That made me laugh Sassan. You going digital while I was still worrying about dependance on batteries hence using the F2. :D :D

Re lenses. Pre AI are a problem on digital bodies. I have to chop a tree today but tomorrow I will take a pic of the D100 lens mount and a pre AI lens flange to explain why.

Time taken chopping the tree will give time for my flash capacitors to re form as I have been out of the loop for so long. :p

Don

You haven't even mentioned the Nikon D1 series cameras, whilst relating digi back to the film F5.....or would that be adding 'unneccessaries' to the thread! lol. :p

A 35mm film SLR camera with a std zom or std 50mm lens...for under $200....the choice is massive....
there aren't many secondhand film SLR's that fetch more than $200 now!
My personal recommendation for a student course with a budget in mind would be to go for a low end model with a manual mode, but one that you know isn't potentially 35+ years old! (which rules out the Pentax K1000 or FM)...either that or have proof that the camera you purchase has been serviced etc and isn't likely to require binning halfway through your course.
Yes a Nikon F5 is a marvelous camera...but due to it's type ...the one's that are under $200 are likely to be ex'hack' units, having been used day in day out, then put on a shelf to gather dust when the office switched to digi only. There are some almost romantic notions about owning a camera that would've cost a fortune...I've been tempted myself at some before...but the head has got to rule the heart!
Canon did loads of Eos film cameras...you could do a lot worse than the later 3000v cameras, some of the later Pentax film MZ series were ok too. ...or how about a Nikon F55 or 75?


just my thoughts thrown into the melting pot.

Good luck with your course
cheers
joe

I started out taking a couple of pics to graphically explain this, then thought I should probably do a thread that covers the ins and outs of the Nikon mount.
So I now have more pics to take.

A bit of a diversion today as the sun is shining and so I feel a trip to the coast comming on. :)

Don

Fair points there Joe. I learnt on old mechanical manual only cameras so only two controls to think about ( shutter speed and aperture ) once film speed had been selected. I totally missed out on electronics in film cameras ( F3 has minimal ) until I went digital, so have no experience of that age. Canon T90, Nikon F90 and F801 ring bells as being well regarded in their time.

I see shutterflyD50 has now a wanted ad for an F5. Not too sure about prices in the states as they are always well below those here in the UK, but a $200-$300 F5 has probably had far more use than any of the amateur models you mention. Amateurs using a few rolls of film a year v pros using 10+ per day.

Gone are the days when rub marks could give some indication of useage and no way to check the shutter count. ;)

Don

I was also looking into buying the Nikon F100, also i know that i would hardly use the 1/8000 shutter speed but at 8 fps that is very useful for bird photography. and i would deffinatly not be using that sutterspeed for landscaping.

The 8 fps was the F5 but at 5fps thats still pretty good.

I would go digital because you learn quicker and it is more exciting with immediate results. Using film would seem very old fashioned to many younger folk therefore boring. Can't remember the early Nikon digital models but a Canon D60 and lens would be a modest outlay and still give good results plus no film expense. Same for early Nikon equivalents.

I have a Nikon D50 with 70-300mm lens i need the camera for a photography class i am a sophmore in high school.

For this usage, the fps you seem to be concentrating on is of very, very little importance indeed. If you are going to use even 5fps, that's a whole lotta film, and associated costs to buy and develop/print.

You mention that you want to use the camera for birding. My own experience with such subjects is that you get a lot of duff shots relative to the number of 'keepers'. With a film camera, this is expensive, you'll have a lot of cost tied up in wasted film. Also bear in mind that with a film camera, a 300mm lens won't give you as much of a frame filling effect as you'll get from using a 300mm lens on your D50; this is because the D50 uses a smaller sensor than a frame of 35mm film. This will probably mean you will have even less 'keepers' when using your film camera for birding.

For your photography class, you would be better off saving your money for a better lens that can be used on your D50, and buying something cheap/basic for use with the class.

Hope this helps.

Duncan

Nothing much to add to Duncans post but this link is good for showing the comparison of 35mm full frame v DSLR with various focal lengths.
Link http://www.tamroneurope.com/flc.htm

Don