PopPhoto's 12 Film Cameras Worth Buying Right Now

[Newt_on_Swings]

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What do you guys think? I don't own any of those

 

[Jeff Kubach]

I would have added the Canon F-1 and the Mamiya RB67.

Jeff

 

[pinhole_dreamer]

I see my camera is there. YAY for Pentax K1000!

 

[flatulent1]

Interesting article. I'm not sure I could limit myself to only 12 though. I have the 645 Pro, the 1N and the N80, and strongly recommend them. I also have the AE-1, but it's seen so little use that I'm preparing to part company with it. That Fuji GA645 sure looked interesting...

 

[OzJohn]

I have owned/used many of them but don't currently own any. The ones I would leave out are the Bronica 6x7, the Nikon N80 and the Ricoh GR-1.
I too would have included the Canon F1 and the RB67 as well as the Nikon F90X (N90X). The Bronica 6x7 is a good camera but not in the same league as the RB67 - for one thing the Mamiya lenses will beat the Bronica glass every time. The Nikon N80 (F80) is one of the least appealing Nikon film SLRs ever made and the Ricoh GR-1 - I've never come across it. OzJohn

 

[lxdude]

The Bronica SQ series is 6x6.

 

[mr.datsun]

I think that these articles benefit two kinds of people: dealers – as the prices go up due to increased demand, and the naive camera buyer who can't do their own thinking or research. The informed enthusiast suffers as prices go up due to increased demand. You might get the idea that i'm not in favour. I already know the worth of all the cameras in that list that interest me and/or that i already own. No surprises, either.

 

[thegman]

I think that these articles benefit two kinds of people: dealers – as the prices go up due to increased demand, and the naive camera buyer who can't do their own thinking or research. The informed enthusiast suffers as prices go up due to increased demand. You might get the idea that i'm not in favour. I already know the worth of all the cameras in that list that interest me and/or that i already own. No surprises, either.

I think that's a very negative way to look at it (not saying you're wrong though), if articles like this get people to consider film, who otherwise would have stuck with digital, surely that's a good thing.

If the prices are pushed up, that means that the article has had a very significant impact on sales, although I guess it's rare that one article can move a market.

 

[R gould]

A Magazine article of any kind relating to film ? an endangered species, can't remember when I last saw one so congrats to Pop Photo,
Richard

 

[hpulley]

And they're suggesting people get back into film so that's a good thing!

I have an AE-1 and a 1N and still use them. The F-1 to be honest is very expensive in the used market so I don't recommend buying one as a user; it is priced for collectors. The 1V is a better camera than the 1N but is way more expensive so again, I wouldn't recommend it so much for a user unless you're in love with 45 AF points and are coming from a 1D which is almost identical in control layout.

I chose the RB67 when looking for a MF SLR but they can recommend the Bronica and Mamiya 645 instead, that's OK, it's just their list. I'm sure we as a group would come up with 100 different lists of the 12 best film cameras to buy for users.

 

[CGW]

Proof that Herb Keppler's ghost still has editorial pull at PopPhoto.

Still, it's nice to see them take a break from writing breathless infomercials for their top ad clients. The list is a bit odd, though, for both inclusions and omissions, along with lapses of judgement:

1. Bronica SQ: Problems finding 120 backs and certain lenses(wides,110/4.5 macro,135mm and 180mm) are pricey and scarce relative to 80mm and 150mm lenses. SQa models are gettin' old. WLFs are expensive. Only affordable 6x6 SLR alternative to Hasselblad. Get an SQ-B: newer, cheaper.

2.Late model Canon EOS, like Nikon N90s F100 and F5 bodies, are really cheap now and enormously capable.

3.Canon AE-1:best selling 35 SLR of all time according to old PopPhoto articles in the industry's peak sales year(1980). Ancient and squeeky.

4.Fujifilm GA645: like all Fuji plastic MF rangefinders, no parts or support from Fuji.

5. Hasselblad: more friends have sick/dead Hassies than live ones; most can't afford lenses aside from an 80mm.

6.Leica R series: get a Nikon or Canon AF kit. Only for label junkies.

7.Mamiya 645 Pro(Super/ProTL):slandered as plasticky but mine have survived intact.Good glass, reliable, cheap. A best MF buy?

8. Nikon FM10: WTF? Why bother when you can get mint FE, FM2n, N90s bodies for peanuts?

9.Nikon N80: Clueless. Again, an N90s (or N8008s if you're truly broke)is more flexible than this clunker. Takes expensive and not-available-everywhere CR123 batteries, not cheap and ubiquitous AAs.

10.Pentax 67: Had one, loved, it, left it for the RB67 Pro S. Low synch speed and no swapple film backs were the deal breakers, not size and weight. Great glass.

 

[vpwphoto]

That IS a Weird list. Also weird that I care... but here are my thoughts.
If the Pentax 6x7 is always a good buy... why put it on the list.

I'd say:

Nikon F3
Canon F1n
Hasselblad 500's
Nikonos V --- how did they miss this one? It is one film camera that can do what few digital can... cept those cigarette pack sized weather proofs so I might be wrong.
Pentax K1000, I'd keep the Fuji electro 120 camera in the mix.
others.... Horseman or Toyo field view folders, Mamiya 645, Nikon N90 and or F100, Nikon FM2, an OM??
Have a nice Saturday all. I have a "honey do" list to work on.

 

[Sirius Glass]

5. Hasselblad: more friends have sick/dead Hassies than live ones; most can't afford lenses aside from an 80mm.

We have a winner! This is either a bigoted uninformed poster or the poster has really challenged friends. He out did himself today!

 

[vpwphoto]

Sirius... I agree. Come on there are nearly as many 150's out there for sort of cheap. I do agree that there are plenty of worn out blads out there... but unless you are buying sight unseen you can pick out a good one with some patience.

 

[CGW]

Sirius... I agree. Come on there are nearly as many 150's out there for sort of cheap. I do agree that there are plenty of worn out blads out there... but unless you are buying sight unseen you can pick out a good one with some patience.

I see more smoked than clean user examples. It's an aspirational brand. That can create problems for the market PopPhoto's targeting in this article. Lacking the savvy to sort junk from jewels, noobs stumble into raw deals, often by swallowing hype that Hasselblads are somehow immune to wear and tear. A good one won't necessarily be cheap or easy to find. The junkers are thick on the ground now, true sucker bait many friends took hook, line and sinker. Caveat emptor, more so than usual

 

[mark]

Where are the LF cameras? I feel like such a bastard child.

What the hell is a swapple film back?

 

[CGW]

So shoot me for typo--swappable

 

[Tom Stanworth]

Eos 3, 1n series are outstanding deals at the moment. F100 is pretty good. FM-10 I dont get.

RZ67 kit is a decent price and a much smarter move for the studio user than SQ gear. Its cheap, there is lots available etc

 

[Tom Stanworth]

Eos 3, 1n series are outstanding deals at the moment. F100 is pretty good. FM-10 I dont get.

RZ67 kit is a decent price and a much smarter move for the studio user than SQ gear. Its cheap, there is lots available etc

 

[DWThomas]

Well, I have an SQ-A -- actually enough components to have two operational simultaneously -- and a Canon AE-1 which was my dad's. I actually prefer my A-1 over the AE-1, but maybe this list was skewed a bit by factoring in quantities in circulation, etc. I keep dancing around the idea of a Canon EOS film camera, as I have some lenses that would work on it, but I shoot so little 35 mm I'm not sure it makes sense for me.

 

[vpwphoto]

They sort of are...except the fact that the owners generally use them so much.
Since going to my Leaf Aptus Back on mine it shows 38,000 odd exposures in the 5 years I have had it... and probably another 50,000 film exposures.

It has CLA just twice... once when it was two years old and once about 2 years ago.
>>..... they do keep going and going and going... like no other animal out there that can go outside the studio in a backpack without batteries.

The pop photo article did say something about it being an aspirational brand. Just like a Land Rover, and I'd like one of those too. Not that there are not junkers out there... again Land Rovers and Hasselblads are kept in third and fourth and fifth hand circulation for a reason.

 

[SkipA]

The Canon EOS bodies are easy to find in excellent condition and they are a bargain, price wise. I have two pristine EOS 3 bodies that I'll eventually sell because I very rarely use them. I have never really forgiven Canon for ditching the FD mount in favor of EF. I have more and better FD glass than EF, so I mostly use my F1 rather than my EOS 3 whenever I shoot 35mm SLR.

But the EOS bodies are excellent and highly capable film cameras and used and new lenses are plentiful, so it's hard to imagine a top 12 list that doesn't include them.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I see more smoked than clean user examples. It's an aspirational brand. That can create problems for the market PopPhoto's targeting in this article. Lacking the savvy to sort junk from jewels, noobs stumble into raw deals, often by swallowing hype that Hasselblads are somehow immune to wear and tear. A good one won't necessarily be cheap or easy to find. The junkers are thick on the ground now, true sucker bait many friends took hook, line and sinker. Caveat emptor, more so than usual

Neither I nor the other Hasselblad owners who bought Hasselblad equipment from Samys or KEH.com had problems. Don't bother to blow smoke up our noses, all you have is blather and hot air. You got nothing.

 

[CGW]

They sort of are...except the fact that the owners generally use them so much.
Since going to my Leaf Aptus Back on mine it shows 38,000 odd exposures in the 5 years I have had it... and probably another 50,000 film exposures.

It has CLA just twice... once when it was two years old and once about 2 years ago.
>>..... they do keep going and going and going... like no other animal out there that can go outside the studio in a backpack without batteries.

The pop photo article did say something about it being an aspirational brand. Just like a Land Rover, and I'd like one of those too. Not that there are not junkers out there... again Land Rovers and Hasselblads are kept in third and fourth and fifth hand circulation for a reason.

They break. Many of the used examples I see are worked-to-death junk.

There's an old joke about Land Rovers taking you there and Land Cruisers bringing you back after the breakdown.

 

[CGW]

Neither I nor the other Hasselblad owners who bought Hasselblad equipment from Samys or KEH.com had problems. Don't bother to blow smoke up our noses, all you have is blather and hot air. You got nothing.



Lucky you. Enjoy the pissing contest with yourself. Newbs can't always sort what's what and get had in the process buying the brand. Where's the controversy in that?