disapointment/overated kit

[Robert Lai]

I love my Nikon F, F2, and F3. I haven't tried anything later than these, but my impression is that they got bigger and heavier when they went to AF. Maybe the F6 is not like that, but I don't feel the itch to get it either.
Yes, they make a big "clack" when you fire the shutter, but so do all SLRs.

Leicas are not completely silent either.
The most quiet camera I've ever had is the Voigtlander Bessa IIIW. It even gives you a little LED in the viewfinder to tell you when the shutter goes off. In any reasonable level of room conversation, you can't hear the camera go off at all. Not even as you hold it to your face!

Leica's 35mm Summicron ASPH has been the epitome of compactness and sharpness in this focal length. The latest Voigtlander 35mm 1.7 M is also a great lens, but a lot bulkier than the Summicron ASPH. Otherwise, I would say they are very close to each other.

What has disappointed me?
Soviet Russian cameras and lenses. Poor production quality.
Having said that, I do own the latest Jupiter 3+, and I'm happy with it.

All Nikon 50mm f/1.4 SLR lenses have turned me off.
I use the 55mm Micro Nikkor, or the Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 instead.
All Nikon 35mm SLR lenses have turned me off also.
I use the Voigtlander 40mm Ultron instead, on my Nikons.

I also got rid of my 20mm Nikkor AIS in favor of the ZF.2 Zeiss 18mm f/3.5 Distagon. B&H has them $400 cheaper on a clearout sale at the moment, as the new Milvus lens is coming in at almost twice the price (about $1800). Yes, the Milvus has aspherical elements, and more lens elements, but it is also much bigger. There comes a point when great is good enough, and I don't need incredible magnificence.

 

[Huss]

I love my Nikon F, F2, and F3. I haven't tried anything later than these, but my impression is that they got bigger and heavier when they went to AF. Maybe the F6 is not like that, but I don't feel the itch to get it either.
Yes, they make a big "clack" when you fire the shutter, but so do all SLRs.

....
What has disappointed me?
Soviet Russian cameras and lenses. Poor production quality.

The F6 shutter/mirror mechanism is much quieter than my F and F2.

My NOS Zenit 12SD has a light leak in the shutter. Seems there is a pinhole there. After recommendations from Apug, I have painted the offending area with Golden Heavy Body Acrylic Artist paint #1040 Carbon black. I'm running a test roll through it now. I want it to work as this 'new'camera + lens was only $40, and it is so different from my F6, but yet so similar to my F... The lens - a Helios 44-M-4 actually seems really good.

My first two Voigtlander 50 1.1s disappointed as they were crap (very poor sharpness). Bought them used, was able to return them. I swore off that lens but was then tempted by another due to the price. This one rocks! Love it.

My Zeiss ZM 35 1.4 disappoints for its size.

 

[Eric T]

I have owned (and since sold) two Soviet-era medium format cameras - the Kiev 60TTL and the Moskva V. Despite an expensive repair, the Kiev 60 could never give proper frame separation. On the Moskva V, the film frame was never flat inside the camera so the edges of the image always came out fuzzy. I could never fix that.

Not all Kiev cameras are bad. I like the 35mm Kiev 19m. I still have that one. A very simple, manual SLR that can do the job.

 

[charjohncarter]

Another minor problem I have is with Pentax DIGITAL camera straps. They are the worst: one sport ruined and one shirt ruined.

 

[Contarama]

I haven't ever really been disappointed with any gear I have owned. Nothing film wise has ever bothered me but I do have an issue with crop sensors and effective focal length. I chalk it up to being wired specifically for 35mm format.

Maybe viewfinders. I cannot tolerate crappy viewfinders (like those in crop cameras).

 

[Huss]

Ahh yes that Lomo LC-120 that Stephen (cameraquest) had lent to a bunch of us to test was a disappointment. A $430 camera that had its focussing mechanism incorrectly calibrated. Also the camera skin was peeling off and depending on what brand/type of film was used, it would not give the correct # of images per roll.

 

[gfeucht]

I second everyone else here - I made the switch from a Ultron-M to a ASPH and don't regret it. I didn't do it for sharpness but for ergonomics, it's better wide open than the Ultron too. Stopped down I don't see differences. You had a bad copy I'd say.

I did several tests with 3 different copies of the 'cron ASPH. My Ultron (which I still own) is stellar in sharpness, bokeh, and lack of focus shift. It's just the .9M focus limitation that was killing me. The Biogon was consistantly sharper on center than everything else, but has a weird smear at the edges of frame. This disappears at f2.8. I saw it in both copies I tested.

Again, I REALLY wanted to like the Summicron ASPH. I planned to love it, buy it, and ride into the sunset. It sucked to learn that the fairy dust simply wasn't there. That being said, I LOVE my 50mm Summilux ASPH and 75mm Summicron APO. The 35mm was just a disappointment.

I played with the Summilux 35mm FLE, and it's exceptional. However, I truly love my new Biogon and all Summilux GAS is gone after the purchase.

 

[Rob-F]

I never did warm up to the Nikon FA. I tried twice, sold it both times.

I tried the Mamiya 7II, didn't like the touchy shutter release. Sold it.

Presently, not sure I like the 30mm lens & finder on my XPAN. I'm still giving it a chance.

 

[Pioneer]

Ahh yes that Lomo LC-120 that Stephen (cameraquest) had lent to a bunch of us to test was a disappointment. A $430 camera that had its focussing mechanism incorrectly calibrated. Also the camera skin was peeling off and depending on what brand/type of film was used, it would not give the correct # of images per roll.

I can certainly agree with that.

The Fujifilm GA645 Pro is a similar idea and far easier to work with.

However I did buy another Lomo LCA 120 and it works quite nicely. It is actually a very nice, very light, street camera. Now if I could only get that shutter to release smoothly!!!

 

[DwF]

I saw this thread and wondered why it kept showing up...so I opened it. Very interesting.

I know there are many XA lovers out there but since that is a camera I am rediscovering, I was struck by negative comments here. I am currently back shooting film after a long break, and think the XA is a brilliant design. Even as a longtime Leica M shooter, I find the rangefinder perfectly usable and have no issue focusing. For my needs, it is lots of fun. And I have had very nice results.

Coming across some old photos, I have recently been thinking about a Contax T that I let go about 15 years ago. I enjoyed that camera and was considering another but prices are crazy for those and I hear that they are very temperamental and really tough to service. Unless I missed it, no one here has mentioned that camera here.

A camera that I thought was cool but was disappointed by was the Voigtlander Bessa II. It just didn't handle as well as my Ikontas, or my Perkeos that I really like using. Images made with the Bessa II were fine.

 

[michaelwj]

A bit controversial, but for me the M2 was a disappointment. Coming from an M6, I just found it a PITA to reload (although reliable) and slow the rewind. I also didn't really like the fixed advance lever. It is the one camera that just didn't live up to the hype for me. It had just been built up to a level that I suppose was unobtainable. Sure the VF is nice and uncluttered, but the drawbacks were too much. Saying that of course, I would be perfectly happy with only an M2 (or 2), it's just not the one for me.
Now the M4, what a camera 😀

 

[thawkins]

I have owned a Nikon D90 for six years and now it is literally falling apart. Replaced the shutter twice and now the filter ring fell off the lens. I never liked the cheap plasticky feel either. The only frustrating RF camers I own are a pair of Zorkies and a few Soviet lens. Cameras for the comrades!!

 

[02Pilot]

A camera that I thought was cool but was disappointed by was the Voigtlander Bessa II. It just didn't handle as well as my Ikontas, or my Perkeos that I really like using. Images made with the Bessa II were fine.

That sort of mirrors my experience. I don't dislike the Bessa II, and the photos are really good, but it's just not as good as I'd hoped as a working camera. The Perkeo II and Super Ikonta C are great.

The big Yashicas (Electro GTN & Lynx-14e) and small Canonets are kind of the same. There's nothing to hate, but I find myself ambivalent about them.

 

[oftheherd]

OK. I'll be crucified for this, but:

35mm Summicron ASPH. There. I said it.

I wanted to replace my ltm Ultron 35mm 1.7 because of its .9m close focus and tried three copies of the 'cron ASPH. All were both softer and had serious focus shift. I ended up buying the Zeiss 2.0 Biogon which was sharper than everything else, no distortion, and had zero focus shift.

I really wanted to and expected to love the 'cron, but it just wasn't great at all.

For me, not a particular 35mm lens, but the 35mm focal length in general. Too close to 50mm, which I do like, but just not really wide enough.

 

[santino]

For me, not a particular 35mm lens, but the 35mm focal length in general. Too close to 50mm, which I do like, but just not really wide enough.

ditto! I sold my 35mm Biogon in favor of a 28mm Elmarit.

 

[seany65]

A Tamron Adpatall-2 SP f3.5 zoom was disappointing in it's heaviness. I took a hand-held pic through the glass of my window and the lens showed the detail in the vertical surface (the 'riser?) of a low-contrast gray step, I was impressed by that, but the ruddy thing weighed a ton and with it attached to my FM2n I just couldn't get a comfortable hold with my right hand on the camera.

 

[Godfrey]

I've had my share of disappointments with cameras, like the Sony F828 which generated purple fringing at the slightest provocation (it was gone in eight days), but generally I buy and use, and if it doesn't appeal to me enough, it's gone quickly with no particular ill feelings.

(Nikon folks: I loved the F6... wonderful piece of machinery. But I'm selling off all my Pentax, Nikon, and Olympus gear so it's gone now. My plain prism F with Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 is the only Nikon that will stay, and that's probably a short term nostalgia thing. I don't shoot enough 35mm film to keep more than one or two 35mm cameras, and I have both Leicaflex SL and M4-2 for that...)

G

 

[Crazy Fedya]

I was never able to enjoy using any of AF pain-and-shoots, including Old Epic, Yashica T3,4 and 5,Konica Big Mini,etc. Sold them all.
Olympus XA was not much fun to me. XA2 was much more fun.
And biggest disappointment was in Bronica SQ series and, later, Hasselblad 500C. They both produce wonderful images, and most of my disappointment is probably with myself, rather than those two systems. If i had to chose between them, I would take Hasselblad without thinking twice. Bronica SQ, having great lenses, fells too plasticky. Both systems are definitely not my cup of tea. However, I enjoy Pentagon Six much more, and Rolleiflex the most out of mirror equipped medium format cameras.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Mamiya 7. Bought it twice. Could never quite get close enough to the subject...

 

[Contarama]

My plain prism F with Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 is the only Nikon that will stay, and that's probably a short term nostalgia thing. I don't shoot enough 35mm film to keep more than one or two 35mm cameras

G

I said that when I sold my plain prism F2 to notraces Bob. Now I have two more and I am watching for a F to with them. 🙄

I think I disappoint myself more than any camera ever could.