Best 35mm camera design - or rather - which is your favorite?

Thomas Bertilsson

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I have come to realize that it matters little to me what camera I'm using. Out of the three 35mm cameras I own, I like the one I have with me the best.
They all make virtually equal negatives, are reliable, and are nice to use.
 

John_Nikon_F

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What Thomas said. That said, if someone forced me at gunpoint to say, I'd have to either go with the F or the F2AS. F3 looks cool, but it's just as loud as an F2, and it has that annoying meter readout in manual mode where you're either overexposing, properly exposing, or underexposing. No idea as to how far off you are. The F4 with the stock DP-20 finder is a BIG improvement over the F3.

-J
 

Pioneer

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Thomas Bertilsson said:
I have come to realize that it matters little to me what camera I'm using. Out of the three 35mm cameras I own, I like the one I have with me the best.
They all make virtually equal negatives, are reliable, and are nice to use.
Click to expand...

Amen, I love them one and all.
 

John_Nikon_F

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Yep, even when the neon bulb works, it still is pretty pathetic. Not like the bright green LED of the F4 or the LED readouts of the F2S, F2SB, and F2AS.

-J
 

Ronald Moravec

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Leica R6 or 6.2 or current Leica MP. I do not use them much. Also have a Nikon F2 that is very nice and stable and heavy and smooth as silk operationally. It has a companion early Nikormat that is as well made and equally nice to use and cost me the princely sum of $60.
 

BradleyK

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Thomas Bertilsson said:
I have come to realize that it matters little to me what camera I'm using. Out of the three 35mm cameras I own, I like the one I have with me the best.
They all make virtually equal negatives, are reliable, and are nice to use.
Click to expand...

+1. But, like John F, if forced to choose (gun or knife not necessary), it would be a roll of the dice to decide between my F5s/F6 or my beloved F2as. The former because of their superb ergonomics, the latter because it feels so solid in my hands (and maybe because it was my first serious camera).
 

elekm

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I like the minimalist approach. I am not a big fan of a camera that has many buttons, switches and dials. I don't care for cameras that require two hands and multiple button presses to do something as simple as change the shutter speed or change the film speed.

I definitely admit to being a throwback.

I don't mind having LEDs in the viewfinder, although a sweeping needle still works for me. And I've found that as long as you don't pound on your cameras, that needle probably will still work correctly 35 years later (Nikon F2A, FE).

If the meter doesn't work, I'm OK with using a handheld meter.

The great thing about photography is that there is a camera out there for everyone. From those who want nothing more than a box and a lens to the folks who really enjoy and thrive using the latest gear.

So, there probably is no right or wrong answer to this question, because each of us want and expect something different in a camera. And that's OK.
 

Truzi

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My Favorite is my Sears KS-2 (Ricoh XR7). It was my maternal grandfather's, which is probably why it is my favorite. It is quite easy to use, does all I need, and is my main camera.

I have a Voigtländer Vitessa and a Zeiss Icon Contessa (folding 35mm) that I really like. I love how robust they are, especially the Zeiss, and their engineering is a work of art. The Contessa is built like a tank, and while in sad shape from sitting idle in a second cousin's farmhouse longer than I've been alive, it still performs quite well. It has some bad lens fungus I've not attempted to remove yet. Once cleaned up, it will probably be my number-two 35mm.

Not a favorite camera, but one of my favorite camera situations, was with a point and shoot Kodak 35mm from the late 80s. It had a thumb-wheel film advance. When I asked people to take a picture of me with it, and it didn't auto-wind, they thought they broke it.
 

Yashinoff

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There is something nice about the Ihagee Exa. A few shutter speeds, a few F stops, you can even change the lens if you want to. I've found that I tend to look towards simpler cameras lately. As long as I have enough control to make creative decisions, I'm pretty satisfied.
 

one90guy

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Never owned one that I did not like, my favorite at this moment, Mamiya NC1000S, which is my newest.
 

ambaker

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Too many, and too hard to pick a favorite.

Short list would be:

Canon Elan 7e. Great for action shots, and the eye control works for me.

Yashica TL Electro-X. My first 35mm SLR.

Ricoh XR-S. Yes it is essentially an XR-7. No you cannot get rechargeable batteries for it anymore. But hey, it's got solar panels and solar panels are cool. Everyone who has seen it up close mentions it.

Horizon 202. A one trick pony to be sure. 120 degree panoramas are all it does. No batteries, no meters, no focus, only a few speeds and aperture choices; just keep an eye on the bubble level to minimize distortion. But then the images always seem to impress my friends.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

Marvin

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I was talking to the owner of a local camera store and he said he thought the Nikon F5 was the best film camera ever made. I am sure the F5 contributed many photos to National Geographic.
 

Ali-C

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My favourite camera, bar none, is my F3/T. Given the choice I'd love to use nothing but a pair of these for everything, sadly I can't but I'm getting as much use out of it as I can while I can! The only down side to it is that I can't use the 50/55mm Super Taks on it! But hey, nothing's perfect.
 

Jim Rice

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I know y'all will laugh and laugh, but....

The most intuitive: OM-1n by far. It just instantly fit into my hands and did what I asked of it.

What I have now: Contax RTS-I. Its a nice camera, though a bit bulky and heavy and screachingly loud. The glass makes up for all of that.
 

blockend2

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There was an article by a photographer many years ago who bemoaned the fact that Pentax were dropping their Spotmatic range. She had become so in tune with her 'Spots that she could tell what shutter speed and aperture they were set at by the feel of the dials and without taking the camera from her eye. That intuitiveness was a product of the cameras of the era. Most people didn't familiarise themselves with their equipment to the same degree, which lead to AF, matrix metering, sub-menus and the rest of the tricks that made cameras more user friendly to the masses, but encourages less intimacy compared to those willing to put in the time on a manual camera.

In this 'post-film', GAS-rich time the chance of building the same relationship with one piece of equipment is less. The compromise I favour are manual focus, lightweight bodied SLR cameras with modern battery systems, late 70s/early 80s stuff fits the bill.
 

flsimages

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EOS-1. a close second would be my a-1

ive used nikon, pentax, etc etc but just have to go back with canon every time. I prefer the eos 1 due to simple speed of everything. And i can use all my L lenses for quality. But i really like the a-1 in construction and feel. its just nice and solid.
 
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