BetterPhoto Member |
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Please suggest an SLR
Hello All, I need help finding a 35mm SLR (new or used) based on the following criterion: Must have features: 1. ability to manually control the
aperture, focus, and shutter speed.
2. film reverse for making double
exposures.
3. I'd like to be able to use it with
my telescope, so it has to have a
shutter that can stay open
indefinatley and a mirror that can
be locked up Features that would be nice: -in camera light meter
-flash sync @ 1/250 sec This will be the first SLR I've ever owned and I'll be doing a lot of learning with it, so the more manual it is, the better. Not that I have a problem with automation, it's just that I don't want to get confused by all of the features most AE cameras offer. Thanks a bunch and have a good one,
A.
January 31, 2006
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Kerry L. Walker |
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Sounds like the Nikon FM-3A would fit your specs. except for the MLU.
January 31, 2006
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Will Turner |
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You should be consulting a few more specialized astrophotography sites. Not only do they have more information, they can tell you which cameras 'met the specs' but also which ones then froze up during a long night's work, couldn't be repaired, had a unreliable internal component, etc.: http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/I03/I03.HTM http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=349 http://home.g-net.net/~andy/aphoto.htm Once you find a few suitable cameras, check a few enthusiast sites for information on camera ownership experience. You don't want to be the guy who re-discovers the fact that no one wants to repair Minolta XE-7s anymore, that Pentax LX bodies usually need extensive and pricey CLA to replace all those seals, etc. At minimum, you'll want a SLR that mechanically holds its shutter open on bulb or time setting. You are excluding quite a lot of cameras with two of your requirements - most 35mm film SLR cameras cannot achieve your 1/250 flash sync minimum without a modern vertical-travel metal shutter, while most newer SLRs lack MLU. Some SLRs (Yashica FX-3, Nikon FM3a) do have a 'poor man's' MLU in the form of mirror pre-fire, where using the self timer locks up the mirror before the shutter is activated.
January 31, 2006
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