One of the finest general purpose / everyday 35mm film SLR is the Pentax K1000. You want reliable? You want basic? You want good images? Then look no further than the K1000. Manual focus, reliable light meter, good ISO/ASA range (20 - 32000), good speed range (B to 1/1000 second), hotshoe & solidly built. What else would you want in a basic SLR.
I have 2 K1000's. One with a workable light meter and one without. The K1000 with the light meter that doesn't work is still perfect for using with a hand held light meter or sunny 16. The shutter operates without a battery.
To operate you either manually use aperture or speed priority. Set whichever is your preference based on the scene, film and light. Then simply adjust the other. The light meter is a needle in the viewfinder that goes up and down based on the setting. When the needle is in the center your exposure is set.
The shutter has a moderate mirror slap which is noticeable but still stealthy enough for candids and street photography.
I have one of the cameras mounted with a Pentax-M f/1.7 50mm and one with a f/2.8 28mm. I prefer the 50mm which is my go to focal length for street photography.
Honestly, for a basic camera or your first SLR you can't go wrong with a Pentax K1000.
The manual at Butkus
A few photos taken with bulk loaded Kentmere 400 pushed to 800 and some Kodak TMAX 400 at box speed.
