Best 35mm Camera ever made!

Marvin · Jul 29, 2013

I am sure I will get a lot of different responses from this. I was at a local camera store and the owner and I were talking about the Nikon F5 and he said that he thought it was the best 35mm camera ever made. I would agree what would you think.

E. von Hoegh · Jul 29, 2013

Marvin said:
I am sure I will get a lot of different responses from this. I was at a local camera store and the owner and I were talking about the Nikon F5 and he said that he thought it was the best 35mm camera ever made. I would agree what would you think.

Nikon F, Nikon F2, Leicaflexes (pre "R" series). Leica M2/M3/M4, Nikon rangefinders, others.
The all mechanical cameras without electronics can be repaired as long as someone is around to make parts. The electronics in other cameras will eventually crapout, and when replacement parts are no longer available it's bye-bye to that camera.

benjiboy · Jul 29, 2013

Was he trying to sell you one ?

PtJudeRI · Jul 29, 2013

Mechanical 35mm SLR? Nikon F2. Rangefinder - Pick a Leica. Electronic SLR- Im biased as I LOVE my F5 (removable prism, various focus screens, etc. all of which I use), but the Minolta 9ti is amazing too. My only gripe with the F5 is the Focus sensor colors. Black was a bad choice.

Rick A · Jul 29, 2013

The best 35mm camera ever made is whichever one works for a particular individual, not a specific brand. For me, it's whatever one I have in hand when oppertunity arises, and I get the shot. I refuse to fall into the "my camera is better than yours" claptrap.

ME Super · Jul 29, 2013

Rick A said:
The best 35mm camera ever made is whichever one works for a particular individual, not a specific brand. For me, it's whatever one I have in hand when opportunity arises, and I get the shot. I refuse to fall into the "my camera is better than yours" claptrap.

+1. The best camera for the shot is the one you have with you.

Marvin · Jul 29, 2013

No he had sold me one earlier.

mopar_guy · Jul 29, 2013

What exactly do you mean by "best"?

Jeff Kubach · Jul 29, 2013

They are all good, it is the guy behind the camera makes the differecne.

Jeff

Vincent Brady · Jul 29, 2013

Jeff Kubach said:
They are all good, it is the guy behind the camera makes the differecne.

Jeff

How true, how true.

AndrewR · Jul 29, 2013

I don't think there's any one "best camera". It depends a lot on what you use it for. The F5 is an excellent PJ camera but it would not be my first choice for hiking or street photography...

T-grain · Jul 29, 2013

AndrewR said:
I don't think there's any one "best camera". It depends a lot on what you use it for. The F5 is an excellent PJ camera but it would not be my first choice for hiking or street photography...

so true, we know that
think of your camera as a suit-if it fits you fine, that's the right one for you (taking into account it has a decnt optics attached of course)
as many of us, I have so (too) many cameras at home, even a couple of superb Rolleis, but they are too heavy and bulky for my "ordinary" shooting style
I also have a set of EOS cameras and then, in the end, I almost always end up to take with me my so beloved Canon AE1, mostly with the trusty 50mm
why? because it is a breeze to use-simple, elegant, reliable as hell, and producing wonderful slides
even though this camera has almost 35 years and an electronic shutter, it still runs as brand new
last time I checked the shutter, it was only 2% off at 1/1000. not bad, huh?

cliveh · Jul 29, 2013

OK - I get given a Leica M6 and HCB gets a Brownie 127, we both go into town for 2 or 3 hours. Who comes back with the better pictures (not me).

thegman · Jul 29, 2013

Best 35mm camera ever made? For me it would be either Leica M3, Rollei 35, or maybe Pentax MX, Nikon F, or something like that.

Rollei 35 is amazing value, completely manual and tiny. In terms of sheer engineering, I think I may have to go with that.

Ricardo Miranda · Jul 29, 2013

The best 35mm camera means different things for different people.
No 35mm camera is a "Jack of all trades, master of all". The Nikon F series tries to be that, but ultimately fails short on some accounts. As an example, if it is need a light weight, strong body camera for hiking, no Nikon F can be called light weight, although the last of the F series, the F6, tried very hard to be that.

Personally, different cameras and/or systems are better than others for some of the photography I do. At the moment, the Nikon EM, or the Nikon F75 if I need AF, is the best for what I am doing.

bobwysiwyg · Jul 29, 2013

ME Super said:
+1. The best camera for the shot is the one you have with you.

Amen.

Thomas Bertilsson · Jul 29, 2013

Like so many others have alluded to, it's a question that doesn't really do anybody any favors.

1. We are all different and like different things. My hands are very large, while other people might have small hands.
2. The camera, as long as it works consistently, is probably the very least important thing in the chain of events. Think about it, the camera does very little, actually.
3. Most of the variables in our work flow are not introduced by the equipment - it is introduced by us humans. What's between your ears and what you do with it to control your tools is five million times more important than the camera.

My answer is that the camera that we can make 'disappear' from our work flow, where we know it intimately enough that we know what to expect when we use it, is the best one, because it is the least distracting one, allowing you to focus your attention on the important part - the picture!

MattKing · Jul 29, 2013

cliveh said:
OK - I get given a Leica M6 and HCB gets a Brownie 127, we both go into town for 2 or 3 hours. Who comes back with the better pictures (not me).

Depending, of course, on whether or not HCB can find some 127 film.

clayne · Jul 29, 2013

Nikon F.

zsas · Jul 29, 2013

Rick A said:
The best 35mm camera ever made is whichever one works for a particular individual, not a specific brand. For me, it's whatever one I have in hand when oppertunity arises, and I get the shot. I refuse to fall into the "my camera is better than yours" claptrap.

Exactly my thought Rick!

gone · Jul 29, 2013

I think my old FE2 was pretty neat. Should never have sold it.

Bill Burk · Jul 29, 2013

Reminds me of a problem I have with a major consumer-oriented publication. I have bought refrigerators and vacuum-cleaners based on their exclamations that they are the best, while reality over time proves the magazine was WRONG.

While I admit, features-wise the F5 may be the "penultimate". The camera with lasting value will turn out to be a mechanical non-metered camera.

Bill Burk · Jul 29, 2013

cliveh said:
OK - I get given a Leica M6 and HCB gets a Brownie 127, we both go into town for 2 or 3 hours. Who comes back with the better pictures (not me).

WRONG.

Word play here though...

YOU come back taking better pictures than you used to, after watching HCB for 2 or 3 hours (but during that time you didn't take a single frame because you were so in awe...) HCB couldn't get much better.

Lamar · Jul 29, 2013

Hmmm. "Best" can be so subjective. Best at what? If you limit "best" to a more objective measure, technical capability, then the F6 would be the "best". It's smaller and lighter. It can be used with CLS. It can write shooting data between the frames. It will write shooting data out to a file. 11 focus points. Metering follows focus points. Yep. I would have to say it's the best. But I don't have one because it's expensive and I enjoy shooting with my old manual cameras. My F100 rarely sees the light of day but my old manual cameras get used just about daily. They are definitely not better but the shooting experience sure is a lot more rewarding, for me anyway.

Les Sarile · Jul 29, 2013

If best is measured by how many shots you can get in a roll then these two half frame capable cameras could be considered best . . .

Best 35mm Camera ever made!

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