Camera Gear Doesn’t Need To Be Expensive.

If you have an interest in photography, you likely have an interest in gear. You’ve also likely been disappointed in some of the gear, especially used, that you have bought in the past.

There are lots of techniques and strategies that can save you money when you buy gear. I’ve learned these from years of being a professional online seller. That’s where my interest in photography came from. Good photos sell.

The Buying Guide will help you save money on cameras, lenses, and other gear. You should be able to save enough money to where you can break even when you buy and sell gear.

Picking Out Vintage Lens Winners.

All lenses aren’t equal. Modern lenses will give you images that are razor sharp corner to corner. Vintage lenses can set themselves apart by how they render, the color you can get with them, interesting bokeh, or other characteristics not valued by current photographers.

On the other hand, many vintage lenses just aren’t that good. Their performance may not be good enough to set them apart from other lenses. Worse, as time has gone on some lenses have defects that will render them worthless because of the difficulty in repair.

I’m somewhat indiscriminate in my purchasing of gear, so I get a mix of good, bad, and average. The lens reviews will help you find a lens worth owning.

Nothing Depreciates Faster Than A Camera.

Cameras are the fastest depreciating pieces of photography gear. That’s bad if you buy a new camera. If you buy used, you can get a high-end camera from 10+ years ago for pennies on the dollar.

Being able to use flagship cameras of years gone by is an interesting experience. Medium format in both film and digital become obtainable for non-professional uses. Or owning many cameras is remarkably affordable.

The camera reviews section showcases all of the cameras I have reviewed. You can also find information on camera manufacturers that are no longer in business.

Recent Posts

The Pentax K1000 35mm Film SLR Camera

The Pentax K1000 was manufactured from 1976 to 1997. With more than 3 million sold, K1000’s are still affordable and easy to find. The K1000 is a manual focus 35mm film SLR camera that has completely manual controls. There is a built-in cadmium sulfide (CdS) light meter. The shutter will fire without the need of a battery. For my thoughts on the camera you can see this Pentax K1000 review.

Panasonic Lumix G7

The Panasonic Lumix G7 was released in 2015 and remains a popular model. The camera is loaded with features that are absent from similarly priced camreas. Things like 4k video, clean HDMI out, zebra strips, focusing peaking, and flip screen. Contrast Detect autofocus is the only major con of the camera. This form of autofocus is not as fast or accurate as other systems. Fast action and low light photography is not the G7’s strong suit.

Best Film Cameras for Beginners

There are several distinct types of 35mm film cameras. This list will go over the pros and cons of each camera. Manual Focus 35mm Cameras These cameras are great because they give you full control over the photography process. Not only do you have to set the exposure, but you also have to focus. To use any of these cameras correctly, you will need to know the fundamentals of photography.

Canon FD Mount

The Canon FD lens mount was used by Canon on 35mm film SLR cameras from 1971 until 1987. The FD mount was based off of the earlier Canon FL lens mount. It was replaced by the Canon EF lens mount, which was designed for auto focus. The Canon FD lens mount uses a breech lock system to mount to a camera. This is a less common method than the most used solution, the bayonet mount.

Canon AE-1 Battery: 4SR44, 4LR44, PX28A, A544, K28A, V34PX, 28L

The Canon AE-1 has an electronically controlled shutter. This means that the shutter on the Canon AE-1 will not fire without a battery. The light meter will also not work. A 4LR44 battery will work in the Canon AE-1. 4LR44 batteries are widely available. They are used in dog collars for use with invisible electric fences. They can be found online and at any hardware, grocery, pet, or big box store.

Canon AE-1 Value

The most important thing when valuing a Canon AE-1 is to determine if the camera is fully functional. There are several common problems that the Canon AE-1 can have that will prevent it from working correctly. An important thing to know is that the Canon AE-1 has a electronic shutter. In order for the shutter to operate, a 4LR44 battery is required. The Canon AE-1 also uses 35mm film. Color or black & white film can be used.