Need help on a gift.

My girl friend has a Nikon N65, an older analog camera. I was thinking of getting her a digital. The other day she said she liked the FM10. Something about it being more manual, retro.

Anyways, id prefer to buy her something digital around 400 - 600. Is there anything in that range that is as good or better than her N65?, or is the FM10 a good buy?

Do a search for Nikon D40. Here is one link:

http://sigforum.com/eve/forums...1935/m/106102791/p/1

Things are not looking good for analog. I noticed the other day that Walmart had very little 35MM film in stock. Some of these old cameras won't even make a good boat anchor. I must have 6 or 8 cameras that I should have got rid of several years ago. Now you will be lucky to get $50.

41

I assume that by "analog," she means "film." If she's looking at sticking with film, she'll end up spending more as time progresses, as film is on the way out. Kodachrome (slide film) is discontinued.

Go digital and never look back. The aforementioned Nikon D40 or the Canon Rebel XS are just fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Hickory Shampoo:
I assume that by "analog," she means "film." If she's looking at sticking with film, she'll end up spending more as time progresses, as film is on the way out. Kodachrome (slide film) is discontinued.

Go digital and never look back. The aforementioned Nikon D40 or the Canon Rebel XS are just fine.

On the other hand, if she wants to stick with film, there has never been a better time to buy equipment. The FM10 is a wonderful camera. If she wants to take it further, and enjoys black & white, you could probably get a darkroom setup for well under $100 dollars. Developing B&W film is very enjoyable and rewarding.

Thanks for the input so far guys.

I should have said film. Sorry. Im going to ask her what she thinks about the D40. She currently has access to a darkroom at her work. But, at the same time she has been looking for new jobs so who knows how long that will last. She also at this time doesn't have her own computer. She has access to them, and uses mine a lot, but Im guessing id have to get her computer software along with the digital camera.

Really want to shock her, find an old RB67 like mine.


Or an Mamiya C330 TLR set-up

I've been looking at Bronica SQ-AI's on ebay.

quote:

Originally posted by B.R.:
Thanks for the input so far guys.

I should have said film. Sorry. Im going to ask her what she thinks about the D40. She currently has access to a darkroom at her work. But, at the same time she has been looking for new jobs so who knows how long that will last. She also at this time doesn't have her own computer. She has access to them, and uses mine a lot, but Im guessing id have to get her computer software along with the digital camera.

Not sure about the Nikons, but the Canons come with DPP which will process your RAW files to JPEG and allow you to tweak them. Photoshop Elements costs about $100 and can take it a little farther (cloning erasing etc.)

You can also just take JPEGs with the DSLRs and the pics will come out OK as well, and can be printed/saved at most stores with a photo dept.

A bit of a drift, but I found out I have two Canon T70s with a few lenses. Older stuff left over at the office that no one uses. Would this camera be similar to the FM10, as far as a film camera that can be used manually.

Im googling info now, but figured someone could chim in with the cliff notes.

After years of photographing on film, my wife & I decided to go digital about 7 years ago. With all the investment we had in Nikon glass (lenses), we bought Nikons...... Good stuff if you get either Nikon or Canon.

I'm more into Photoshop and my wife likes Lightroom. There are other software packages that can handle RAW files. Lightroom is very easy to use and your girl friend would enjoy that.

Most DSLRs can be used in manual mode, but I'll bet she uses aperture or shutter mode as she progresses.

D40 won't use screw drive lenses, only the internal Silent Wave motors. Check to see what she has. To use mechanical drive lenses, you'll need a D50 or D90 at the least. Not sure if the D3000 uses screw drive or not, but its a thing to consider.

Might consider going to KEH Camera and seeign what they have in the way of used D200's...last time I checked they were coming down in price and that might give her more control

quote:

Originally posted by B.R.:
A bit of a drift, but I found out I have two Canon T70s with a few lenses. Older stuff left over at the office that no one uses. Would this camera be similar to the FM10, as far as a film camera that can be used manually.

Im googling info now, but figured someone could chim in with the cliff notes.

I have a T90. Interested in relieveing yourself of some stuff?

IMO, if she is really into photography, wait till you can afford something in the 20 megapixal range, when they come out. Then you'll be looking at something nearing the grain quality of 100 ASA film.

FYI - I use my T90 all the time still and when push comes to shove, people still like mine more than pics shot with a 15 megapixal Nikon. I routinely get asked what kind of camera I used. Kids under 25 have no clue what high quality photos look like.