What Are Your GOAT Cameras?

[ic-racer]

I have always been curious of the Rolleiflex 3003 ; are they reliable?
Your thoughts!

Since 1985 I have had 4 of them. Currently two work. The 3 I bought used, however, may have had issues from prior ownership. The one 3003 that I bought new is still going strong.

 

[Hassasin]

I would not venture into OP's categories for lots of reasons, and I'd list a number of cameras that I have great respect for (Canon F1, Leica M5 and Barnacks, Pentax 67, Mamiya RB and a few more).

If I were to put one camera at top of the list of all ever made, I'd make Pentax 645 (original) as #1, for everything it was made to be, how it was made, designed and all that matched with glass from top shelf. It was imperfect in some areas, just as any other, but brilliance of the concept has prove to be unparalleled. This one would fall into most categories listed, with relative considerations.

 

[Cholentpot]

This thread has given rise to selling prices of Argus C3's.
They have gone from an average price of $40 to an amazing $63 !

People just don't what is greatness. It has such utility aside from photography you know...

I have a few hundred Kodachrome slides my father shot with one of these gems. Outstanding!!!

Joking aside, I really get a great hit rate with my C3.

 

[RezaLoghme]

If i were on a Hasselblad embargo, my answer would like this:

Most Elegant: Leica M6 and following models, in chrome

Most Beautiful: Leica M6 and following models, in chrome

 

[Sirius Glass]

Most reliable for serious work: Hasselblad 503 CX and Hasselblad 903 SWC

Most reliable for all work: Nikon N75, N80, N100

Anyone can break any camera by NOT reading the manual; read the manual and know your camera.

 

[Cholentpot]

Most reliable for serious work: Hasselblad 503 CX and Hasselblad 903 SWC

Most reliable for all work: Nikon N75, N80, N100

Anyone can break any camera by NOT reading the manual; read the manual and know your camera.

I fixed my K1000 by banging on a table.

 

[chuckroast]

I fixed my K1000 by banging on a table.

Weird, I fixed my table by banging it on a K1000 ...

 

[Steven Lee]

Most Reliable: Mamiya 645 TL. Plastic fantastic!

Best Utility: Nikon F3

Most Elegant: Hasselblad 500 series

Most Beautiful: Hasselblad 500 series, but it must be in BLACK

Most Innovative: Canon 1V

Best Output: Hasselblad 500 series

Weirdest: Mamiya TLRs and their interchangeable lenses. I know, this is not that weird, but it's the weirdest I have

Most Beloved: Hasselblad 500 series

 

[Fatih Ayoglu]

Most Reliable: None of my cameras failed on me

Best Utility: Nikon FE2

Most Elegant: Hasselblad 500 series

Most Beautiful: Leica MP black

Most Innovative: Fuji680

Best Output: Chamonix 4x5 or Fuji GL690

Weirdest: Fuji680

Most Beloved: Leica MP black with Cron IV on it

 

[Don_ih]

Most Reliable: Any pinhole camera

Best Utility: Any view camera

Most Elegant: Any folding camera

Most Beautiful: Any Ihagee camera

Most Innovative: Ur Leica

Best Output: Any camera used properly

Weirdest: Any camera with the shutter button on the wrong side.

Most Beloved: The one I'm using.

 

[juan]

I'll go by format as I love them all
8x10 - Wehman
4x5 hand held - Super Speed Graphic
4x5 tripod - Sinar Norma
2x3 - Miniature Speed Graphic
MF SLR - RB67
MF TLR - Mamiya C220
35mm - Nikon F2
Digisnapper- Sony a7ii

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

My Canham 8x10, which also doubles as my 4x5 camera, and my RB67.

 

[Jim Jones]

Most Reliable: Leica M4: 40 years of hard use with never a problem

Best Utility: Leica M4

Most Elegant: 1941 Graphic View

Most Beautiful: Ikeda Anba

Most Innovative: Univex Mercury II: accurate and reliable rotary shutter, good build quality.

Best Output: Leica M4.

Weirdest: Newton NewVue: my first LF, and I knew nothing.

Most Beloved: Leica IIIf. My first Leica, and first loves are special.

 

[Besk]

Way too many cameras that I like and use so it is hard to say Best or Most etc.

Most Reliable: Nikon F2

Best Utility: Nikon N75

Most Elegant: Rolleiflex 3.5 F

Most Beautiful: Rolleiflex 3.5 F

Most Innovative: Olympus OM-1

Best Output: Busch Pressman.

Weirdest: Robot

Most Beloved: Busch Pressman

 

[Augied]

Most Reliable: Mamiya RB-67. Also most reliably gets weird looks out in the world.

Best Utility: Graflex Super Graphic. With a little effort, it can handle lenses from 75mm-400mm.

Most Elegant: Zeiss Super Ikonta C. I love the rangefinder mechanism.

Most Beautiful: Graflex Pacemaker Graphic. No comment needed.

Most Innovative: Canon Dial-35. The spring-loaded motor drive might not be the most remarkable innovation, but it impresses me.

Best Output: Mamiya 6. The lenses really are that good.

Weirdest: Alfie TYCH.

Most Beloved: Mamiya RB-67. The first camera I ever bought.

 

[Ian Grant]

Most Reliable: Wista 45DX

Best Utility: Graflex Super Graphic

Most Elegant: Houghton Duchess half plate field camera

Most Beautiful: Thornton Pickard Half Plate Dual Shutter Triple Imperial field camera

Most Innovative: Praltina FX with 58mm Biotar (first 35mm Professional system camera, yes Exacta's are earlier but had no motor drives)

Best Output: 10x8 Agfa Ansco Commercial View with 12" Dagor (coated after WWII).

Weirdest: Marion/Kershaw Half Plate Soho Reflex, it's huge.

Most Beloved: Spotmatic F

Ian

 

[pmviewcam]

Most Reliable: Hasselblad SWC

Best Utility: Rollei 35SE

Most Elegant: Contax S2

Most Beautiful: Karlos 6x9 pinhole

Most Innovative: Contax AX

Best Output: Chamonix 810V

Weirdest: DIY red acrylic 5x4 with 200mm Petzval projection lens

Most Beloved: Leicaflex SL2

 

[Rob Skeoch]

Most Reliable: Nikon F5, I shot so many games with my N5, it never let me down.

Best Utility: The F5 was great but so was the F100.

Most Elegant: Leica M6TTL

Most Beautiful: Ebony SV810Ti, the one I had was in mahogany, such a great looking camera, and I had a Berlebach tripod in the matching wood colour.

Most Innovative: Rollei 6006, a great camera on paper, just too many repairs and working issues.

Best Output: I took a lot of great photos with the Pentax 645 over the years.

Weirdest: Leica 0, the reissue of the first Leica camera, that Leica brought to market in 2000

Most Beloved: Ebony SV810Ti, should never have sold it.

 

[Arthurwg]

Let's face it: Hasselblad V-System; Leica.

 

[TomR55]

Let's have some fun ... please suggest your answers as to what the Greatest Of All Time cameras that you've personally used. Score them in the dimensions suggested below - and, briefly, why. I've provided my answers by way of example:

Most Reliable: Mamiya TLRs - I never had one fail across many cameras and thousands of exposures

Best Utility: Nikon F - Provided everything I needed for 50 years across a wide range of shooting situations.

Most Elegant: Leica III - A masterpiece of minimalist design molded into a magnificent machine that holds its own, even 70+ years later.

Most Beautiful: Wisner field cameras made from quartersawn Honduran mahogany - The wood and the brass make them stunning.

Most Innovative: Leica M5 - It broke the mold, incurred the hate directed at all innovators, and is only now being recognized for being a rockstar.

Best Output: Any 4x5 (I've never shot bigger than that), but especially the Graflex 4x5s which are a great value, portable, and produce stunning images.

Weirdest: Fuji GA-645Zi - It has the optics of a pro workhorse, a very strange user interface, and ergonomics from the firey pit of Hades, but boy does it crank out nice pictures.

Most Beloved: Leica M2 - There is something really emotionally appealing about this camera. Every time I pick mine up, even with no film it, it somehow speaks to me. It's the Stradivarius of cameras.

Your turn...

Most Reliable: Any Leica M body, model numbers <= 4-P. Use these constantly.
Most Utility: Leica M4-P: Handles 28 & 75 mm and supports more modern “hot shoe” lighting units.
Most Elegant: Leica M2: Provides only what I need for many settings.
Most Beautiful: ?
Most Innovative: … arguably the M6?
Best Output: Leica M2 (only because I’ve owned it longer than the others).
Weirdest: ?
Most Beloved: Leica M4, because I prefer the finder, weight, and the film loading mechanism.

 

[moggi1964]

Based only on what I have owned:

Most Reliable: Mamiya C3

Best Utility: Canon T90 - it's just an easy goto and whilst they have their issues if you use them often most issues don't arise

Most Elegant: CZJ Werra 1

Most Beautiful: Welta Belmira - there's just something about it that makes me smile. She's a shelf queen now but that's okay.

Most Innovative: Ihagee Kine Exacta 1936 - 35mm SLR done right and basically done first

Best Output: My MPP MkVII with a couple of nice lenses.

Weirdest: Ihagee Exacta's with the shutter button on the left side as well as the film wind lever

Most Beloved: Mamiya C3 - my first entry into WLF's which just awed me tremendously. Thoroughly enjoy that experience every time I pick her up.

 

[mrosenlof]

Most Reliable: Mamiya C330F but in general all of my cameras have been reliable.

Best Utility: Hasselblad 501 C/M this would be my desert island camera

Most Elegant: Leica R6.2 I don't distinguish much between elegant and beautiful

Most Beautiful: Leica iiiG

Most Innovative: Olympus OM-1 a re-thinking of the 35mm SLR

Best Output: Hasselblad

Weirdest: I don't think any camera I've used is very weird.

Most Beloved: Mamiya C330F. I've owned the system since 1982, it photographed the birth of both my children and their early lives, my honeymoon, trips all over the world. I use the Hasselblad more these days

 

[RezaLoghme]

GCOAT for me would be a Hasselblad 205 FCC with all the blue-go-faster-lines-decorated accoutrements. Maybe complemented by a 555ELD.

 

[MattKing]

My father's Bantam RF - because it was used to document so much of my family's important early years.
Everything else has been merely a plethora of fun to use tools, or a way to help make a bit of money.
1961 - three generations - on 828 Kodachrome:

 

[chuckroast]

My father's Bantam RF - because it was used to document so much of my family's important early years.
Everything else has been merely a plethora of fun to use tools, or a way to help make a bit of money.
1961 - three generations - on 828 Kodachrome:
View attachment 372615

Very cool. Are you the little fella in the middle or the one on the right?