cheap travel nikon

[steven_oster]

I plan on doing some traveling to brazil and other places. I am in the market to

buy some kind of travel camera. I'm looking for a cheap 35mm that can be

expendible in the more dodgy kind of situations. my list of priorities are:

1. cheap ($50-100) 2. Ability to meter with AIS lenses 3. TTL flash. I

think a FE would be great, but it doesn't have TTL, an FE2 goes for $160 in good

condition. From what I've read the FG seems to be a good alternative , only

missing DOF preview and the shutter only goes to 1 sec? But a cable realease can

solve that. I'm thinking that series E lenses will make sense to pair with

this. I know that most are better than their reputation preceeds, but are any

the the series E generally known to be lousy? Any advice is appreciated.

[johnw63]

I'd say an FG would be a good choice. Small, and light. The little optional side grip makes it fit the hand better, if you can find one. Of course, it will meter with AI, and AIS lenses, and the standard AF ones too. The LED scale in the viewfinder makes low light metering easier as well.

[Jerry_]

Have you checked KEH in Atlanta?

 

 

 

You can get a N90 body ($109) or a N8008s ($115) body, either will run on four AAs. And for a sum of $49, you can pickup a AF 35-70mm f3.3~ lens. One zoom and you have a light load at a minimum investment.

[jeroen dommisse]

An EM is even smaller. Lots of fun, easy to use and pairs well with the 28/50/100 E-lenses. Those lenses are more than OK, by the way - especially that 100/2.8.

[Michael R Freeman]

I guess you need to decide if you want manual focus or autofocus.

 

If manual focus, then the FG is a great choice. These are capable and fun little bodies that can be had for bargain prices. The little finger/side grip that John mentions was standard, and most FG's you will find should still have it attached unless the previous owner used a motor drive. I never found the shutter speed range to be limiting, and if you are really in a pinch and need DOF preview, partially dismounting the lens will stop it down. FG's are very sensitive to weak batteries however (mirror locks up), so if you buy one the very first thing you should do is install a fresh pair of S76 or SR44 silver oxide button cells (skip the alkaline equivalents). Also, unless they have had recent service, any FG will almost certainly need new mirror foam and light seals. Every single one that I acquired recently did, but that's an easy DIY job.

 

The Series E lenses are actually pretty decent lenses, except perhaps the 35/2.5 (never used it, but have never seen anything good about it either). To the primes that Jeroen noted above, I would add the 75~150/3.5. Try to find the later "chrome ring" versions, which to me at least, appear to be of better construction than the earlier all black versions.

 

I would skip the EM (same size as the FG, since it's built on the same chassis). No manual control, meter needle can be flakey, known to often be unreliable, and not much cheaper than a nice FG. But some people like 'em.

 

If you want autofocus, Gerald has given you excellent suggestions.

[Two23]

My vote is for something like the N6006. It's a very capable camera and pretty solid. It's also small. It's meter is more advanced than th older models and it has TTL. Easy to find on eBay.

 

 

Kent in SD

[summitar]

Travel is hassle enough without worrying about film; go digital with a camera that can take four lithium AA batteries. I am familiar with canon oowershots and they would do the job very nicely.

[harvey_edelstein1]

801s/ 8008s same camera both have high eyepoint VF. N90s also excellent for the money. These have several metering modes plus spot and CW. Well made and built in MD. I wear eyeglasses and FE/FM series were nowhere near as good as my F3hp or F100 but the 801s/8008s and N90s are easy to see displays and focus very accurately. I think they have all the flash links to Sb25/ Sb26 era flashes feature sets.

[steve_larese1]

Check out the FM2 or FM2ns, still great, well-built manual cameras that will work at all speeds even without batteries (2 76s). It'll be quite serviceable after your trip, and makes the perfect film backup if you're digital.

 

 

Safe travels :)

[photojim]

I agree with the F90/N90 or F801/N8008 recommendation.

 

I just got an EX-rated N8008s from KEH for about $43. I added the multi-control back for $11.

 

It's not in perfect condition (it was BGN-grade) but it works great and the flaws are very minor. What a steal for the price. 30 seconds to 1/8000 plus B, very low shutter lag (a great reason to reject the above advice to get a digi P&S - they have horrid lag), depth-of-field preview... the works. If you want you can get a focusing screen that has focus aids to use with manual lenses, but I find manually focusing on the standard screen is easy enough.

 

The F601/N6006 was also recommended and while this is a good camera, it's really loud and uses (relatively-)expensive lithium block batteries instead of AAs. It does, however, have a built-in flash which is occasionally convenient.

[gary_watson]

For travel the teensy FG is near-perfect: fast-handling, inconspicuous, deadly accurate meter, good viewfinder, light, and practically free. They often come with the sweet little 50/1.8 E. Got a mint one last sumer with lens for $50. With an 100/2.8E, you've got a sleeper travel rig.No Nikon SLR body packs so many features into so small a package for so little money. A close second is the 801s/8008s--another recent bargain at $60 that's the "light" version of the N90s.