In this age of digital, a few of us still crave for the thrill of film. So if you are looking for a film SLR camera, read on.
Before you jump into Canon vs Nikon vs Minolta vs the rest of the world, I suggest consider the following factors:
Budget - Needs no explaination. All choices revolve around it.
Needs - What is your requirement? Are you planning to take up photography as a profession? Or are you going to take it up as a serious hobby (astrophotography etc)? Or, you are a weekend warrior (like me)?
Depending on the above, you will have to plan for photo equipment plus processing equipment (darkroom, a quality film scanner or printing facilities). If you just want to make your photos look better then some entry level gear plus development and printing at a pro lab might be the answer.
For eg, I found that the lowest SLR with a good set of features from the Nikon stable is the N80/F80. But thats outside my budget. I have used the Canon 300V and liked it but found that all features don’t work in all modes. Looked at Minolta Maxxum 5 and found that its cheap, loaded with features and has good performance reviews. Ofcourse, it does lack some features that pros might want but I am just starting out. So I probably won’t miss expensive features like mirror lock and the fact that the camera is small (something pros detest) is a boon for me because I have small hands.
- Skill level - How long have you been shooting and how deep do you plan to get into it? If you are beginner, I doubt you will appreciate immiediately the difference between a cheap Nikkor and cheap Minolta lens. Or between a good quality but cheap lens and a high quality expensive lens.
Conventional wisdom says Nikon makes the best lenses but I don’t think that can be said for the bundled lenses or all the cheap ones that Nikon makes. So determine your need (zoom, prime, wide-angle, sports, wildlife, portrait, landscape, nature) and your budget and then see which manufacturer gives the best performance for your money. For eg, you might find that the 70-210mm f4 that Minolta sells is better than Niikon’s with the same specs and in the same price range.
Also, you might want to look at future upgradeability. That means if you plan to buy a dSLR in the future, will the lenses you invest in (lenses are a BIG investment) be compatible with the dSLRs from the same manufacturer?
Last but not the least, google in ’’Web’’ and ’’Groups’’ for the products you chose and read as many reviews as you can without getting confused :)
Hope this help,
Cheers,
Siddhartha