"Cult" point-and-shoot cameras

[TheSohnly]

What makes it a cult? Is it perception or does quality have anything to do with it?

I would assume that if people pay $100-$500 for a point and shoot film camera in 2009 on certain internet auction sites, that it would be a quality camera.
I have seen pictures from most/all of the cameras said in this thread (by googleing the camera and finding a flickr group or something) and most produce great/usable results.

~Eye of the beholder
~Art is subjective
~etc

All I want is something quality that I can put in my pocket. My F100 is a great camera and all but it's too big/noisy to do the kind of shooting I would use this camera for.

 

[Perry Way]

I would assume that if people pay $100-$500 for a point and shoot film camera in 2009 on certain internet auction sites, that it would be a quality camera.
I have seen pictures from most/all of the cameras said in this thread (by googleing the camera and finding a flickr group or something) and most produce great/usable results.

~Eye of the beholder
~Art is subjective
~etc

All I want is something quality that I can put in my pocket. My F100 is a great camera and all but it's too big/noisy to do the kind of shooting I would use this camera for.

Then I misunderstood this thread. If you want a super quality point and shooter I have one you might like. I'll sell it dirt cheep too because I don't need it. I have two point and shooters, a Voigtlander and a Minox. What I have and would sell is a Minox CD 128 DB. I am keeping the Voigtlander because it has a wider lens and I shoot lots of wide angle. This Minox has a Minoxar 38-128mm zoom. It has stellar optics.

 

[Excalibur2]

Well, I went to about 10 junk shops today and I figured that I would find SOMETHING of halfway decent quality that I could start with and move up eventually.
Just me being too naive I guess. Reality check, if you will.

Shame you are in the US as I have the perfect mint cult camera:-
http://www.gaspweb.co.uk/cameras/yashica_t5.html

Can reach up to £100 + on ebay, anyone interested in the UK would swop it for Canon fdn 24mm f2.8 or Nikon A1 24mm f2.8

 

[Mark Antony]

Holga?

I consider the Rollei 35 a uncoupled rangefinder, not a point and shoot, but have it your way

I'm not sure but no Rollei 35 (I've owned 3) has had any focus aid whatsoever they have all been purely guesstimate cameras....

 

[removed-user-1]

I'd like to cast a vote for a camera that I almost forgot we have: the Olympus Stylus 120. It's got an enormous - and stepless - zoom range for such a small 35mm camera (38-120mm) but I wish it went a little wider. The lens is slow, but sharp. It is definitely pocketable and makes great snaps on 200 speed film. It has a user-selectable spot meter (but autoexposure only of course). Some user reviews complain that the viewfinder is blurry - however, it has a diopter control which I suspect those reviewers aren't using. Nice little point and shoot. This and a Stylus Epic would be a great combination! There were a couple other models that were very similar, including the 105 which is almost identical to the 120, and the 100 which has a 28-100mm lens.

 

[elekm]

Regarding a "cult" camera: Sometimes it's stellar optically. Sometime's it's not.

The Lomo took on cult status in the late 1990s. Optics are OK but not great.

More recently, the Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim has achieved cult status. Excellent lens for an all-plastic camera, and people probably like it because you get a 22mm lens for about US$7. I've bought two of these at a thrift shop (sold one for $7, kept one).

Other cameras, are cult cameras because of their size (Olympus XA), lens (Contax T3) or quiet operation (Hexar AF) or even their lack of sharpness (plastic 120 Diana).

 

[Steve Roberts]

Digressing a little, I recently got to thinking that it's actually easy to confuse a "point and shoot" camera with a "take everywhere" camera, whereas the two are not necessarily one and the same. A P & S is IMHO a camera to take when I'm going somewhere, expect to take photos and wish to do so with the minimum of fuss and encumbrance, where perhaps photography isn't the main object of the exercise such as a walking holiday. A P & S will typically by definition have auto everything and likely a zoom lens. On the other hand, a "take everywhere" camera is one that may not get used for weeks at a time but gets hauled around "just in case". When "just in case" arrives, however, it has to work which, in my book, means not being reliant on batteries that may have died or refuse to work in cold temperatures (experience talking!). Thus, they are both typically small and (hopefully) light, but do different jobs, which I probably took too long to realise.
Is there one camera that will do both jobs? I suspect not but having become rather disillusioned with P & S cameras, I'm taking a step backwards and experimenting with the Petri Color 35 - small, retractable 40mm f2.8 lens (of allegedly reasonable if not wonderful quality), speeds to cover most eventualities, CdS meter but fully manual operation regardless of battery. For some reason, these have achieved cult status amongst an avid band of followers. I hope their enthusiasm is not misplaced as I've just bought one!
Back on thread, the biggest disappointment for me in a long time has been the Olympus mjuII (Stylus Epic in the US?). On the face of it, the f2.8 35mm Zuiko lens, the camera's weatherproof construction and genuine shirt-pocket size make it seem ideal. However, the camera will insist on using flash rather than a longer shutter speed, which necessitates having to keep turning the thing off, flash shots are frequently overexposed, there's no infinity lock for shooting through glass and (worst of all) mine lets light in around the rather tenuous-looking rear door seal. Depending on the amount of light, it sometimes gets beyond the perfs into the picture area. However good the lens is, it's no use at all if unwanted light gets at the film. Apparently this is a common problem.

Steve

 

[Paul Goutiere]

The little Rollei 35 is definitely a "cult" camera, but I really do not understand why. Having purchased one recently for $15.00 at the local thrift store, and after using it for a day I fell I got took.
It is a horrible little camera, made in Germany or not.
-The meter is always on.
-guess focus
-1/2 to 1/500 sec.
-tinny
-must pull out lens and lock.
-very poor ergonomics.

I prefer the Canonet QL 17 or the Olympus 35 RC.

 

[olleorama]

The little Rollei 35 is definitely a "cult" camera, but I really do not understand why. Having purchased one recently for $15.00 at the local thrift store, and after using it for a day I fell I got took.
It is a horrible little camera, made in Germany or not.
-The meter is always on.
-guess focus
-1/2 to 1/500 sec.
-tinny
-must pull out lens and lock.
-very poor ergonomics.

I prefer the Canonet QL 17 or the Olympus 35 RC.

It's not guess focus, it's scale focus!

I think the Ricoh GR series is very good. I have both an analogue and a digital.

 

[FRANOL]

Smena 8 camera when I was 13 years old.......

 

[iamzip]

Someone already mentioned the Rollei 35 AFM, which is the same as the Fuji Klasse. Many also like the Fuji Natura. And, while it's not a cult camera, I would suggest the Fuji Zoom Date 1000. It was a top of the line point and shoot, with a 28-100mm zoom and can be had for peanuts, if you don't mind the slow lens.

 

[domaz]

Are you looking for a camera for a trip or just looking for cameras to flip on Ebay?

 

[Rol_Lei Nut]

The little Rollei 35 is definitely a "cult" camera, but I really do not understand why. Having purchased one recently for $15.00 at the local thrift store, and after using it for a day I fell I got took.
It is a horrible little camera, made in Germany or not.
-The meter is always on.
-guess focus
-1/2 to 1/500 sec.
-tinny
-must pull out lens and lock.
-very poor ergonomics.

In defence of the Rollei 35, it was the first super-compact 35mm ever made (1966).
It's size was then ground-breaking, which partly explains the ergonomic quirks.

On the good side, the lenses (at least the Tessar & Sonnar) are fabulous.
In the time I used it regularly, mine proved very reliable and capable of outstanding results.

Certainly criticizable, but, please, definitely not a "horrible little camera"!!!


BTW: You are *very* lucky to have got one for $15... Normal price is many times that.

 

[TheSohnly]

Are you looking for a camera for a trip or just looking for cameras to flip on Ebay?

I already have great cameras that are big and shiny and heavy

Originally I wanted to find out if I should be looking for any more cameras that I didn't have on that original list. All of those cameras are great for my original purpose.

What I am looking for right now is:

1) decent to great sharp optics
2) decent to great fast lens
3) ability to fit in my jean pocket
4) a flash
5) Meters 3200 iso film
6) BONUS: won't break into 1000 pieces/stop working if dropped from a height of 1 meter

It would be used for:
1) a street photography camera
2) a bar/party photography camera
3) BONUS: general purpose "hipster" camera (that isn't an SLR) for the obtaining of hipster girls. I love me some hipster girls

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

3) BONUS: general purpose "hipster" camera (that isn't an SLR) for the obtaining of hipster girls. I love me some hipster girls

I was on the L train in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (i.e., hipster central) a couple of months ago, and I met a young woman on the train with a messenger bag that said "Scheimpflug" on the flap, so you may need another strategy.

 

[TheSohnly]

Regarding a "cult" camera: Sometimes it's stellar optically. Sometime's it's not.

The Lomo took on cult status in the late 1990s. Optics are OK but not great.

More recently, the Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim has achieved cult status. Excellent lens for an all-plastic camera, and people probably like it because you get a 22mm lens for about US$7. I've bought two of these at a thrift shop (sold one for $7, kept one).

Other cameras, are cult cameras because of their size (Olympus XA), lens (Contax T3) or quiet operation (Hexar AF) or even their lack of sharpness (plastic 120 Diana).

nicely said.

So this is my list now. I seriously doubt that i'll be adding anything to it soon. Go ahead and try!:

Rollei 35, 35s, 35t, 35se, 35te, 35 classic, AFM35
Yashica T4, T4 super, T5
Leica Minilux, CM
Contax T, T2, T3
Nikon 35Ti, 28Ti, L35AF
Olympus XA, mju-II/Stylus Epic
Ricoh GR1, GR1s
Pentax UC-1/Espio, PC35AF
Fuji Natura, Natura Classica
Konica Hexar AF

Some are "better" than others but i'm sure i'll be happy with whatever i get on this list. It's gonna be a race between performance and price.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Didn't like the suggestion of the Minolta TC-1 with it's legendary 28mm/3.5 lens which is one of the few modern lenses to use wheel stops and thus have a perfectly round aperture? I've never used one myself, but it does seem interesting. Here's a profile--

http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?MinoltaTC1.html~mainFrame

 

[Perry Way]

.... general purpose "hipster" camera (that isn't an SLR) for the obtaining of hipster girls. I love me some hipster girls ....

This may make me sound unpopular or cranky but here I go anyway.. pretty much the girls that you meet through chance encounters on the basis of some materialistic decoy aren't the kind that will enrich your life for a very long time. They are like candy (non-nutritious junk calories) or leaves that fly away at the first gust of wind later to be trampled on by passers by.

 

[zenrhino]

I haven't seen the Fuji Natura S listed yet (or I looked right over it).

I could totally go for a p/s 24mm f/1.9 camera.

 

[patrickjames]

The Ricoh GR1 is a great camera. The later 1s and 1v have better coatings. I think you will be hard pressed to find a better camera to put in your pocket. You would have to see one to believe how incredibly small and thin they are, and the body is made of magnesium. The only downside for you might be the 28mm lens. It is a little wide. Whoever designed it though knew what he was doing. The controls are amazing. Two cameras I haven't seen on this list yet are the Ricoh R1(s) and the sibling of it, the Rollei Prego Micron. They are more point and shoot, but have fine lenses with quality similar to the Yashica T4, but have the same dimensions as the GR1. I have had a Yashica T4 for about 15 years. I think they are a little overrated frankly. They have great global color and contrast, but forget about enlarging the images from them.

 

[Excalibur2]

nicely said.

So this is my list now. I seriously doubt that i'll be adding anything to it soon. Go ahead and try!:

Rollei 35, 35s, 35t, 35se, 35te, 35 classic, AFM35
Yashica T4, T4 super, T5
Leica Minilux, CM
Contax T, T2, T3
Nikon 35Ti, 28Ti, L35AF
Olympus XA, mju-II/Stylus Epic
Ricoh GR1, GR1s
Pentax UC-1/Espio, PC35AF
Fuji Natura, Natura Classica
Konica Hexar AF

Some are "better" than others but i'm sure i'll be happy with whatever i get on this list. It's gonna be a race between performance and price.

Well I've stopped buying P&S at boot sales for £1-£2 as I've found all the well known makes have very good lenses i.e. fixed lens (not impressed by the sharpness from zooms) and in my tests are close to a SLR prime.
My ideal film P&S would be one that knows when to use a built in flash and you can disconnect it, if required...can auto focus...sharp lens...not too bulky ......doesn't use hard to get expensive batteries....you can manually adjust the asa to at least 800asa....and of course tough and reliable.

 

[P C Headland]

nicely said.

So this is my list now. I seriously doubt that i'll be adding anything to it soon. Go ahead and try!:

Rollei 35, 35s, 35t, 35se, 35te, 35 classic, AFM35
Yashica T4, T4 super, T5
Leica Minilux, CM
Contax T, T2, T3
Nikon 35Ti, 28Ti, L35AF
Olympus XA, mju-II/Stylus Epic
Ricoh GR1, GR1s
Pentax UC-1/Espio, PC35AF
Fuji Natura, Natura Classica
Konica Hexar AF

Some are "better" than others but i'm sure i'll be happy with whatever i get on this list. It's gonna be a race between performance and price.

I'd definitely add one from the Minox 35 series. About as small and light as you can get for a 35mm camera, with a top notch lens.

They can suffer from sticky shutters, some models seem to suffer more than others. It's not too costly to get a CLA at DAG Camera.

 

[df cardwell]

Konica Hexar

Yes.

Check this review of the camera.

http://www.dantestella.com/technical/hexar.html

If anything, the review is an understatement,
based on seeing his work on a regular basis !
.

 

[ChrisPlatt]

The Konica Big Mini series is highly regarded in some circles.

Chris

 

[TheSohnly]

This may make me sound unpopular or cranky but here I go anyway.. pretty much the girls that you meet through chance encounters on the basis of some materialistic decoy aren't the kind that will enrich your life for a very long time. They are like candy (non-nutritious junk calories) or leaves that fly away at the first gust of wind later to be trampled on by passers by.

I know, isn't it great!
I was really only joking (more or less) My bad

There were a couple cameras in this list that escaped my copy + paste from the word file. They were said in this thread on pages 1,2, and 3. Whoops. Also added 1 or 2.

Lets try this again to avoid more flaming and for a more concise list:

Rollei 35, 35s, 35t, 35se, 35te, 35 classic, AFM35
Yashica T4, T4 super, T5
Leica Minilux, CM
Contax T, T2, T3
Nikon 35Ti, 28Ti, L35AF
Olympus XA (series), mju-II/Stylus Epic
Ricoh GR1, GR1s
Minox 35 G, 35 GT
Minolta TC-1
Pentax UC-1/Espio, PC35AF
Fuji Natura S, Natura Classica, Klasse (rebranded as amf35)
Konica Hexar AF, Big Mini

Any other additions? Something that doesn't have heavy vignetting, isn't a lomo/lomo-esque/toy camera, and:

What I am looking for right now is:

1) decent to great sharp optics
2) decent to great fast lens
3) ability to fit in my jean pocket
4) a flash
5) is at least semi-rugged or rugged and won't break into 1000 pieces/stop working if dropped from a height of 1 meter
6) BONUS: meters 3200 ISO film and can override ISO speed

It would be used for:
1) a street photography camera
2) a bar/party photography camera