
Nikonos V Guide: Underwater Film Pick
The Nikonos V is the amphibious 35mm camera divers still trust at depth, as long as its seals have been serviced rather than assumed.
Film camera coverage for people buying, fixing or living with one: shutter accuracy, meter drift, light seals, viewfinder brightness and realistic service costs. Ranges across 35mm compacts, rangefinders, SLRs and medium format bodies. Written to help a shooter pick a camera that survives regular use.
Film camera coverage for people buying, fixing or living with one: shutter accuracy, meter drift, light seals, viewfinder brightness and realistic service costs. Ranges across 35mm compacts, rangefinders, SLRs and medium format bodies. Written to help a shooter pick a camera that survives regular use.

The Nikonos V is the amphibious 35mm camera divers still trust at depth, as long as its seals have been serviced rather than assumed.

The Leica M6 is the one film body whose price never really fell, so a careful buying checklist matters more here than anywhere else.

The Mamiya RZ67 makes 6x7 negatives with studio manners, and its used prices undercut anything digital that comes close in tonal depth.

The Yashica Mat 124G remains the cheapest credible route into square 6x6 film, provided you check the shutter and film spacing before buying.

The Olympus XA slips into a jacket pocket and shoots full-frame film, which explains why clean examples keep disappearing from the used market.

The Pentax K1000 earned its classroom reputation for one reason: almost nothing on it can confuse a beginner, and almost everything can be fixed.

The Canon AE-1 sold in the millions, which means cheap bodies everywhere, and a few age-related faults you must catch before paying.

The Nikon FM2 is still the mechanical SLR other used buys get measured against, and most bodies remain genuinely usable.