Top 10 classic 35mm film cameras

Shootar401 · Mar 12, 2014

BradleyK said:
A little partisan, perhaps? lol

Nahhhh

elekm · Mar 12, 2014

That's just a list of non-autofocus Nikon F SLRs. It does say a lot about what people believe are classics. I do get the humor in it.

Hatchetman · Mar 12, 2014

Spotmatics were revolutionary. K1000s were evolutionary (minimally at that). Spotties are better looking too.

cliveh · Mar 12, 2014

Actually, the Werra should figure in the list as the most minimal designed camera ever manufactured.

Roger Cole · Mar 12, 2014

Hatchetman said:
Spotmatics were revolutionary. K1000s were evolutionary (minimally at that). Spotties are better looking too.

I don't even see how they were evolutionary, except that the offered the essential, long established features minimally needed (minus DOF preview!) in a manual, mechanical, match-needle (ok, trap needle) SLR in a package that, at the time, was quite affordable and worked with the most common lens mount on the market. Nothing about the camera was even evolutionary.

It's not a bad camera but it was nothing at all new or innovative, and a "classic" only because it's basic features at the price point made it the standard for so many photography classes.

Hatchetman · Mar 12, 2014

Roger Cole said:
I don't even see how they were evolutionary.

one could argue bayonet mounts are more practical than screw-mounts. That's about it as far as I can tell.

Roger Cole · Mar 12, 2014

Sure but the Pentax K mount came out on the earlier K series long before the K1000 came out.

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frank · Mar 12, 2014

The Canon AE1 sold in the millions, like the Big Mac. And like the Big Mac, it is an abomination. This is where 35mm cameras "jumped the shark".

Roger Cole · Mar 12, 2014

What's wrong with the AE1? A bit too much plastic to be extremely durable perhaps but that didn't and doesn't matter to most users.

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Ricardo Miranda · Mar 13, 2014

Sure but the Pentax K mount came out on the earlier K series long before the K1000 came out.

The Pentax K1000 was introduced in 1976, a year after the first K series SLRs were introduced: the Pentax K2, KX and KM in 1975.
The Pentax K2 was called that way because there had been a Pentax K previously. The Asahi Pentax K was introduced in May 1958 and it was the first Asahi Pentax to use Auto-Takumar lenses.

elekm · Mar 13, 2014

What Canon proved with the AE-1 was that the average consumer didn't care about the plastic vs. metal argument. And so began the era of the plastic SLR, which continues to this day.

Just like many people are perfectly happy with the photos from a mobile phone. If it gives them something good enough to email to a family member or post on social media, then that is all that they want.

alanrockwood · Mar 14, 2014

1. Leica - started it all
2. Exakta - started the 35mm SLR trend
3. Pentax - top amateur SLR 35mm camera of a mythical golden age (especially the Spotmatic)
4. Nikon - top professional SLR 35mm camera of a mythical golden age (especially the Nikon F)
5. Rollei 35 - miniature marvel
6. Topcon Super D - first SLR 35mm with TTL metering
7-10. All the others

blockend · Mar 15, 2014

The fact that so many A-Series Canons are still around, proved they were correct in challenging the then dominant idea that cameras had to weigh a ton to be durable. Metal or plastic, hit any camera in the wrong place hard enough, and it's toast.

Les Sarile · Mar 15, 2014

If by number of sales alone then my guess is that the disposables would greatly outnumber any A Series - or all of them combined. Would that make them "Top 10 classic 35mm film cameras"

blockend · Mar 15, 2014

Les Sarile said:
If by number of sales alone then my guess is that the disposables would greatly outnumber any A Series - or all of them combined. Would that make them "Top 10 classic 35mm film cameras"

Absolutely. Can you imagine a top ten without a disposable camera in it? Last year I asked the supermarket where I get my C41 films developed if they still had enough film go through to keep the line running. Plenty they said, and nearly all of it from disposable cameras. Whatever we might think of them, disposables, lomography and lo-fi photography have kept film going through some dark times for the market place.

Uncle Brian · Jun 14, 2014

BradleyK said:
Oh, all right...but with some hesitation...and in no particular order of preference:

1. Leica Barnack - Not mentioning the Barnack would be remiss.
2. Leica M3 - Ditto.
3. Nikon F - Revolutionized reportage.
4. Nikon F2 - overwhelmingly, the professional 35mm camera of choice back in the 1970s.
5. Nikkormat FT2/3 - one of two cameras (almost universally) used to introduce middle school kids to photography. In a word: Durable.
6. Olympus OM-1 - proof that a professional camera system didn't have to be cumbersome. Ergonomically superb and intuitive.
7. Canon AE-1 - brought photography to the masses.
8. Pentax K1000 - see "5."
9. Nikon F3 - Nikon's longest production model (1980-2001). Pros resisted its introduction (willingly paying a higher price for the F2 to buying a new F3) and then likewise hesitated to adopt its replacement.
10. Canon FTb - for those who had no need for the fire-power of the F1 or its innumerable system variants. A basic, well-constructed, reliable 35mm gem.

I think that this list is about perfect, I would add in the Olympus XA

benjiboy · Jun 15, 2014

These lists threads are pointless, who are your top ten mass murderers ?

naaldvoerder · Jun 15, 2014

Utterly pointless! But fun! Shouldn't there be at least one Contax model integere somewhere?

TheToadMen · Jun 15, 2014

naaldvoerder said:
Utterly pointless! But fun! Shouldn't there be at least one Contax model integere somewhere?

But which one?
I never used one, but will get me one when the opportunity arrises (model, lens and price).

fstop · Jun 15, 2014

benjiboy said:
These lists threads are pointless, who are your top ten mass murderers ?

Hitler, Mao, Stalin,Hussein,Castro, Mugabe,Amin,Gaddafi,Mussolini,Jong il

Drew B. · Jun 15, 2014

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

In your humble opinion...not mine.

F5 and F100

Drew B. · Jun 15, 2014

fstop said:
Hitler, Mao, Stalin,Hussein,Castro, Mugabe,Amin,Gaddafi,Mussolini,Jong il

Done forget Columbus...and various leaders of the Jamestown settlement...and some early US leaders...and

BradleyK · Jun 16, 2014

Drew B. said:
Done forget Columbus...and various leaders of the Jamestown settlement...and some early US leaders...and

And let's not forget Cortez...

Nuff · Jun 16, 2014

Pol Pot should be mentioned as well...

E. von Hoegh · Jun 16, 2014

fstop said:
Hitler, Mao, Stalin,Hussein,Castro, Mugabe,Amin,Gaddafi,Mussolini,Jong il

That's not fair. He at least ate what he killed...

BTW you forgot Mahmoud of Ghazni. And whomever sacked Herat and killed 160,000 (the entire population) in what, the 13th C?

Top 10 classic 35mm film cameras

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