Top 10 classic 35mm film cameras

cliveh

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In say 20 or 30 years’ time, which 35mm film cameras do you think will be thought of as the top 10 classics?
 

Maris

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Cliveh I'm dying to know, before this thread gets real long, which one you'd put at the top of the list. My pick is the Pentax MX.
 
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cliveh

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Maris said:
Cliveh I'm dying to know, before this thread gets real long, which one you'd put at the top of the list. My pick is the Pentax MX.
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Leica II
 

Rick A

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Lets not skip over the Olympus OM-1.
 

frank

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Canon F1n
Nikon F, F2
Olympus OM1
Leica M2, 3, 4
Leica llla
Rollei 35

In 20 or 30 years time, the classics would have to be mainly mechanical cameras because electronic ones won't be working by then.
 
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DannL.

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The Canon IIS2. Oh wait, it's already on the list.

Canon IIS2
 

onepuff

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Ilford Witness
Olympus OM-1
Olympus Pen-F
Leica M3
Werra (1-4)
Zeiss Ikon Contax
Nikon F2
Voigtlander Vitessa L
Topcon RE Super
Kine Exakta
 

fstop

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Minolta SRT 101
Minolta XD-11
 

gone

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I wonder if many of them will still be around 3 decades from now, so I guess the last men standing will be the classics. The Model T was a car that was known for simplicity and toughness. People said that you couldn't wear it out. When was the last time you saw one of those on the streets?
 

lxdude

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fretlessdavis

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K1000?

Not the best in the K lineup, but surely one of the longest runs of a more 'modern' SLR-- 21 years.
 

lxdude

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No joke- three days ago.
 

benjiboy

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How do you define a classic camera It's a matter of opinion,there are no absolutes.
 

Tom1956

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Nikon F, F2, Nikkormat, Pentax Spotmatic, Olympus OM-1, Canon F1, Kodak Retina, Contax RTS (maybe), Exacta, That's nine. But to appease the Leica crowd, any Leica of your choice.
 

elekm

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An interesting question with many possible answers. Most important? Highest selling? Best pro camera? Highest quality?


Possibly (most important) ...

- Leica "O" - here comes 35mm photography

- Retina Type 117 - brings 35mm photography and the daylight loading cartridge to the masses

- Ihagee Exakta - the first SLR

- Argus C3 ("The Brick") - America's favorite family camera ... millions sold

- Zeiss Ikon Contax D - the first SLR with a fixed pentaprism

- Pentax Spotmatic - popularized the M42 mount so much that it came to be known by many people as the "Pentax screw mount"

- Rollei 35 - photographic excellence in a tiny package

- Nikon F - set the standard for rugged and became linked to the Vietnam War, the space race and photojournalism

- Olympus OM-1 - as cameras got larger, this camera made others think smaller

- Canon EOS 650 - angered many of its users when it dumped the FD system of cameras and lenses but in the end turned out to be the right move


Runners up

- Konica 35 AF - first autofocus point and shoot camera (as I recall)

- Minolta XD 11 - first multimode 35mm SLR

- Canon AE-1 - was a H-U-G-E seller for Canon in the mid-1970s, despite being known as a "plastic camera"

- Zeiss Ikon Contax I - gave Zeiss Ikon a foot in the door to compete with the Leica

- Zeiss Ikon Contaflex (TLR) - claimed to be the first camera with a built-in light meter

- Contax RTS - after the demise of Zeiss Ikon, it gave Zeiss a premiere platform for its lenses
 
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elcabezagrande

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Olympus Trip 35
Argus C3
Pentax Spotmatic
Nikon F
Kodak Retina
Yashica Electro 35 G
Canon F1
Contax RTS 3
Konica C35 AF
Leica III
 
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