Advice needed for 35mm

D

Danny Chan

Member
Hello guys,

I'm currently looking for a versatile 35mm point and shoot thats not massively expensive for an art project. From research the consensus for what i need seems to be between the Yeshiva T4/T5 or the Olympus MJU II.

Does anyone have any other recommendations that I should look into?

Thanks

Danny
 
How much is "not massively expensive"? I love my Konica Hexar AF, one of the best single-lens cameras. It dates from the 1970s, and can still be found for sale.
 
Hi Danny, the Olympus Mju is well regarded although personally I've never used one. I'm very happy with my own P&S cameras which are also made by Olympus: an XA and an XA3. (I also have an XA2 that I got compliments of the aforementioned Hamish, but I'm saving that one for the time one of my other XAs kicks the bucket.)

Actually the XA is a rangefinder that uses an aperture-priority system, meaning you select the aperture and the camera selects an appropriate shutter speed. So,...the XA isn't really a point and shoot but its very small so it seems kind of like one. The XA3 on the other hand is much closer to a point and shoot since it has automatic exposure and you only have to select one of three distance options for focus.

Both of these cameras are capable of cracking images, as are their brethren the XA2 and XA4. There also happens to be an XA1, which is lowest on the XA food chain and therefore can be had with the least expense.

XA prices seem to be climbing. You could probably pick up an XA2 or XA3 for $30-50 US. An XA is liable to set you back $50-90. An XA4 is the most expensive, with current prices creeping up to and over the $200 mark. The XA1--not to be confused with the XA--should be the cheapest at around $20 I would guess.

Of course, any of these might be found in a charity shop some day for a few dollars,...but I don't usually get that lucky.

On balance, if you want fully automatic P&S capability, the Mju might be the best combination of quality for price, size and ease of use.

Good luck!
 
Hi guys, thanks for the brilliant responses.

I might explain a little more about my project and that way we can narrow down my search. I'm going to load the camera each week with a roll of film and give myself 7 days to shoot 36 exposures. I'll take some weeks off to pass the loaded camera onto friends and give them a week to shoot 36 exposures. At the end of a 6 month period and various different artists (mainly filmmakers, photographers and musicians of the digital age) i'm curious to compare how my friends and I get on and present our body of work on film.

For these reasons i'd like a point and shoot so those of us less photography inclined can focus on capturing moments they consider to be beautiful rather than worrying about aperture or shutter speeds. Something robust and small as it will be passed around and hopefully carried daily.

These factors are what has lead me to the Olympus MJU and Yashica. I'm also Interested in the contax T2 and Ricoh GR1 but the Contax might be a bit pricey and the Ricoh a bit fragile???? to be passing around, ideally I need something i don't mind being beat up. Also i'll be supplying and developing the film, so I don't want to blow the whole budget on the camera.

Knowing this sort of information if anyone has any other suggestions to throw into the hat I'm all ears. Suggestions on where to find these camera would be great. Ebay seems to be letting the Olympus got for around the £60-£80 price point and the Yashica's from £90-£180. Obviously after reading numerous stories of people buying them at car boot sales and charity shops for £1 i've got my heart on doing that too, but i'm assuming this isn't going to be likely.

thanks

Danny
 
I still suspect the GR1 will be out of budget but fragile they are not. I first came across them a year or so after they came out and after seeing the pictures taken by a chap who walked to the South Pole and documented his trip with one. They are very robust. Hamish has a Yashica travelling the world and it has survived so far.
 
Go to a charity shop and get a point and shoot Danny. Get the most robust feeling one that you can find. Test that it works. Then use it. Sounds to me like that will be good for your needs.
 
update: So I grabbed a non working Yashica T4 for a fiver of eBay. Cosmetically its great but apparently the flash doesn't fire and the film doesn't wind on after each exposure. I went to Sendean repair shop in Soho and was quoted £170 to repair. Any other recommendations for repair/refurbish?
 
If you want to let that Yashica go to a good home, let me know ... I'm after one to take the lens out of for a little project. (email me via my site here - http://www.35mmc.com/contact-me/ )

For the sake of your project, the Mju-ii really is the best option. The way the program AE works is a lot more forgiving to the inexperienced than most similar cameras. It favours a wide aperture and a fast shutter speed over the opposite. It's active AF is also very good and the camera very sturdy, not to mention water resistant.

The ricoh is a great lens in a dying camera unfortunately
 
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