BebuLamar

I agree with those who recommend to find another class. A 1 class in film will not teach you anything. Better taking a class about digital. If you want to pursuit film then it's OK but then you should get a very nice camera if you are going to pursuit film.

blackest Loc: Ireland

That ones a bit of a gateway drug :) The F2 50mm is a pretty decent lens but the f1.7 is even better and still pretty affordable. I was lucky and won one as an undocumented extra in an auction on ebay. It more than made up for the defective flash guns and faulty me super that i got along with a pretty nice pentax zoom (what I paid was a fair price for the zoom on it's own).

Personally with the OP being a Nikon shooter I think he would be good to go with a Nikon body and a 50mm lens. Nice in itself but the 50mm will be useful on his DSLR's as well. I love my Pentax gear but if you end up duplicating lenses by using 2 pretty much incompatible systems it gets to be expensive.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Somewhat disagree. A film class CAN teach you something depending on the instructor and the student. Any event/experience has the potential to teach us something.

Digital has the potential to be more instructive because of the information in EXIF, provided one is paying attention and able to connect the dots. I took several seminars with Bryan Peterson before he became "nationally known". He was adept at explaining things but it still required that I be an active participant in the learning process.

If I was the OP, and committed to film photography, I'd get the F5 mentioned earlier. As it is, I already have seven film cameras so that's it for me, for the present.

asiafish Loc: Bakersfield, CA

I wouldn't worry about using your current lenses. Get a manual focus SLR and a 50mm lens (f/1.8 to f/2 for light weight, or f/1.4 for low light) and you will have all that you need. If you want to reuse the 50mm lens on your DSLR get a Nikon FM or Nikkormat FT3 SLR and buy a brand new 50mm f/1.4 AF-D, which has an aperture ring for the film camera and electronics to work perfectly with your D5500. Not sure if it will work with the D3300 or not.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

I believe the AFDs only autofocus with the D7xxx models.

asiafish Loc: Bakersfield, CA

If it were me I wouldn't even worry about lens compatibility and go for an old Nikkormat or Nikon and an AI or (or Non-AI for old Nikkormats) 50mm f/1.4, or to another brand. Minolta SRT is a fantastic camera and the old 58mm f/1.4 Rokkor is a great lens, which can easily be had for about $50 with a working camera body.

BebuLamar

A film class will not teach you something important if you after the class never use film again. Sure any class in photography would teach you about exposure, focusing, composition etc.. which is useful in any type of photography but if the instructor were to teach those the students don't need a film camera.

Bear2 Loc: Southeast,, MI

Believe it was the K1000.

therwol Loc: USA

Film cameras were sold by the millions and now are rotting away in closets and boxes. Perhaps you know someone you could borrow an old camera from. Just be aware that some of the older ones take mercury batteries, and they're no longer made. The lenses you use on your current digital cameras will not work on any of the older models for various reasons, including lack of an aperture ring and not covering a full frame.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

FWIW: I have a new in box Nikon FG-20 released in 1984 by the Nippon Kogaku Corporation now known as the Nikon Corp. The manual lists three battery options: 1) 3 v Lithium, 2) 2 1.55v silver-oxide, 3) 2 1.5v Alkaline-Manganese. I own seven old Nikons-- mostly from the early to mid 80s. None of them required silver-oxides exclusively.

cfbudd Loc: Atlanta, Georgia

Amen! I did wet darkroom for 50 plus years. I see nothing there to add to digital photography.

blackest Loc: Ireland

Why should it?

The fella said he was taking the class because

To learn more about film processing and darkroom work. I did some back in the late 60s but not since. The course is at the local community college. They also have a more advanced darkroom class but this class is a prerequisite to the advanced class which I plan to take next semester.

There is still an interest in film and not just in the miniature size of 35mm.

BebuLamar

Very sorry that I missed that post and in this case he should buy a very nice camera. 35mm SLR I think because the instructor wanted that way. After this class and to more advanced class he may buy into larger format. Limit his budget to $100 isn't a good idea.

IBM

Put a add in your locale, paper , dirt cheap SLR film camera wanted ,must be in working order , and a working lens to go with it , I would not
Pay more than $35 for the body ,I would stay away from nikon ,I know you have nikon lens for it , but your not going to get a nikon
For $35 , I have a pentax super program and I'll throw In The lens for $65 for the worsks ,it's a pentax 50mm lens , I may have a 24mm
Lens for it also , I could sell you a pentax 645 film camera and three lens and big flash with three heads , a bunch of filters nd filter holders
And special filters soft focus , the flash was $600 , the lens were over $500 each , the camera was $1400 . About $3000 to $3500
Is what I payed for it when it was new , and a 220 film holder was $125 . And I never shot more than 20 rolls of film total through it
About 10 rolls of 120 which is twelve pictures and 10 rolls of 220 which is 24 pictures, so it has no more than 200actuations on shutter
The demos had more than that , this is as close to new as you will ever get with out buying new , it's been in my closet in a camera bag ,
Which I will also throw in since they first came out with them in the mid seventies I believe, , I'll sell the works for $1000, I'll have to put it on the for sale pages here , there must be some one wanting a camera like this , I think some people copy the negatives and turn them
Into digital and are digitizing them, or just using them for black and white , that would make the cost very low compared to colour .
That's way I put it in the closet , $2.50 for a roll of 120 , $5 to develop, so $8.00 for twelve pic, , why do that when I could shoot slides
For a third the price and get more pic. Per roll

IBM

Make that 400 actuations my math is off , it's about as good as my spelling