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In the last few years there’s been a total resurgence of shooting film. We’re not blaming any one person for leading that charge, we’re just here to point you in the direction of a few different film cameras that you could check out at the end of 2022. That might fit your various budgets, needs and experience.
If you’re someone who’s not really into the nuances and specs of film cameras, you’re really just looking for a fun party camera to capture photos of your family and friends and dogs we’re gonna hit you with a few options that could work for three different budgets.
If your budget isn’t three grand and you want an affordable film camera that’ll achieve that look you’re probably after without breaking the bank, we think that the Yushika mf1 might be exactly what you need. For only $60 this 35 millimeter film camera has a focal length of 31 millimeters which is right in between our two favorite focal lengths the 35 and the 24. It has an aperture of 11 which will do just fine. The shutter speed is 1/120th of a second which is a totally acceptable shutter speed for shooting portraits and landscapes when adequate light is present. It also has a built-in flash so you can shoot in low light or get that american apparel party flash vibe in daylight.
If your belt is a little bit looser and you’re savvy at the old ebay, the Yashica t4 might be a good choice. You’re not gonna find this one brand new and if you find it brand new on ebay it’ll surely be priced higher than you want to pay. But you can often find it used for between $200 and $400. And who doesn’t love recycling and talking about saving the planet? The body is encased in plastic so it truly is lightweight. That makes bringing it with you wherever you go. It has a built-in 35mm zeiss lens with a 3.5 aperture and spot on autofocus. Like the mf1 it also has a built-in flash.
Nikon 35ti. You can find this baddie used for right around a thousand bucks on ebay. Let’s get into why we think you’re gonna like it. It’s made out of titanium hence and has the feel of a more traditional film camera. It also has built-in matrix metering to help you nail that exposure. Slrs or single lens reflex cameras are cameras that usually utilize a mirror and prism system. And this allows the photographer to see what the image will look like through the viewfinder which makes it a great camera for beginner film photographers especially those who are already used to shooting on dslrs.
Released in 2000 the Canon EOS-1V was the last model of professional level film cameras made by canon. If you’re coming over from the dslr world you may find a more modern camera, this has a lot of the features that you’ve been accustomed to over in the digital world. You have five different metering modes, high speed continuous shooting and autofocus. It has a 45 point autofocus, area and subject tracking. It’s compatible with other ef lenses so you have a lot of options in that department. The shutter speed ranges from 30 seconds to 1/8000 of a second and an automatic film advanced system.
When it comes to mid-level slrs there are a lot of solid options. So if you want a few more recommendations you could check out the Olympus OM1, the Nikon F2 and the Canon 1V.
The Pentax 67 is one of the most popular slr medium format cameras and for good reason. This one goes with a 105mm f/2.4 lens, is phenomenal for portraits and as the name implies will produce six by seven centimeter negatives. Now the camera is electro-mechanical so it does rely on a battery to operate. You do have a wide range of lenses available too which is really great and you can also switch out the prism. The body with the 105 millimeter weighs 2.3 kilos or 5.1 pounds.
The Mamiya RZ67 is another super popular medium format slr camera. It is incredibly modular so you can switch out the lenses, viewfinders, film backs etc. So while it does have a waist level viewfinder if you want to shoot eye level you can get the prism finder and you’d be good to go. One thing that’s also pretty cool is the revolving back – you can rotate the back 90 degrees to change the orientation of your composition from landscape to portrait. Since it has a leaf shutter it allows for flash sync speeds up to 1/400th of a second which is really useful. One of the downsides of this camera is it’s not very ergonomic. It’s really designed more for tripod use. Since there’s not really a great way to grip the camera it’s also super heavy. With a 110 millimeter lens it weighs about 2.4 kilos or 5.3 pounds, making it even heavier than the Pentax 67 but the results you can get from this camera are pretty freaking stunning.
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