Best 35m/m SLR Camera

J

jchubb

Joined
Sep 14, 2000
Messages
224
Hello, Just wondering which of the camera brands Nikon, Canon, Lieca, Contax the Forumites prefer for general use.?? I like the Nikon F5 and the Nikon F100, they are great!!
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Alot of people prefer the Canon system though for the lenses and other options. The Nikon lenses with the ED glass are hard to beat though.
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Later, JC

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Jonathan Chubb
 
I'll stick with my old Olympus OM-1 OM-2 system. I've used them for so long that the controls that even the full manual OM-1 works like it was completely automatic.

The camera body is important, but it is really an accessory for the lens system.


Mike
 
As usual, I'm not a member of the popular gear club when it comes to my camera. I use a Minolta, and love it. They've got all the lenses I want (I don't have them all because they cost a lot of money ;) and the body is very well done- - - I tested it's fully automatic settings on a roll and it came out looking fabulous.

 
I also use Minolta equipment...An "X-700" manual focus body (with a Motordrive 1 installed), and a "HTsi Plus" auto focus body.
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I use Minolta and Sigma lenses. (My favorite lens is my MF Sigma 50-200mm APO Zoom...That sucker is SHARP!).
I use dedicated Minolta flash units with both, with EXCELLENT results.

It DOES suck that the AF and MF lenses are NOT interchangeable between the two Minolta cameras, 'tho, as they use different lens-mounts...
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Dann Fassnacht
Aberdeen, WA
glockman99@hotmail.com
ICQ# 53675663



[This message has been edited by glockman99 (edited 04-28-2001).]
 
I mostly use a Nikon F100.

Nikon makes the sturdiest and most reliable camera bodies with the most ergonomic designs, Canon has the most advanced technology, Leica has the best lenses, Sigma gives you the most for the money, and so on. What's right for you depends on your wants and needs.

Even though I may have preferences, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Minolta, Leica, Sigma, Pentax, Contax, and several others all make excellent systems which should be quite satisfying for the majority of users. Most professionals choose either Nikon or Canon because these systems have more lens choices available than all of the others.

By the way, here are a couple of examples of my photography:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=104968&size=lg

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=141256&size=lg
 
i myself have a pentax zx-50, and use it for high school sports photography. it has done very well for me.
the best camera?
i dont know.
i do know that the Nikon F5 and F100 are great,but a photographer from the Times here told me to go with the F100,should i choose to upgrade.
the very best camera i have seen,and actually held is a nilon D1. digital.
very badass camera.but also very,very costly (more than a tim herman sliver
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I would love to have a Leica someday. Nikon stuff is very nice. I too have a Minolta though and I think that they offer the best performance for the price. My point and shoot 35mm is a Pentax. Because most of the photography I do these days is snapshot, family and friends type stuff I usually go for the Pentax.

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Paul Davidson

Them:"What's that clipped to your pocket, a beeper?"
Me:"Uuh....yeah, something like that."
 
I inherited my brother's Olympus OM G and it is a serviceable camera, though pretty primitve by todays standards. It is easier to use my Canon Sureshot Telemax or Kodak DC120 Digital (also aged -- it's like a Brownie compared to an ELF). Would like to take a class to learn more about using it.

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Clay Fleischer
clay_fleischer@yahoo.com
AKTI Member A000847
 
Hello, I liked Evolute's remark mentioning that the Nikon's camera bodys are almost bullet proof. I heard they are made out of titanium. The folks that mentioned that they are using Minolta equipment are using well tested camera gear.
I still have the first SLR that I got. It's a Minolta Srt 101 I believe. It was dropped many times(unintentional), while photographing Prarie Falcons. It took a huge beating and fell off of cliffs, bounced off of rocks, hit tree trunks and branches while falling out of a huge tree. I couldn't ask for a tougher camera at the time. Now though with the lighter titanium, stronger strength and increased durability the Nikon outshines the old Minolta. Not to mention the many advanced technologys these new cameras have to offer.
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Later,JC

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Jonathan Chubb
 
Wow! I'm not the only idiot to drop my camera off of a cliff!

While setting up my camera in the Island In the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, I dropped my camera and full set-up off of the island in the sky! Fortunately it didn't fall all 1,500 feet to the floor of the Colorado Plateau, but it DID drop more than 200 feet before it smashed into a concrete-hard slickrock ledge. The 3/8 inch bolt between the mounting plate and tripod ball head sheared clean off, the tripod legs were mangled, the spirit level in the hotshoe cracked, the aluminum lens hood was bent into a V shape and locked to the front of the lens, the lens instantly became manual (but still works!). While I was rappeling down to get my gear, it never even occurred to me that my camera might survive. I only went to get it so as not to litter.

But my Nikon F100 survived. It worked perfectly, and only had a few scratches. It is one helluva solid camera.

However, it's not made with titanium (nor is the F5). If I'm remebering correctly, it's steel, sheet metal, and polycarbonate over a zinc frame, with synthetic rubber skin.
 
Still using a Nikon FM after 20+ years. I do a lot of macro work and it has been great. Would love to get an F100 though.

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Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
Minolta X-370 here, with the Motor Drive 1, Auto winder G, and a Vivitar 550 FD flash. I have 2 lens', but use the 50-250mm lens the most. I haven't used it in a while, opting for a smaller 35mm.

Mike

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DISCLAIMER:

The opinions expressed here are my own, and in no way reflect the opinion of any other person, living or dead. Of course, your opinion may vary, in which case the prevailing laws of your jurisdiction shall apply.

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CODE 3,

How do you like that Minolta Motordrive 1? I have one "on the way" that I just bought to screw onto the bottom of my X-700.

UPDATE: I have had this Motordrive screwed on the bottom of my X-700 for awhile now, and I REALLY like it, (except for the added weight.). It really provides a GREAT
"handle" for the camera, and along with the 2 & 3.5 fps speed film advance feature, it has a huge "cool" factor. (I really like the dual operational button locations!).

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Dann Fassnacht
Aberdeen, WA
glockman99@hotmail.com
ICQ# 53675663

[This message has been edited by glockman99 (edited 04-28-2001).]
 
Hello Again, Evolute corrected me by saying that the bodys of the Nikon F100 and the F5 are not made out of titanium as I had previously thought. I heard it somewhere?? Maybe I was thinking of the Nikon F4s. Whatever the case Nikons seem to be bullet proof and tough as nails. Good products!!!
Later, JC

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Jonathan Chubb
 
I got to thinking the other day about how I "need" a new camera.So I grabbed the nearest photo gatalog at hand and started thumbin through the pages,and came across the canon eos elan 7e.
anyone know anything about this? found a coupla places that have it for a decent price, and the battery pack is only 100 bucks or so.
any info?
 
Ditto on what Evolute stated. Not unlike knives, the right 35mm camera depends somewhat on how you define "general use" photography. I can't speak from experience about all the brands you mention, but I have owned Nikon cameras and currently have a Contax system too (excellent quality, but pricey). IMHO, when you get right down to it, the lenses make the camera. For this reason, I went with Nikon and Contax (Zeiss lenses) to get the lens systems I perceived to be the best/most extensive. That said, I have also heard very good things about Canon equipment and I believe their lens line is also very large. Leica makes excellent equipment as well. If you're looking for a general purpose family picture taking camera system, virtually any of the above brands would probably do the trick. If you want to push the limits a bit and envision getting into the "artistic" end of the hobby, you may want to invest more heavily in some of the brands with better lens quality. Hope that helps.

BTW, beware of the vortex into which you are stepping...some of the photography equipment prices can make most knives seem positively cheap.
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“Sometimes the first duty of a responsible man is restatement of the obvious.” – George Orwell
 
Jonathan,
You weren't too far off. Actually, the entire viewfinder housing on the F5 is constructed from titanium.

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Semper Fi

-Bill
 
When you pick up a Nikon and you feel its weight, you would never ask if it's skeleton is Titanium. Those things are HEAVY. That said, I still like Nikon, though I have some quarrels with it. Very specifically, I have been using the F601 for quite a while now. I had to replace the back plate once because the locking catch was made of plastic and it broke off. But I like the ergonomics of it which allow me to use it as a fully manual camera when I wish. All the controls are in the classical places.

My training was with the Minolta X-700, which I had to retire finally because the shutter timings just wouldn't stay true even after repeated trips to the workshop. But that doesn't detract from the camera because it had already seen many years of hard use from my father before he passed it on to me.

In general, the Canon systems are less pricey than Nikons for the sort of features that you can get. Granted that some features are little more than whiz-bang wow-whee gadgets and hardly used. The polycarbonate body of the Canon has been said to be less durable than the Nikon's cast steel, but I have not really seen hard evidence pointing either way. What clinched me to using Nikon was the position of the controls, which allowed me to go to full manual mode with handling which I was already familar with, and the fact that my brother and father, for reasons unknown to me, had already chosen the Nikon system, which gives me a bigger collection of lenses to use.
 
jchubb-Well for me, Canon F1N is still my favourite. On of the toughest manual camera every built.
By the way, what's your usage
 
Once you go (quality) digital and get a good printer (like a Canon S800), you will never go back. Haven't bought film in quite a while. Paper, on the other hand...
 
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