I like the Pentax P3n from 1988
It has many names :
Pentax P3n
Pentax P30n
Pentax P30t
(the finder is only on there as a joke, I don't use the finder with it)
Hello from Maine
Sometimes I find a camera that really clicks with me - the first Pentax camera I liked a lot was "K1000 SE" with it's split prism and subtle "needle metering" - I loved it.
With the popularity of the K1000 I sold it on eBay for crazy bucks and tried the P3n from 1988, it's super nice! I like it better than the K1000 SE.
And it was only $20 !!!
The meter is nice and modern, silicon photocell equivalent (apparently) like our modern dSLR's. It really made great exposures for me even in high contrast situations.
Like this :
and this :
It can shoot in "auto mode" when using an "auto aperture lens"
It can shoot in "aperture priority mode" with any lens
It can shoot in "metered manual mode" with any lens (like the K1000)
That's plenty of control if you want it, or auto mode if you don't.
And being a Pentax it can use a huge array of K-mount lenses and M42 lenses - attached in the first pic, and also used to take the two sample photos, is an M42 lens - Russian pancake lens Industar 55-2.
On the P3 camera M42 lenses are shot in "aperture priority mode" or "metered manual mode". M42 lenses don't have auto aperture on a P3 so you have to open the aperture to focus, then close it down to desired number to meter and shoot. It's kind of slow going but I like the M42 lenses on such a cool camera body.
The body itself is sleek and light weight, it looks plastic-y but it feel robust. It's much nicer than the K1000 body being smaller and more ergonomic.
Like the K1000 SE it has a wonderful split prism focus screen that makes manual focus easy and enjoyable. The shutter speeds are displayed in the viewfinder on the left so you know what the camera is doing.
The film is manual wind and manual rewind, I like that. No noisy motors draining the batteries.
It's plentiful and unknown, meaning they are cheap to buy on eBay.
So if you are in the mood to try a nice modern manual camera, check out a P3n (or any of it's other names) I bet you'll like using it and I bet you're film will be well exposed
Here are some relevant links :
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-manual-focus-film-slr-camera-revie...ax-p3-p30.html Matt's Classic Cameras: Pentax P30t Pentax P3/P30 Reviews
have fun!
Craig
Last edited by spystyle; 05-25-2010 at 03:56 AM.