I feel like getting a 35mm camera. Yeah, people are moving away from film to digital but film does have one major advantage, it allows me to think 10 times before I take the shot, and when I do I would make sure its perfectly framed. Unlike digital cameras, each shot you take costs you money with film so, this will help me make sure the shot I take is the shot I want. With my previous digital camera I would go for a shoot and come back home with 200 pictures with maybe only 10 good ones. When I got my Nikon I told myself that from now on I would think about each shot before I take it and only take it if I know I would want it. In general this new way of shooting has worked, and I have changed my ways, but, I still am careless when it comes to framing. Hopefully getting a 35mm camera will help me get back down to the basics.
I have a few camera’s I am currently looking at:
Leica CM – fixed 40mm lens compact 35mm camera with titanium body and fully manual controls. Price is around $850
Leica Minilux – fixed 40mm lens compact 35mm camera with titanium body but it can’t go manual. Price is around $700
Nikon FM3A – A mechanical SLR (meaning it can work without batteries) with metal body, fully manual controls. Price is around $550 without lens.
Nikon FE2 – A mechanical SLR with metal body, fully manual controls but they stopped making it in the late 80s. Price is around $150 to $200 with lens on ebay.
I am currently leaning towards the FE2 since my parents had the older FE model. Its a very nice compact SLR and its very affordable. The Leica’s though are very tempting but just so damn expensive..
3 replies on “35mm Camera’s”
but leica’s are so retro. they really add to one’s collection. i’d get a leica if money wasn’t an issue.
speaking about cameras though, i am very close to making a purchase; a D70, but now im hearing about the D70s.. Worth the wait and the extra money?
the differences between the D70 and the D70s are very minimal. You can see a full comparisson here:
https://www.dpreview.com/news/0504/05042003nikond70s.asp#compared
There are some minor software enhancements on the D70s which will be made available for the D70 early next month via firmware upgrade.
If the price difference between the D70 and D70s is minimal then yea get the D70s, but if its a big difference get the D70.
I recently ordered a Leica CM, and while waiting for this to arrive picked up a Minilux off the shelf in my local Leica pushers shop.
Both are superb – the optical quality cannot be beaten, and overall operation including auto exposure works really well. I speak as a former user of Contax and Nikon equipment. Both use the same lens design, but the CM is supposed to have improved coatings.
Minilux is cheaper, but auto flash off setting is not stored after camera swith off. More seriously, some Miniluxes develop an E02 shutter error: if out of warranty then repairs are expensive, so buy new if at all.
The Leicas are eminently portable, and will likely see more use than a bulky SLR. I carry one always.
Hope this helps.