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[Star Power]

Well, I've always been really interested in photography and I was, at one time, the Photography person for the school newspaper.. and now I'm interesting in getting back into it.. so what kind of camera should I get? Digital would be fine I guess, but I'm dead broke and I'm asking for one as a birthday gift so.. yeah.. nothing to expensive. But like something older I can get for myself off of ebay would be great as well...

Also what kind of camera/film would I need to get this kind of look:

?

Thx.

 

[Draff]

If you're really serious, then perhaps try out a used film SLR (non digital). If you want to stick to digital, then consider a compact with a lot of manual controls to help you experiment (such as the Canon A series). If you're willing to spend more money then look into getting cameras like the Olympus C8080, Canon G6 or super zooms such as the Sony DSC-H1, Panasonic FZ-20 etc.

That picture looks noisy, (which most people, actually don't want). If you'd like that noise, you can just use a digital camera, and take shots at the highest ISO. Most effects can be added in through post processing, if needed.

 

[sprsk]

find an old used slr at a camera shop.

 

[Star Power]

bump

 

[SickBoy]

If you want a film camera, you can probably get a Pentax K-1000 for cheap. They're film SLRs, built like rocks and fully manual. With a bit of quick reading/background info, they're great for gaining an appreciation for the basics of photography, and you'll be able to shoot just about anything.

As for a good, grainy film, you'll probably have to do a bit of research, since most consumer-grade film is designed to be as non-grainy as possible. I think a lot of specialty films are still available, but they're probably not all that cheap. One of my favorites back in the day was Kodak "Recording" film, which was an incredibly coarse-grained B&W film. I think they discontinued it five or six years ago.

The alternative, I think, would be going digital and adding grain in post-processing via Photoshop. Don't let the camera make your noise.

 

[Cosmic Bus]

You should totally get a Lomo. I'd lurrv one!

 

[aoi tsuki]

Agreed with SickBoy. i've got a K-1000 i'm bumming from my uncle (i think it was for his old photography class). It's a solid camera that takes some great shots, given you know enough about photography to produce a properly exposed shot without a meter.

Having said that, i'm not sure if i'd recommend a film camera. While you can get far more camera for your money with a film camera, you'll be paying quite a bit for film and development, or for film if you decide to develop them yourself. A digital camera in the $200 range may not allow you to change lenses as a film camera would, but it would be a lot cheaper in the long run as you wouldn't have to buy film and develop it. It's also easier to share and store with a digital, given you have a computer of course.

i think nowadays, a "decent" digital camera (~$200 US) is a lot more logical for most people looking to get into photography, at least those on a budget. It's a lot easier to get most of the basics down on digital, which offers instant feedback, then pick up a cheap film SLR (or a not-so-cheap digital SLR) when and if you get more serious.