What is "enough" in a camera for you?

flavio81 · Oct 13, 2021

Canon New F-1 is "enough" camera for me, if I had to have only one camera that would be it.

cramej · Oct 13, 2021

"Enough" for me is something with aperture priority. It's not that I don't or won't use something with more or less, but that's what I tend to use the most on cameras that give me the choice.

Mainecoonmaniac · Oct 13, 2021

I hope I will reach a stage in my life where I do find the "enough" camera. With my perpetual curiosity wanting to try something new, I'm always trying new cameras. I bought a lot of used cameras and sold them later. I do come back later with my old favorites. I've been trying newer used cameras for over 10 years with film cameras falling out of favor and were sold for little money. Now it's harder try new film cameras because prices shot up within the past few years.

JDR · Oct 13, 2021

My go to is Nikon FM and a Micro Nikkor 105, and a few rolls of Ektar 100.

Patrick Robert James · Oct 13, 2021

Pretty much anything really. I like convenience these days. Minox is convenient. Super small. If there was a fixed lens point and shoot with a 50mm lens on it then that would be all I'd need. If I had to pick just one camera though it would probably be my Hexar RF. I'm eyeing up a Contax G though so I don't even have to focus...

furutadrop · Oct 13, 2021

Interesting q!

I always have a camera on me but as someone who has a raging case of rheumatoid arthritis, I usually find myself reaching for either something small and compact or something I can conveniently "wear." Out of my 35mm cams though, 9 times outta ten, it's my Nikon f2 Photomic with a 50mm lens. It's not the lightest but I use a very comfortable wide crossbody strap from Peak Design that goes with any outfit (a plus).

Cholentpot · Oct 13, 2021

Elan II with a 50 or a 35 will cover everything I need covered.

Now, the last massive event I went to, January 2020, I brought with me...

Canon 6D with 40mm
Yashica Mat
Olympus Pen EE3
Keiv30
Canon Sureshot

All carried, along with film.

Next time I go to a stadium in the winter I'm gonna ditch the Yashica but keep all else. Maybe use a 35 with the 6D.

So, for a camera that does it all it's the EOS Elan II with a small lens.

However, I packed just this kit on a trip recently and the batteries died. Finding another one was a pain.

DonW · Oct 13, 2021

Nikon F2 with Nikkor 43-86 zoom. Good enough for 90% of what I do.

naaldvoerder · Oct 14, 2021

The camera that most closely resembles “enough” is my Contax Aria. It is small, lightweight, and still has plenty of nice features that make life easier. It has the essentials, good viewfinder, useful aperture priority automation, and some sweeteners. I recently discovered the LCD screen counts time when shooting in bulb mode. I never wear a watch, so that was a pleasurable discovery.

Jim Jones · Oct 14, 2021

Over many decades there have been many that were good enough in their day. For 40 years it was mainly a Leica M4 outfit, supplemented with Nikon SLR gear and occasionally large format. In my declining years it is a DSLR for convenience.

Duceman · Oct 14, 2021

This is really a tough question, but when I think about it, the one camera/lens combination I seemed to have used the most (filmwise) in the past 15 years is my EOS 3 and 24-70L.

Jon Buffington · Oct 14, 2021

"Too much of everything is just enough." (Weir/Barlow)

John Bragg · Oct 14, 2021

I came to the conclusion that I don't actually need a meter in my cameras most of the time. I like to play the game of guess the correct exposure and it is very surprising how close you can get, given enough experience. With that in mind, enough camera for me is one that handles nicely and becomes part of me. My FM2n or OM1n fit the bill admirably. I shoot manual 100% of the time so even a highly specified Pro model like the F4 or F5 can be set to fit the bill and deliver higher shutter speeds to shoot wide open in bright daylight. In essence any of my cameras are enough, but some are more intuitive in use.

Pieter12 · Oct 14, 2021

John Bragg said:
I came to the conclusion that I don't actually need a meter in my cameras most of the time. I like to play the game of guess the correct exposure and it is very surprising how close you can get, given enough experience. With that in mind, enough camera for me is one that handles nicely and becomes part of me. My FM2n or OM1n fit the bill admirably. I shoot manual 100% of the time so even a highly specified Pro model like the F4 or F5 can be set to fit the bill and deliver higher shutter speeds to shoot wide open in bright daylight. In essence any of my cameras are enough, but some are more intuitive in use.

I prefer not to guess. Photography is not a game for me. If I can't meter, I will use sunny 16. But if I don't get a photo I can print, it's just a waste of my time, and a missed opportunity.

Nicholas Lindan · Oct 14, 2021

Jon Buffington said:
"Too much of everything is just enough." (Weir/Barlow)

Well, too much of nothing,
Can make a man fell ill at ease,
One man's temper might start to rise,
And another man's might freeze,
And there's a day of long confession,
We cannot mock the soul,
But when there's too much of nothing,
No one has control.

Say hello to Valerie,
Say hello to Marian,
Send them all my salary,
On the waters of oblivion.

Sandy Denny

John Bragg · Oct 14, 2021

Pieter12 said:
I prefer not to guess. Photography is not a game for me. If I can't meter, I will use sunny 16. But if I don't get a photo I can print, it's just a waste of my time, and a missed opportunity.

And I agree. Perhaps "guess" was too loose a description. I also use a meter, to confirm my "light reading" based on 40 years of using manual film cameras in all circumstances. Yesterday I was spot metering with my F4, but it only served to confirm my gut feeling of how to set the shutter speed and aperture whilst shooting in strong cross lighting in a graveyard. Many deep dark shadows and bright sunlight in patches. I was right and so was the meter.

Pieter12 · Oct 14, 2021

A MF SLR with a prism and a normal lens. Make it not too heavy, compact and reliable, to boot.

Oldwino · Oct 14, 2021

Nikon FM3a lately for me. The camera seems to be just right in size, has a great meter in it, and uses amazing lenses that don't cost the world. 2 more things that my Leica M2 can't do.

miha · Oct 14, 2021

Any 4x5 monorail camera.

unityofsaints · Oct 14, 2021

My FM2 is more than enough camera for me. It has hardly any features but even then I ignore the DoF, self timer and double exposure buttons. It's the film side where I'm constantly wishing form more: no more slides over 200 ISO, no Agfa APX in medium format and sheets, E100 special is special-order only above 4x5" etc. etc.

Ko.Fe. · Oct 14, 2021

Gearheads problem only.

I started to use FED-2 with single lens as my first camera. For 135 film photography it is totally enough. Nothing has changed.

wiltw · Oct 14, 2021

A meter
A relatively fast aperture lens
Ability for user to easily set ISO, shutter speed, aperture

madNbad · Oct 14, 2021

I really like my M4, more than enough to be my only camera although lately, I've been taking the Retina IIa with me more often. It doesn't offer as much as the Leica but it folds up and fits in a pocket. With the Reveni meter, it's all I need.

CMoore · Oct 14, 2021

I still have way more 35mm SLR than i need or can use................that said, i only ever use (for those keeping score) my Nikon F2S or Canon F-1 New.
I have a Minolta X-570.....what a nice camera....i DO use that, but just for Provia 100 and Color-Plus 200.
Not sure why or how i settled on color for the Minolta, but there it is.

To answer the OP...........I guess all manual is fine, with a built in meter if possible,

Moose22 · Oct 14, 2021

madNbad said:
I really like my M4, more than enough to be my only camera although lately, I've been taking the Retina IIa with me more often. It doesn't offer as much as the Leica but it folds up and fits in a pocket. With the Reveni meter, it's all I need.

I was just out getting some golden hour shots with the M3 and Revini meter on it to help, so it's a simple. bare bones package that takes very sharp images. That should be enough, though I really do prefer to see metering in the viewfinder. I miss shots and sometimes take shots mis-set without that confirmation.

However, I found another huge hassle with the Leica today. One that really slows me down when I'm out doing street photography. People won't leave me alone.

Had a cup of tea at a coffee shop, then pulled the camera out of the bag as the light got good and people were walking around. Before I could head out a kid at the restaurant next door (kid.. in his 20s) asked about it, so I let him play with it. He is shooting film, has a c330 and a K1000 (I think he said) but dreams of an M6. Then another waitress walks over and drools over the camera and has to know all about it. She uses a rangefinder, not a leica but I don't remember which. I had to make excuses to get out of there and go shoot, which is the opposite of when I have my F6 or F100 out. Usually I'm excited about a camera and people don't want to hear it.

Walked down the block looking for a chance to try my yellow filter and got stopped as I was taking a shot of a building that I use as a reference for different films. I kind of wanted this person to just keep going so they made movement in the shot but they spotted the camera and came over instead. Had to talk. Then at the end of the block some guy sitting on a bench wants to talk about the camera.

After I killed the roll that was in (My goal for the day) I was switching film on a train station bench and some guy was talking my ear off about the camera. It was distracting enough that as a train came past I quick like a bunny took a few shots -- forgot the yellow filter and I had just put in Portra 400. So those are "art" shots now.

I'm a fat, single, middle aged white dude. Usually I am completely invisible, or at least ignorable. I kind of get when people approach me as I'm using the GX680, or when I have the 100mm filters out and am doing the landscape thing with a camera on a tripod. It's conspicuous. But on the street I can usually sort of hang out in a corner or just off the sidewalk with the F6 and people act like I'm not there.

Maybe a black M5 would be "enough" It's less visible than silver.

What is "enough" in a camera for you?

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