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

[removed-user-1]

After thinking it over, I decided to interpret "fabulous" as "film gear that I lusted after for years, and that fully met my expectations once I got it."

That would have to be the Mamiya RB67. I regret selling mine.

 

[4season]

I'd probably choose the Fujifilm GA645zi, a wonderful all-around performer. Clever date and exposure info printing outside of the image area was also something I liked a lot.

 

[Nick Merritt]

I'd have to say the Leica M3. When I got my first one, I saw what all the fuss was about. I think it has the best viewfinder ever, and is just wonderfully smooth to use. Inspires confidence.

 

[Soeren]

List only ONE item, please!

TSK TSK No way.
A toss up between my Mamiya RZ67PROII and the Bronica SQ-AI I foolishly sold
I could go back to Pentax 67 just for the amazing 165mm f2,8.
The cosina zeiss zf25mm f2,8 is My favourite lens in 35mm format.
Ohh and dont I forget my chamonix 45F1

 

[locutus]

Well if i have to call out only 1 item then it will be my Shen Hao TZ45II-A.

Beautiful piece of wood and metal, looks gorgeous and is a lot of fun to use. They somehow get derided sometimes as cheap, unrefined or whatever and i'm at loss why.

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

Too many to mention but Rolleiflex SL66 and Leica M6 get honorific metions

Regards

 

[R.Gould]

If I could only choose one then it must be my Vitessa T with it's full set of lenses,

 

[RattyMouse]

I put this in the 35mm category, but it applies to ALL equip. My vote goes to the 50mm 3.5 Komuranon-S enlarging lens.

Easily, my pick is the Fujifilm GF670W. I was in Japan on holiday with no interest in buying any photo gear. I visited Fujifilm's corporate headquarters where they have a nice museum of all their old films and camera equipment and at the end, a nice display of their current gear. I was able to hold and touch the GF670W to my heart's content. WOW, what an amazing camera. 12 hours later, I was in Yodobashi, contemplating a purchase. $2800, discounted down to $2300, but with no warranty outside of Japan. Regardless, I pulled out my credit card and bought it. A completely spontaneous $2300 purchase. That was 3+ years ago and I still have that camera. 6 months after buying it I had the sister camera, the GF670 folder. Those two together are my daily shooters.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Oh my, this is a loaded question if I've ever heard one. Let's see.............
8X10 Kodak 8x10 2D Hmm? Nice, but long gone.
M2 Leica w/Summicron That and many other Leicas.........most long gone.
Big Fuji Range finder cameras.............love them, but no.
Hasselblad SWC very awesome and still have it.
The Kodak Medalist I and II are at the very, very top of my list and would get my number one vote if it weren't for one camera. So, of all the cameras I presently own I'd say the Kodak Medalist is my very favorite, most awesome, camera and it performs as good as anything I have ever owned. New or old!

Here it is! My first pick.
Now, I hope you are sitting down for this. That one camera is a Herbert George Imperial Satellite 127 Boy Scout version that got me started in this whole mess. I bought it C.O.D. off the back of a Grit Newspaper when I was about 9 or 10 years old and that was 1959 or 1960. Do I still have it? Nope, but I wish I did. I dug through my mothers attic several times, but alas it's gone. My mom had a couple of yard sales while I was in Vietnam and I'm somehow missing that camera and several Velveeta cheese boxes full of baseball cards???

 

[Eric Rose]

Rollieflex tlr

 

[M Carter]

The gear question doesn't get me nearly as much as what's gone now. To me, the utter, insane, fabulously magical stuff was Polagraph film, Ektochrome EPJ, and all the 4x5 and pack-film polaroids. And the cadmium papers, stuff like that. When I consider that stuff, the equipment doesn't even come close.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Ditto with the Rolleiflex TLR - best single camera I've ever had. In large format, my Canham 5x7 is my favorite piece of gear - I've had it probably longer than any other camera system I've owned.

 

[chip j]

The gear question doesn't get me nearly as much as what's gone now. To me, the utter, insane, fabulously magical stuff was Polagraph film, Ektochrome EPJ, and all the 4x5 and pack-film polaroids. And the cadmium papers, stuff like that. When I consider that stuff, the equipment doesn't even come close.

YES, Really--Agfa papers & film!!

 

[John Wiegerink]

Don't cry over spilled milk! Just drink the milk you got.

 

[dasBlute]

Rolleiflex 2.8E

 

[k.hendrik]

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Yep, the old stuff. But I don't understand why so many of you don't own their oldies ! Never sold a camera|only adding

 

[Sirius Glass]

This, plus a Rolleiflex. If I may, I would even say that I even prefer the Rolleiflex 80mm planar to the Hassy's. The latter win with every other lens. (And no, I never tried a wide or tele Rollei, I got a full Hassy kit for the price of only one of those). I realize I am just adding fuel to the fire

I like the 100mm Hasselblad lens better than the 80mm lens.

Now I will agree that Rollei TLR has the bling factor when walking down the street with a wide angle Rollei, 80mm Rollei and a Tele-Rollei hanging around one's neck, assuming one could stand up straight wearing three cameras.

 

[Sirius Glass]

What do you all print your Hassy negs with? There is also a 75mm Komuranon-S. After 37yrs, I am still thunderstruck by my 50mm.

An enlarger, duh.

 

[Huss]

Definitely the most fabulous piece of photographic equipment ever built is the Fuji TX-2 pano camera.

And I happen to have one for sale here:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Wait, whaaaat?
;p

 

[Theo Sulphate]

... a Herbert George Imperial Satellite 127 Boy Scout version that got me started in this whole mess. I bought it C.O.D. off the back of a Grit Newspaper when I was about 9 or 10 years old ...

Heh. As a kid I walked the streets selling subscriptions to Grit (made 5 cents on each one).

So, this must be the very first camera I ever touched. It's gone now and I don't know what it was - it doesn't match any Kodak Brownie model. It may be something rebranded from Sears.

 

[Huss]

How cool is that pic Theo! What a great keepsake to have.

 

[dpurdy]

Oddly the camera that struck me as the most impressive when I bought it is one I have no use for and it is too valueless to bother selling. I still marvel at my Nikon F100 when I pull it out of the closet however it's been years since I put any film in it and I doubt I ever will again. My roll film cameras are Rolleiflex and Pentax 67 and they give me fabulous results which trumps the fabulousness of the Nikon.

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

Heh. As a kid I walked the streets selling subscriptions to Grit (made 5 cents on each one).

So, this must be the very first camera I ever touched. It's gone now and I don't know what it was - it doesn't match any Kodak Brownie model. It may be something rebranded from Sears.

View attachment 170302

Not sure but it looks like an Ansco camera to me.

 

[Cholentpot]

Oddly the camera that struck me as the most impressive when I bought it is one I have no use for and it is too valueless to bother selling. I still marvel at my Nikon F100 when I pull it out of the closet however it's been years since I put any film in it and I doubt I ever will again. My roll film cameras are Rolleiflex and Pentax 67 and they give me fabulous results which trumps the fabulousness of the Nikon.

Oh that poor poor camera sitting sad in the dark all lonely. Feed that poor thing some film on a nice day!

I would buy one o' those but the only Nikon glass that I have is all manual. No rinky dinky autofocus Nikkor for me.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Not sure but it looks like an Ansco camera to me.

I was thinking Sure-Shot, but would have to do some checking.