am wanting to get into balck and white still photography and i was wondering if you had any sugestions for a good starter camera, new or old that was less then $100?

-- joel newkirk (newkirk@bigfoot.com), January 02, 2000

Answers

Less than $100, huh? That leaves out both used and new SLRs, short of a holy-grail-swap-meet-bargain-of-a-lifetime situation. But there are still some surprisingly good 35mm cameras that can be had for under $100.

(However, before I continue, what are using now? Any camera that can produce good color shots can also work with b/w film. Try using your current camera to see if you like working in b/w. And start by first determining if you want to shoot chromagenic film [e.g., Kodak Black&White+] so you can get prints from any minilab, or if you're jumping into doing your own conventional b/w developing and printing. If you're not going to your own processing, getting good results in standard b/w film is either quite expensive [from a pro lab] and/or pretty difficult [from anybody else].)

NEW - The under-$100 point and shoot king is the Olympus Stylus Epic, which is going for $80-90, or its older brother, the original Olympus Stylus, which is going for about $70. Either one will give you nice b/w results and is small enough to carry all the time. (The newer Epic has a faster lens, spot metering, and some slight refinements to the exposure, focus, and flash systems, but either one is a fine choice.) There are many other good p&s cameras available in the $50- 100 range, but the Stylus Epic is frequently singled out as the champ in this category.

OLD - An old rangefinder like a Canonet QL17 G-III is one good choice that can be found for under $100. Sharp, fast 1.7 40mm lens with rangefinder focusing, accurate metering, and full range of controllable shutter speeds and f-stops. (Unlike the p&s Stylus, this is essentially a manual camera, but with good focus-assist and exposure-determination features.) There are a bunch more of these 70s rangefinders from all the Japanese manufacturers that are good shooters; see Stephen Gandy's cool page on them for details - http://www.jetlink.net/~cameras/com35s.htm

Another used choice worth considering is one of the Olympus Pen half- frame cameras. I have an EES-2 that takes simply wonderful b/w shots, and there are loads of old Pens available for under $100, especially the fixed-focus EE, EE-2, and EE-3 (the EES series has guestimated zone-focus settings). These cameras produce twice as many pictures on a roll of film, and results with modern films are very good - but processing is more expensive 'cause there are more images. (Or, you have to spend way longer in the darkroom printing the 55 images you get on a 24-exp roll!)

There are a few other choices for under $100 too, but as I indicated above, the camera is only one part of the equation for b/w photography. If you're serious, you'll want to do your own darkroom work, and that's a whole other thing...

-- Michael Goldfarb (mgoldfar@mobius-inc.com), January 03, 2000.

Try an Olympus XA (used only- no longer made). It's got 35mm full frame, true rangefinder (image coupling), manual focus, aperture priority, and a *sharp* 35 mm f2.8 lens. It's almost as small as a PalmV. Shutter speeds from about 1 second to 1/500, apertures from f2.8 through 22. Comes in a steel sliding case (built-in). Leaf shutter is very quiet. Great for street photography. You should be able to find one used for under $100.

-- Asher (schachter@a1.tch.harvard.edu), January 03, 2000.

I usually give this answer to the question. It may not fit the way you want to work, or it may be a springboard into other things -- no way to tell.

My suggestion is to look for a used, but good condition Yashicamat 124G twin lens reflex 6cm x 6cm format using 120 size film. Or a similarly made Minolta Autocord or, if affordable, a Rolleiflex with a clean Tessar or Xenar lens.

These cameras have several advantages to someone who wants to learn black and white photography. They are available at a price near what you quote (I found a good Rolleiflex for $75 -- your results may vary) They are out there in pretty good quantity, especially in larger cities with a good assortment of camera shops. They are simple, rugged, all-mechanical cameras with a non-interchangable lens. They have a large ground glass viewfinder that shows almost exactly what you are going to record on your negative. They are fairly light and compact cameras, which means you will likely want to take it with you every time you leave the house -- (number 1 rule for getting good photos: have a camera with you at all times). They take 12 exposures on a roll of film, which has always seemed to me just right for a day's outing taking pictures. Enough to shoot an extra view, but not so many that you feel guilty about "wasting" those final ten frames.

The other advantage in my opinion, is the film itself, or rather its size. It is a negative 2 1/4" on a side with several times the area of a 35mm frame. That means the image on the film can be bigger, needing less enlargement for the same sized print. The image is big enough to see clearly in a contact print, which is all you need to make in the beginning. It will also stand a great deal of enlargement when you advance in your photography to that stage. Just about any kind of film made is available in 120 size. It may not be available at the drug store, but any shop that supplies professionals or advanced amateur photographers will stock a wide variety. It is also available from companies like Calumet, Freestyle, and others.

Finally, if you do get tired of the camera or want to move on to something else, it will have held its value fairly well, or even appreciated, provided you have taken care of it.

Good luck, whichever way you go.

-- Tony Brent (ajbrent@mich.com), January 03, 2000.

I secomend an earlier recomendaion for a 120 format TLR. Also available for way under the $100 mark are assorted Graflex models. I got myself a Graflex 22 for $25 a few years back.

As well, there are a multitude of range finders of decent quality available on the market as well. To use an example familar to me..the Minolta HiMatic line... it includes fixed focus, zone-focus by guessed range, and true-range finder focusing models. Models range from full manual to full automatic in terms of exposure...there is one paticular model (I believe the 7s) that is the best of them all... Shutter Priority, Aperature priority, Automatic, and Manual...with true range finder focusing. It has a speedy little f1.8 lens of 40 or 45mm. These go on e-bay from $10 to $50 depending on the model and condition..at the very least you'l haev another $50 left over for film when you're done...oh yes..they're also much smaller than a TLR, and about as big as the smallest SLRs (at least the 7s it...it's the biggest of them all..in physical size.)

-- Joseph (roseblood@amx.net), January 04, 2000.

Good comment about the rangefinders. And I forgot about the Graflex 22.

I guess my main point is that regardless of the camera you finally settle on, an automatic, do-everything-for-you machine isn't the ideal camera for learning black and white. Once you get an understanding of what is happening when you expose film to a given subject, you will likely find that you want to use settings that are different from those the camera chooses for you. A typical complaint from people starting out in black and white with an automatic camera and sending their film to a lab to be developed is that their pictures look alll grey and lifeless.

By learning what happens when you expose film and when you process it, you will have first-hand experience and control of the entire sequence of events from metering light to exposing film, developing it and printing it to make a photograph that expresses what it was about that scene that caught your eye and made you want to photograph it in the first place.

Cameras that don't impose their will on you will let you make your own decisions more easily than if you have to stop and figure out how to over-ride this or that automatic mechanism. They will also be cheaper, more dependable, more flexible and will not become obsolete with the next change in software.

Let us know what you come up with and how your work progresses.

-- Tony Brent (ajbrent@mich.com), January 04, 2000.