Photographers - Can you help?

[mrodgers]

Going into it thinking that you'll be able to use the outdated equipment you buy later on may not be realistic....

....Personally, I'd rather invest in an entry level dSLR (even if I had to save for a while)

dSLR cameras are great and the way the future is going, but when you join in a school photography class, and it is a requirement to use a film camera such as has been mentioned in the OP, a dSLR would certainly not work at all compared to the "outdated" equipment of a film camera.

Most photography courses require you to use a film camera. It takes away the "shoot 50000 shots and pick the best one" mentality that comes with digital. It forces the student to think about how they are shooting because they only have a limited supply of shots before they run out of film.

With film, you have to think about your settings and learn from the result good or bad while with digital, you can use every combination of settings and pick the right one after the fact. This is why they require in a photography class to have a film camera.

Its about learning, not about what is easiest to use.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

dSLR cameras are great and the way the future is going, but when you join in a school photography class, and it is a requirement to use a film camera such as has been mentioned in the OP, a dSLR would certainly not work at all compared to the "outdated" equipment of a film camera.

Most photography courses require you to use a film camera.

If you carefully re-read my post, I completely get that high school classes require a film camera. My contention is to consider skipping it altogether and learn another way. I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear. (I wrote and rewrote my post several times after thinking about it for a day.)

I answered this way seeing we are on the Budget Board and I do feel that investing in outdated equipment doesn't make a whole lot of (financial) sense. (And as we all know, SLR photography can become a very costly hobby.) If we were on the Photography Board, I might have answered it differently (and I imagine she would have framed her question differently).

DD has expressed an interest in taking a class in Art Photography in her Sophmore yr. of h.s. The course requires students to have their own camera - a standard 35mm SLR or larger format, with an adjustable light meter and an adjustable shutter and diaphragm. What exactly do I buy? Would Ebay be an option to look for this type of camera? Where can I get a used camera like this? I don't want to squash her creativity or tell her she can't take the class because she doesn't have what she needs, but I can't afford to buy an expensive camera. Can anyone help me figure out where to look for this type of camera without spending a fortune? Thanks.

It takes away the "shoot 50000 shots and pick the best one" mentality that comes with digital.

That's certainly not the way I shoot, and really never was. I've always strived to get it right in camera the first time. I have very few throwaways today.

It forces the student to think about how they are shooting because they only have a limited supply of shots before they run out of film.

This can be accomplished with digital as well. I shoot RAW and I'm running out of space on my computer and multiple external hard drives. My DH is on my case constantly, which is a great motivator, too!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

A canon rebel would be fine. It can do all the things the instructor wants.

I might check out Adorama or BH's used department if you want something you know 100% will work!

 

[andycat]

Reading through the thread, I think the real issue is getting lost in the technical merits of film versus digital, manual versus automatic, this vendor over that one.

A beginning photography class is primarily going to be teaching what the functions of the camera do - when do you want to use a small F-stop versus a larger one; when do you want to use a slow shutter speed versus a fast one; and probably most importantly, how do you compose various kinds of photos? As long as the camera works and doesn't have a huge scratch on the lens, it will probably be fine for this class. I've seen very good SLRs at Goodwill for $20 that would probably be fine.

If DD takes the class and continues to show interest in photography afterward, she'll have a better idea what features in a camera are important to her versus the price of the camera. At that point you have a birthday or Christmas present.

All that said, the Minolta Maxxum 5000 for $35 with lens sounds pretty reasonable. I used to have a Maxxum 7000 SLR which I thought was wonderful.

 

[Muushka]

Interesting reading everyone's thoughts.

I for one am glad to see that a photography class is requiring this sort of SLR. I wish we lived closer OP, I would happily lend my Pentax Spotmatic to you.

And it will make my heart go pitter-patter to see one budding photographer out there who does not use a flash to take pictures of the Electric Light Parade!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

A beginning photography class is primarily going to be teaching what the functions of the camera do - when do you want to use a small F-stop versus a larger one; when do you want to use a slow shutter speed versus a fast one; and probably most importantly, how do you compose various kinds of photos?

Precisely. And this is taught in a digital photography class as well.