New Old Camera - Any good?

[skiaholik]

My roommate left his old camera behind when he moved out and when I called him he said I could have it because he never used it anyway. Being a photo jong I have no idea if its just a junker or any good. Here are the specs on the box, lemme know what I have to work with here.

Phoenix P1 SLR

Shutter speeds: B to 1/2000
Viewfinder: 0.86 x image magnification at infinity with 50mm lens. 93% horizontal and vertical view of actual picture area
Exposure Measurement Range: ISO 100/21:EV2 (f/2.1/2s) - EV19 (f/16.1/2000s)
Film Speed Range: ISO 25 to 3200

It also came with an add on electronic flash piece for the top. Specs for that are:

Guide #: 120-ISO 100ft
Auto Range: 3-43ft
Sufficient Light Indicator
4 auto f stops
Lighted calculator dial



Help from any photogs would be greatly appreciated.

[Patches]

$179 new with lens:

http://www.adorama.com/SYP13570B.html

Probably not so great, and doesn't appear to be collectible. But might be fun - if you used it the limiting factor in picture quality would probably be you, not the camera. (True of most people, including me).

I wouldn't spend any money on lenses though, better to get a used nikon or canon. If you got a better camera in the future the nikon/canon lenses should still work on it. (You can use 40 year old Nikon lenses on the current nikon digitals)

Nikon film bodies are cheap. Film bodies in general, are cheap these days, lots of people dumping them for digital.

[Tippster]

Not a bad film camera, actually, and you can get some decent lenses for them cheap: http://www.chriscamera.com/south/lenses.htm


You could also spend some serious $$ and buy Zeiss lenses for it. All depends on if you want to make this a hobby or if you're ust messing around.

[summit]

Phoenix is t3h gh3y.

However, when it comes to film SLRs, all the camera does is hold film and keep it away from the light except when you click tha button.

It is a perfectly fine manual focus camera.

It uses K mount lenses. Good quality K mount lenses can be had for dirt cheap on ebay. You should be able to buy yourself 3 lenses for less than $100. A 50mm should be like $15.

There is no better way to learn photography. Get some darkroom access. Enjoy!

[upallnight]

I know it's free and that is appealing...and there are benefits to learning photography with a manual camera (as I did), but lately I am thinking that going with digital has at least the following benefits:

* No developing costs. Slide film is pricey, and to learn you need to shoot, shoot, shoot lots of it to see what works and what doesn't. While the initial cost of digital/a dSLR is definitely higher, there is a point where you come out ahead with digital.

* Unless you are the type to take copious notes about exposure, focal length, etc, you will not learn much because you can't connect your slides back to the camera settings. Digital is perfect for this because all the EXIF info is stored with the image. If you take 3 shots of a composition you like w/ different settings, you can get home and see what you liked better and take that info into the field the next time the situation arises.

* Digital = instant feedback. If your dSLR can do a histogram, you can use that to adjust your exposure and get the shot, rather than learning a week later that it was under/overexposed. Also...you have the pictures right there when you return from your trip (= a better chance of the situations being in your memory, so you can learn more from them)

Just some thoughts.

Learning on a fully manual camera for me was great as I could not *rely* on any auto settings, therefore I had no choice but to learn the interplay of it all. If someone is slightly more disciplined, I think a dSLR with the ability to go fully manual is a better investment, as you can learn in full-manual mode and have the benefits of digital. Later, you can be selective about which mode(s) you use.

You *could* also go the route of, say, buying a Nikon FM2(n) on eBay, and buy some Nikon glass. When you're done learning, you'll be able to sell the body for what you paid (certain models like the FM2(n) hold their value), and the glass will still be compatible with a dSLR.

(Edit: Corrected my typo of EXIF info)

[Tippster]

EXIF with an "F"

EXIF stands for Exchangeable Image File Format, and is a standard for storing interchange information in image files, especially those using JPEG compression. Most digital cameras now use the EXIF format.

If you have the time and money shooting film will make you a better photographer than merely shooting digi. Too many ways to make an OK picture good in post with digital. Especially when shooting chrome (slides) you're either good or not, there's no "close."

[mtbakerskier]

Need a boat anchor??? Caus you just got one. Actualy, I beleave that it will take Pentax K-mount lenses, so why the body isnt so great, it will take just as good of pics as a more expensive body, dependning on how good the lense you put on it is.

[hev]

on a related note if anyone wants an N70 body for cheap PM me.

[upallnight]

EXIF with an "F"

Yes...typo fixed.

If you have the time and money shooting film will make you a better photographer than merely shooting digi. Too many ways to make an OK picture good in post with digital. Especially when shooting chrome (slides) you're either good or not, there's no "close."

Agreed...but he's interested in a free camera, so film and processing costs can quickly get out of hand.

One absolutely CAN use the best qualities of digital to hone their skills, though, in a myriad of ways.

All work is pretty much done in the digital realm. It's exceedingly rare (and somewhat sad to me) that so few people go from image capture to print without ANY digital steps.

Whether you shoot slides & do a drum scan or just go straight to digital, nearly everyone does processing in the digital darkroom these days. Also, of course, when shooting film he is unlkely to get drum scans for every slide, and he'll probably be relegated to getting a basic scanner (another cost) to scan/process/share images with friends (even just to get feedback from a photography forum to improve). The time required to color-correct and fix issues with a scan from a basic scanner and the resultant quality easily justifies going straight to digital.

[I'm not saying it can't be done...but with a home scanner it absolutely DOES take me far longer to fix the scan to get closer to what is on the original slide. We're not talking manipulation here, just getting back to the original.]

In my view, manipulation in the digital realm is just that -- manipulation. It has its purpose and benefits. Ultimately, what you learn from it *should* be used to go out and take better pictures the next time around. (Not all people view it that way.)

Even when I send my slides out to a shop for printing, they get scanned first these days.

Just stuff to consider -- it all depends on your time, money, and discipline.