basement price.

[Jochen_S]

I'm a Pentax fan, but the K100s seem a bit overrated among beginners, and the days of dirtcheap old Pentax glass seem to be over too.

 

Why not a old manual focus Minolta? - Their lenses seem to be the cheapest by far and maybe Seagul x300 bodies or at least Braun bodies in that mount are still made somewhere in China.

 

I'd keep my hands away from 20+ year old battery dependent beaters.

[hjoseph7]

Pentax K1000 cameras are hard to load, believe me. Nikon FM2 or FE2 are much easier to load plus you can get better lenses.

[oceanphysics]

The K1000 is completely outclassed by either of the others, and in fact by most other SLR's you could buy. The main virtue, to the the extent it had any, was that it was cheap, but in the current era of cheap film SLR's it's pointless.

[les_kasen]

I've had in the past 2 Canon Ae-1 cameras. The first one, purchased in 1982 was stolen out of my car after many years of heavy use. It went thru a lot of use and held up extremely well. So, I went out and bought another one. It held up just as well. I finally realized that I needed auto focus, because my eyes weren't what they once were. So I went to Canon auto focus cameras. Iv'e now gone digital, Canon still, but I hate to get rid of my trusty Ae-1. If you are looking for a 35mm SLR, for the money that they go for now, you can't go wrong with the Canon Ae-1. Les

[jcuknz]

>>Pentax K1000, no depth of field preview.<<

While it doesn't have a DoF button like a DSLR you get the DoF by changing the lens from Auto to Manual, or in the case of the 35mm by pressing the lever on the side of the lens.

 

In Auto the lens closes down to the pre-detirmined aperture as you press the trigger. In manual it stays at the f/stop you have choosen.

 

I am suprised that the K1000 is highly rated by some, I used one at the end of my film days, largely with the Takumar f/1.4, but assumed that at least Nikon was much better from what I had seen of others work .. so I went for Nikon in digital.