The price to performance of used cameras is absurd. My view is that digital photography tech hit maturity in 2008 with the release of the Canon 5D Mark II and Nikon D700.
There is an overwhelming amount of professional gear out there at rock bottom prices. Consumer gear can be a blast when it’s cheap enough. The right camera for a style of shooting is going to be better than whatever the newest camera happens to be. (Unless you’re doing sports/action/wildlife. AF tech is getting absurd.)
I have had batteries fall apart, fail within months, and with a capacity far below what’s on the label. It’s difficult to find good quality third party batteries.
There is an easy way ANYONE can inexpensively capacity test camera batteries. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to capacity test camera batteries. It is a simple DIY project that only requires, ~$30, a screwdriver, and pair of wire strippers.
All lenses aren’t equal, especially when it comes to vintage and early digital camera lenses. Modern lenses will give you images that are razor sharp corner to corner. Vintage lenses can set themselves apart by how they render, the color you can get with them, interesting bokeh, or other characteristics not valued by current photographers.
On the other hand, many vintage lenses are not good. Their performance may not be good enough to set them apart from other lenses. Worse, as time has gone on some lenses have defects such as haze, fungus, balsam separation, or degraded grease, that will render them worthless because of the difficulty in repair.
I’m somewhat indiscriminate in my purchasing of gear, so I get a mix of good, bad, and average. The lens reviews will help you find a lens worth owning. These are popular film cameras that recieve frequent lens questions.
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Introduced in 1990, the Canon EOS Rebel is the first camera to have the Rebel branding. The Canon EOS Rebel S is the same camera, but with a built in flash.
In Europe the camera was called the Canon EOS 1000F and EOS 1000F QD. Both of those had a built in flash, with the QD model having a quartz date back.
In Japan the camera was released as the Canon EOS 1000F QD-P. The P designated that the camera had a panorama mode.
120 and 220 film are both medium format films that come on film spools. The last 220 film was discontinued in 2018. That leaves 120 as the last medium format film being sold.
For the most part only 120 remains. Occasionally hand-rolled 220 rolls will show up on places like eBay.
Both types of film have the same nominal 61mm (2.4 inches) width. The difference is the length of the film.
There is a Canon EOS Rebel XS 35mm film SLR and digital DSLR with the same name. This is about the 35mm film camera released in 1993 and known as the EOS 500 in Europe and EOS Kiss in Japan.
The EOS Rebel XS was an entry-level model. It was manufactured until 1996 and was replaced by the Canon EOS Rebel G. (Europe: 500N, Japan: New EOS Kiss)
Unless you’re lucky enough to find a great local deal, you’ll have to look online. A small change in availability can cause a big price increase.
Fujica is the brand name Fujifilm used for the 35mm film SLRs the company produced. Released in the early 1980’s, the Fujica AX-5 was the most advanced model available. The two other models in the Fuji AX line were the AX-3 and AX-1.
The camera was not widely distributed throughout the United States. I don’t know about other locations outside of Japan.
Lenses for the camera can often be difficult to find. The introduction of autofocus in the mid 1980’s put an end to sales.
You’ll likely spend more money on a few rolls of 35mm film, than a Canon Rebel G. The camera is practically free.
Introduced in 1996, the Canon EOS Rebel G is a 35mm film single-lens reflex (SLR) camera that replaced the Canon EOS Rebel XS. It is a consumer-level 35mm SLR camera.
In Europe, it was called the Canon EOS 500N and in Japan, the New EOS KISS.
There are 2 body color variations, black and silver. There are also versions that have a quartz date back.
If you want to adapt an M42 lens to Nikon be careful. With an F-mount camera, you can potentially cause damage with some M42 screw mount lenses.
With some lenses, the rear element can extend back into the mirror box of a camera. A handful of M42 lenses can extend far enough back and hit the mirror.
The flange focal distance is how far the sensor or film plane is away from the camera mount. This distance is large in SLR cameras because of the mirror.