Womens Boots For Sale

collecting cameras....?

I'm 16 and i'm a photography enthusiast. I have a Canon Rebel XS, which i use often, but i recently got a Holga 135bc and i love it! I really want to collect all different types of cameras, but i don't have a lot of money. My grandmother gave me a Brownie Six-20, which i don't have film for, but it just looks cool sitting on my shelf! So i was wondering if there are any cheap websites I can buy cameras? Mostly 35mm film if possible... Also in working order so i can still use them. I also plan to go to a flea market or two to search for some cameras. I plan on buying a Canon AE-1 slr but i'm hoping that will be my biggest purchase right now. Thanks for any help!

Hi Kelso, it's really neat to hear of younger people getting interested in vintage film cameras! My best advice is to not get too carried away buying tons of cameras because you'll need that money for buying film and having it processed.

If you'd like to learn about different types of cameras on the cheap, attend yard sales, flea markets, Good Will stores, antique shops and search online auctions for them. Also, just putting the word out to your friends and family that you are looking for cameras will help immensely as people will just give you the ones sitting in their closet in many cases.

There are not any retail stores online or elsewhere, that I'm aware of, that specifically sells cheap film cameras. Stores such as KEH.com and CollectibleCameras.com who sell used film cameras, mostly concentrate on more expensive ones like your Canon AE-1 (which is really relatively cheap by comparison to many SLR's.) When you buy anything like the AE-1 and need it to actually work, be sure to buy from one of the aforementioned stores as oppose to from eBay or flea markets.

For a fun but reliable camera that costs less than $100, I highly recommend the Nikkormat FTn over the Canon AE-1 though. While it sounds like you're a Canon fan, the Nikkormat is a much tougher, nicer camera for about the same cost.

The cheapest cameras you can find are simple, cheaply made ones and ones that take obsolete film formats. Kodak, Polaroid, Argus, AGFA, Yashica, Ansco, Bentley, Beauty, Bosley, Sears, Petri, Fujica, Minolta, Konica and many others are brands to look out for. I really enjoy AGFA cameras because they are very cheap and often still work and take excellent photos. The Silettes and Optimas are really fun. Often you'll come across broken cameras that will only be useful for looking at or perhaps learning repair with. Argus C4's are excellent cameras for someone like yourself because they only cost around $15 or less and are easy to learn to repair.

Feel free to email me with any questions at any time. I enjoy talking to student film photographers. Good luck and enjoy!

JohnnyMartyr@Hotmail.com