Best 35mm SLR?

It is very subjective and it is often unplanned how someone end up liking a camera system.

In all SRL history a special place for me have: -
Nikon F and FM2, Leicaflex SL2, Rollei SL350, Pentax SV, Spotmatic and ES II, Contax S2 and N1.
Without direct experience, FM3A, OM-4, Pentax LX and R8/R9 should probably be included.

In Canon
2 EOS1-n for shooting canon EF lenses.
 
Reading all nine pages of this thread, I found it interesting that "screw-mount" Pentaxes didn't get mentioned till fairly far along....

My SLR experience is limited compared to many who responded, but I will share my thoughts based on what I have found...

The first SLR I ever used was my Mom's Canon AE-1 Program, which she bought around 1983... a nice, friendly camera with a choice between full manual, Aperture-priority, or full AE. Nice glass too.

During late high school and college years, my user camera was a Kodak Retina IIIc outfit.

My first SLR was a Minolta XG-1 outfit I acquired at a rummage sale, and it came with all kinds of toys: motor-drive, bevy of flashes, several Rokkor lenses, including a nice zoom. It is a ncie camera, although a bit fiddly to work with. The electronics started getting dodgy, and the light seals are beginning to crumble, so I put it aside.

Next SLR was an Exakta Varex VX, with WL finder, prism, CZ Jena 2.8/50 Tessar, and Schacht 135 Travegon. I have since accumulated several more bodies (most with bad shutter curtains :( ), and some nice glass: Zeiss f2/58 Biogon, Zeiss f2.8/35 Flektogon, Schneider f4/28 Curtagon, f1.9/50 Xenon, f3,5/135, and a big Vivtar zoom, plus a host of other miscellaneous gadgets.
The Exakta is great in its historical aspect, and the sheer number of adapters and accessories compatible... and its full mechanical nature make it fairly feasible to maintain and repair. It's biggest shortcomings are the slow lenses, due to the relatively small size of the lens-mount, and the left-handed nature of the operating system.

Then came a Minolta SRT-101, which I haven't had any shooting time with, due to sticky shutter works.

Finally, an Asahi-Pentax Spotmatic 500... neat cameras, that seem to be reliable, inexpensive, and offer a decent range of excellent lenses. The TTL metering is simple.

The Spotmatic became my everday shooter SLR, so I guess that makes it a "favorite"...

The Exatka is my favorite from a nostalgia / quirkiness standpoint.

A good friend, who is a professional photo-journalist swears by Nikon F's, though he has moved-on to Nikon AF digital for most of his work. He was quite fond of Spotmatics in his pre-Nikon days.

This thread has been an interesting read...
 
My vote is for the Canon New F-1. Amazing metering, great array of cheap and nice lenses, lots of adapter capabilities, built like a tank, fully customizable as far as metering and focusing goes, easy to clean, dependable... what more can I say? After buying and using four of five other SLRs, this is the one that I would truly never want to get rid of.
 
Luddite Frank said:
The Exakta is great in its historical aspect, and the sheer number of adapters and accessories compatible... and its full mechanical nature make it fairly feasible to maintain and repair. It's biggest shortcomings are the slow lenses, due to the relatively small size of the lens-mount, and the left-handed nature of the operating system.
Click to expand...

Topcon made 1.4 lenses in the same mount as Exakta. Two problems with Exakta were that the Germans simply weren't interested in developing the system further, and the German lens makers were behind the Japanese at the point the Exakta went out of style. One may as well consider the Exakta dead in the water from 1959 on. Exakta relied on outside suppliers for lenses, and most of them it seems saw little future in supplying the camera market, much less the Exakta which they could probably see was doomed.

Enna and Schnieder had f1.9 lenses, Isco and CZJ had f2 lenses. For some reason Meyer and CZJ never offered their 1.8/50s in the traditional APD mount, even though they made them for the Exakta RTL, so obviously they didn't have a problem with the Exakta mount diameter. :confused: It's a pretty curious matter. We know from Topcon that 1.4 was workable, although probably also the limit.
 
I have a good many 35mm film SLRs. I have, in fact, indulged (some would say over-indulged) in buying all the cameras I wanted to buy "way back when" but couldn't afford - but now can through age and eBay making them affordable to me, perhaps well past the time it actually matters or mattered. I've used 'em all and still, ocassionally, do.

But, of all of them, I keep coming back to two. One is my old and well-used OM-4T, which I've had all this long while. The other is my FM3a. The latter is not a camera I could have lusted after in my yoof. But the FM3a and the OM-4T are the two SLRs I keep coming back to, no matter the many and manifest virtues of all the other 35mm SLRs in my cabinet. I'm not sure what that says, but I think it does say something.

...Mike
 
Bought a Nikkormat and a bevy of lenses while serving in the military in the early 1970's.

Still use the Nikkormat, infrequently though. It still works just fine. I did replace the bumper the mirror hits when moving up for making a photograph.
 
I don'tknow if it is the "Best" but it is definately one of the best I ever used....

e-thesis+055.jpg
 
A good reliable camera is the Nikon FE with a Nikkor lens 50 mm 1:1,4. It is small and it has a good viewfinder. For AF take the Nikon F801/8008, it is not very expensive and very versatile, little bit noisy. An underestimated camera is the Yashica 230 AF - especially the AF-lenses like the 50 mm 1:1,8 and 28-85 mm 1:3,5-4,5. These mentioned lenses are developed in cooperation with Carl Zeiss.

I personally prefer the Leicaflex SL with the Summicron 35 mm lens.
 
I really enjoy using the Minolta XD11.

xd-11_front_450.jpg


I've always like my original Nikons (F2A and FE). My second SLR was the Pentax MX. Like the camera but wish it was just a bit larger.

Lately, I've been using a Rolleiflex SL 35 E, and it feels good in my hands.

I think many of the smaller SLRs from the 1970s would feel good to me.

Best? Always a subjective term that is sure to elicit many responses.
 
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