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Oldies but goodies!

Melvin J Bramley

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Dec 27, 2021
Messages
645
Location
Canada
Format
35mm
What common film camera do you think in the near future will attain the cult following of Leica and Hasselblad?
My guess is the Nikon FM/FE series some of which are already at record asking prices.
Canons F1 seems to be seriously neglected and underpriced!
How about Topcon, Miranda etc??
OR; are we stuck with the Mona Lisa , Hasselblad , Leica syndrome regardless of quality , quantity or perceived value?
 
None will. None actually match the significance of Leica and Hasselblad. The only ones that come close are Nikon (namely, their first professional SLRs) and Rolleiflex - the cult status of the latter has probably waxed as bright as it can get off Vivian Maier.
 
Topcon was made in somewhat smaller numbers and despite have several advantages over the Nikon F it is limited in it's appeal. The expectation is the Topcon Super Re and DM with U.S Navy engraved on the body. Although the Miranda Orion is very collectable the other models have not held up all that well and are not sought after. The K1000, Spotmatic, Pentax LX, Minolta X700, and Canon F1 to name a few are being bought for use, not so much for collection. Swiss Alpa 35mm were very collectable, but prices seemed to have dropped, the Kern Swiss 50 1.7 Macro is holding it's own. Even Leica SLs are not going for very high prices while the lens are still expensive.
 
Hopefully, it'll be whatever I've got too many of: Come on, Zenit-mania!
 
Samoco Super 35m or Samoco 35 III. Seriously, I think the Contax RTS series. The good Contax lenses are being used on digital cameras with adapters so it's hard to find those for a reasonable price.
 
The Topcon lenses are pretty collectible I think. However I don't think that the general film photography community is aware of the brand really.
 
I posted a video earlier this month on the Five Best 35mm Film Cameras Of All Times, 2026 Version. I don't know which will become a cult following but these are the ones I think are best... for my needs.


 
Rob Skeoch said:
I posted a video earlier this month on the Five Best 35mm Film Cameras Of All Times, 2026 Version. I don't know which will become a cult following but these are the ones I think are best... for my needs.


Click to expand...

Thanks for doing this. As you say, everyone's tastes are different.

I never forgave Canon their changing of the lens mount and hence never went down that road.

Except for one brief dalliance with the OM-1, I have been- and remain a Nikon shooter for all things 35mm SLR. I currently use an F, F2, and F3. Like you, I'd call the F3 the height of SLR manual camera engineering, except for ... that wretched meter LCD and backlighting system.

But my longest use any such camera is the Nikon F Apollo. I bought my first one new when they first came out and should never have sold it. I just had my current one - body and FtN Photomic meter - CLAed and a camera made 50+ years ago works like new. The Fs were- and are bulletproof. Just as importantly, all my AI and AIS lenses (cheap on eBay) work just swell on my D750 and are far better built than the plastic autofocus lenses that replaced them.

Anyway, thanks for the trip down memory lane.
 
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Alan Townsend said:
Wow, what a cool looking old camera. I want one. Kinda a thick Rollie 35 with rangefinder and cheapo lens. Sort of the opposite of the Leica, I suppose. The Rollei 35 was always a favorite of mine.
Click to expand...

If you'd like one, someone is selling one on San Francisco's Craigslist for a whopping $8. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/pho/d/san-francisco-vintage-bolsey-camera/7915187895.html

If you're not local and it's still available, I could probably be convinced to facilitate.
 

Thanks for the offer. There are also many at very low prices on eBay, likely not working and in the "untested" category. Maybe someday, but for now instead I bought another Minolta SRT-101 in near mint condition for $35. Not very cool, but my favorite working camera.
 
Melvin J Bramley said:
What common film camera do you think in the near future will attain the cult following of Leica and Hasselblad?
My guess is the Nikon FM/FE series some of which are already at record asking prices.
Click to expand...

Anything but the Pentax K1000 (especially the later Chinese-manufactured ones), which for some reason has been a hot-ticket item for many years!

I like your idea of the Nikon FM/FE. My first camera was an FE (later upgraded to an FE2), and those prosumer level Nikon bodies are just so well designed and capable. I would guess that the fully mechanical film Nikons (FM/FM2/FM3a and F2) will eventually become highly sought-after, just because they have little or no electronics, and have a lot of beautiful mechanical engineering. These cameras will almost certainly continue to work into the next century.
 
retina_restoration said:
It's very fun, but the lens is pretty mediocre. I suggested it more as a joke than anything.
Click to expand...

I was very entertained. That lens is likely OK at F8-11 or so. Main issue, from many tests I read after that, is the shutter release position on the lens causes camera motion and blurred photos. This was fixed in the last model. Also, no cable release, so same issue on tripod. Yes, this is the reverse of the Leica in some ways, but similar to early Leica's in many other ways. People who collect cameras as a hobby drive up the prices of many classics like the Leica and Hasselblad due to supply and demand, but there always remains a ripe group that is entirely usable but not particularly collectable such as the Minolta SRT-101 that I like. Too many available at low cost.

These Minolta's also have an advantage in that their lenses are less useful on modern digital cameras so will always be more available to those who use cameras and don't collect them.
 
It would be nice to see more Praktica love, solid cameras. Though I think for pure popularity's sake, Contax has to be mentioned; the Contax G2 and Contax T2 are on the brink of cult status--they already have celebrity endorsements like Leica.

- Bill
 
I have 60 to 70 functional Prakticas, Werras, Praktinas, Exaktas, a Prakti, a Pentina, and a Pentacon Electronic. It might be love.
 
I don't see any chance of the Minolta SRT Super ever becoming a cult camera, as they are far too common.

But they should be ...
 
Kino said:
I don't see any chance of the Minolta SRT Super ever becoming a cult camera, as they are far too common.

But they should be ...
Click to expand...

Common is actually part of the requirements for Cult! Look at the K1000: They made over 3 million of them, and they honestly weren't that great, but they _were_ the standard student camera used by Art Departments in every high-school and community college throughout the 80's, with the result that (former art student) Dad's told their kids who wanted a first film-camera, "get a K1000". Next thing you know everyone's paying $300 for a Chinese-era K1000 that's realistically worth $20.

The SRT Super would be a great choice to Go Cult!
 
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