What cheap non-digital SLR for sis?
For completely manual, all metal, built-like-a-tank cameras, you can’t go wrong with a Pentax K1000. Used lenses are cheap and plentiful, and can be used on nearly any Pentax 35mm SLR. The Canon AE-1 is also an excellent recommendation, as others have noted. Personally, I would also recommend the Minolta SRT series (The 101, 102, 201, or 202 models). I’ve got two of them, a 202 and a 201. Built in the 70’s, I picked them up in the 90’s, and both still work perfectly (and I still use them regularly, despite owning a Canon Digital Rebel XTi). The Minolta MC/MD mount lenses can be found cheap, and the optics quality is better than decent, and very good on some lenses (my 135mm MD lens has helped me produce some absolutely stunning portraits). Downside: The lenses won’t be of any use on ANY newer cameras (without an adapter), not even Minolta / Konica-Minolta auto-SLRs. If you’re looking for auto-focus with manual and auto-exposure controls, then the Canon Rebel series is a great place to
I’ve had my K1000 for 10 years now. I’m not sure how old it was when I bought it used. It’s still soldiering on. (And I have the later Made in China version. The Japanese ones are probably even more tank-like.) It’s a great camera to learn with. The Olympus OM-1 is also awesome and well regarded. I would get one or the other. I suspect K1000s are easier to come by.
I throw my lot in with Nikon for the ergonics sake. There’s much to be said that one likes what one grows up with, and ever since I got a Nikon F-301 any other SLR just didn’t sit right. Having said that, my first-first camera was a Minolta MZ-M which is plasticky, as simple as can be, and served me well for the 2 years and 1000+ rolls I exposed. Ought to be easy to find, and has a lot of old third party lenses.
I still have the Pentax K1000 that I learned on in high school. They’re great starter cameras. But they are manual only, so if she’s not used to that it could be frustrating at first. On the other hand, if she’s really into it, having to learn that way will make using a fancier SLR much easier in the future.
