What film camera to buy | rpk.io

What film camera to buy

There are hundreds of blog posts out there with extended reviews and detailed explanations on which film camera you should buy.

The only problem with these blog posts / reviews is that they provide too much information, and analyze many cameras that cover different needs and different budgets. They tend to be more confusing than helpful.

In this post I will try to recommend some film cameras based on my experience. if you have free time and you are willing to learn some new things you should search for more detailed information for these cameras on the Internet.

Why trust me?

Do not trust me! These are my personal choices after two years of involvement with analogue cameras and reading many many articles about them.

Target group

There is only one important question:

What you are going to shoot?

Street photography, Landscapes or Portraits ?

I am going to split this guide into 3 main sections based on answering the previous question. Each section will have two subsections based on budget with two options each, based on format (35mm and Medium Format).

Disclaimer: Having the right lens is as vital as having a good and reliable body. In my choices I don’t mention any lenses but they have been taken into account, so be sure that any of the below suggestions offers the proper lenses for each case.


Street Photography

High Budget:

Henri Cartier-Bresson with a Leica Henri Cartier-Bresson with a Leica

Martin Parr with a Plaubel Makina Martin Parr with a Plaubel Makina 67

Normal Budget

Moriyama with Ricoh GR1 Moriyama with a Ricoh GR1

Landscape Photography (Contemporary) - Still Life

High Budget:

Harry Gruyaert with a Leica M6 Harry Gruyaert with a Leica M6

Alex Kompotis with a Mamiya 7 II Alex Kompotis with a Mamiya 7 II

Normal Budget

Marco Liu with a XD-7 Marco Liu with a XD-7

Me with Bronica GS-1 Me with a Bronica GS-1

Portrait Photography

High Budget:

Steve McCurry Nikon F6 Afghan girl Steve McCurry with a Nikon FM2

Todd Hido with a Pentax67 Todd Hido with a Pentax67

Normal budget

Nikon FM2 portrait Erik Gross with a Nikon FM2

Thodoris Markou with a Pentax645N Thodoris Markou with a Pentax645N

Happy shopping!