Looking for some advise! My 15 year old daughter was just given an old Cannon T70 35 MM camera with a couple filters, a large 100-300 mm Zoom lens, and a flash attatchment. the whole outfit appears to be in nice shape. I am no photographer, I always rely on the auto function pocket digital stuff so common today. What's the best way to start learning about using one of these without blowing a lot of $ on film & developing costs? Is there an owners manual available anywhere?Thanks! Scott
The T70 is a fine camera, and if it works correctly, it can be a fine choice for a first-time camera user. The 100-300 zoom lens is a bit much if that is her only lens. Did it also come with a 'standard' 50mm lens? If not, you might consider getting her one on eBay - we're talking maybe $20 for a decent Canon FD-mount 50mm f/1.8 lens - an f/1.4 would be even nicer and can be had for as little, if you are patient. But to start with, if all you have is the 100 - 300 zoom, then use that.
Here is a website devoted to the Canon FD mount system:
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/SLRs/t70/index.htm
There is a link to the manual for the camera at the bottom of the page.
The camera has an early form of auto-exposure, known as 'shutter priority'. Personally, I don't generally choose this form, as I prefer 'aperture priority'. With the former, you choose the shutter speed and the camera chooses the aperture, and with the latter, you choose the aperture and the camera chooses the shutter speed. I find creative use of aperture to be much more useful in general than creative control of shutter speed. However, both have their uses. The camera thankfully provides a fully-manual setting, which allows the photographer to choose both shutter speed and aperture, even if the meter in the camera thinks badly of the choices made (sometimes the camera's meter is right, sometimes it is wrong).
First, get a set of batteries for the camera. Make sure the functions appear to work, read over the manual. If it doesn't power on, no need to go farther.
Then, check the flash battery well. The batteries go bad over time, and they leak. If you find gummy stuff in there, or white powdery stuff, you may wish to throw the flash away - and try not to get that caustic stuff on you. Some people try to clean such damage, but I usually don't bother. Used flashes are cheap.
In order to begin, the first step is to get a cheap roll of color print film at the local drugstore, load it, and shoot a roll of photos. Try to use the automatic settings at first, under a variety of conditions. When you get the roll developed, this will tell you a) does it work at all, b) do the automatic functions function, c) are the shutter speeds reasonably accurate? Speaking for myself, I would also examine the negatives - if shot in auto mode, they should roughly speaking be about equally exposed - the same shade, so to speak. Sometimes prints can deceive - they auto-adjust settings when making the prints at the drugstore, so you have to look at the negs to see if your camera is up to snuff.
If all goes well, your daughter is on her way. Film and developing can mount up, but to bring down the cost, you have to make investments, and if the use is going to be casual, it might not be worth it. I personally choose to shoot mostly B&W film when I shoot 35mm, which I buy mailorder. I process my own film - this keeps costs down very low, but requires an investment in chemistry and equipment. I have a scanner (about $300) that I use to scan my negatives - so there are no prints. You can also get your color print film developed without prints at the local drugstore for about $2, as opposed to more than $6 with prints. Saving $4 per roll, it takes less than 80 rolls to amortize the cost of a film scanner. But it depends on how far you want to with it.
. I was tracking an OM-10 that had the manual adaptor on the auction site in the past week but wifey caught me.
