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Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » pardon me gentlemen, please enlighten me as to your thoughts on a camera...

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Sept. 2, 2010 7:55 a.m. 4cylndrfury SuperDork

Missus 4CF has a birthday coming up, and shes demonstrated a good dela of interest in photography. She took some courses in HS and a few in college, and has reasonable ground floor-esque knowledge about the hobby. Ive found this CL ad for a "student", but have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what the berk Im looking at. I know a few of the GRM staff know their keyster from a hole in the ground with regards to photo equipment, and probably a fair number of readers, so help enlighten a poor fool.

Reqs: $150 or less, either digital or film is ok, must be able to change lenses...other than that I havent many requirements.

A few others Ive found:

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/pho/1926923977.html
http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/pho/1926893910.html
http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/pho/1924851542.html
http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/pho/1910919498.html

Also, there is a chain in the area that apparently sells new AND used quality cameras, is it better to go to a retailer? Is it likely that if I get her a used specimen that its gonna need a 13mm x 10° depleted unobtainium unicorn-hair cogset from Uruguay a month down the road?

help
Sept. 2, 2010 8:04 a.m. BoxheadTim Dork

The two Minolta XG-1s are pretty decent cameras but no 'pro' cameras by any stretch of imagination. They do however make decent cameras provided they work OK (and aren't worth fixing if they don't). Minolta also had a bunch of very decent lenses out for these that can be picked up for very reasonable money. I'd recommend the 85/1.7 (very good lens), the 50/1.4 and 28/2.8 are pretty good, too. With the exception of the 85, they can all be had cheap, at least the last time I looked.
Sept. 2, 2010 8:07 a.m. Woody SuperDork

You might want to drop a note to David. He can probably help with this one.
Sept. 2, 2010 8:26 a.m. Wonkothesane Reader

If it were me, I would save up the difference in money to get a used dSLR camera... If you can find a decent one for $250-350 with a basic lense, that $100 or $200 difference you're looking at will be gone in NO TIME when you have to start buying and processing film. The cost of film has only gone up with scarcity.

We got a Nikon dSLR for christmas this year, and I've shot over 6000 shots with it thus far.. Maybe 1000 or 2 of them were worth keeping and way less than that were "good." I can't imagine what the costs would have been to learn this skill before digital!
Sept. 2, 2010 8:31 a.m. 1988RedT2 Reader

I think you really want to decide if you're going to shoot film or go digital before you buy the camera.

And if you do go digital, there aren't many (any?) options for interchangeable lenses and under $150.

I've had a Minolta X-700 and X-370N for years, and the camera I grab most often is my old Olympus Camedia digital.
Sept. 2, 2010 8:34 a.m. Wonkothesane Reader

Also, I should add that if you drop your requirements a bit, you can get a great dSLR-LIKE camera for that kinda money. It won't give you interchangeable lenses or anything, but honestly, most of the time she's probably not going to need to change lenses if she's just getting into the hobby. A Canon IS S2 or S3 or an Olympus UZ-5xx would be a great starter camera that should be able to be had well into your original range. Most of them have up to a "10x" zoom and the ability to do manual focusing and such that the dSLRs have, but it's all in one package.

Also, I found this on Pittsburghs' craigslist (searched for dslr), it's a Canon Rebel XS dSLR camera for $175 asking price: http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/ele/1931990992.html
Sept. 2, 2010 8:36 a.m. Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork

Film is a dead medium. Its too damn expensive to shoot. Digital all the way. You are not in the right price range for a decent SLR like others have said... and any good lens will exceed your budget by itself.

My wife is a pro with mindblowingly expensive full frame stuff so I'm not really familiar with what is available cheaply since when I need a pic I use my phone or ask Mrs Snorklewacker to take it. FWIW, the phone does a pretty good job... so $150 point-and-shoot would probably be pretty excellent for just screwing around these days.
Sept. 2, 2010 8:38 a.m. jrw1621 SuperDork

4cylndrfury wrote: ...and shes demonstrated a good deal of interest in photography.
Your wife interested in photographs, eh?
Know what I mean?
Nudge nudge. Snap snap. Grin grin, wink wink, say no more?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ona-RhLfRfc
Sept. 2, 2010 8:49 a.m. 4cylndrfury SuperDork

thanks for all the suggestions thus far - I know that, like most other things "spending just a lil more gets you a lot more..." but honestly, this is just a get you started gift. My first car was a turd, and Im slowly upgrading my equipment, same deal. I just want to get her something that show 2 things: A). I want her to have the tools to explore her hobby, and B). that I listen when she talks ( admittedly not something that I do too well ). I know Digital is the future, but her background is in film - if thats where she wants to go (i.e. purists and their non-progressive ideologies), then thats her call. But I cant see her being too upset if she ended up with a digital camera with a bow on top either, so I figure either way works.

Tell me more...
Sept. 2, 2010 8:55 a.m. Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork

4cylndrfury wrote:

thanks for all the suggestions thus far - I know that, like most other things "spending just a lil more gets you a lot more..." but honestly, this is just a get you started gift. My first car was a turd, and Im slowly upgrading my equipment, same deal. I just want to get her something that show 2 things: A). I want her to have the tools to explore her hobby, and B). that I listen when she talks ( admittedly not something that I do too well ). I know Digital is the future, but her background is in film - if thats where she wants to go (i.e. purists and their non-progressive ideologies), then thats her call. But I cant see her being too upset if she ended up with a digital camera with a bow on top either, so I figure either way works.

Tell me more...

You can get a manual, 35mm film SLR with a couple lenses at yard sales for $50. Probably pawn shops and ebay too. It will cost more to develop 1000 pics on film than to buy a new Digital SLR these days.
Sept. 2, 2010 9:03 a.m. 4cylndrfury SuperDork

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

4cylndrfury wrote:

thanks for all the suggestions thus far - I know that, like most other things "spending just a lil more gets you a lot more..." but honestly, this is just a get you started gift. My first car was a turd, and Im slowly upgrading my equipment, same deal. I just want to get her something that show 2 things: A). I want her to have the tools to explore her hobby, and B). that I listen when she talks ( admittedly not something that I do too well ). I know Digital is the future, but her background is in film - if thats where she wants to go (i.e. purists and their non-progressive ideologies), then thats her call. But I cant see her being too upset if she ended up with a digital camera with a bow on top either, so I figure either way works.

Tell me more...

You can get a manual, 35mm film SLR with a couple lenses at yard sales for $50. Probably pawn shops and ebay too. It will cost more to develop 1000 pics on film than to buy a new Digital SLR these days.

she has thoughts of turning an unused portion of the basement into a darkroom, I dont object. I think thats part of the allure for her
Sept. 2, 2010 9:03 a.m. Wonkothesane Reader

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: You can get a manual, 35mm film SLR with a couple lenses at yard sales for $50. Probably pawn shops and ebay too. It will cost more to develop 1000 pics on film than to buy a new Digital SLR these days.

That's what I was going for as well.

This isn't a "you get more by paying a bit more" analogy, this is a "Sure, you got the car for $200, but the gas it requires will run you $15 a gallon FOR THE REST OF ITS LIFE!" kinda thing. If you would have paid $400 for the car in this analogy but the gas was $2 a gallon, it wouldn't take too long to make up the difference.

I'd go for a dslr-like digital WAAAAYYYYYY before I considered the highest end film camera available.
Sept. 2, 2010 9:04 a.m. Wonkothesane Reader

Eh, in that case, go for it :)
Sept. 2, 2010 9:18 a.m. pete240z Dork

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

You can get a manual, 35mm film SLR with a couple lenses at yard sales for $50. Probably pawn shops and ebay too. It will cost more to develop 1000 pics on film than to buy a new Digital SLR these days.

I just sold two film Minolta XSi (one trash), two standard lenses, telephoto lense, filters, hoods on ebay for............$35.

I bought a Canon digital EOS Rebel to kick around. I shot a church youth outing last Saturday and took 350 pictures in 3 hours. I kept the best 25 and tossed the rest. Digital is the way to go.

Get a $125 camera and upgrade later should this prove to be a good hobby.
Sept. 2, 2010 9:20 a.m. 4cylndrfury SuperDork

http://dayton.craigslist.org/pho/1929622855.html ?
http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/pho/1921155228.html ?
Sept. 2, 2010 10:38 a.m. 1988RedT2 Reader

Darkroom, eh? I was making very nice 8 x 10 color prints in the kitchen of my apartment back in the (gulp) mid-1990's! My enlarger is sitting on a shelf in the garage. I suspect that the chemicals I have laying around someplace are past their expiration date.

I would love to set it up someplace and show the kids how to develop and print B & W film. It's pretty much like studying dinosaurs now.
Sept. 2, 2010 11:43 a.m. BoxheadTim Dork

I'm still shooting film, not as much as I used to but I do prefer colour transparencies or B&W to digital. That said, for the stuff that's more likely to end up on the Internet than the wall, I use a dSLR these days.

Mind you, I only develop the B&W film myself, then run it through a film scanner and print it digitally if I want to print it at all.
Sept. 2, 2010 12:16 p.m. dyintorace SuperDork

This thread has a lot of help in it. I ended up buying my wife the Nikon D40 and she's been thrilled with it. I would think you could find a used one near your price range.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/learn-me-digital-slrs/...
Sept. 2, 2010 12:38 p.m. neon4891 SuperDork

4cylndrfury wrote:

she has thoughts of turning an unused portion of the basement into a darkroom, I dont object. I think thats part of the allure for her

I would love to go back and do that stuff again, but I would shoot exsclusivly in B&W. That you can do on your own.

Color is an insane bag of worms to work with. JUST SAY NO!
Sept. 2, 2010 12:45 p.m. Jeff Dork

Their site is down right now, but KEH usually has some deals on used DSLR's. You can sometimes find the original Pentax *ist for around $150. Add a 50mm lens for around $50 and you'll be good to go.

I'd stay away from any point and shoot digitals at that price point for someone who has any interest in photography beyond family snaps.
Sept. 2, 2010 12:58 p.m. ansonivan HalfDork

I would say pick your side (Canon or Nikon) and buy an outdated dslr. I know 10D's can be had for $100 or less, they suck compared to current offerings but you can't kill them and with the right glass you can get great pictures. Buy better lenses as the deals come along and then make the jump to a newer body.

Emailed you my brothers contact info, he's in Columbus, buys/sells used camera gear and won't screw you over.
Sept. 2, 2010 1:25 p.m. David S. Wallens Editorial Director

If you're going to go film, why not go totally back to basics and pick up a Pentax K1000--manual focus, manual exposure, manual film winding. The only thing the battery does is power the light meter. The early ones have metal bodies, too. We used them in high school. You can pound nails with one.

For low-buck digital, I just picked up a Canon SD1300 IS and love it. I paid like $199 for it, but I have seen them for a few bucks less. (I pretty much bought mine the day it came out.)
Sept. 2, 2010 2:28 p.m. 4cylndrfury SuperDork

I honestly think my mother has a Pentax something or other, but I know enough about my wife's expectations to know she will want something a little more current (as current as 35mm is these days anyway).I think I may have found the low buck digital if I can negotiate down a little...What can people tell me about Cannon Rebels that doesnt pertain to Andre Agassi?

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/ele/1874783154.html
Sept. 2, 2010 2:49 p.m. ansonivan HalfDork

The rebel XT body feels cheap but the guts are fine, your results will depend on the lens.
Sept. 2, 2010 8:40 p.m. fastmiata Reader

Most pro's or educated amatuers want either Nikon or Canon(sort of like Ford vs Chevy). The aftermarket support is amazing too. My wife started out using Canon EOS film camera following me around with my racing and several years ago we moved to EOS digital. All the lenses were transferable and after some adjustments she has really adapted to digital. The best thing is the ability to take so many pictures and then delete those that dont work for you.

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