Birthday Gift - Film Camera (I know nothing about cameras and film!)

[kristen_brownell]

<p>Hey everyone!<br>

I could really use some help, and fast. My little sister is a new photographer. Just graduated with her Photography degree and has so many dreams. She just turned 22 and she's mentioned before that she wanted an old plastic film camera (like how mom used to have). Something to throw in her purse that isn't fragile like her expensive film camera. Something she could take camping or walking around downtown, etc. If I remember my moms old camera, it was simple, plastic, had a flash, and could be reloaded with film. <br>

Please help! I know nothing about camera's or film at all and would appreciate any advice you have on brand name, type, what kind of film, what brand of film, etc.<br>

Thank you!<br>

Kristen</p>

[SCL]

<p>There are a lot of old plastic film cameras....but film for many of them is no longer made and many were fairly unreliable anyway. Ones using APS film were plentiful and can be picked up for a song at many charity shops, also sold online at places like Ebay, but unless you process your own film, it is very difficult to find a processor, and if you can, it is very expensive. There are a few subminiature 35mm film cameras....some quite good, such as the Olympus Stylus line (XA etc)., which can be found plentifully, and a step up would be something like the Minox 35 series. If you so a search on either of these two mentioned ones...yuo can begin to see some of the possibilities.</p>

[henryp]

<p>She might love a <a href="/beginner-photography-questions-forum/bhpho.to/1G9L0HW%20">Holga</a>. The 120N is a real cult classic.</p>

<p>Henry Posner<br /><strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>One possibility here is point and shoot 35 mm. cameras, some of which are now available for almost nothing at thrift stores and the like, but many of which were actually very good. Canon, Olympus, Minolta and Nikon cameras can often be found for almost nothing. One of the things I've seen abundantly are Olympus Stylus zooms. They require a somewhat expensive lithium battery, but if they work at all they are excellent little cameras. Some of the Minoltas, a bit larger, work very well, and take standard AA batteries. There was a family of these that had a lens that switched from 35 to 50 millimeter, with an underwater variant as well. They make very good pictures. So does the Nikon 35 AF, which also came with an underwater variant that is nearly bombproof. Some of these have good sharp lenses and accurate exposure meters, and the quality of pictures may surprise you. Most of the ones you'll find have built in lens covers, and are quite rugged.</p>

<p>In fact, some of these are so cheap at places like Good Will that you could probably surprise her with a bundle of them. </p>

[jon_shumpert2]

<p>My favorite small 35mm camera is the Olympus stylus epic. They made some with zoom lenses, but mine has a fixed focal length. It is compact, but is capable of taking very good photos. Info on it can be found at: http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_archived_product_details.asp?fl=&id=291</p>

[Mark Z]

<p>Kristen, it sounds like your sister has a film camera already and wants something small, lightweight, rugged, and cheap. Stephen and Matthew both mentioned the Stylus cameras, which would fit the bill. If she currently shoots 35mm, I'd stick with that format (which the Stylus is). The Holga camera is not very compact, and it takes 120 film, so it's a different format and it's probably not small enough to toss in a purse. The B&H web site describes the Holga as a toy camera. Unless she's mentioned it specifically, I'd stay clear of it.<br>

<br />Another thing she might appreciate along with a camera is some film. B&H has a wide variety of 35mm film at fair prices. It would be hard to go wrong with some 36-exposure rolls of 400 ISO film.</p>

[keith selmes]

<p>My Olympus AF compact was a Superzoom 800 with a 38-80 lens.<br>

The Stylus Epic looks similar, but the superzoom takes alkaline batteries, ordinary AAA type.<br>

Anyway, I expect these Epic and Superzooms are the type of 35mm camera she wants.<br>

Manual here, http://www.olympusamerica.com/files/oima_cckb/sup_800s.pdf<br>

There are plenty on Ebay at low prices.</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>"My favorite small 35mm camera is the Olympus stylus epic. They made some with zoom lenses, but mine has a fixed focal length."<br /><br />Olympus Stylus was a line of 35mm point and shoot cameras made by Olympus. Most had zoom lenses. The Olympus Stylus Epic is a specfic model in that line. It had a fixed 35mm 2.8 autofocus lens rather than a zoom. The Epic had a great reputation in its day as "the professional's point and shoot." The lens is very sharp, focuses down to about a foot, very accurate metering, built-in flash and the camera has some features like spot metering. I've been very happy with mine.<br /><br />The trick here is that "an old plastic film camera (like how mom used to have)" tells us absolutely nothing. It could mean anything from a 127 box camera to a 126 Instamatic to a 35mm point and shoot or just about anything plastic.<br /><br />The risk here is that what you buy may be nothing at all like what she wants. Serious photographers are very picky about what they want. I don't want to discourage you from getting your sister a nice gift. But short of going shopping with her and offering to pay for what she picks out, trying to buy a camera for a photographer is a huge crapshoot.</p>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Here's a different idea, Kristen. Spring for a small, high quality classic rangefinder camera like the Konica Auto S3. It's very compact and light but a full fledged 35mm rangefinder camera, that you focus manually, but has manual and auto exposure settings. The build quality is top notch so they don't come cheap like <a href="https://www.cameraquest.com/kons3.htm">THIS</a> one. What a gift that would make!</p>

<p>Another high-end idea is the tiny Rollei 35 like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollei_35">THIS</a> one. It's a "viewfinder" 35mm camera that you focus by the distance scale on the lens. But what a lens! It collapses down into the precision body for an oh-so-compact package. It's heirloom quality to last a lifetime.</p>

<p>These little cameras are not cheap but take amazing images and is something to be cherished. Add a Pro-Pack (5-rolls) of Kodak Portra 400 35mm 36exp color neg film and she will have a gift of a lifetime.</p>

[User_2000406]

<p>The key here is to stick with cameras that take 35mm film, which is still available and can still be processed, either or both by mail order if there are no local sources in your area. If you don't know what kind of film the camera takes you can always look it up online before making a purchase decision. </p>

<p>Don't get confused between the essential film size of 35mm, and the lens which may be labeled 35mm or some other number (which is actually something called the focal length which you don't need to worry about in this case). The two are independent for your current purposes. </p>

[glen_h]

<p>There are cheap plastic 35mm cameras, maybe similar lens quality to the usual box camera or bottom of the line instamatic from years ago. They might be hard to find, as many might get thrown away.<br>

I have one that has four lenses with a rotary shutter, such that it takes four pictures with delays, but otherwise is cheap plastic. About like:<br>

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/594711-REG/Lomography_253_ActionSampler_Fixed_Focus_4_Lens.html#!<br>

but I got it for a lot less than $30.</p>

<p>There are also preloaded disposable cameras of about the same quality.</p>

<p>But better quality point-and-shoot cameras, maybe with autofocus and such, aren't all that expensive at thrift stores, and maybe easier to find. They are usually fairly small and light.</p>

<p>But you can also get quality 35mm film SLRs down to $10 or so from thrift shops. </p>