5 underrated and cheap 35mm film cameras under $100 in 2020

Film cameras and film, in general, is getting pretty expensive. So I decided to go over 5 - 35mm film cameras that I think are reliable, underrated, and inexpensive (aka cheap). They may sacrifice a little on ease of use or having the option to shoot fully automatic, but still provide you with reliable settings and the option to shoot with or without an in body light meter. Lastly, they give you the option to upgrade your body or lenses if you decide to stick with them down the road. I am not at all saying these are the only or the best options out there since that is very much opinion-based. Let me know your thoughts down below and also what other camera options you think fit the criteria.

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[YABUKIJOE]

I thought finding a 35mm to start out with was gonna be simple, but never mind. I’m just sinking more more into these videos and it’s overwhelming

[hedgerw]

Stay away from those f...ing Nikons, they smuggle their friends in. I bought FM few years ago and now there's 5 different bodies living under my roof.

[bradypower]

Mom: we have Peter McKinnon at home.

*Peter McKinnon at home*

[jimmason]

There's just something so solid about a film camera's mechanical shutter. Authoritative

[danielaustin]

Great suggestions! Too many videos pick the cult cameras or expensive medium format gear. Your video is a lot more realistic.

The Fujica SLRs are all good: 601, 701, 801, 901 etc., and they use regular LR44 batteries for the meter (and not obsolete mercury batteries.)

The Pentax ME Super is excellent and with many lens options. I like the electronically controlled blade shutter better than the K1000's mechanical silk shutter. The older ME is basically the same camera but without the manual override for the shutter speed. The SuperProgram (or Super A) is the the same again but adds automatic aperture control. However it needs "A" series lenses to be fully automatic. With M series lenses the SuperProgram is functionally identical to the ME Super.

The Minolta SRT series cameras are excellent, fairly cheap, have great Rokkor lenses, but do use 1.35v mercury cell batteries. There are several options for substitute batteries or simply use an external meter (or an iPhone meter app.)

The Konica Auto S2 is a sweet camera with an excellent lens, but I would only buy one with a guarantee or in person. They are leaf shutter cameras and can have slow shutter blades due to old gummy oil. A CLA on a leaf shutter camera can be costly.

Nikon EM - Great camera & plenty of lens options.

Other suggestions: Ricoh KR-5 series cameras (Pentax K-Mount) Chinon CE or CP series cameras (also Pentax K-Mount) Pentax P series cameras, and Canon T-50.

If shopping online, avoid descriptions such as: untested, have no way to test, worked last time I used it, might need a little work, and especially "as is." All those basically translate to broken.

[AdamRifi]

I fished out a Minolta SRT-101 from a junk box inside a used Japanese camera store around 8 years ago for 3$, still works like a charm today. Nowadays it's at least 10x the price, it's really insane how much film camera prices have gone up

[jerieljaycastino]

am i the only one here loves film photography but don’t have a camera ?

[Roke]

A good option at the higher end of the price range is the Canon EF. It's an electronic version of the "old" F-1 but didn't have support for exchangeable viewfinders or motor drives. It's extremely ruggedly built and you can find them for well under $100 (I got mine for $60). They have a more reliable Si meter as opposed to CdS. They can take 1.3V mercury or Zinc-air but have extremely convenient built-in voltage reduction circuitry to support alkaline or silver oxide batteries and maintain accurate meter function. Shutter-priority and manual shooting modes. Mechanical control for speeds above 1/2 s. FD lenses are supported by some great pre-EOS film cameras and can be easily adapted to mirrorless cameras too. Decent and inexpensive glass. It might not have been as widely produced as some other cameras though.

[TheSilentReviewer]

i've also made a video about the kodak film camera, it would be great if you could leave some feedback! I'm just starting out :)

[Arcturian]

PS I have heard The Minolta Maxxum 5 is amazing too.

[st.armanini]

Thanks for showing the viewfinders! It's the most overlooked aspect by camera reviewers these days

[TheHatMusic]

The Fujica ST901 is a cracking camera, though it's a little tall. The ST605 and ST705 share a chassis which is a little smaller than the 01's (701, 801 and 901). Feature wise, they're pretty much identical otherwise. Personally, I would rate the ST705 over the ST901 purely for the size aspect. Not as small as an OM1, but not far off and a fraction of the price.

With the lock on the lenses, the reason for the lock is for the open aperture meter coupling. If you are looking for one of these cameras or a compatible lens, look at the back of the aperture ring. There should be a small metal tab protruding from it backward towards the body of the camera. In some cases, people buy these lenses to mount on DSLRs and as the tab gets in the way, they file it off. If that happens, open aperture metering is a no-go.

[carolingrimaldi]

pentax and nikon are both a very good choice; okay the nikon is not so much fun as you can't chose shutter speed if you have the opportunity, check condition of the viewfinder - I once had a pentax me with dirt on the matte glass fokus screen - you will never get rid of that! fujica I would doubt there is so much glass to select? - Or would you recommend just to get M42 lenses?

[leocapo]

Hey got a question! I found a Konica s3 online, is it better than the ones in this video? Cause you said something about the s3 being waaay more expensive. Thanks for your time!

[pedromeza]

Good instructions/advise, I have been using film photography since 1967 Junior High School and prefer the simplicity of manual cameras with an internal light meter; Pentax Spotmatic was my favorite.

[MD-enzm]

Nikon FG or FG20 is so much better than the EM for not much more money. You have full control of exposure on those cameras.

[GeNTooFReaK]

good start is also Praktica MTL 50, MTL 5B or VLC ones. Best combined with Carl Zeiss Jena lenses.

[retrocollecting]

I found this while searching for the most expensive film camera

[DiscoverWithDima]

Great video man, just looking to get into film shooting for my own setup and your suggestions are all very good! Definitely subscribed! I’m looking at the Minolta XM-G, Pentax ME Super, and maybe the Auto S2. Never shot film before.

[YourMiddleBroPhil]

Nikon FG's are super cheap, easy to use, and the lenses are Nikon FD mount lenses which are everywhere