How to Find 35mm SLR Film Cameras for Under 100$ / €

[@geophizz]

Right after I watched this video, I went hunting on ebay for some of these cameras. I snagged a like-new Vivitar XV-1 with 50mm and 135mm lenses, plus a flash, and a nice camera bag, all for $35US. It's a great little camera! It's small, light, easy to use, and delivers great results. So thank you for steering me in the direction of an excellent under $100 camera.

[@Kamerastore]

Nice find! Hopefully the internals work as well as the externals look! We find that cameras that have been used very little often have even worse issues than heavily used ones. It's like an old car, you have to use it consistently for it to work long-term! Thanks for watching! - Connor

[@geophizz]

@@Kamerastore I think I've lucked out. I've run one roll of film through it, and so far it has performed flawlessly.

[@H2o3G2a]

The best advice that helped me was to invest in some camera repair tools. I'd buy a camera that not functioning properly and fix it. Obviously not every camera is equal some are insanely easy to fix. It's a risk but if you research it in advance and practice a little, you'll actually open up new opportunities. If you go in this direction, I'd suggest you do it locally not on ebay just to be able to hold the camera before taking the risk. Pliobond glue to reskin Lens rubber repair tool A set of precision tools (screwdrivers and such) and black tape! don't be afraid of taping things up (leaks and such) Also, everything that Kamerastore said is spot on, great advice, great people.

[@Kamerastore]

Hey Hideo! We discourage home repair because the average person is not capable of it. On top of that, even if you manage to get a camera firing again you have no means of testing it. Without proper testing equipment (what we have at our office) to verify shutter speeds, auto-exposure accuracy, etc. a camera cannot be considered "fixed". While I applaud you for taking the initiative and learning what you can about camera mechanics, there are too many stores selling "fixed" items that haven't been properly fixed/tested for us to feel comfortable encouraging home repairs. Thanks for watching! - Connor

[@H2o3G2a]

@@Kamerastore Thank you so much for replying and explaining why it can be a bad idea, I really wouldn't want to put anyone in a bad situation, thanks again for fixing my bad advice. I agree with you

[@calvinchann1996]

I’m slowly acquiring all those cameras that I couldn’t afford when I was younger.

[@geophizz]

Me too! It's about time I got the cameras on my 1978 wish list!

[@BadMouse101]

I bought a 'refurbished' Minolta XGM. My first two rolls were ruined because of light leaks! And half the time the shutter doesn't fire for some reason, must be loose wiring or something. Totally correct with the shops not fixing them correctly.

[@Kamerastore]

Amen! We've had far too many issues with shops claiming they repair things without the proper equipment to do so and verify their results. Without testing equipment, no camera can be considered "fixed". Thanks for watching! - Connor

[@bcegerton]

I got a great deal on the Pentax Km and K1000, my old Transplant Surgeon ( retired ), now a Semi Pro Photographer himself gave them to me along with a Handycam video camera, bags, old flashes, light metres etc. I was blown away, not just with him being a photographer himself but everything he gave me actually belonged to his Father who sadly passed away the year before ( 2019 ). He even told me to sell anything I want to fund something else which I’ll never do, none of the cameras at least but maybe the bags, I’ve got too many as it is 🤣 I think I’ll take a proper look on your site when I have some spare cash as if it’s something like a new camera or lens, the $20 shipping seems reasonable, unless the import tax is too high

[@Kamerastore]

Most items have no import fees because they’re used! Hope to see you on the site soon, Brian! Thanks for watching! - Connor

[@jimgraves4197]

I recently bought a Minolta Dynax 500si with a 35-70mm auto focus lens for less than $50. The Minolta Dynax / Maxxum range are stupidly cheap right now and will give anyone wanting to try film photography a great starting point.

[@anthonyfurlong9556]

I've tried out a 400si, being able to manually set ISO was great.

[@walterarroyo5220]

The majority of the Maxxum cameras are great and cheap with a great variety of lenses.

[@gabrielestrada6165]

Great video, super useful!!

[@Kamerastore]

Thanks for watching, Gabriele! - Connor

[@stephencrossman9402]

I highly recommend anything with pentax K mount so much choice I also recommend Tamron Adaptall such a flexible system

[@Kamerastore]

It's true! As we said in the video, open mounts like Pentax K and M42 were home to many third party cameras that are cheaper than cameras made by major manufacturers. 3 of the 7 cameras featured in this video use Pentax K mount, and I could've made a few more K kits on our site! I just wanted to give the other mounts a chance!! Thanks for watching! - Connor

[@thirtyvibe]

A tip about the Nikon F55/N55, a lot of the models cannot release the shutter in AF mode. Nikon actually had a recall to fix them for free, but that ended in 2013. Got one as part of a lot and after much confusion and research I found a Nikon support article about it. Just to be clear it works perfectly with every other mode, just not AF.

[@edwinbaker9916]

I LOVE that PENTAX.

[@Kamerastore]

I'm glad SOMEONE does! I felt a bit bad after we bashed its looks. It's very robocop! Thanks for watching, Edwin! - Connor

[@anthonyfurlong9556]

My Nikon F55 sat in a drawer for years after the (light plastic) battery compartment cover came off. Couldn't really use the G mount kit lenses with anything else so picked up another F55 body cheap last year (autofocus wasn't working) and swapped the bases. In addition it doesn't have auto rewind, all the film is unwound on loading and the exposed film is wound into cannister after each shot. Only unexposed film is ruined if the camera is opened prematurely. A nice feature.

[@Kamerastore]

That's such a useful feature! Cameras that pre-wind are underrated for that exact reason. Especially for people that have/use many cameras and forget what film is inside which (like me, unfortunately), it makes it so opening the back doesn't ruin the past 5 shots! Thanks for watching! - Connor

[@bradl2636]

I'm going to suggest the Nikon FG-20 as a great entry-level candidate for the F-mount. If Nikkor glass appeals to you this camera is a sleeper. Not hard to find in great condition for around $100 or less. No bells and whistles but it does have aperture priority.

[@rustandmagic]

It would be good to point out that a camera that require the builtin light meter (no manual mode) to work it is important to make sure the light meter actually do work, if there is no exposure compensation (if the metering is a stop wrong for example, old light meters often are like that) the camera will be useless without it.

[@y2ktube]

Video @ 29:01 "not sure if the camera will survive - weather conditions" - well, I'd also add taking your camera into potentially hazardous crime areas - - - In a recent trip into Los Angeles California, I took a Pentax ME Super with a compact Pentax zoom (I left the Leica's at home)...😎

[@MichaelRusso]

I don't know how many cameras I have had to repair or clean on cameras that are either Good condition or untested from Ebay. I think all of them.

[@goodpeople5676]

Hi , I have 1. COSINA C1s 2. YASHICA Electro 35 3. Vivitar V3800N All are in working conditions I would love to sell them . What will be the price? With Love from SAM Guwahati Assam INDIA 🙏

[@Kamerastore]

Hey there! You can sell gear to us using our Sell/Trade form ( kamerastore.com/pages/sell-or-trade-your-used-camera-gear ). Unfortunately, though, your gear is not particularly high value even if it is working and I'm not sure if we'll even be able to cover shipping for you. That being said, we can definitely find new homes for your items if the other option is throwing them into the trash. Thanks! - Connor

[@goodpeople5676]

@@Kamerastore Thanks for the lovely information and knowledge. If you get any customer from nearer to my place do inform. 🥂🙏

[@gemista]

Another suggestion is to go older! Cameras (even 35mm) from before the 1960s can be had for a few dollars and work just as well.

[@Kamerastore]

Unfortunately reliability is a huge issue with a lot of the budget models of this era. We wouldn’t recommend anything we don’t see consistently working properly in the shop, and most of these cameras fit that description. Of course, “Takes photos” =/= “working properly”. The text version in the description says a bit more about how you can find other cameras for cheap, but maybe can’t consider them “reliable”. Thanks for watching! - Connor

[@mathewrupp8568]

The Olympus OM-1 with a 50mm 1.8 can be found for $100 or less and these are pro grade cameras that have held up over the years. The lenses rival my Nikons and are at a better price. They have held up better then my small Nikons, which surprised me. The Olympus cameras and lenses hasn't shot up as much as more popular cameras.

[@Kamerastore]

Hey Mathew! In proper working condition (tested and checked by professionals) an OM-1 with a 50mm kit is easily 300$ or more! As we say in the video, most places are not testing and checking their cameras properly and the user ends up suffering as a result. Thanks for watching! - Connor

[@mathewrupp8568]

@@Kamerastore It's nice to get a camera with a CLA however a CLA cost much more then the camera. A few months ago I picked up locally a OM1 with 50mm lens for $50. Looking at Ebay there are around 50 OM-1's for a $100 or less. When I buy a camera off Ebay I function check and film test the camera if there is an issue back it goes. Any of the cameras you listed are likely need a CLA which is going to run way over a hundred. Getting a CLA is no guarantee the camera will not break again, I've had two cameras that were CLA and failed after a few roll of film. My most recent CLA was of a Nikon FA only reason I bothered was It was in relly nice shape and I love the matrix metering. Sent it in and my $200 camera came back with a $367 bill. Unpacked it and it wouldn't fire, sent it back. It's still there with some kind of electronic issue. Should of just bought another FA would of saved me a lot of money. I have several cameras that have died and will be sold as parts cameras,

[@geophizz]

While I was looking for the Vivitar that I mentioned in another post here, I snagged an OM-1 with a 28mm lens for $36.50US. It's like new. Now to find a Zuiko 50mm for less than double that price!

[@PsyOpArchitect2049]

I was going to order an me super off of ebay for around 80 dollars and i was showing off to my mom because she used to do photography in highschool. She says "one moment" then dug her old me super out of the closet. Sometimes you get them for free! Lol.

[@Kamerastore]

There are few better ways to get into film photography, Harrison! I hope your ME Super works well and takes great photos. We have a great how-to video covering its operation if you're interested. Thanks for watching! - Connor