Non trendy cameras (bargains) worth checking out.

Just thought I’d start a thread looking for some interesting recommendations for the bargains out there, that the hipsters haven’t discovered yet? They can be 35mm, 120, medium format or even large format - but haven’t been discovered In the latest wave of trendy purchases.



for example I’m looking for a p&s with aperture control that is very compact, but isn’t $2k. Love to hear this and other recoendtions. Hopefully you’ll already have one so the increased demand can only increase the value.

Interested in what you mean by a bargain. If $2k is expensive then a $700 Nikon FM3a might be a bargain, but I’m guessing that’s not what you meant ?

At the real bargain (sub-£10 end) some of the 1980s and 1990s F/2.8 lensed Kodak compacts are bargains in terms of image quality (35AF2 for example)

There is no specific price in mind - so maybe I should have phrased it as good value, or not massively over-inflated. The m5 until recently over an m6, the earlier fe or fm against the fm3a. Or it could be a Zorki or Jupiter lens or, well, anything really.

Ricoh FF90. Very cool 80s design with that big LCD on top! The image quality isn't very impressive though...

Speaking of compact cameras, have you considered the smallest film SLR Pentax *ist? With something like 40mm/2.8 or 35mm/2.4, it's very compact. Not exactly a bargain but well under $2K All PASM controls and only two serious drawbacks: the pentamirror viewfinder and the stupid name

Richie S said:

There is no specific price in mind - so maybe I should have phrased it as good value, or not massively over-inflated. The m5 until recently over an m6, the earlier fe or fm against the fm3a. Or it could be a Zorki or Jupiter lens or, well, anything really.

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Some alternatives -

Olympus Mju (1) rather than Olympus Mju ii (£100 vs £250)

Olympus AF-1 Mini rather than Olympus Mju (1) (£40 vs £100)


Olympus Trip AF Mini or Panasonic C625AF (£40 - £50) rather than Leica Mini (£200)


Nikon F80 (£40) rather than Nikon F100 (£150 - £200)

Richie S said:

Just thought I’d start a thread looking for some interesting recommendations for the bargains out there, that the hipsters haven’t discovered yet?

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Any AF Pentax that isn't the MZ-S.

Any MF Pentax that isn't the K1000, MX or LX.

As an aside, hasn't it been a decade or so since hipsters were a thing?

In the inexpensive group, a Kodak Signet 35, with an Ektar lens. Had one from a family camera box, regret never using it. Just a common 1950s camera that make nice images.

Richie S said:

Just thought I’d start a thread looking for some interesting recommendations for the bargains out there, that the hipsters haven’t discovered yet? They can be 35mm, 120, medium format or even large format - but haven’t been discovered In the latest wave of trendy purchases.

for example I’m looking for a p&s with aperture control that is very compact, but isn’t $2k. Love to hear this and other recoendtions. Hopefully you’ll already have one so the increased demand can only increase the value.

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Trouble is anything with control over the aperture is going to be popular in a way that pushes the price up. The exception is possibly the original Canonet, which is big, heavy and annoying to use in automatic, but is great for manual and tends to go for peanuts.

https://www.35mmc.com/01/11/2021/canonet-review-bob-janes/

..and to be honest, having control over aperture with a lens that is generally in the 35-40mm range and f/2.8 in aperture does not give much in the way of control of differential focus.

One of the cameras I used recently that I was surprisingly impressed by was the Canonet 28 - a basic rangefinder with a 40mm lens and program exposure - but it works quite well as a reliable little picture taking machine. Forget differential focus (which tends to be the sort of stuff that the hipsters are interested in) and just concentrate on composition...

Sometimes the re-branded versions of cameras are far less desirable (Prinz, Revue, Vivitar...) but will be off the same production lines. They may not have been through the same quality controls as 'branded' versions, but if they have lasted 40 years they are unlikely to have been lemons...

A quick look at UK Ebay for rangefinder cameras under £20 shows candidates from Yashica, Canon, Fed, Minolta, Olympus, Amica (never heard of them, but looks OK), Balda, Konica, Petri, Argus, Ricoh and Mamiya...

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Richie S said:

Just thought I’d start a thread looking for some interesting recommendations for the bargains out there, that the hipsters haven’t discovered yet?

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Don't blame the hipsters, blame the people my age who swear the K1000 is the greatest thing ever when it isn't.

I have an article coming out soon on PopPhoto.com which has some affordable alternatives to popular cameras. Keep an eye out for it -- please!

Now that said...

First, bargains are not only about what, but where. Antique shops have some great bargains -- but of course you get what you get and you burn a lot of fuel getting there. Goodwill auctions are a great alternative to eBay. And if you are willing to wait on eBay, saving a search can help find bargains.

Now, as to what:

IMHO the best camera bargains are the Minolta Maxxum autofocus SLRs -- I like mid-rangers like the 4xi and 400si. They are starting to creep up in price but you can still buy bodies for $10-$20 and kit lenses for the same price. My Maxxum 5 is the most feature-heavy camera I own and it cost me <$20 with a lens -- shipped !

I'm more of an MF guy (and a Pentaxian) and I totally agree with Tassienick -- any MF Pentax other than LX/MX/K1000 (and maybe the P30t which is a cheap but finding a working one is a crapshoot).

Also Pentax lenses are a great bargain -- the Pentax-M 50/1.7 goes for around $30, not because it's a bad lens because Pentax made a bajillion of them.

MF Ricoh cameras (which use Pentax K-mount lenses) are amazing bargains. I own several and they're my workhorses. My faves are the KR-10 (not the Super or KR-10M) and XR-1, -2 and -7 (I need to buy one of the latter). Their auto-only models (ie XR-6) are even cheaper. As are the Sears-branded variants. Ricoh XR-1 is probably the best-value all-mechanical camera you'll find out there (except for the Ricoh XR-5 which is a little useless) except people are starting to figure that out. I need to grab another one fast or I might have to spend more than $50 for it!

I've found a few Nikon bargains -- the FG, reviled by Nikon lovers but loved by people like me who actually use them, is a great little camera. Though you're still stuck with expensive Nikkor lenses. Also the Nikormat FT2, which is heavy and a pain in the butt to use but a great mechanical camera nonetheless, and it uses less-expensive non-AI lenses. N8008/N8008s (F-801)-- amazing advanced cameras that live in the shadow of the N90, and uses the Nikkor AF lenses which I believe are cheaper than AF-Ds, AF-Gs, etc.

For 120 -- Yashica TLRs are ridiculously cheap. Mamiya C-series TLRs aren't ridiculously cheap, but a great bargain compared to, say, a Rollie or Hasselblad. Big and heavy but very much professional-grade cameras, and rare among TLRs for having interchangeable lenses.

Hope this gives you a few leads to start your hunt!

Aaron

--
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Autonerd said:

Richie S said:

Just thought I’d start a thread looking for some interesting recommendations for the bargains out there, that the hipsters haven’t discovered yet?

Click to expand...

Don't blame the hipsters, blame the people my age who swear the K1000 is the greatest thing ever when it isn't.

I have an article coming out soon on PopPhoto.com which has some affordable alternatives to popular cameras. Keep an eye out for it -- please!

Now that said...

First, bargains are not only about what, but where. Antique shops have some great bargains -- but of course you get what you get and you burn a lot of fuel getting there. Goodwill auctions are a great alternative to eBay. And if you are willing to wait on eBay, saving a search can help find bargains.

Now, as to what:

IMHO the best camera bargains are the Minolta Maxxum autofocus SLRs -- I like mid-rangers like the 4xi and 400si. They are starting to creep up in price but you can still buy bodies for $10-$20 and kit lenses for the same price. My Maxxum 5 is the most feature-heavy camera I own and it cost me <$20 with a lens -- shipped !

I'm more of an MF guy (and a Pentaxian) and I totally agree with Tassienick -- any MF Pentax other than LX/MX/K1000 (and maybe the P30t which is a cheap but finding a working one is a crapshoot).

Also Pentax lenses are a great bargain -- the Pentax-M 50/1.7 goes for around $30, not because it's a bad lens because Pentax made a bajillion of them.

MF Ricoh cameras (which use Pentax K-mount lenses) are amazing bargains. I own several and they're my workhorses. My faves are the KR-10 (not the Super or KR-10M) and XR-1, -2 and -7 (I need to buy one of the latter). Their auto-only models (ie XR-6) are even cheaper. As are the Sears-branded variants. Ricoh XR-1 is probably the best-value all-mechanical camera you'll find out there (except for the Ricoh XR-5 which is a little useless) except people are starting to figure that out. I need to grab another one fast or I might have to spend more than $50 for it!

I've found a few Nikon bargains -- the FG, reviled by Nikon lovers but loved by people like me who actually use them, is a great little camera. Though you're still stuck with expensive Nikkor lenses. Also the Nikormat FT2, which is heavy and a pain in the butt to use but a great mechanical camera nonetheless, and it uses less-expensive non-AI lenses. N8008/N8008s (F-801)-- amazing advanced cameras that live in the shadow of the N90, and uses the Nikkor AF lenses which I believe are cheaper than AF-Ds, AF-Gs, etc.

For 120 -- Yashica TLRs are ridiculously cheap. Mamiya C-series TLRs aren't ridiculously cheap, but a great bargain compared to, say, a Rollie or Hasselblad. Big and heavy but very much professional-grade cameras, and rare among TLRs for having interchangeable lenses.

Hope this gives you a few leads to start your hunt!

Aaron

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A defense of recommending the Pentax K1000. I used them as camera backs for Zeiss retinal cameras, they did the color Canon New F1s, motorized, did the dye tests. For under $100 you had a camera back that would do 5-10 rolls a day for 2 years, and then could get repaired inexpensively, or replaced. I recommended them for an SLR for secretaries, medical tech to follow their families, at about $150 new with a lens. Never had a complaint. Pentax lenses were great and inexpensive. Admittedly I never used the camera fully, it was set to 1/60 and attached to the fundus camera strobe, so other than impressive durability I didn't know much about the camera other than everyone who got one liked it. My reason for recommending the K1000. Otherwise I used Nikons and Canon F1s, various models. For the Canons (motorized New F1s) we used on the retinal camera in 4 years I don't remember ever repairing one.

Tomm111 said:

A defense of recommending the Pentax K1000...

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Don't get me wrong -- it's a magnificent little camera, to be sure. But overpriced. The other Pentax K-series cameras -- KM (from which the K1000 is derived), KX (my camera!) and K2 all offer more features (and arguably better quality than late-production 1000s) -- and yet they sell for lower prices. K1000 prices have been pumped up by nostalgia. Not a bad thing, but there are better values out there.

Aaron

Late era Minolta XG cameras (light weight, beautiful viewfinders and more coherent n my view than the last Nikons like FG and FG-20, from someone who used a Nikon FM for years) and the Minolta autofocus cameras you noted,.

Also, some of the Konicas, I believe, fit that bargain label.

tassienick said:

Any MF Pentax that isn't the K1000, MX or LX.

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If I was starting out again, I would follow this advice.

I really like Nikkormats; the FT2 is the best, having a split prism focusing aid and taking a modern battery. I have never found them awkward to use; yes, changing lenses has an extra couple of steps, and some people can't get on with the shutter selector on the lens mount, but I would not be without a Nikkormat. I bought an immaculate black FT2 a year or two ago for less than 100 Euros.

I recently got a Minolta Dynax 60 (Maxxum 70) for 30 Dollars, added a 50mm 1.4 af for 70 dollar (both in like new condition). Great combo, and nobody seems to buy 90's af cameras..

Nikon EM's can also be had for 40 Dollars in mint condition.

Olympus OM-1n bodies in very good shape are consistently selling for under $100. This is a fabulous camera that is a far better value than other manual cameras that are selling for substantially more. I suspect people are scared off by the mercury battery issue. I use an MR-9 battery adapter (the type that actually adjust the voltage). Then I can use a 386 silver oxide battery.

Canon AT-1. The less popular FD camera and sell much less than the over-hyped Canon AE-1. Similar look, feel and body but the AT-1 has superior match needle manual metering which I think is good for beginners.

Canon FTB. A great mechanical camera and built like a tank. Considerably less expensive than the rest of Canon's "A" series cameras but has a CdS meter that requires a Mercury battery alternative.

Lenses for the FD system are also plentiful and prices are reasonable due to their incapability with EOS cameras.

Twombly said:

I recently got a Minolta Dynax 60 (Maxxum 70) for 30 Dollars, added a 50mm 1.4 af for 70 dollar (both in like new condition). Great combo, and nobody seems to buy 90's af cameras..

Nikon EM's can also be had for 40 Dollars in mint condition.

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That was the last film SLR that Minolta ever released - it is a nice camera, other than for the pop-up flash, which I find catches on stuff and gets accidentally deployed.

The Nikon FE and FE2 are tremendous values. They have one of the best viewfinders ever. They cost quite a bit less than the more trendy FM and FM2, and cost a small fraction of the super expensive FM3A.

Check out the Zeiss Super Ikontas. I own three and paid less than $200 for each, all worked well when purchased, one now has a light leak I need to work on. The bellows on these are leather and tend to hold up well. Mine are from 1934, 1937 and 1938, no batteries, easy to adjust the rangefinders, may need to get shutters tuned up. My "A" model was about $100 bucks a dozen years ago and it's great having a medium format camera that fits in my pocket.