The best cameras

10-19-2002, 05:47 PM

Could anyone give me their experience in using their 35 mm camera? I had a 35mm camera for a number of years but it has broken once again and will cost too much to fix. I am on the hunt for another camera but I don't know which one to get.

Is there a 35mm camera that someone has produced great photos with no complaints about using the camera? I would like to photograph portraits for references in drawing.

Any information would be appreciated. Thanks!

Mike McCarty · 10-19-2002, 06:46 PM

I'm still using film cameras, Nikon n90s and for indoor I also use a very old Mamiya 645. If I were in the market today I would probably buy a digital. I would go to a well travelled photo shop and tell them what you're about. As to which one is best, I haven't done the leg work yet. I think you just get as many pixels as you can afford.

Chris Saper · 10-19-2002, 07:04 PM

You can get very good 35mm cameras very reaasonably priced. I am currently using a Minolta Maxxum 500sl, with a 70-300 zoom lens. Buy the body and lens separately, unless you happen upon some package deal. Canon makes a comparable camera.

You need a single lens reflex, and the zoom to avoid distortion. Auto focus is a really wonderful invention.

I bought my son a similar Minolta from B&H Photo's used camera department. I have found their used equipment to be excellent, and reliable. You need to call on the day you are ready to buy, because you don't know what is in on that particular day. The used stuff is rated in quality, and they are straightforward. Here's the website: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh2.sph/...ID=F1360D4CA40 and here's the toll free number: 800-606-6969.

10-19-2002, 07:12 PM

I do have an Olympus digital camera but I thought you had to have a regular 35mm camera in order to achieve proper lighting, etc.. I understood also that it's best to work from slides.

Leslie Ficcaglia · 10-19-2002, 09:40 PM

Melissa, I'm not sure what you mean when you say that you'd like to photograph portraits for references in drawing. I have a 35 mm SLR system which I like a great deal; it consists of two Nikon bodies, a 5005 and an N60, a wide angle lens and a telephoto lens which I almost never use, and my workhorse, a 70-210 mm zoom lens, which stays on my camera virtually all the time. I use this for taking reference photos for my portrait work and also for photographing the portraits in various stages and to keep a record of them once they're completed. I can make photocopies of my 4x6 photos as large as 11x14, and while they're not as sharp as a photographic enlargement they have a more artistic quality and they look very good framed behind glass with a mat. I also just got a Canon Powershot G2 digital camera, which I want to use to take photos of my work for printing copies via my computer, although I should graduate to an archival ink printer if I really want to get serious about that. But I don't think the Canon G2 will replace my Nikon system because of the shutter lag problem with digitals; the pause between pressing the shutter and taking the picture will probably make it too hard for me to capture the sorts of fleeting expressions that I aim for in my work.

With camera equipment it's important to go for the best quality lens you can afford. Once my camera went on the fritz during a photo session, and because I had had so much trouble connecting with this particular subject I borrowed her small camera to try to salvage the shoot. It was an automatic, lower-end Minolta or some other respected name, but the optics were poor and I couldn't work from any of the pictures I took with it. They were fuzzy and lacked depth. I think I've been spoiled by Nikon optics, having used nothing but that brand since the 60's. I couldn't believe the difference in quality, though.

Hope this helps.

Mike McCarty · 10-19-2002, 11:34 PM

http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...=9349#post9349

Check out page three of the above thread.

Marvin Mattelson · 10-19-2002, 11:51 PM

The quality of the lens is paramount to having high quality images. The Contax Aria 35mm SLR Manual Focus Camera uses Zeiss lenses arguably the finest lenses manufactured in Germany. I have an older model Contax and the pictures are razor sharp. I have several friends who have purchased this camera and all are happy.

If you can swing it consider a 120mm camera. I use a Bronica. The negative is 3 times the size of 35mm and the images are super sharp.

Good luck!