Anyone Still Using A Film Camera?

[Ripley]

I have a DLSR - a Canon 350D. But I'm curious about a good film camera. I had to send my 350D back to Canon as all the creative setting froze up. They have fixed the problem - and it was my fault . I activated mirror lock up and didn't deactivate it afterwards, so the mirror was in fact, locking up on all shots taken after that, even when I'd turned the camera off for days. Yes, I'm blonde.

I've noticed on ebay you can pick up second hand film cameras for next to nothing.

We took a good film camera away with us on a trip, years back, but I can't remember what it was. I'm pretty sure it was a Canon - it belonged to my husband who got it off someone else. It was a decent camera with a Tokina zoom that fits my DLSR but my husband sold the camera a couple of years ago to an acquaintance and then last year we bought the 350D brand new (just before the 400D came out).

I am looking at buying a (used) Canon EOS 50 - which looks like my DLSR except it's a film camera that was made in the late 1990s.

The one I am looking at also comes with a 28-80mm lens.

My husband thinks I'm nuts but I think it would be good to take away both a DLSR and a SLR on our trip to SE Qld after Christmas. I am comfortable using manual settings.

This is a photo from the Canon film camera husband had - I think it was an EOS, we used it to take photos in 1999 in Africa but after pocket digitals arriveda couple of years later, we put it away and then he sold it before we bought the DLSR.

I pulled this out of my photo album and scanned it in using our scanner here at work. The photo has not been edited in any imaging program, it's just 'as is' after it was printed at a lab back in 1999.

also this was taken, different time of the sunset.

A wild waterbuck - not as great as a DLSR I've noticed but we were clueless about camera functions then and it was in the shade and a wild animal so taken with the zoom lens hand held.

Should I buy this Canon SLR or is there a better film camera to buy for an enthusiast? I don't want to pay too much.

Edited November 28, 2007 by Ripley

[Ripley]

nobody then?

Ah well, I have a bid on one on ebay atm, I'm curious to see what it goes for and what I can get it for.

[MadWoofter]

Ripley, I'm a lover of film but I think that's because I've not yet been in a position to afford a decent digital

I've got a small crappy digital that I use for snappy snaps, but I use my film camera for anything that needs particular attention. It's a Minolta - certainly not the best but it does the job and I've had it for a number of years now.

From my understanding Canon is about the best in both domains (film & digital) so if you can pick up one of those cheaply I don't think you can go wrong. The only issue I can forsee is the cost of developing film will get quite expensive over the next few years. My local photo print place gives me photos and a CD for a fairly reasonable price... at the moment.

I know of quite a few professional photographers who will only use film - but then again they could just be stuck in their ways :cool:

ETA - great shots, BTW

Edited November 29, 2007 by MadWoofter

[chezzyr]

I know of photographers who use both. Not sure what they pay for film and developing though.

Film cameras are probably cheap as chips now. I am not familiar with the EOS 50 (did it

go by any other names?). Being eos you will probably find it quite easy to swap between.

You just want to use that long lens don't you?

[Ripley]

I didn't win it. Some sniper outbid me during the last seconds. It went for $136. Pretty good buy.