looking for a film point-and-shoot

[chris_markiewicz]

hello. i'm looking for a film point-and-shoot camera. (doesn't have to be a nikon.) something that's easier to

carry than my 35mm (f100). preferably something that gives me the option of some manual features (selecting the

aperture, etc). can someone recommend a few decent cameras that i might be able to find on the auction sites?

thanks

chris

[tom_barrance]

Ricoh GR1s - tiny, light, simple, tough, good TTL flash.

[photo5]

Nikon 35Ti. Amazing sharp lens, metering second to none, construction quality is the best. I shot slides with it on a vacation to Japan in November, 2000, and it outperformed my N70 every time. Loved that camera. The 28Ti is also excellent though priced a lot higher.

[tom_barrance]

Examples:

[ShunCheung]

Nikon stopped producing any film point and shoot several years ago. If you want any Nikon, it'll have to be used. (This thread was originally posted to the Nikon Forum, but I'll move it to Casual Photo Conversations.)

[chris_markiewicz]

right - will be used - that's why i'm buying on an auction site. also - post any options with a zoom lens...

thanks

chris

[GerrySiegel]

I still have one of the best ones made auto everything plus manual adjustments for film in my experience. The

Konica Autofocus. I wish I had not switched to digital in a way because it is so nicely made. I could sell it but

I rarely part with anything, one of those kind. If you think Leica with one 35 mm F2.0 lens that is the Hexar

optic and quality. I imagine one of these will last two lifetimes of use. Probably overkill for you, but this is

one extraordinary film camera. And it will also challenge your brain cells to figure out its " Da Vinci

Code-like" menu system. It is also a sweet looking Silver finish. You will be apart from the herd for sure

:-)Check out KEH and the auction places just for the hell of it.

[keith selmes]

My Hexar is black. Quality is excellent. Much cheaper than a comparable Leica kit. The controls are indeed weird,

but when you've got your head round it, its quick and easy to use, and quiet. Possibly not the right camera for

this query, but it had to be mentioned.

[gary_watson]

There's always the teensy Nikon FG with a 50/1.8E lens. A whole lotta camera in an almost p&s-sized package. Almost free on the big auction site.

[lex_jenkins]

If you want auto-everything with flash, besides the excellent suggestions already there's the Olympus Stylus Epic. The Minolta TC-1 seemed like a nifty little thing. I also liked the original Canon APS cassette P&S, but I'm pervy that way.

 

If you want more control and don't need built in flash, there are tons of great old compact rangefinders. I useta have a bunch of 'em but am down to just the Olympus 35 RC. Some of my favorite live theatre pix have been taken with old Canonets and the Oly.

[eajames]

Consider the Contax T3 - it has a fixed 35mm lens and manual override. A real gem!

[Rich B NYC]

Olympus XA. Aperture priority (no manual) and rangefinder focusing, albeit with a rather small finder. You can also adjust ISO manually so that does give some added flexability. Sold mine a few years back when I moved to digital. I believe that the lens was a 35mm f/2.8 but I do remember that it was plenty sharp. The clamshell design made it a great pocket camera. Stinks for flash though as only the proprietary Oly flashes can be used.

 

For auto-everything, the Olympus Stylus Epic 35mm f/2.8. It does have a spot meter of sorts for handling backlit situation. Another clamshell design. I preferred the basic black model to the "champagne" deluxe version with the databack.

[matthew_newton]

I have heard good things about the Olympus older rangefinders (such as the 35 RC). I have also heard great things about the Canonets. I am torn personally. I want to get a rangefinder as a backup to my SLR setup to load with B&W. I might go with a Canonet as the price is pretty low, I may also look at a 35-RD or SP instead. Just not sure. I like how compact the 35 RC is, but the lens speed seems a bit limiting to me at f/2.8 instead of f/1.7 like the Canonet and RD/SP.

[tomscott]

The Canonet GIII 17, Excellent Rangefinder for under $50 (on Ebay)

 

http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/film/data/1966-1975/1972_netg3-17.html?lang=us&categ=srs&page=net&p=1

[Andy Collins]

Chris--I agree with Lex; if you want a very small auto-everything camera with a superb f/2.8 lens then the

Olympus Stylus Epic is a wonderful choice. It easily fits in a pocket but delivers great photos consistently. If

you want something that gives you a bit more control, you might look at some of the classic rangefinders

mentioned. The Canon GIII QL17 is a fairly compact camera with Semi-auto and full-manual capabilities and an

incredible lens. I carry mine around a lot along with my DSLR/SLR rigs (along with a couple other choice classic

RFs). The Olympus 35RC is also a superb choice, an amazingly small camera with a fantastic 5-element lens; don't

be put off by the "slow" f/2.8--it's seldom a limiting factor-never has been for me. For true point & shoot RFs,

look at the Olympus 35DC or the Minolta Hi-Matic E. Both of these are fully automatic RFs that you only have to

focus and shoot. Both have some of the best lenses put on any rangefinder; the Oly with its 40mm f/1.7 F. Zuiko

lens, the same found on the highly sought after 35RD (the 35DC is basically an auto-everything 35RD) and the 40mm

f/1.7 Rokkor of the Minolta, the same found on the 7sII and, some say, the same lens used by Leica for the

Minolta/Leica (Minolta/Leitz) collaboration. If you want a compact zoom autofocus cameras, I'd suggest the Canon

Z180u, a

phenomenally small camera with a 38-180 zoom lens, real-time shutter setting (to avoid shutter lag), predictive

AF (for slower moving subjects, not sports), plus a few more features and a very nice lens with great metering.

Another compact AF zoom camera I found is the Olympus Superzoom 160, with what Olympus calls an "ED (Extra-low

Dispersion element) High Resolution Lens" that produces very sharp pictures . It's also very compact, about the

same size as the Canon but with fewer features--a great camera to use. It's kind of hard to find, but they come

up on the auction site every so often, so keep an eye out for it. Oh, one more rangefinder suggestion; the

Vivitar 35ES. This is a semi-automatic very compact RF with a stunning 40mm f/1.7 lens, the same one used on the

Minolta 7sII and Hi-Matic E; in fact this camera is a clone of the 7sII minus the full-manual capability. The

7sII, Revue 400SE, Vivitar 35ES, and a model sold by Prinz were all made by Cosina for each of the aforementioned

brands and as a result any one of these models produces outstanding results. I mention this camera because it's a

much cheaper way to experience the 7sII, (or all of it except the aperture ring), and there is one for auction on

the big auction site right now. They don't turn up very often so check it out while you can. Pardon all of my

rambling, but I hope it can be of at least a little help to you.

[chris_markiewicz]

thanks for the many suggestions. i've owned a canonet giii ql17 before. fine camera to be sure, but a bit bulky for what i'm looking for. from the suggestions i've seen so far, i'm looking at the p&s cameras - olympus stylus epic and the canon z180u. i guess what i'd really like is to have is for one of these cameras to optionally allow me to set the aperture (i almost always shoot the f100 i A mode it's just what i'm used to). but i'm guessing i'm not going to find that in a p&s (or it wouldn't be called a p&s).

 

thanks again!

chris

[thomas_hardy1]

I have this film Olympus P&S I used in the late 90's. It has shutter release lag that would easily rival the cheapest digi P&S

cameras.