Best 35mm film slr for beginner?

I'm completely new to film photography but have been really wanting to get into it. Though I want this to be my new hobby, sadly I can't spend too much money on the camera. I've done some research and saw that the Nikon fm2, f2, or fe are all fairly good cameras but bumped into the Minolta SRT 101 for less. I know I probably shouldn't get it online but I really don't have much of a choice except getting it from ebay.

Which would you recommend? These or others in mind?
Also any tips are greatly appreciated!

The Olympus OM-1n is a good mecahnical manual SLR. The Pentax K1000 is another. Nikon's FM is, too.

A Nikon FM2 would probably still fetch top money. I would go for the Pentax K1000, it would probably be much cheaper yet still a very capable film camera.

All the options you mentioned are good but I'd go for a Nikon FM10 or even a used F3 or F4. Here's why - used manual-focus and auto-focus Nikon lenses are abundantly available, very well built and optically excellent and will work on most of the new Nikon Digital bodies (other than the cheapest Nikon DSLR's) You can buy great used Nikon film cameras for next to nothing now and when you're ready to shoot digital or move up, you can take your lenses with you. And if you ever opt to quit photography all together, there's a ready market to sell your used gear for about what you paid for it.

The new stuff will take a large resale hit but if you buy smart and buy used you can really get great gear, especially with film cameras as the world has mostly gone digital.

That's great you're interested in film photography! We can always use more committed shooters! Great cameras you've got in mind also!

Why don't you think you have much of a choice besides buying on eBay? That is probably the worst place you could buy a used camera from. The last 5 things I've purchased from eBay (all camera related) had something wrong with them. EBay is getting worse and worse in terms of reliable sellers.

You should purchase your camera just as you would any new camera, from a camera store. KEH.com is probably the best for this as they provide a 6 month warranty on their gear and also do repairs so this is about as good as used camera buying can get. BHPhoto.com, Adorama.com, CollectibleCameras.com, CameraRepair.com and probably one or two local shops to you sell some of the models you're interested in too.

If you are budget conscious, the original Nikon FM is usually about $100 cheaper than the FM2. Also The Nikkormat FTn and FT2 are excellent but cost around $100 to $150 with a 50mm lens. The F2 (and FM2n) are excellent cameras but not really necessary for someone who's concerned with cost. The FE is good also but has an electronic shutter and this is not very useful for the student and not as reliable as the mechanical shutter of the FM or Nikkormats.

I would advise against the Minolta SRT. I've handled many of them and they all had something wrong with them. The glass is excellent in those cameras but the build quality has never been up to the Nikon standard. It's fine if you have several cameras, to have a few old quirky ones but what you need now is one good, reliable camera so you can concentrate on photography, not cameras.

Please feel free to email me with any questions at JohnnyMartyr@Hotmail.com

Also, check out my basic film photography group for help getting started with learning the camera, film to choose, processing, etc.

I hope you enjoy whatever camera you choose and stick with film. It's a beautiful medium, very deserving of the dedication it takes to learn and continue shooting it!

METAL AND MANUAL! FILM FOREVER!

Canon A-1, AE-1 series wouldn't be a bad choice.