What Are Your GOAT Cameras?

[DWThomas]

Argus C3 will outlast them all.

Well it certainly outlasted my 1961 Beetle bought used in '63!!!

 

[foc]

My Beetle just keeps going on and on..... From 1984 to the present (it was my dad's car)



And my first SLR from 1974, and it's still working.(except the light meter and the domiplan lens was replaced with a Helios)

 

[Donald Qualls]

For me, the GOAT will be my RB67.

Doesn't win for beauty or compactness/lightness, but the optical quality is excellent, reliability is high, and it beats anything I've ever owned for versatility. Four formats, three viewfinders, lenses from (effective) 28 mm (on 6x7!) to 180 (there are longer ones available, but I'll probably never buy them), takes 2x3 Grafmatics as well as its own and Graflex roll film holders...

 

[FredR]

...

Most Elegant: Zeiss Icon Contina III. This was my dad's camera through most of my childhood. Specs don't sound like much, fixed 45mm 4/2.8 Triplet, uncoupled selenium meter, scale focus, really a humble camera. But the feel of the film advance and the soft click of the shutter are smoother than any Leica that I own. Second place to a Nikon F2 with the plain pentaprism.
....

Elegant? Maybe that's why I was drawn to acquire four of them (my dad's model camera).

 

[Daniel Stuefer]

Most Reliable: Sinar Norma - unless the bellows were to get punctured, nothing can really go wrong with the camera itself.

Best Utility: Sinar Norma + Kodak Retina IIa - Norma can do literally anything, except quick snaps. But the retina fits in any pocket, and has a rangefinder, allowing for that part.

Most Elegant: Olympus OM-1N - everything is optimally placed, and the mechanics feel wonderful.

Most Beautiful: Bronica S2 and Kodak Retina I/IIa - just love their designs.

Most Innovative: Olympus OM-1, probably - small, lightweight SLR with tiny lenses.

Best Output: Sinar Norma - bigger is better.

Weirdest: Pentax auto 110 - an SLR with good lenses, but using tiny cartridges that are unable to keep the film flat. (*Only used this briefly a few years ago)

Most Beloved: Bronica S2 - if it's not too big, and don't need movements, it's what I'd choose first to take with me.

 

[Jarno]

Fujifilm GW690 mk3, relatively compact for the negative format, incredible lens, speedy enough (F3.5).
Love my GSW690 also, also a great lens (although not a very fast lens). Wish it was a mk3 because the shutter lockout is helpful. Both of them eat film with only 8 frames per roll (and a relatively speedy workflow).

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Nikon F5. Good for self defense in a pinch.

 

[Cholentpot]

Most Reliable: Sinar Norma - unless the bellows were to get punctured, nothing can really go wrong with the camera itself.

Best Utility: Sinar Norma + Kodak Retina IIa - Norma can do literally anything, except quick snaps. But the retina fits in any pocket, and has a rangefinder, allowing for that part.

Most Elegant: Olympus OM-1N - everything is optimally placed, and the mechanics feel wonderful.

Most Beautiful: Bronica S2 and Kodak Retina I/IIa - just love their designs.

Most Innovative: Olympus OM-1, probably - small, lightweight SLR with tiny lenses.

Best Output: Sinar Norma - bigger is better.

Weirdest: Pentax auto 110 - an SLR with good lenses, but using tiny cartridges that are unable to keep the film flat. (*Only used this briefly a few years ago)

Most Beloved: Bronica S2 - if it's not too big, and don't need movements, it's what I'd choose first to take with me.

I've seen this film flatness complaint with Auto 110 said a few times. I've never seen it an issue when I've used it. I can post photos of Auto 110 stuff that's as sharp as it can get.

 

[blee1996]

If it comes down to one single GOAT camera for me, it has to be Rolleiflex 3.5F. It is also my longest owned camera continuously, others come and go.

 

[grant.goodes]

Too many categories for me to fully comment, but if I had to pick a single camera and give the rest of my equipment away, I would keep my Plaubel Makina 670: A (reasonably) portable camera with good utility (nice viewfinder/rangefinder with built-in meter), truly excellent results (fantastic lens, and 6x7 film), and at least somewhat robust (fragility of the scissors-mechanism, wiring, and bellows aside). I would argue that there VERY few alternatives in MF land, even though this is now a very old (early 80's) design.

 

[cliveh]

M2

 

[spookyphoto]

Talking about film cameras only

Most reliable - Nikon F
Most utility - Nikon F
Most elegant - Compass
Most beautiful - Compass
Most innovative - Minox
Most output - ?
Wierdest - Minox format Roundshot panoramic camera
Most beloved - My 1st SLR - Nikon Fun