If you could keep just one camera...

[fpd2]

Never had a hasselblad, so probably a TLR.
I recently like and shoot with folders, but bellows as their weak point preclude it to be a "keep forever".

 

[mrosenlof]

Hasselblad V. Do I get my whole collection of lenses? If only one lens, probably the 120 Makro, but maybe the 100.

 

[Sirius Glass]

The Hasselblad with all the lenses and the Hasselblad SWC and film backs and the 35mm cameras and their lenses and the 4"x5" cameras and their lenses and the complete darkroom and everything else. No one is taking away my cameras!

 

[bags27]

I like all my other MF's (HB 500 c/m, Rolleicord Vb(ii), and Fuji GSW690 iii) more than my Mamiya 7. But I need my Mamiya more than all the others combined. I hate reaching for a camera with a battery and light meter, but, man, the Mamiya is an awesome thing.

 

[Jay Schrotenboer]

The Hasselblad with all the lenses and the Hasselblad SWC and film backs and the 35mm cameras and their lenses and the 4"x5" cameras and their lenses and the complete darkroom and everything else. No one is taking away my cameras!

They can pry them from your cold dead hands?
I approve!

 

[Sirius Glass]

They can pry them from your cold dead hands?
I approve!

No! They will go with me.

 

[Jay Schrotenboer]

No! They will go with me.

I also approve of that!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Tough question... even harder than which one camera could you easily get rid of... I THINK I would probably keep my RB67 kit, since it's the first "real" camera I ever bought, and it's what really got me curious about photography.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

I'd keep my Rolleicapentamiyaflex

 

[eli griggs]

Only one camera?

Hasselblad 500 c/m.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I'm sure it's been asked before. You can only keep one of your cameras. Which one will it be?

my 50-year-old trusted and robust NikonFM without a doubt.

 

[Highlyanimated]

Totally agree with the Nikon FM, it was my first fully manual film camera and I've frozen some great memories with it.

 

[Duceman]

Tough call, but most likely would be my Mamiya 7ii.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Totally agree with the Nikon FM, it was my first fully manual film camera and I've frozen some great memories with it.

I hope that your freezer continues to operate will into the future.

 

[Cinema]

Haters gonna hate but the last camera I will sell is my Hexar AF. If and when it meets an untimely death, I will hold on to the rolleicord V.

 

[Highlyanimated]

I hope that your freezer continues to operate will into the future.

Haha, I would have not picked up on that double meaning!

 

[Roger Cole]

Not an MF one

Interesting. Why not? To me I wouldn't think of keeping either my LF or my 35mm, faced with this choice, only one of my MF cameras.

I'd keep my Mamiya 645 Pro because it's the most versatile. I probably enjoy using my Yaschicamat 124 more, but one fixed lens on a TLR just doesn't have anywhere near the versatility, plus that one lens is a little flare prone into backlight too. My RZ 67 Pro II system produces results indistinguishable in quality from my 4x5 at any size I print, with better lenses than any I have for 4x5, and without the hassles of sheet film, but it is bigger and heavier than my 4x5 kit, perhaps odd but true, and it has in common with the 4x5 that it's not very practical for hand held shooting. Oh you CAN - I'd get a grip which I don't have if I planned to use it for such - but it's bigger and heavier than I'd ever want for a walking around camera.

 

[John Wiegerink]

I have owned most of the cameras mentioned here and still own some of them. I would pick my Kodak Medalist II with all the accessories. Of course, I need a wide angle lens for it, so I'd also keep my Hassy SWC. I do love the Kodak Medalist most of all my cameras. Kodak got that camera right, and the lens is in a league of its own.

 

[calico]

Hasselblad 201F. Soul mate.
110/2 lens.

 

[alanrockwood]

Probably my Canon Rebel T2. I have a Canon 7NE and various other cameras of various formats, but I seldom use them compared to my lowly Canon Rebel T2.

 

[Edgy01]

In MF my 903SW super wide. In 35mm it would be Leica SL2.

 

[otto.f]

I'm sure it's been asked before. You can only keep one of your cameras. Which one will it be?

Mamiya 7ii? Price is insane at the moment but affordable if I sell the rest. But that’s only the camera. It’s different if you look at the lenses availble for a system. Then it would certainly be a Leica M, perhaps even digital because I can use my R lenses on it, but saying goodbye to my analogue M would be very hard and would take months. If Big Brother would say ‘No! Decide now! With max 3 lenses’ , it would probably be my M7 with APO 35, Summilux 75 and Elmarit 24.

 

[Arthurwg]

Probably my M6, which was what I said when I bought it. But I'd hate to give up my Hasselblad and 60mm lens.

 

[anthonym3]

My LEICA M-3

 

[4season]

An update since my post #68 from September 20, 2019:

Am still shooting 98% digital, and that suits me fine. So #1 keeper camera would be digital.

But as far as film cameras are concerned, 6x4.5 Zeiss Ikonta is still worthy of consideration IMO. With the caveat that 120 roll film is relatively costly to shoot, and not as widely available as 35 mm film. Even now, there are times when my local shop will have no film to sell, save for a few rolls of 35 mm black-and-white.

Alpa 5, no (what was I thinking?): Still love the quirky design and detailing, but love doesn't necessarily translate into actual picture-taking. Which in this case, has amounted to zip to date.

In terms of actual productivity since 2019, Ricoh Auto Half would probably be my #1 film camera, with runner-ups including Minolta Hi-Matic F, FED-1, and Zenit 412.