Best 35mm Camera. Ever.

Seen and handled quite a lot of cameras, but I always come back to my IIIf. It's just the best camera ever made ... in my opinion :)
 
Paul T. said:
..especially if you factor in the now ludicrous price of 35mm M-mount lenses, second hand... to the extent that the Hexar 35mm lens costs twice as much if it doesn't have a camera attached!
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Amen brother. For $400 you can buy an entire camera with incredibly acurate AF, a lens the equivalent of a 35 summincron Pre-Asph, and an operational mose so quiet you wont even know you took a picture. Or you can buy a Leica lens hood for your 35 Summicron.
 
I knew this subject would get a lot of response. Its very interesting to see the variety of responses and the justifications, all valid, for one or another camera.

Ultimately, whether and why one bonds with a certain camera in an ineffable mystery. In my younger days, I was a hard core manual camera fan. Nikon F, Leica M4. Then I bought an F5 and was hooked. Then I realized the Hexar had all the advantages of the F5 with a third of the size and weight. To me its the best Indoor film camera ever. Outside I still use MF.
 
Frontman said:
I like Leica M cameras, but they require regular servicing to keep them on top shape, and more than once I have managed to bump an M hard enough to knock the rangefinder out of adjustment.
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Not really -- and I've been using 'em almost 40 years, on three continents, travelling by motorcycle, Land Rover, Jeep, train, bus, air, foot...so I have some idea of what I'm talking about. Never banged a rangefinder out of alignment, either. And no, they don't get babied, any more than my Nikon Fs do. Or my Gandolfis or Linhofs...

To reply to the OP, there is no such thing as a single best camera: only the best camera for a given application and for a given photographer.

Cheers,

R.
 
al1966 said:
Horses for courses so for RF it has to be a Leica M6 and for manual focus SLR OM-1 or F2 and for AF I guess the F6 but there is some lush lenses for Konicas, Fujis and Contax cameras. There are so many wonderful manual focus cameras just begging to be used and enjoyed, a lot are such bargains now it seems a shame to just have one or two.
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I'm aware of the Konica's reputation on lenses, but I just never bought into them. Fujica and Contax I have. Fujinon and Contax T* lenses rock. I loved the Contax 139 until the electronics died. I like my 167mt very much. But if I had to start giving up cameras, I reckon the Fujica ST 901 and its lenses would still be around for my last breath.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Not really -- and I've been using 'em almost 40 years, on three continents, travelling by motorcycle, Land Rover, Jeep, train, bus, air, foot...so I have some idea of what I'm talking about. Never banged a rangefinder out of alignment, either. And no, they don't get babied, any more than my Nikon Fs do. Or my Gandolfis or Linhofs...

To reply to the OP, there is no such thing as a single best camera: only the best camera for a given application and for a given photographer.

Cheers,

R.
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Both of my M4's have required shutter replacements, one set of curtains developed pinholes, while with the other camera the curtain pulled out of the lathe and jammed the camera. I had the curtain replaced, and the second curtain let go before shooting a full roll of film. As for the rangefinder adjustment, I dropped my bag one day while getting on the elevator, and the camera would no longer focus to infinity. The second time I was riding my bicycle and got hit by a car. My bike and I were fine, but the rangefinder on my M3 (which was in my backpack) was knocked out of adjustment. I can adjust the rangefinder myself, but were I traveling with my camera and the shutter failed, I would be an unhappy camper.

I've lived a rough life as well, I spent a few years as a paratrooper in the Army, spent 2 years as an amateur bike racer, and was even crazy enough to travel with the rodeo riding saddle broncs. I love my Leicas. For feel, smoothness, and simple pleasure-of-use, they can't be compared to, but they are not built to the same standard of ruggedness as the Nikon F.
 
celluloidprop said:
I'd be tempted to say the F100 (though I guess the F6 is about the same size/weight as a F100 but improved?) for pure versatility and generally just working. $250 from KEH is a crazy deal for such a good camera.
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I had an F100 for a while and thought it couldn't be better... until I picked up an F5.

When I hear "best" with no qualifications, I think of the relevant camera that does it's job (to take pictures) most effectively - a workhorse, basically. To that end, the F6 and EOS 1V came too late in the game, so it would have to be the Nikon F5 - long production life, very effective journalistic camera.

Of course if you are a camera manufacturer, your definition is probably centered around number of sales or profit, in which case maybe it would be something like the Canon AE-1? :rolleyes:
 
the fiddly buttons on the hexar AF spoils the fun partially, otherwise the thread's initiator is quite correct about this

on the other hand I really like the weight and feel of an M-Leica. So I'd say M7+35/1.4ASPHii has got to be the best 35mm film camera (not for the money tho since it's 30 times more than a used Hexar)
 
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