35mm Film SLR question

[born2rumble1st]

I'm starting a beginners photography class in the spring and I need to buy a film SLR. My teacher recommended either the Nikon FM-10 or the Canon EOS Rebel series. I think that I like the Canon's better, but I don't really know enough about film cameras to make an educated decision. Does anyone have any advice as to which to get? If you recommend the Canon, which Rebel model is the best? I've been looking at the Ti, T2, and 2000, but I'm having difficulty differentiating between them. My main priority is getting a camera which has both manual and automatic modes, is relatively inexpensive, and won't limit me as I become more experienced. Also, if anyone has any information about how well these cameras work for people who wear glasses, I'd really appreciate the input! Thanks!
Jessica

[mjs1973]

Welcome to the Forum Jessica. This question comes up a lot on here. Here is a quote from a recent thread that may help you out a bit.

The Canon EOS A2 is an excellent body with most of the bells and whistles without costing an arm and a leg. It's an Auto Focus(EOS) body that's almost pro. KEH has them for around $70 in Excellent condition. The 1N is a pro level body going for about $250, and the 3 is a prosumer body that is a little newer than the 1N and goes for around $300. Just depends how nice you want to go.

For class I would look toward prime lenses, they aren't too expensive, usually fairly fast, and usually very sharp. For example a 50mm f/1.8 is about $80. Other primes are usually in the $200-$500 range for shorter focal lengths, if you stay away from the pro level glass.

Before I went digital, I shot with a Rebel G. It was a pretty good camera and would work fine for a photo class, as would any of the other Rebels you mentioned. As someone who wears glasses, I can tell you I had a very hard time seeing the exposure information inside of the view finder. I don't know how long I had the camera before I even realized there was information being displayed in the view finder! Now when I buy a camera I make sure that I can adjust the diopter on the view finder so I can see the info inside. Just something else to keep in mind.

[freygr]

I have an Nikon FM-10, and it's a very good manual only camera (match metering). The lenses that the FM-10 uses can be found cheap as there is not any AF motors etc. You can find other older pro-bodies which take the same lenses as the FM-10.

The is not anything wrong with the canons and what I said about the non-AF lenses also applies. But you should try both nikon and canon camera's before making the leap. As changing from either will be costly if you end up getting a nice set of lenses.

[w.slayman]

I use Canon FD Manual Focus SLR Cameras and Lenses which are relatively inexpensive, and very good, but they have a major draw back, in that they are NOT COMPATABLE with the EOS (DSLR) systems. If you go with Canon rember that FD and EOS ARE NOT COMPATABLE.

The older Nikon, Pentax and others ARE COMPATABLE with the DSLRs of the same Brand.

[byjamesderuvoDHQ]

The huge advantage of going with the Canon, is that the EF lenses that you get with your Rebel film camera will translate just fine should you choose to upgrade to a Canon DSLR. That's where I'd go.

[Anthony Reiss]

The best SLR for people who wear glasses is the F3 HP (High Eye Point) camera. You have to hold the camera in real life to believe the BIG image you are viewing! You can look at the viewfinde 2 inches away and still see the view! Try it out in a photo store to see what I mean. I have the F3 HP and F2 AS which has the best 100% field of view of any film camera. The Apollo astronauts used the F2 and F3 in space... and they had helmets!

[PWhite214]

My first question would be, do you have a DSLR now? Try to get a Film SLR that uses the same lenses as what you have or, what you plan to buy in the future. I bought Sony Alpha because all my old Konica-Minolta lenses work with the new bodies. Quite a savings over buying a whole new setup.

Phil