I assume not digital as it's in the title. Let me find the one my mate has got. It's don.

or automatic?

a Nikon F55 which i think is good.

Canon Eos500N, which does me just fine. Great lenses, lots of settings and piss easy to get really good photos out of.

a 85-200mm tamron lens, wide angle tamron lens and zenit slr base unit for £20. All manual, but it's all good.

I also have a Dynax 4 (minolta), which is easy to use (first one I got), can be fully auto, fully manual or somewhere in between, and I don't think it's too pricey.

i have a canon ae-1 which is basically a big slab of metal with magic inside. will never break, produces great results with just a little knowledge and should cost around £40-50 second-hand.

For old school manual

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pentax-MG-SLR-Camera-50mm-f1-7-Lens-Case-Strap_W0QQitemZ160199923082QQihZ006QQcategoryZ15240QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
The lens on this one's a beauty

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nikon-FM-50mm1-8-lens_W0QQitemZ280193538562QQihZ018QQcategoryZ30035QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
A great, great camera

For something a bit more modern
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nikon-F80-Silver-Black-35mm-Autofocus-Camera-Box_W0QQitemZ120212708593QQihZ002QQcategoryZ30035QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nikon-F75-SLR-Camera-with-autofocus-function_W0QQitemZ320208458209QQihZ011QQcategoryZ30035QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Film-Camera-Canon-EOS-50E-Excellent-Condition_W0QQitemZ220192432063QQihZ012QQcategoryZ30033QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MINOLTA-Dynax-Maxxum-7-Vertical-grip-VC-7-batteries_W0QQitemZ330204544138QQihZ014QQcategoryZ15237QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

There you go.

depends how much you want to do yourself. Do you want the convenience of an autofocus SLR with built-in autowinder, or do you want to get back to the basics of photography?

I've always liked Pentax, because they've some great lenses and you can build up a decent kit for less than the equivalent Nikon setup. So... if you want all-manual, the Pentax MX is great, and nigh-on indestructible:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentax_MX

Or if you want multi-point autofocus, pop-up flash, autowinder, autoexposure etc the Pentax MZ-5n is excellent and uses all the same lenses as the earlier Pentax cameras:
http://www.kphoto.ru/equipment/pentax/pentax_mz5n.jpg

Also in the first category (all manual), I can fully recommend the Nikon FM cameras.

is IMO a fantastic idea; I recently picked up a Nikon F90x for £60 - it originally retailed for £400-£500+ The trend for digital means that you can get an awful lot of camera for little money on ebay.

if there's anything wrong with this?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Minolta-Dynax-4-SLR-35mm-Camera_W0QQitemZ200192192039QQihZ010QQcategoryZ15237QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'm suspicious of its cheapness.

where can i get a good SLR camera in london for cheap? i don't use ebay.

K1000 is meant to be a good one to start out with, or so my photography tutor tells me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentax_K1000

chunky, totally mechanical one you can find. Just so long as the shutter works.

Otherwise, I'd recommend a Nikon, because I've got the f100 and it's lovely.

In other film camera related news, i just got a film back from my Holga and it's all crap. Sadface.

If anyone cares...

After spending probably far too much time looking at cameras on the internet and losing ebay bids due to being poor, I ended up getting one of these (Praktica MTL3) for £7.50. Amazing.

http://www.freytag-grafik.de/kameras-Dateien/praktica%20mtl%203-S4200001.jpg

Reading up it actually seems like a decent camera, but more importantly, it's the prettiest camera ever. And it shall be filled with finest film Poundland has to offer.