Canon EOS 650 - A very cheap film camera

Would you believe me if I said that one of my favourite camera bodies cost me exactly £20?

I certainly wouldn’t!

As you can probably guess from the title, the camera I’m writing about is the Canon EOS 650. You can find these in abundance on eBay, anywhere from £10 body-only to no more than £100 with a lens or maybe even two. The camera uses the 2CR5 battery, which is still readily available today, and the Canon EF mount, meaning your choice of lenses is nearly endless.

Nine times out of ten, I pair my EOS 650 with the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens. This keeps the overall footprint of the camera nice and compact, which is how I prefer to shoot. I’ve actually just ordered the 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens to make the setup even smaller.

Released in 1987, it was the first of the famous EOS line of cameras that everyone knows and has probably owned at some point. Now, we’re not talking about a “cool” metal SLR here—the shell is made from plastic with a metal chassis, but it feels incredibly sturdy. Honestly, if you dropped it, I’d say there’s a better chance the ground would break before the camera!

You can shoot this camera anywhere from fully manual to fully auto. It’s got features like aperture and shutter priority, a self-timer, and autofocus (both one-shot and continuous modes—although I’d honestly ignore both because the autofocus sucksss… by modern-day standards anyway)

The in-built light meter has only ever missed a handful of times in my experience, but that’s just part of the charm of film photography. Unless you invest in a proper external light meter, there's always a chance something could go wrong—but honestly, that’s half the fun, right?

The camera will automatically read the DX code on a film canister, but if you want to get creative, you can change the ISO yourself. This lets you push or pull your film, or over- or underexpose it, depending on the look you’re going for.

For film choices, some great pairings would be Kodak Gold for color or Kentmere 400 for black and white. Both of these options are affordable, helping to keep the cost of shooting film down while still delivering excellent results. If you’re looking to save even more money (with a bit more risk), why not consider shooting expired film? You can find a wide variety of expired film online, much of it no longer in production.

I believe this body is one of, if not the best beginner film SLRs on the market. It’s incredibly cheap, it’s as easy or as challenging to use as you want it to be, and it feels familiar thanks to its more modern design. Plus, the images can be incredibly sharp depending on which EF mount lens you pair with it.

What are you waiting for? Get eBaying!