Bounty wrote:Are there any models that take 35mm you would suggest?
Sorry for the double post; I missed this one while I was typing my previous one. EDIT: Sorry also for the huge walls of text.
The problem with 35mm cameras is that 35mm is the dominant film format, so they tend to be more expensive all around, while the medium format market seems to be divided between the very expensive professional equipment and the pretty cheap used cameras. Ebay prices for Pentax K1000 SLRs, which are commonly used as student cameras, appear to be between $50 and $75 for the most part; Spotmatics seem to be about the same. The downside of an SLR, of course, is that to be able to use your camera to best advantage, you'll have to track down a couple of lenses, and those are usually pretty expensive unless they're junk. One reason even a used SLR might be more expensive is because you are getting at least one lens with it. I can say offhand that I like my film SLRs, and more so because I got them and their glass for free - but with that, if you find yourself looking for M-42 (old common mount) lenses, the Takumars that are associated with the old Pentaxes are well regarded. I have two, and I like them - though as noted earlier, my inexperience may negate my advice.
Rangefinder cameras, on the other hand, are less common than SLRs and have the advantage of being fixed-lens, although that imposes some limitations on the photographer. Olympus 35mm rangefinders seem to be going on Ebay for costs comparable to the Yashicas I mentioned previously - up to $50 - and also seem to be well-regarded at first glance.
Then, of course, you have the 35mm automatic compacts that you can (or could) get in most department stores and which have largely been superseded by cheap digicams. The automatics are even more limiting than the rangefinders, as they autofocus and autoexpose (or, in the worst case, are fixed-focus and fixed-exposure; no better than a disposable). However, they are relatively modern mass-produced consumer cameras that have been made recently obsolete, so they are probably pretty cheap - they just don't offer the user anything special.
The big caveat when buying used cameras is to make sure it is in working order beforehand. Since old cameras are fully mechanical, and since this means lots of springs and small moving parts, you could wind up getting stuck with a camera that was either used hard, such that it is pretty worn out, or sat unused for a long time, such that the mechanisms are all gummed up. In either case, it would cost more to repair than it would to spend a bit more for a camera that was in working order to begin with.
The other thing to note when buying a camera is that beyond the good functioning of the mechanisms, the quality of the lens(es) is critical, for obvious reasons. When looking ad fixed-lens cameras, like rangefinders or TLRs, you'll want to consider what camera brands have good glass and which don't, while when buying and SLR you'll want to look at what lenses are available for the particular mount your camera uses and which of those are of good quality. Getting the right spread of lenses makes SLRs a bit more confounding - and expensive - than fixed-lens cameras, as any old body in working order will do but it's important to get good glass. Older SLRs make that easier and harder in one respect: they use a common lens mount, unlike the 'systematized' mounts on newer cameras, so you have access to the whole range of contemporary lenses without needing to get an adapter. The downside, of course, is that older lenses can be harder to find, especially high-quality ones that people keep and continue to use on newer bodies, and in some respects the question of "What lenses do I need?" is a little easier to answer when you have the system of lenses built for your camera body close at hand.
So, in short, do some research to try to find the best balance of affordability and quality, bearing in mind that a cheap camera in poor shape is not only useless until it is fixed, but will probably cost more to fix than to buy one in better condition to start with. As to what
type of camera is best - SLR or rangefinder, 35mm or medium format - that is largely a matter of what you personally intend to be photographing, and what you intend to do with those photographs.