So, what makes a film camera a student film camera? How is it different from any other film camera? What exactly do you need to look for? Which cameras make good student cameras? And where should you buy one? In this article, I’m going to endeavor to provide my take on the answers to these questions — ones important to anyone who’s signed-up for a film photography class (or is considering it), or who is looking to get into film photography for the first time.
If you’ve landed on this page by way of a web search, let me be clear right up-front: This article doesn’t speak to digital photography in any way. While the principles of photography are fundamentally the same between film and digital, I don’t think anyone ever goes looking for a “student digital camera.” And if they do, this article isn’t really going to help. But if your photography course is centered on film, and you’re new to film, I hope this presents some useful tips on what to look for.
What’s a “student camera” anyway?
In short, a student camera has the features needed for its user to learn and apply the basic concepts of photography. In my mind, those features — one operational, and the rest technical — are as follows:
Comparatively economical to acquire and operate
Film photography just keeps getting more and more expensive. While even seasoned film photographers can make expensive mistakes with regularity (I speak from experience), as a student, you’re going to be making a whole lot of mistakes; bad exposures, or inadvertently doing something like opening the camera back with a partially used roll of film inside. You want those mistakes to be as cheap as possible. That means, generally, using a camera that most people colloquially refer to as a “35mm camera” (also known as a camera that takes 135 or 35mm roll film). Medium format (120 roll film) is simply too costly to burn through with newbie errors, and large format introduces too many variables (and even higher costs) for new photographers to be expected to control well.
Easily adjustable aperture and shutter speed
You have to be able to control exposure — the amount of light reaching the film — in order to take usable photos. Proper exposure takes knowledge and experience, but it all starts with the aperture and the shutter speed — the two variables you control to achieve it. Both use the concept of stops, which is critical for a film photographer to grasp. There’s a push-and-pull relationship between them, because both allow more light (or less light) to reach the film, but have different effects on the resulting photo.
- Aperture
Aperture is the size of the opening in the lens, and it’s important not just for exposure control, but for learning about controlling depth-of-field so you can either make backgrounds blurry to make your subject pop (a/k/a bokeh), or ensuring that your entire scene is in sharp focus. - Shutter speed
Shutter speed is the amount of time the camera allows light to reach the film when you press the button. It’s important not just for exposure control, but also for learning how to freeze movement (like sports photography or other action photography), or achieve things like soft waterfalls or other artistic effects.
Both the aperture and the shutter speed should be settable, and be changeable easily. This rules-out many cameras from the 1990s and beyond, such as the Canon EOS series for example, which eliminated the aperture ring from EF-mount lenses, and put aperture control into the electronics of the camera body where you have to navigate electronic interfaces to modify it.
Manually adjustable focus
I don’t personally feel that auto-focus cameras have a place for students, so choosing a camera with a manually focused lens is, I believe, an important attribute of a student camera.
Interchangeable lenses
I think the ability to change lenses is important, although not at first. Students can learn everything they need to know with a single, standard, non-zoom lens — for 35mm cameras, something with a focal length of around 50mm. But understanding the principles of focal length and its impact on field-of-view is an important concept, and being able to change lenses supports that learning. This may be better cast as “how to make a student camera more useful long-term” sort of thing, so planning ahead can have some value.
Summary
That’s it — those are the necessities. I’ll cover some optional items in a moment, but if you have the above, you’re pretty well good to go.
The attributes I described pretty much only come together in the form of a 35mm SLR (single-lens reflex) camera, and in fact, 35mm SLRs have been “the” student camera for decades. Many rangefinder cameras can fill the bill too, but most people don’t go out and buy a Leica M6 with the intent to learn film photography. (For those who haven’t been around film photography long enough to understand that reference, a Leica M6 kit with a lens will set you back several thousand dollars. If you have a budget like that, you probably don’t need the advice of this article to begin with.)
Other things you might add to the list
Here are a few other things you might consider adding to the list of features to look for, but I don’t consider any of them mandatory.
On-board meter
A camera with some sort of meter on-board the camera body can make some sense. I honestly believe that using a handheld exposure meter is a smarter way to go, or, you can use a metering app for your smartphone, but having it built into the camera is a nice convenience.
The problem is that on-board meters are a real pain in the backside. First, they tend to be pretty lousy at metering scenes with extremes of light (e.g., backlit scenes), but more importantly, a high percentage of the meters in vintage cameras simply don’t work — some don’t work at all, and many (even most) that do are inaccurate. In short:
- Many on-board meters from the 1960s use selenium-cells and require no batteries, but selenium cells in particular age poorly. If they work at all, they are highly unlikely to give accurate results.
- Most on-board meters from the 1970s use CdS (cadmium-sulfide) cells and require a battery. The problem is that those batteries originally were 1.35 volt mercury batteries, which are now banned. Adapting or adjusting a camera to use modern, 1.5 volt, non-mercury batteries is a subject that would require its own lengthy article to explain. In short, if you buy a camera that’s already been professionally adapted for a modern battery or adjusting to compensate for one, you might be fine. But if it hasn’t, it’s not something the typical student camera buyer will want to deal with, as it can be expensive (or impossible) to achieve.
- Most on-board meters from the 1980s and beyond also use CdS (or similar) light sensing cells, and require batteries too. But the batteries are usually more modern alkaline or silver oxide types. If these cameras’ meters still function, and many of them do in my experience, chances are pretty good they’re accurate enough as well — but you can’t always count on it.
One more note on this topic; not all meters on-board the camera are necessarily meters in the true sense. My own student camera from years ago, a Minolta XG-1, doesn’t have a meter, but it does have an aperture-priority automatic mode. This means that you set the aperture, and the camera will calculate the proper shutter speed according to the exposure meter that’s built-in, when you have the camera set to its “A” (auto) mode. By observing the viewfinder, which shows the calculated speed with LED lights, you get the functional equivalent of a meter result, and can then manually (re-)set the shutter speed as desired based on that information, tweaking aperture or shutter speed to get the result you want. The XG-1 isn’t the only camera that operates this way. It forces you to take an extra step (unless you just shoot it in aperture-priority automatic mode), but it gives you the same end result.
Depth-of-field preview
Many SLRs have a depth-of-field (or DoF) preview button or lever, also sometimes called a “step-down” button or lever. It closes the aperture to the value you’ve set, allowing you to see for yourself how shallow or deep the depth-of-field is — in other words, you can preview the bokeh effect (or lack of it). In some cameras, notably those from around the 1960s, this button or lever also serves to activate the exposure meter, since the lens has to be stopped-down to measure the light properly.
In any case, this is useful on a student camera; if you’re learning the effect of aperture on depth-of-field, then being able to visually see what’s happening is a great way to understand it all.
Features you don’t want
I mentioned Canon EOS cameras above for a specific reason (no aperture ring on the lenses), but broadly, the fewer electronic components and the less automation the better when it comes to a student camera. Pretty much anything from the 1960s onward has some sort of electronics on-board, but as time went-on, more electronics were introduced, more automation was introduced (auto-focus, auto-exposure, etc.), and to a large degree, the less reliable the cameras became (as evidenced by the exposure meter issues I already went over).
Regardless, I would avoid auto-focus cameras entirely, even if you can switch them to a manual-focus mode, since it’s yet another electronic system within the camera that can fail with time. And, always check to be sure that the camera can be operated fully manually. That eliminates cameras like the Yashica FR-II and Nikon EM, as two (among many) examples — excellent cameras, but both lacking a settable shutter speed; the speed is set automatically by the camera based on the aperture setting you choose.
Where to buy
Now that you know what a student camera should have in terms of essential features, the next question would be where you should go to shop for one.
These days, shopping online may be the only option many of us have, in a practical sense. If you must shop online, I would choose a store where you can call and speak with a sales consultant about what you need and want, and solicit their input on what sort of outfit they can put together for you that meets your needs and budget. I would also do business only with shops that have liberal return and/or warranty periods, since buying online can be a risk; if what you get isn’t what you expected, the ability to send it back is pretty important.
If at all possible, find a camera shop that deals in used gear where you can go in and actually talk to someone, and see for yourself what’s available, what condition it’s in, and how it’s priced. Perhaps you can negotiate a lower price, too — or at least talk them into throwing in a roll or two of film to get you started. Ask about return and warranty policies.
Lastly, I would highly recommend avoiding auction sites, or charity sites. Both are rife with errors of omission in listing descriptions, and auction sites in particular seem to nearly always have exaggerated claims about the condition things are in. If you go this route, be 100% certain you can return the merchandise if you’re not satisfied.
One final note on returns: Often times, you won’t know if the camera truly works properly until you’ve run a roll of film through it. Only then can you see, visually, optical issues, light leaks, shutter timing inaccuracies, and other problems. If you have, for example, only a 10-day return period, it will take longer than that to shoot a roll of film, have it processed, and see the results. Make sure you have ample time to shoot a test roll through it. And if you’re brand new to photography, as you likely are if you’re buying a student camera, then find a knowledgeable friend or local mentor to help you get that initial test roll shot quickly and correctly so you can evaluate the results.
What to buy
I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t take a quick stab at naming a few decent candidates you might consider for your student camera choice. This is not a comprehensive or exhaustive list by any means; there are hundreds of different models and sub-models and variations of 35mm SLR cameras, and a good percentage of them would probably make decent student cameras — provided they’re in operating condition. But there are some common choices, and here are a few.
Pentax K1000
If there was ever a true archetype of the student camera, this is it. Introduced in 1976, and produced for a whopping 21 years, one big reason for its production longevity was its appeal for students and first-timers. With a basic and suitable feature set, and support for popular and plentiful Pentax K-mount lenses, it’s as popular today — nearly half a century after it was introduced — as it ever has been for newbies. Perhaps the biggest single benefit of a K1000 is that you can still easily get them serviced; my own K1000 had delaminating prism mirroring, and I was able to get the prism replaced and a CLA performed for a cost I deemed affordable. But finding a working, ready-to-use K1000 shouldn’t be a huge challenge.
Canon AE-1 and AE-1 Program
The ubiquity and serviceability of the AE-1/AE-1 Program, like the K1000, makes them a good choice for students and first-timers, and they are indeed a very popular choice. And like the K1000, the AE-1 was introduced in 1976; it was followed by the updated AE-1 Program in 1981. Nobody (including Canon’s own online museum) seems to know, or say, when the AE-1 Program went out of production; I’d guess (and it’s purely a guess) that it was gone by the late 1980s. Regardless, millions of these cameras were sold, and also like the K1000, the expertise to service them is still pretty widely available. My own AE-1 Program was acquired as part of an auction lot, and it was in very rough, very well-used condition, with corrosion and even some minor water damage. Still, I was able to get the camera CLA’ed and it works beautifully despite its horrendous looks. The AE-1 family uses Canon’s excellent FD-mount lenses, which are plentiful and affordable. The main difference between the original AE-1 and the AE-1 Program is the addition of a program mode, allowing the camera to decide both the aperture and shutter speed to obtain proper exposure; it can still be shot manually, making either of the two types perfectly suitable for newbies.
I also want to mention the Canon TX, and Canon FTb. I don’t have an FTb, but the TX was essentially a stripped-down version of it, and both would make suitable student cameras — provided they’re in working order.
Later Ricoh SLRs
Some of the most overlooked, undervalued, and underappreciated cameras I can think are the various later models from Ricoh, notably the KR-5 and KR-10 and their variations (e.g., KR-5 Super, KR-5 Super II, etc.), but there are others in the extended family as well. These cameras accept Pentax K-mount lenses, and they use the extremely reliable and accurate Copal Square shutter, which is a metal, vertical-travel shutter (vs. the horizontal-travel fabric curtain of most 35mm SLRs). Many (if not most) were actually made by Cosina, a Japanese camera maker who produced cameras under contract not just for Ricoh, but certain models from Pentax, Nikon, Canon, Yashica, Konica, and many others as well. Ricoh KR-5 and KR-10 models in particular are often very easily found for ridiculously low prices, the only problem being that they may need minor service (general cleaning, and/or new mirror dampers and/or door seals installed) before they’re good to go, and finding someone to do that job can be tough. Otherwise, in my experience anyway, these cameras are often fully operational, and represent true bargains. Look for examples that are tested, working, and already have the seals and damper foam replaced; they won’t be as cheap, but they’re still likely bargains.
Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, and Others
The “big five” Japanese SLR makers were Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Minolta, and Olympus, and all five have SLRs that are suitable for students. I’m not a “Nikon guy,” so I can’t suggest anything specific with them; the Olympus OM-1 and OM-1n are both good choices for students as well as 35mm film enthusiasts in general, and the Zuiko lenses are superb. And as for Minolta, they made too many cameras that make great student cameras and beyond, from the XG-1 and XG-M to the X-370 and X-700. This is where simply talking to someone at your local camera shop, or a sales consultant if you’re buying online, may be a good choice. They can go over the options they might have in-stock, and hopefully find something for you that’s ready to use, but doesn’t break the bank.
What not to buy
I’ll end with some random thoughts on what not to buy:
- Konica SLRs. I love my Konicas, I truly do, and they can be excellent cameras. But I know of nobody at this writing (December 2022) who specializes in servicing them or who is willing to work on them, and they often simply have too many issues to justify taking a risk. If you find something in working condition from a retailer, and they’ll warranty the camera for a reasonable period, only then would I consider one for the typical student buyer.
- Fujica SLRs. Like the Konica, I love my Fujica cameras, and I think they’re excellent; the lenses in particular are quite good. I have two AX-5s that work very nicely, and would be a great student camera if you can find one in as good a shape as my own. But finding someone to service one of them if it’s not working great is difficult — to impossible. Find one working with a warranty? Great. Otherwise, don’t take the risk.
- Yashica SLRs. In the 1970s, Yashica teamed-up with Contax and Carl Zeiss to create a new family of system cameras, which included the Yashica FX and later on the Yashica FR cameras, which accept C/Y-mount lenses. Zeiss made the really high-end lenses, while Yashica made the ML and DSB series lenses (both excellent). My FR-I is one of my favorite SLRs, bar none. But like Konica and Fujica, they can have issues, and getting anyone to repair one is very difficult to impossible.
- Any SLR from the 1960s or earlier. While I love my Minolta SR-T cameras, my Asahi Pentax M42-mount cameras, my Petri cameras, my Ihagee Exaktas, and many others, I can’t in good faith actively recommend pretty much any SLRs from the 1960s (or earlier) for today’s students. They can be great, but they often need work, or are unreliable, and they’re best left to avid camera collectors. About the only real exception is an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic of some sort, ideally the Spotmatic F (due to its meter circuitry, which is unique to the F model). If you can find one serviced and ready to use, with a warranty of some sort, they can be a good choice, and can often be serviced still today. But in general, pass on the bona fide antiques in favor of something more modern.
Summary
If you’re just coming into the world of film photography, welcome! You’re about to begin an adventure with limitless creative potential and opportunities to learn. It all begins with your first camera, and hopefully these tips will be helpful as you consider the starting place for your photographic journey. Happy shooting!
