A 35mm film camera can be one of three very different machines. An SLR shows you the scene through the lens that takes the picture. A rangefinder gives you a separate window with a focusing patch in the middle. A point-and-shoot does the thinking for you and fits in a pocket. They all take the same film, but they suit different people, and the shape you pick decides which lenses and habits you'll end up with. Here's how they differ in use.
SLRs
In a single-lens reflex, a mirror behind the lens bounces the image up into the viewfinder. When you press the shutter release the mirror flips up out of the way, the shutter opens, and the mirror comes back down. You see exactly what the lens sees, so framing is exact at any distance and you can judge focus on the screen.
That makes an SLR the most flexible of the three. You can put a long telephoto or a macro lens on the front and still see precisely what you're getting. It's also the best teacher, because you watch focus change as you turn the ring. Most of the cameras people learn on are SLRs, from the Pentax K1000 to the Canon AE-1.
The costs come from that mirror. The finder blacks out for a moment at every shot, the mirror makes noise, and the body is bigger than a rangefinder with a similar lens. Our guide to the best first film camera compares the usual starter SLRs, and the 35mm SLR page lists them all.
Rangefinders
A rangefinder's viewfinder sits off to one side of the lens. In the middle of the finder you see two images of your subject, and turning the focus ring moves one of them. When they line up and fuse into one, you're in focus.
With no mirror, there's no blackout, so you see the moment you're shooting. Rangefinders are often quieter than SLRs, especially those with a leaf shutter in the lens, and smaller too. Leaving out the mirror also lets wide-angle lenses sit deep in the body, which made good wide lenses easier to design.
The trade-offs are real. Because the finder doesn't look through the lens, what you see isn't exactly what the film records. That parallax error hardly matters at a distance but grows as you get close. Better rangefinders show a bright frame that shifts as you focus to correct for it. Close-ups are awkward, true telephotos beyond about 135mm basically don't exist, and the design doesn't suit zoom lenses.
Most affordable rangefinders have a fixed lens. The Yashica Electro 35 pairs a 45mm f/1.7 Yashinon with an electronic shutter that sets itself steplessly from 30 seconds to 1/500, and it was the first camera to combine an electronically controlled shutter with aperture priority. You set the aperture and the camera handles the rest. Other fixed-lens rangefinders to look at include the Canonet QL17 GIII and the Konica Auto S2. See them all on the rangefinder page.
Point-and-shoots
A point-and-shoot, or compact, is built for simple operation. Most use autofocus or a lens that needs no focusing, set the exposure automatically and have a flash built in. Many later film compacts also use motors to advance and rewind the film. You frame, press the button and move on.
Some are very simple. The Olympus Trip 35, sold from 1967 to 1984 in over ten million copies, uses a selenium cell to pick between two shutter speeds, 1/40 and 1/200, and needs no battery at all. You focus by picking one of four zones. Later autofocus compacts like the Yashica T4, with its Tessar lens from the early 1990s, are pocket cameras with surprisingly good glass.
The price of that ease is control. On most compacts the camera decides the aperture and shutter speed, and you can't change lenses. Motorized compacts can't wind film without power, so the battery and electronics have to be working. Browse them on the 35mm compact page.
How to choose
- You want to learn how exposure and focus work. Buy an SLR with manual controls. Watching the image snap into focus through the lens teaches you faster than anything else.
- You want long lenses, macro or close portraits. Buy an SLR. A rangefinder struggles with all three.
- You shoot people in the street or indoors and want to stay unnoticed. A rangefinder is smaller and quieter, and you never lose sight of the moment.
- You mostly want a camera with you every day. A compact goes in a jacket pocket. If it doesn't, it'll stay home.
- You don't want to think about batteries. A mechanical SLR like the Nikon FM2 fires without one, and the Trip 35 doesn't need one at all. Our battery guide sorts the rest.
What to check for each type
On an SLR, ask for a video firing the slow and fast speeds with the back open, and look at the shutter curtain in a back-open photo. On a rangefinder, ask for a photo or video through the viewfinder. The focusing patch should be bright enough to see clearly, and the two images should line up at infinity. A dim patch or images that don't meet on a distant object mean the rangefinder needs adjusting. On a compact, ask the seller to show it powering up, focusing and firing with film in, since a lens that won't extend or a dead display is a fault you'd need fixed.
For any of them, shine a flashlight through the lens to check for haze or fungus, especially on fixed-lens cameras, where a bad lens means a bad camera. Our listing words guide covers what "tested" means in each case.
What we'd buy
If you're unsure, start with an SLR. It does the most things reasonably well and teaches you the most. If you already know you shoot at normal distances and want something you'll take everywhere, a fixed-lens rangefinder like the Electro 35 is a lovely second camera. Buy a compact when you know you'll value having a camera on you over having control of it.
