What do you think is the best used camera today/price-performance wize?

[Benjamin Marks]

Periodically, I get interested in what makes sense in a used camera. Last year I got a Canon D20 and a 50/1.8 for about $120 all in. Pretty nice images at that price point. You have to use the camera understanding its limitations, but I can produce work I wouldn't be embarrassed by with it.

So: RFF, what do you think is the current sweet spot? Any brand or format you'd actually spend money on. I'd like to know.

 

[Contarama]

I just bought a mint Nikon D40X with less than 5K on the shutter for $75. I thought that was such a sweet deal I bought another mint one with an even lower shutter count for $65! Get a SB400 and a 35 AFS DX Nikkor and you're in business. Cheap. Good.

Also paid $300 for mint Fuji S5 Pro. 5800 count. Sweet deal...2 grand new.

Moral of my tale... early gen...first gen DSLR stuff...currently is a bargain...all brands...

 

[x-ray]

I would agree with the D20. I had one and used it for assignments that didn’t require high ISO or large files. The images were very nice.

The 1Ds and especially the 1DsII Canons made great images too.

I put together samples of various cameras I’d owned and used on jobs several years ago. I was trying to show how even some of the early digital cameras were capable of making fine images even compared to current cameras.

 

[Pál_K]

My choices for price / performance…

… in 35mm film cameras:

- Nikkormat FT2
- Canon FTb
- Minolta SRT-101
- Pentax Spotmatic
- Nikon F90/N90
- Canon Rebel G (EOS 500N)

(there was a time I could get working Nikkormats for $5 and Rebel G’s for $15)

… in digital:

- Nikon D700
- Pentax K-10D
- Fuji X-Pro1

(the K-10D is “only“ 10 MP, but its CCD sensor is nice and I got mine for $10)

 

[Tim Murphy]

Dear Board,

I was always a Canon guy and have several working DSLRS.

A few years ago, I bought a used Nikon D300 and D700 with Nikon brand MB-D10 grips for less than $ 400.00 for both. I kind of wish I stopped there, but I didn't.

That said, my best purchase ever was an Olympus OM-D-EM1 that I bought for $ 200.00. Every single lens I own regardless of mount or manufacturer can be used on it. With IBIS!

I still have my Canons, and my Nikon DSLR's, but the versatility of the M4/3 mount opens up a lot of opportunities for me as a cheapskate bargain hunting hobbyist!

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA

 

[Bingley]

Just thinking about film cameras, the Nikon FM series is still pretty affordable. The FM2/FM2n are solid cameras and don’t cost a lot. And Nikon lenses (and Voigtlander lenses in Nikon F mount) are also affordable.

 

[MarkWalberg]

My first Nikon was an N90. I took a lot of great pictures with that camera. I recently sold it, in perfect working order and great shape, for $15.
If you are going to use film, I don't think there is a better buy than that. I wish that this thread was out before I sold it. I might have got $20 then.

 

[Archiver]

Any DSLR from 2004-2009 is going to be very inexpensive but still have good-excellent image quality. I'm still shooting with a Canon 5D Mark II and the files are fine for many uses. Same goes for the Nikon D700, which I have been tempted to buy many times. My Canon 30D is still chugging along and would be a great buy today. Lenses are another matter, as they hold their value much better than bodies. But secondhand Canon 20mm f2.8 and 35mm f2.8 can be had for reasonable money.

 

[splitimageview]

For film, hard to beat the later AF Nikons, price-wise. The F100 is still in the $250 range for a near-perfect copy, but the N80/F80 are basically free or not much more than the cost of a roll of film and development. Many have sticky back syndrome but if you're patient you can find a nice one without that issue. And many of the AF/AF-D lenses from that era are dirt cheap, very well-built, and quite good. Don't forget the F80 was the basis of the digital D100 so it has essentially the same modern UI.

 

[x-ray]

I agree the F100 is an outstanding camera and priced right. For a basic mechanical camera I’d agree with a previous post that the Nikkormat FT2 and FM and FE Nikons are outstanding as well. Even a clean F with standard non meter prism can be bought at a good price. I still use an F and F2 and see no reason to change.

 

[hap]

My choices for price / performance…

… in 35mm film cameras:

- Nikkormat FT2
- Canon FTb
- Minolta SRT-101
- Pentax Spotmatic
- Nikon F90/N90
- Canon Rebel G (EOS 500N)

(there was a time I could get working Nikkormats for $5 and Rebel G’s for $15)

… in digital:

- Nikon D700
- Pentax K-10D
- Fuji X-Pro1

(the K-10D is “only“ 10 MP, but its CCD sensor is nice and I got mine for $10)

agree D700 but I like my D750 better.

 

[hap]

For film, hard to beat the later AF Nikons, price-wise. The F100 is still in the $250 range for a near-perfect copy, but the N80/F80 are basically free or not much more than the cost of a roll of film and development. Many have sticky back syndrome but if you're patient you can find a nice one without that issue. And many of the AF/AF-D lenses from that era are dirt cheap, very well-built, and quite good. Don't forget the F80 was the basis of the digital D100 so it has essentially the same modern UI.

My N80 a pleasure. It focuses right and the shutter is about as quiet as any Leica (except the M5) the only quibble is the tunnel type view finder. Super inexpensive.

 

[hap]

My first Nikon was an N90. I took a lot of great pictures with that camera. I recently sold it, in perfect working order and great shape, for $15.
If you are going to use film, I don't think there is a better buy than that. I wish that this thread was out before I sold it. I might have got $20 then.

If I did not have a N80 and F100 ....i'd buy a N90 and eventually a F6 if they ever become available.

 

[hap]

Dear Board,

I was always a Canon guy and have several working DSLRS.

A few years ago, I bought a used Nikon D300 and D700 with Nikon brand MB-D10 grips for less than $ 400.00 for both. I kind of wish I stopped there, but I didn't.

That said, my best purchase ever was an Olympus OM-D-EM1 that I bought for $ 200.00. Every single lens I own regardless of mount or manufacturer can be used on it. With IBIS!

I still have my Canons, and my Nikon DSLR's, but the versatility of the M4/3 mount opens up a lot of opportunities for me as a cheapskate bargain hunting hobbyist!

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA

I want a digital Oly like M1 or late M5. I just can't pull the trigger.

 

[bullterrier]

Sigma SD9 if you can find one

 

[nikon_sam]

For the going prices today I think the Nikon F4/F4s is a great body to use with almost any of the Nikkor lenses out there.
Even starting with the Nikkor AF 50mm 1.8 lens you will not be disappointed using this set-up...it will deliver the goods.

 

[JeffS7444]

For me, it might be Nikon 1, for its super-fast video capture ability: Low-res, but rated at around 900 fps. Wanted the feature specifically for checking focal shutters in my film cameras.

But for general-purpose use, with Sony A7R in the -300 USD range, it’s an easy decision for me.

If forced to choose a DSLR, maybe a Pentax K5, because Pentax continues to evolve their system.

 

[mrtoml]

Nikon F90 or F90X really cheap in the UK (£40).
Sony A7R2 (42 mp bargain around £650).
Panasonic GX7 around £150.
Maybe Fuji X-Pro1.

 

[wrs1145]

I'm an old school guy, so it's a Canon Model P for me.

 

[ddutchison2]

If you want an all mechanical 35mm SLR film camera, Nikkormats's go for a song these days. In their day they were a standard 2nd body for a lot of pros, today they are one of the lowest priced classic SLR's you can find - and offer access to some of the greatest glass ever made. Pentax Spotmatics come a very close second, and they're only second place because they are usually a bit more expensive.