Most 'surprising' camera?

[blockend]

Last spring I chanced upon a collection of Canon FD lenses in fine condition going cheap. The reason for the low price was the A-1 body the glass came with had 'the cough'. When the A-1 first came out I was using an OM1 and a Nikon F and thought multi-mode automation was a bit of a joke. I still think it is but after getting the shutter cough fixed and a CLA (a bargain in itself) there's real affection for the Canon's analogue proliferation of wheels and switches. It's like a steam punk camera, the last flowering of clickety wheels before the LCD and the sub-menu and auto focus took over, a pointer to the future that turned out to be a dead end of technology and lens mount.

Those orphan lenses are still as sharp as any 35mm stuff I've used and the 50mm 1.4 and 24mm have become permanent fixtures in the bag.

 

[flatulent1]

Zeiss Ikonta 6x9. Amazing to me that it produces images as nicely as it does, given the ancient lens, zone focusing, imprecise exposure control. Now if I could only do something with the loose nut behind the viewfinder...

 

[MarvinOne]

I picked up a KMart clearance a few years back for $1.95, including film and battery. A little point and shoot that even has a manual film advance. I was expecting avg pics, but was really surprised at how sharp they turned out.
I also have a Retina sitting on a shelf, and I've yet to use it. Based on all these comments about it, I guess I'd better try it out!

 

[C A Sugg]

Not so much cameras but lenses. A late 50 1.4 MC Rokkor- PG that I picked up at a grocery store has amazing flair control. (although, overall I prefer the rendering of the SMC Takumars) The gift SRT-101 I have it on has mirror lock-up. I really need to get out and see what this will do. A 55 2.8 Industar-61L/D is also quite good. (early Russian Federation) To bad the rangefinder of the FED it's on is way off.

 

[moki]

A Rollei black and white single-use camera... yeah, it's cheap, with no controls except the shutter release and a lens made of plastic, but it's surprisingly sharp and the built in flash works well. It came with a 24+3 roll of Neopan 400, but can be easily reloaded with any 400 ASA Film. It's my favourite camera to take to parties or anywhere I just want to have fun and not worry about photographic equipment. I always considered these single-use cameras as toys, fit for lomography at best, but this one really surprises me every time I use it.

I also had a cheap d*gital compact camera once... surprised me every time with it's slowness and bad quality...

 

[fdfjc]

Agfa Karat 36

My Dad bought an Agfa Karat 36 in 1953 while he was stationed in Korea. It had the six-element Sologon lens in a Synchro-Compur shutter and he always got the most perfectly focused and sharp photos with it. It's mine now, along with four other Agfas, and is currently recording another generation of our family. The photos have a very 3 dimensional look which is probably the result of slight distortion from the pre-computer age lens. It's a look I've never been able to duplicate with any other camera or lens. And what surprises me most is that after almost 60 years, it still functions perfectly.

 

[elcabezagrande]

Nikon L35AF2 (One Touch). Every single picture correctly exposed and focused, every time.

 

[Pumalite]

Contax Tvs II with Vario Sonar 35-85 AF

 

[vintageslrs]

For me It would be a Praktica MTL5B with the Pentacon 50mm F1.8 lens.
I am always amazed with the results I get from that camera!

Bob

 

[walter23]

oops, just realized this was the 35mm area. Nevermind.

 

[Nova1B]

A Zenit E I picked up along with a Hanimex 80-200 lens from the local "recycling centre" (eg refuse dump) for £2. I didn't expect much from it as I'd used a few Zenits at school and not been a fan, but picking one up again years later I really enjoyed the all-mechanical, tank-like feel of the thing - plus the pictures turned out great, surprisingly sharp and even more surprisingly well exposed, considering I'd just gone by the old built-in selenium cell.

Like most Russian cameras of this era the quality control is probably hit and miss, and the technology certainly basic, but I think a good Zenit E will probably outlast me, you, and the rest of civilisation. The cockroaches will be using them after the bombs drop..

 

[Mark Fisher]

This will sound a little strange, but a Leica M2 I just picked up (thanks Laura!). I had an M6 a few years ago and simply never really enjoyed it. Part of it is that it just seemed a little too precious. The M2 is far more smooth and is just more comfortable to use. It really surprised me how mechanically elegant it is (forgive me, I'm a mechanical engineer). Completely unexpected.

 

[narsuitus]

The images I am able to make from my simple pinhole cameras never cease to amaze me.

My pinhole cameras include an Argus C3 35mm rangefinder that I converted and a 4x5 inch single shot sheet film camera that I made from a Pringles Potato Chip can.

Here is an image from one of my pinholes:

http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2006/index.php?id=102

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

From my experience, it's my Zeiss Ikonta IV. My girlfriend gave it to me and at first, it was a Rubik's camera. Didn't know how to open it. But got surprised when I figured out how to open it. It's a pretty cool camera unfolded. After getting it repaired and I was shooting it, the sharpness of the lens surprised me also. Came to the conclusion that lens technology haven't improved much in 50 years. Please post a comment on this thread if you beg to differ.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Awesome shot

The images I am able to make from my simple pinhole cameras never cease to amaze me.

My pinhole cameras include an Argus C3 35mm rangefinder that I converted and a 4x5 inch single shot sheet film camera that I made from a Pringles Potato Chip can.

Here is an image from one of my pinholes:

http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2006/index.php?id=102

It's amazing because you turned garbage into gold.

 

[yeknom02]

Interesting that this thread started with a mention of the Konica S2. I have the same camera, though I spent an additional $200 for a rigorous cleaning and repair. It has become my primary 35mm camera.

In addition, though it's medium format, I have an Eastar TLR camera that needs some repair on the viewfinder hood - see the camera repair section of the forum :-( Apparently it is the predecessor to the Seagull, and it takes a great photograph. If I don't find a way to fix that hood though, I'm going to have to look for a Yashica Mat.

 

[Donmck]

C3

 

[Sethasaurus]

It's fabulous that great cameras can cost $2 now ;-) I found a mju v1 for $2 a few months ago, and have put about 5 rolls through - have been really happy with the results. Unfortunately I dropped it into a gorge on a canyonning trip over the weekend :-( Anyway, I am sure another will turn up!

I laughed but I shouldn't have. I can just imagine: "Aww, man. That thing cost me 2 bucks!"

 

[j-dogg]

Ressurecting this thread for a full Canon EOS 650 system I own, in particular the 80-200 f4.5-5.6 kit lens that it comes with. Woeful build quality, AF that rivals jet planes for noise performance and a minimum focusing distance of 5 fricking feet, but holy crap the damn thing is as sharp as my 70-200 f4L IS. I paid like maybe 25 bucks for that lens and it matches my $1,200 professional-grade lens in optical sharpness.

I got my first prints back from this lens and I was impressed, so I have been using my Canon 5D digital to compare them and the results are consistent. I still need to check it for CA but so far I am very surprised. i have heard the other kit lens from this time, the 28-70 f3.5-4.5 is only bested in optical quality by the 28-70 f2.8L

 

[lxdude]

My old Fujica ST801, bought new in Feb. '74. When I handle it I'm always pleased at what a nice machine Fuji made. High mileage, a few dents, much wear (the chrome is mostly gone from the mount threads), long retired, but still functions. The meter's as accurate as the day I bought it, and in my opinion nobody ever did LED readouts better than this, the original. The film advance is still very smooth and light. I sometimes use my well-worn EBC Fujinons on my Pentaxes with the thread mount adapter, just because they're so nice and work perfectly.

 

[mjs]

I can't decide whether the most surprising camera would be my Yashica Electro or my Petri E.Bn. The Yashica came from an uncle, who traded it to me in exchange for an enlargement of a snapshot of his favorite dog. I have since gotten several more from estate sales, never paying more than $5 for them. They're fun cameras with excellent lenses but seem rather fragile to me: several of mine have died. The Petri came from my wife, who paid (as I recall) either $3 or $5 for it from an estate sale. I had never heard of them before but after dry-firing it for a while to exercise the shutter and paying around with it to figure out how it worked (and discovering that the selenium cell meter not only still works but is usably accurate!) I ran some film through. It badly needs a CLA but the lens is superb and the camera is a joy to use. Photographs taken with it have a certain "look" to them that is hard to explain. It makes me think of bouffant hair styles and Corvair cars and the original Parent Trap movie with Hayley Mills.

Mike

 

[removed-user-1]

I think the most surprising camera I've ever owned was the Olympus Stylus Epic, which I took on a cross-country train and bus trip in the US years ago. At that time I was primarily a medium and large format shooter but I got some amazing pictures out of that little camera. More so because it was the only piece of photo equipment I took on that trip, on which I lived out of a backpack for a month.

Shouldn't have sold it. I have a couple other Stylus cameras but that one was great!

 

[Klainmeister]

I was blown away by my $65 Iskra. The images are crisp and the bokeh is swirly and quite cool. It's one of my favorite MF cameras simply because of those unique qualities. Who'da thunk it?

 

[darinwc]

I'd say I was most surprised by the Canon AE-1 Program. People poo-poo it for various reasons an rarely reccomend it. However it was my first SLR and looking back its really a great camera.
People talk about the great veiwfinders of other cameras, but the AE1-p is fabulous with its laser-matte screen. The LED exposure is easy to read (for me). The program exposure works great. The lenses are top-notch and inexpensive.

 

[blockend]

I'd say I was most surprised by the Canon AE-1 Program...

All the A-series Canons hit the right note. They're cheap, light, fairly small, have a great range of orphan lenses and feel sufficiently like a 'real' camera in form and handling. By comparison the T-series were not an improvement and the EOS are like every other modern film SLR, utterly competent but soulless.