Rico
Bloody Colonials
Olympus
I chose an Olympus OM1 based on their system (a full pro system with great glass), ergonomics (brilliant handling - aperture ring on front of lens, shutter speed on mount, and focus all controlled by left hand; wind and shoot by right hand), and compact size. The OM2 had off-the-film metering but 50 years later can be a weak point. The OM1 is fully mechanical. Prism silvering can be spotting these days, light seals will need replacing again. Almost as bullet-proof as a Nikon F/FM. Why bother with an OM10 (needs a plug-in adaptor for manual exposure and the shutter sounds like a toy camera compared with OM1), unless it was your Dad's old camera or you're completely skint. Later OM such as 3/4/4Ti, and 2 Spot-Programme are good as display pieces only. I sold my OM1 with all lenses last year for buttons to a keen photographer in his 20's, he cycles it around in his collection of varied kit.
Nikon
Nikon FM if you can find one at a reasonable price, gives access to a vast array of lenses. Comment above about service being a crap-shoot only applies if you don't choose the Authorised Nikon Service Agent in your region. I use the agents here in NZ that have all of the factory calibration and alignment kit, so anything I send to them comes back better than new. FM is about as genuinely bullet-proof as any of the F/F2/F3 etc. A great camera.
Pentax
If I'd woken up to the LX earlier, I might have gone Pentax. A superbly engineered and compact professional SLR in the same vein as the OM1, though perhaps even a little better. I know a couple of blokes still rocking theirs, one a widely-published pro. I'm not coninced about the ME Super in 2022; it was certainly advanced in it's time with its electronic metering, aperture priority, and great value, though have the electronics stood up with age?
Canon AE1 - avoid. If the control mechs go, not worth repairing. Canon F1 - superb bit of kit, though may require more $$ for admission as most people know what they are.
Ricoh KR5 - if you find one of these, it should be very cheap - but a robust and reliable basic mechanical SLR with simple metering and the K-mount providing access to all that cheap plentiful Pentax glass (oooh Takumars!). Well-built and Solid.
Glass
Whatever you get, just get a 50mm 1.8 (no need for a 1.4 for a learner), put the zooms away to start with. Add a 28mm 2.8 later. Then maybe a 135. Try and avoid mouldy examples. If they're learning film, they should be shooting slowly and deliberately. Is there really any need for aperture priority or evaluative metering? Keep it simple!
Conclusion
Find a simple well-made mechanical SLR camera and get it serviced by a decent service agent. It'll cost a little for the work (they were made by people!), but at least you can rely on 1/60 being just that, and who wants light leaks f#$king up their carefully composed images? If that doesn't light the spark, go digital. My teenage daughter is having great fun learning with her D7000, they can be had for peanuts - possibly better value than a 40-50 year old SLR.
Off Topic
Now, in response to comments that Nikon have lost their way with engineering at the point that they went digital, "bollocks". The D2 series is indestructible, I met a motorsport shooter with over a million shots on a pair of D2 bodies (each), and another over 750k... and he was shooting in all weathers and conditions in preference to D3 and D4. The D3 was a massive breakthrough in ergonomics, engineering, and noise performance that had Canon shooters turning purple. I've ovned D3 (three of) D3s (one), and currently run a D4 (precautionary shutter replacement at around 450k along with full service and calibration), D4s (region of 150-200k?), D810. All function beautifully and with the exception of the D810, I could stand on any one of them in order to get the shot, or hammer nails in at a pinch. The D3s had been dropped before I bought it (discovered in service), and though the mount was ever-so-slightly out of alignment with the sensor plane, I was still making decent sports image with it. Canon's D1 professional line is similarly robust. I digress.
Robust engineering FTW: shot with a broken Nikon D3s (mount damaged) with ailing Nikkor AF-I 300mm f2.8 (AF-only, manual focus u/s). 1/1600 sec at f4.0, ISO800.
I chose an Olympus OM1 based on their system (a full pro system with great glass), ergonomics (brilliant handling - aperture ring on front of lens, shutter speed on mount, and focus all controlled by left hand; wind and shoot by right hand), and compact size. The OM2 had off-the-film metering but 50 years later can be a weak point. The OM1 is fully mechanical. Prism silvering can be spotting these days, light seals will need replacing again. Almost as bullet-proof as a Nikon F/FM. Why bother with an OM10 (needs a plug-in adaptor for manual exposure and the shutter sounds like a toy camera compared with OM1), unless it was your Dad's old camera or you're completely skint. Later OM such as 3/4/4Ti, and 2 Spot-Programme are good as display pieces only. I sold my OM1 with all lenses last year for buttons to a keen photographer in his 20's, he cycles it around in his collection of varied kit.
Nikon
Nikon FM if you can find one at a reasonable price, gives access to a vast array of lenses. Comment above about service being a crap-shoot only applies if you don't choose the Authorised Nikon Service Agent in your region. I use the agents here in NZ that have all of the factory calibration and alignment kit, so anything I send to them comes back better than new. FM is about as genuinely bullet-proof as any of the F/F2/F3 etc. A great camera.
Pentax
If I'd woken up to the LX earlier, I might have gone Pentax. A superbly engineered and compact professional SLR in the same vein as the OM1, though perhaps even a little better. I know a couple of blokes still rocking theirs, one a widely-published pro. I'm not coninced about the ME Super in 2022; it was certainly advanced in it's time with its electronic metering, aperture priority, and great value, though have the electronics stood up with age?
Canon AE1 - avoid. If the control mechs go, not worth repairing. Canon F1 - superb bit of kit, though may require more $$ for admission as most people know what they are.
Ricoh KR5 - if you find one of these, it should be very cheap - but a robust and reliable basic mechanical SLR with simple metering and the K-mount providing access to all that cheap plentiful Pentax glass (oooh Takumars!). Well-built and Solid.
Glass
Whatever you get, just get a 50mm 1.8 (no need for a 1.4 for a learner), put the zooms away to start with. Add a 28mm 2.8 later. Then maybe a 135. Try and avoid mouldy examples. If they're learning film, they should be shooting slowly and deliberately. Is there really any need for aperture priority or evaluative metering? Keep it simple!
Conclusion
Find a simple well-made mechanical SLR camera and get it serviced by a decent service agent. It'll cost a little for the work (they were made by people!), but at least you can rely on 1/60 being just that, and who wants light leaks f#$king up their carefully composed images? If that doesn't light the spark, go digital. My teenage daughter is having great fun learning with her D7000, they can be had for peanuts - possibly better value than a 40-50 year old SLR.
Off Topic
Now, in response to comments that Nikon have lost their way with engineering at the point that they went digital, "bollocks". The D2 series is indestructible, I met a motorsport shooter with over a million shots on a pair of D2 bodies (each), and another over 750k... and he was shooting in all weathers and conditions in preference to D3 and D4. The D3 was a massive breakthrough in ergonomics, engineering, and noise performance that had Canon shooters turning purple. I've ovned D3 (three of) D3s (one), and currently run a D4 (precautionary shutter replacement at around 450k along with full service and calibration), D4s (region of 150-200k?), D810. All function beautifully and with the exception of the D810, I could stand on any one of them in order to get the shot, or hammer nails in at a pinch. The D3s had been dropped before I bought it (discovered in service), and though the mount was ever-so-slightly out of alignment with the sensor plane, I was still making decent sports image with it. Canon's D1 professional line is similarly robust. I digress.
Robust engineering FTW: shot with a broken Nikon D3s (mount damaged) with ailing Nikkor AF-I 300mm f2.8 (AF-only, manual focus u/s). 1/1600 sec at f4.0, ISO800.
