<p>My D is will be taking a photography class. We want to get a camera, and the requirements are:</p>
<p>35MM SLR digital with manual functions</p>
<p>does anyone know what is a good brand/camera that is not super expensive, maybe a brand that is underrated? a brand just not worth the big $$, somethig to avoid?</p>
<p>thanks ahead of time</p>
<p>Canon EOS Digital Rebels are quite inexpensive for a good DSLR. Nikon D 50 or D 70s are under a grand too if . I have a 35mm SLR Nikon FM 10 (used my uncle’s D100 too). Its inexpensive and very good quality. I would really recommend this camera (but its not digital).</p>
<p>It would be tough to buy a Digital SLR without manual controls. </p>
<p>Costco has had good deals on the Nikon, running a good 200 cheaper than the Canon, probably because it doesn’t have as high a pixel count.</p>
<p>Canon is by far the most popular, but because of that, probably not the best deal.</p>
<p>35mm implies film. I have a feeling that is not what was meant here. The canon rebel is the entry level, but adding lenses will sting you quickly. Photography quickly becomes an expensive interestl</p>
<p>Check out the canon s2 is. It is a cross between point and shoot and the slr group with interchangeable lenses. It has been superceded by the s3, but is still far more than serviceable and has many features. I think it can be had from the discount channels for in the $300 range. Techbargains.com is a good site to search for recent best deals on all sorts of cameras.</p>
<p>There are other point and shoot cameras that do an interesting job.</p>
<p>If you get into the digital slr mode, there are a lot of choices, and thecanon eos group is excellent.</p>
<p>CHeck out Fred Miranda.com and photography-on-the.net for informative sites</p>
<p>i believe what you need is a 35mm that uses film that has a digital display with manual functions. I personally have a Minolta which I love… I got it refurbished for about $200.</p>
<p>I have a refurbished Minolta, too. I am completely in love with it. I bought it about 4 years ago and have continually been nothing but pleased by the photographs it takes. When it broke a couple of months ago (my fault, not the camera’s) I actually chose to pay more to repair it than a comparable new camera would cost just because I love it so much. Good luck to my fellow aspiring shutterbug.</p>
<p>If you need a film camera (no idea why you would need a digital display) then your best bet will to be to find a used metal body from anytime more recent than about 1981. I have one from 1982 with two digital displays. That particular camera is very rare, so I won’t reccomend it, but these older cameras are usually metal body with excellent optics available, and nothing like the new Nikons and Canons with the plastic bodies and autofocus. </p>
<p>To really learn photography you need a camera with the original type of lens (with the F ring and the focal length adjustable) and not one of the new ones that you can just set in manual focus mode. </p>
<p>A 35mm SLR like I described above (used metal body, short zoom lens) will run about $200. I have several amassed in my collection (along with a huge pile of lenses) but I can’t off the top of my head pull model names that I’m sure have a digital readout except for my Pentax SuperProgram. You can try to find one, but they’re pretty rare and the original optics (pentax SMC-A) are expensive. Obviously you could substitute glass of lesser quality if you wanted.</p>
<p>A new Rebel K2 will run you $220, and a new T2 $320, so for less money you can get a better camera by buying an older used model. </p>
<p>Here’s the pentax I was referring to just so you can get the idea of the type of camera, and see how different it is from the ones available new. </p>
<p><a href=“http://cgi.ebay.com/Pentax-Superprogram-Film-SLR-Camera_W0QQitemZ260021155158QQihZ016QQcategoryZ15240QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]”>http://cgi.ebay.com/Pentax-Superprogram-Film-SLR-Camera_W0QQitemZ260021155158QQihZ016QQcategoryZ15240QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem</a></p>
<p>A Pentax Program Plus (one step down) or a Canon AE-1 might be a good bet. If you don’t mind eBay, here’s a ProgramPlus with original SMC-A for about $130.</p>
<p><a href=“http://cgi.ebay.com/PENTAX-PROGRAM-PLUS-35mm-SLR-CAMERA-w-SMC-PENTAX-A-LENS_W0QQitemZ230017449230QQihZ013QQcategoryZ15240QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]”>http://cgi.ebay.com/PENTAX-PROGRAM-PLUS-35mm-SLR-CAMERA-w-SMC-PENTAX-A-LENS_W0QQitemZ230017449230QQihZ013QQcategoryZ15240QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem</a></p>
<p>and here’s an AE-1 (they’re going for about $125 with lens on eBay)
<a href=“http://cgi.ebay.com/NICE-CANON-AE-1-WITH-ZOOM-MACRO-28mm-70mm-with-extras_W0QQitemZ200016260490QQihZ010QQcategoryZ107919QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]”>http://cgi.ebay.com/NICE-CANON-AE-1-WITH-ZOOM-MACRO-28mm-70mm-with-extras_W0QQitemZ200016260490QQihZ010QQcategoryZ107919QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem</a></p>
<p>there may also be a used camera store nearby that will have a bunch you can go in and play with- I know there’s one near my school with an excellent selection.</p>
<p><em>If</em> you are actually getting a digital camera, be aware of this problem inherent in many digitals: there is a lag/delay of up to 2 seconds between when you press the shutter relase and when the camera actually captures the image.</p>
<p>I own a very early digital (Kodak DC-210) and used it for years only for work (still photos of inanimate objects only), so the lag was not an issue. Once I started using it for snapshots of people, it became a serious problem. EG, kid smiles, you snap, kid thinks the photo is over and shifts/frowns/whatever. The camera captures the shifty, frowning kid, not the smiley-faced one.</p>
<p>When I last researched it, the few models without this problem were dramatically more expensive. That may not still be the case, as I read this on Google this morning: “Shutter lag, once a problem with many digital cameras, is less likely in today’s models but still a potential weakness.”</p>
<p>So, if photographing people, animals, potentially moving objects of any kind, take this into account in your selection.</p>
<p>As others have suggested, if it’s film you need, check out used. You can get some good buys.</p>
<p>Good film 35mm SLRs are gathering dust and being dumped like mad as folks switch to digital. Let me tell you about my closet, for example.</p>
<p>by digital display i mean the thing on the top of the camera that shows how many pictures are left, what all your settings are, etc</p>
<p>the Canon 20D is a good buy right now. It is slightly more capable than the Rebel, but has fallen in price with the announcement of the 30D.</p>
<p>I think the Nikon D50 is a great camera for the money. We got one several months ago, along with a two-lens package, and it is unbelievably nice. Unless you are a professional, I can’t imagine that you would need anything more.</p>
<p>Shutter lag is not a problem with digital SLRs. It is still a problem, though, for almost all the digital point-and-shoots.</p>
<p>Nikon says it is getting out of the film SLR business, expect for perhaps one high-end professional model. There are rumors that Canon may follow suit. For those who really want a 35mm film SLR, your last chance to buy a new one may come soon.</p>
<p>Since we are going for film apparently, I still stand by the Nikon FM10. Its manual, meaning you cannot take shortcuts. Perfect for learning, and it costs about the same as a Canon K2 (about $200 @ B&H)</p>
<p>On most SLR cameras that display is actually a part of the viewfinder and not on top of the camera. Older cameras especially have analog dials that indicate number of exposures, and for good reason- it won’t count a multiple exposure shot, while a digital display will. </p>
<p>I assume by digital they mean that they want the metering and other indicators within the viewfinder to have digital readouts (my Pentax has this). I don’t personally see the advantage to this, but it’s not my choice.</p>
<p>Does the professor for this class have any suggestions for your D? or can they clarify what “35mm SLR digital” means?</p>
<p>Digital SLR is one that doesn’t use film. On SLR cameras, except for the new Olympus, the LCD is not a view finder (not live) and is non-functional except for menus and post viewing of the picture. It does act as a view finder on P&S cameras. 35mm is, of course, a film nomenclature that doesn’t really apply to digital until you get to cameras over $3000, full frame sensor cameras. In these, the sensor is the size of a 35mm frame of film. Most dSLR cameras use a smaller sensor, most in the APS-C size, that have an inherent 1.6x magnification factor over the same lense on a full frame camera.</p>
<p>Yes, I know, but I was wondering what the professor for this class meant by that requirement, since they’re obviously not going to require a $3500 DSLR with full frame image sensor for intro to photography, and most likely don’t want a digital camera at all.</p>
<p>Actually, I believe they do want a dSLR, and the term 35mm was unfortunate. Digital developing is far cheaper than film, and the principals are the same. Most publishing is now going, or has gone, digital as well. I can’t imagine requiring film when most of the major manufacturers are dropping film cameras and film itself.</p>
<p>i’m 99.9 percent sure they want an SLR. College Photo courses still manually develop film during class and print the pictures using photo enlargers. I did that for both B&W photo and color photo during college very recently. I’ve never heard of a school doing anything with a dSLR that they would require their students to buy. Even in my digital photo class we didn’t have to have a dSLR. We just had to make sure we had a camera with adjustable white balance. </p>
<p>They would not require a dSLR. If they did, nobody would take the course.</p>
<p>This old thread had some really useful links to buying a digital SLR:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=151957&highlight=nikon+d50[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=151957&highlight=nikon+d50</a></p>