What 35mm Camera Do I Get?

[Mr. Anderson]

Ok, as some of you might know, I spent some time out in Arizona in January, and my old (16+ years) Minolta finally died. I need to get a replacement and I have the option of redeeming American Express membership rewards points for a new camera. Not a bad deal. So here are the Cameras:

Canon EOS Elan 7
Canon Rebel 2000
Canon EOS Rebel Ti
Minolta Maxim 5

I'm sort of leaning to either the Canon Elan or the Minolta, but I'm not sure which and the reviews go are not all that much help. Anyone who has any of these cameras, let me know.

Thanks,

D

[Dont Hurt Me]

Why 35mm when there is such great digital cameras at higher pixels now? just wondering.

[ibookin']

Originally posted by Dont Hurt Me
Why 35mm when there is such great digital cameras at higher pixels now? just wondering.

Film has a "look" to it that digital has yet to replicate. Also, the feel of a good 35mm SLR is unmatched, im my opinion.

As for the cameras that duke listed, I'd get the Elan 7. But have a look at the Nikon line before you do that, though. I have a Nikon F3 and it is easily the finest manual 35mm camera I've ever used.

[iMook]

Elan definitely. (just personal preference, always liked the Elan line)

as to film vs. digital...

affordable consumer digicams still have a long way to go before getting even close to the resolutions offered by film cameras.
The Foveon CCDs rock in this respect, using analog signals instead of on/off digital signals, enabling much less interpolation and fuzziness when creating color gradients.

and... digital cameras have short (read: very short) battery lives. :p

[Tommy!]

I would definitely say the Canon Elan, unless of course you have a reasonable amount of money invested in Minolta lenses, and these lenses are compatible with the new Minolta on your list...

I tried so many times to rephrase that and make it more simple but it's still a complicated sentence.. sorry :(

[job]

I've got the Rebel 2000.

It's a great 35mm SLR camera for everyday general use. Fast auto film loading and a nice auto focus feature are some nice traits.

I'm not that big of a shutterbug, but the Rebel line is full-featured for it's price. It can also take any lens from the Canon EOS line, providing you have that much to spend.

Also, since the replacement for the 2000 model already came out, you might be able to pick up the Rebel 2000 for a reduced price.

[Mr. Anderson]

Digital is nice, and I have a half way decent point and shoot. But like you all said, the look and feel, color and tone of film is quite different. That and the fact that the DigitalSLRs, although getting cheaper and better, aren't as good as a nice 50 speed film and a good slide scanner.

I'll be getting a new Nikon CoolScan 4000 that does 4000 dpi scans of film and slides. This will do me nicely till I get an even better digital SLR in a few years.

Besides, I'm getting the thing for free. All I'll be paying for are a few more lenses. So it should work out nice. I think the ELAN might be the way to go - I'm going to a camera store and checking them all out this week. That just might be the clincher.

Thanks,

D ;)