What is the most fabulous piece of film gear you've ever owned?

[quixotic]

Highest fondle quotient when I'm watching TCM over my morning tea: Hasselblad Xpan (or the Fuji equivalent)...but I got rid of it, because I discovered that I'm not really a pano type of guy.

 

[tedr1]

Nikon FE with motordrive and a set of Nikkor lenses and the Nikon hard case to carry it all

 

[TheToadMen]

At the moment I would say my Mamiya C330f TLR camera. But ask me next month and it might be my Bronica SQ-B with 40 mm lens or Nikon F6.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Nikon F100, the best film camera that Nikon built.

Sirius, while I respect your choice of MF SLR, I found the F100 to be too plastically toy-like for my taste.

Feature wise I consider the F100 Nikon's best camera. The F5 is too heavy and while if I remember correctly the F6 is lighter than the F5, the F6 did not bring anything new to the party that I wanted. HOWEVER if I had my choice, I would have greatly preferred that the F100 be built with metal. So I agree about the F100 being plasticy.

Whether a heavy built camera like the Nikon F or a light built camera like the F100, I have always s-l-o-w-e-d d-o-w-n-e-d every time I have opened and closed the back for film loading or changing. It just was never worth it to me to rush and break, distort, or bend a back to save a few seconds.

 

[frank]

My favourite Nikon film camera is the F4. I only have manual focus Nikkor lenses and the F4 offers matrix metering and focus confirmation with them.

 

[TheToadMen]

I changed my mind: Olympus Pen-F (half frame camera) using Tri-X and Rodinal for extra grain ....

 

[GarageBoy]

I'll have to pry my dad's kinoptik 100f2 out of his hands...

If I was guaranteed that it'd run for the rest of my life, a Rolleiflex 6008 would be perfect with the 80 planar

From cameras I own, my Pentax 645n with a hasselblad 80 on it will do

 

[mrosenlof]

Goerz red dot Artar 14 inch f/9 in barrel. I think I paid about $60 for it.

 

[mshchem]

Crown Graphic with top rangefinder. Has the battery spotlight focus in the dark gizmo. 135 Schneider Xenar. Only shoot it hand held with rangefinder. 99% with Tmax 400
Mike PS second place Fuji 690W.
I don't like cameras that need batteries.
Mike

 

[Vilk]

hmmm... everything i can think of started with an N... and i have shot pretty much the whole alphabet

gotta pick one? plain F2, B screen, 50/1.4 AIS, AN-4B

happy 100th!

 

[Luis-F-S]

I suspect it would be my DeVere 5108 enlarger which I often use to print all the way down to 35mm. Almost everything else I own, I could replace (perhaps with some difficulty) but most are replaceable. The enlarger is more difficult due to cost, availability and sheer size that make it difficult to transport!

 

[cooltouch]

Well, the most fabulous piece of kit I'd have to say that I've ever owned was a Nikon 200-400mm f/4 ED AIs zoom. Huge! Bigger and much heavier than a 300mm f/2.8, but it is, beyond any doubt, one of the sharpest zooms I have ever owned. I acquired it back in my previous life as a camera dealer and sold it for a tidy profit several months later after using it only a few times. I actually sold my Tamron 300mm f/2.8 LDIF to help pay for it. Which was, in retrospect, not a wise move. I loved that Tamron. Going prices for this lens haven't changed much since I owned mine, some 27 years ago: $4,000 - 5,000.

Nikon 200-400mm f/4 ED AIs Zoom (detachable hood not shown).

My current "collection," which is fairly extensive, has some great pieces in it, but I dunno if I'd use the word "fabulous" to characterize any of them. I'm certainly proud of them and, for analog photo gear, many of the pieces are some of the best there have ever been. So, just to mention a few perhaps as "also rans," here goes:

Canon F-1n -- the second version of the original. Virtually indestructible with a superbly accurate meter. I put many rolls of film through my old F-1s and they'll always have a special place in my heart. Currently I own two, one of which is mounted onto a Motor Drive MF.

Nikon F2 -- Nikon's last hand-built camera and one of the finest mechanical cameras ever made. I've owned almost all versions of it. Currently I own an F2S and a plain F2 Photomic. Both have MD-2/MB-1 motor drives.

Bronica ETRSi -- the best 645 system camera around, with the possible exception of the Contax. But I can afford a Bronica. I have a fairly complete outfit for this camera and I love it.

Pentax 67 -- The behemoth.

I have many nice lenses, but only a few standouts, two of which are Tamrons: the 300mm f/2.8 LDIF, and the 80-200mm f/2.8 LD. The other standout is the Canon 85mm f/1.2 SSC Aspherical.

 

[flavio81]

This thread should be reclassified under the "Erotic Literature" section

 

[rubbernglue]

I'd say my most fabulous film gear is/was a Bronica S which I was given about 2009 and it was my first medium format camera. It was a full professional case including the gurgeous Nikkor-H 50/3.5 and some more lenses and a bunch of accessories along.

I keep saying that the camera reminds me of a 60's Caddillac

The camera I was given broke down after 3 years of use and I bought another S early last year:

 

[Cholentpot]

I'd say my most fabulous film gear is/was a Bronica S which I was given about 2009 and it was my first medium format camera. It was a full professional case including the gurgeous Nikkor-H 50/3.5 and some more lenses and a bunch of accessories along.

I keep saying that the camera reminds me of a 60's Caddillac

The camera I was given broke down after 3 years of use and I bought another S early last year:

I got hold of an S2 a little while back. I had to remove some of the leatherette but decided just to polish the metal instead of gluing on new bits.

The crank/cocking scared me at first. Very crunchy...

 

[rubbernglue]

I got hold of an S2 a little while back. I had to remove some of the leatherette but decided just to polish the metal instead of gluing on new bits.

The crank/cocking scared me at first. Very crunchy...

Yes I have seen that there are quite a few S2/S2A's around, but I really like the focusing on the S (like a TLR), and the posibility of the mirror-up of course as that mirror really moves!

 

[TJer]

I lusted for it through my youth and had to wait to finally own one until well into my 50's. When I could finally afford one I bought not just one but two, one black, the other natural titanium; both second hand mint condition. "It" was the venerable Nikon F3/T HP. And what a joy they are to use too! Of all the cameras I own, both analog and digital, the F3/T is the one I always seem to grab first, everything else is secondary; even now that I own an F6 that I also love dearly, it just doesn't have the feel that the F3/T does! Thread a roll of Acros, Ektar, or Portra into her and she's heaven in my hands! Definitely worth the wait!!!

 

[MrBrowning]

While it's still new to me I love using my Mamiya 645 AFD II. After that is the lowly Kiev 60 which I find very enjoyable and have not once been disappointed with the results.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I'd say my most fabulous film gear is/was a Bronica S which I was given about 2009 and it was my first medium format camera. It was a full professional case including the gurgeous Nikkor-H 50/3.5 and some more lenses and a bunch of accessories along.

I keep saying that the camera reminds me of a 60's Caddillac

The camera I was given broke down after 3 years of use and I bought another S early last year:

When I was a teenager I wanted the Bronica S in the worst way. After all these years I learned to live with Hasselblads instead. So good things come to those who wait, and sometimes with surprising changes.

 

[NB23]

But I have to add tha I have something going on with the xpan. Everything I shoot with it looks good. It's like it was made for my vision.

 

[Red Tractors]

A brand new in the box Argus C3 from 1959.

Also a pair of Omega D5XL's with color heads that I might have $300 invested, can't believe how cheap you can get these now.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Also a pair of Omega D5XL's with color heads that I might have $300 invested, can't believe how cheap you can get these now.

One of these is enough for me. I have the D=Chromega Dichoric II.

 

[barzune]

My FM2n, which was a gift from my lovely wife, for my 50th birthday. This is the second brand-new, fully-warranteed camera that I've owned; the first was a Zenit-E that I bought in 1969 so this one is the first new REAL camera.

 

[Sim2]

Not sure if it would classify as equipment but the first roll of Velvia 50 where I felt I had 'cracked' the exposure quirks correctly was a fabulous thing to own, especially still warm from the process drier!

 

[mshchem]

I'd say my most fabulous film gear is/was a Bronica S which I was given about 2009 and it was my first medium format camera. It was a full professional case including the gurgeous Nikkor-H 50/3.5 and some more lenses and a bunch of accessories along.

I keep saying that the camera reminds me of a 60's Caddillac

The camera I was given broke down after 3 years of use and I bought another S early last year:

Nice, I've always loved Bronicas I had ETRSi got rid of it before prices completely crashed. Now I have 3 Sq-ai s. The S is such a thing of beauty, and those Nikkors sweet!