Most 'surprising' camera?

photoncatcher · Jan 5, 2011

My trusty little Olympus 35RC. Small enough to stick in a coat pocket, yet the little Zuikio lens is always up to razor sharp shots. Best of all I paid nothing for it.

nosmok · Jan 5, 2011

When I first got my Oly XA, I loved its good qualities-- sharpness, pocketability, toughness. Now I love its bad qualities-- the weird flares when you point it near the sun, the falloff at the corners, even the light leaks on the first couple shots on a roll. I may be irrational but I'm happy!

removed account4 · Jan 5, 2011

for me it would have to be an agfa surshot.
the body is kind of cardboardy, and when i wind the roll it feels like
the camera is going to break / implode/rip ..
but it is a lot of fun to use.
i am a fan of low technology / lo-fi
and box cameras like this surshot fit the bill !

arealitystudios · Jan 5, 2011

For me it's two camera:

Kodak Retina IIa - a co-worker had heard that I liked old cameras and just gave it to me one day. I let the camera sit in a drawer for over a year before I even bothered running a roll of film through it. Oh my! That was a dumb mistake. The rendering in black and white of this lens is really nice and the camera is just fun to use. It reminds me of a pocket watch every time I open it.

Yashica Electro G - My wife found this little guy at a thrift store and bought it for $3and brought it home. Everything on it works perfectly and it even had a working battery in it. Over the years its become my go to camera when I'm lazy and I want something that is relatively point and shoot. The F/1.7 lens is surprisingly good!

toro_mike · Jan 5, 2011

That's an easy one - my Pentax ME Super. This was my first camera, which my parents bought for me while I was in high school taking my first photography course. I took that course just to avoid another study hall (ADHD hell!) - little did I know how much of an impact that course would have on my life! I especially love the smc PENTAX-M 1:1.7 50mm lens I have on it. It is wonderful!

BetterSense · Jan 5, 2011

I have a Lubitell 166 plastic TLR. It might look like a toy, but the lens has no toy-like qualities about it. It makes very sharp and contrasty negatives at typical apertures. The lens surprises me every time I use it. It's miles better than my Yashica TLR with Yashimar lens.

sandholm · Jan 5, 2011

For me, hands down Hasselblad H2, its perfection, everything that is great from the V system but improved and developed. Well, it would be nice to a have 6x6 but 6x4.5 is not bad. This will probably be the last film based camera from Hasselblad which is sad...

nick mulder · Jan 5, 2011

Second the Pentax K1000 - picked my old one up again after having not touched it for years...

They have a nice weight and solid feel to them

mesh · Jan 5, 2011

Brian Legge said:
Retina IIIc I picked up at an antique store.

Isn't that shutter amazing! Almost can't hear it...

Bateleur · Jan 6, 2011

The Olympus rangefinders ... 35RC and XA - small and unassuming they are really the most surprising to me.

j-dogg · Jan 6, 2011

My Minolta Maxxum 4, I would say the Nikkormat but I expect great results from the lenses like the 50mm Nikkor-S 1.4, 35mm f2.8, Vivitar Series 1 70-210 f3.5, not a plastic 50-dollar entry-level 35mm AF SLR.

I showed one of the prints from the Minolta at the local camera shop and was asked if I shot it on a 70-200 F2.8L (Had a Canon DSLR around my neck at the time) The print in question is a purple flower (It's in my gallery) it was shot on a Tamron 70-300 LD Macro 1:2 with Kodak Portra 400vc and the entire setup cost me less than a full tank of gas for my car. The 20-dollar 35-70 f3.5-4.5 kit lens that came with the older Minolta AF cameras (3xi, etc.) is ridiculously sharp for something made of cheap plastic.

elekm · Jan 6, 2011

Around 2004, I spent a great deal of time to find a Kodak Medalist II and then carefully restored it. Then I respooled some 120 onto 620 reels and set out to use it.

Turns out that I disliked the Medalist's ergonomics so much that after two rolls, I never used it again and sold it to someone who presumably appreciated it more than me.

I had a similar experience with the Voigtlander Prominent. It started badly with the camera tearing the film in half the first time that I used it. I have very few nice things to say about the Prominent body.

On the positive side, I was pleasantly surprised with a little Zeiss Ikon Baby Ikonta with a Tessar, the Voigtlander Vito IIa, a Konica I, a Kodak Retina IIa and IIIS and a Zeiss Ikon Super Nettel.

By the way, I think the 200mm lens for the Retina Reflex can't be used with the IIIS, but the other lenses can. The 135mm lens isn't a good portrait lens, because the close focusing distance is something like 11 feet. Otherwise, it's an excellent camera.

alexmacphee · Jan 6, 2011

Nice to see I'm not the only one who's been delighted by the unexpectedly pleasing picture quality of an old Kodak No.2 Brownie. Utterly simple, charming to use, and still working perfectly after eighty years.

David A. Goldfarb · Jan 6, 2011

I'm always surprised by my Bronica S2a, which I don't use much anymore and am always thinking I should sell, but then some occasion arises to use it, and I realize how great those old Nikkors are.

LyleB · Jan 6, 2011

2F/2F said:
My first Yashica Electro 35 GSN ($3 from a thrift shop) surprised me with its optical quality...so I did not hesitate to pick up another one for only $2 when I saw it at another thrift shop.

I will agree. I'm not a huge fan of rangefinders in general, but I have been very impressed with the sharpness and color, as well as the accurate exposures I get from the Yashica Electro 35 GSN. Really nice, kinda small camera.

RPippin · Jan 6, 2011

For me the most surprising results came from a Flexaret TLR I picked up a couple of years ago. Tack sharp images from the Myopta lens. Also great images from my Zorki 4K. I own two of them now, and you can't beat the price of the lenses, although they seem to be less of them these days and I see the prices have gone up since I bought mine. I wish I could find another Flexaret.

komla · Jan 6, 2011

I guess the ZENIT MT-1 SURPRIZE can be surprising on so many levels. Calling a endoscopy camera 'Surprize' makes me smile.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-russian-en...275447996?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item25512940bc

R gould · Jan 6, 2011

An old Agfa Sillette from the 60's that I paid a £5 for at a car boot sale,thought it would look nice on the shelf, put a film in it for a laugh, and WOW, was blown away by what a 60's camera could achieve and started to collect classic usable cameras which today I use in preferance to modern cameras,just so much more satisifying and such beautiful results, so you could say that the £5 sillette changed my photographic life, and has improved my work no end,Richard

guitstik · Jan 6, 2011

Have you ever shot a Walzflex? I got one as part of a batch deal of cameras. It was sort of an orphan as it wasn't the camera that I was after but it is the one I ended up keeping. Even with the focus knob being pretty much useless and so the focus is set at an unknown distance (gonna have to fix that one day), This little camera takes some of the best tack sharp and and awesome pics of most of my cameras. The Kominar 1:3,5 f7,5 lens I think is on par with just about any Rolleiflex and I have a few.

totalmotard · Jan 6, 2011

I agree on the Walzflex. Stunning pictures. I picked mine up in an antique store for $25.

Olympus XA surprised me too, so small.

Mamiya Sekor with the 55 1.8 lens is amazing as well. What a lens.

TheFlyingCamera · Jan 6, 2011

Another vote for the Kodak Retina. I have a IIa which although it needs a rangefinder adjustment and shutter CLA, takes awesome photos. It's also about the quietest camera I've ever worked with. Only a very tiny snick at the click of the shutter. The film advance is the loudest thing on it, and that's not much.

Brian Legge · Jan 6, 2011

re:Retina IIIc

mesh said:
Isn't that shutter amazing! Almost can't hear it...

Absolutely! And while I'm sure there is variation in condition just like any other camera, the focus is incredibly smooth, the shutter speeds accurate and the rangefinder contrasty.

Of all the cameras I found antique store-like places, this one took the least amount of maintenance. I spent about 5 minutes cleaning the lens and it was set for use.

Rick A · Jan 6, 2011

For me it is my kodak Duaflex IV and my Kodak Tourist II. Both super simple, yet very capable of great images. Neither has "quality German optics", but produce the period look I prefer. Not to mention, they are a blast to shoot, and garner odd looks from passers-by.

jbwpro · Jan 6, 2011

Olympus OM1n. I keep thinking I'm done with 35mm and sticking to MF and LF, but using this camera is almost a religious experience for me. Simple, so small, fantastic lenses, and incredibly designed. It reminds me of a collectible watch... For anyone wanting an all manual camera built like a tank, but pretty enough to put on a shelf, the OM1n is a fantastic fantastic camera.

2F/2F · Jan 6, 2011

I really like my Retina II a as well. It is uncomfortable to use because of the direction that the front door opens, though. Also, they are a little too expensive and widely loved to be truly surprising to me. I did get mine for free, though, so I can say that I was pleasantly surprised about that!

Most 'surprising' camera?

photoncatcher

nosmok

removed account4

arealitystudios

toro_mike

BetterSense

sandholm

nick mulder

mesh

Bateleur

j-dogg

elekm

alexmacphee

David A. Goldfarb

Moderator

LyleB

RPippin

komla

R gould

guitstik

totalmotard

TheFlyingCamera

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Brian Legge

Rick A

jbwpro

2F/2F

Most 'surprising' camera?

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