Favourite camera and why ?

I'll probably never have a favourite camera as I'm always changing my mind about such things, but for a few weeks I owned a Zenit C, and even though in order to load it, I would've had to shove a film up it's bum and the viewfinder was such that I would've needed to take my reading glasses with me on a shoot, and even though after a few firings and windings just to get used to it it stopped working properly, and even though I sent it back to get it repaired and again it stopped working after a few test firings and windings, I quite liked it. I suppose it was the aesthetics, the 'primitiveness' and yet the feeling that it was a step forward in camera design that I like.
 
My two favorites are the only two cameras I have left. A Canon FTb w/ a dented prism, no meter, and a FL 135 3.5 lens that doubles as my grain focuser on the enlarging end. The Canon FT cameras were rugged, fit my hands perfectly, and that old 135 FL lens takes really nice portraits.

The other camera is a Nikon n8008s w/ a Leica R 90 2 Summicron mounted on it. The camera is heavy, and has a spot meter and a bright focus screen. Not much to say about the R 90 Summicron other than it's the best lens I've used for portraits or any other type of images. It's built like it came from NASA (except that it is probably better than NASA could build it).
 
jpa66 said:
Keith,

That's awesome! I remember my first "real" camera - the Canon AE1-Program - fondly. I managed to save up enough money for it in 1985 to get it at the end of the summer (the OM1 beats it without a sweat, though!).
Click to expand...


Ha ... my first real camera was also an AE-1. 😛

I bought my OM-1 about eight years ago ... can't praise it enough. 🙂
 
I've tried out a lot of cameras over the years and have had something to love (and often hate) about each one. Ultimately, they're all wonderful tools and it just takes finding the one that aligns best with your preferences.

That being said I have two particular cameras in my possession that are of emotional significance to me and will not leave my ownership.

1) The Hasselblad 500CM - I have always loved these cameras for their beautiful design, and when I finally acquired one for myself about 6 years ago it just so happened to be a very special one as it came from the estate of the photographer that shot my parents' wedding 40 years ago (the camera itself is from 1972).

2) The Leica M-A - I've had a number of M bodies since switching over to Leica in 2014 and have enjoyed each of them for different reasons. This particular one was a gift to me from my parents upon finally finishing my degree (after taking a long break from school with an unfinished Bachelor's Degree). It marks a really important moment in my personal life and a shift in my path towards a very positive direction. I use the camera almost daily and will continue to do so indefinitely.
 
I have a lot of cameras I really enjoy, and there are a couple of rangefinders in that group, but my hands down favorite is still my old Pentax K1000.

It really is the only camera I own that I can pick up, set aperture and shutter speed without looking at either, quickly find infinity focus and then hyperfocus for f/11, and snap the picture. With every other camera I own, and there are many, I have to look to do all this.

Of course it isn't very light. The shutter sounds like a shotgun going off if I use it in a quiet room. It is so bone simple it is almost laughable and it is the butt of everyone's humor.

But it works and it has never failed. It has watched over my family and I through a lot of good times and a few bad ones and has provided several box fulls of memories. I guess that is about all one could ask.
 
With few exceptions, I've liked/favored all my cameras - careful shopping! And in thinking back I don't think any history or back-story about a camera has been a factor in fondness, just the operational character, feel, looks, handling, output.
 
It's a tie between my M6 and my new to me Rolleiflex Automat...right now the Rolleiflex gets more love because it's a new experience.

Digital - I lke the Leica X1/X2 but they are far from perfect. I really like the easy control dials for shutter speed and aperture. ISO is also an easy press of a button instead of menu diving....my very best digital camera as far as output is the Sigma Merrill DP2...nothing beats that in my opinion, it's very special. But functionally the camera is a PITA.

With the exception of the M6 (which has a Summicron 50 married to it) I tend to favor cameras with fixed lenses...which forces me to work with the focal length on the camera instead of lugging several lenses and having to make decisions of which to use. Every now and then I do wish for a 28 for the M6, which if I ever buy another lens, that might be first on the list, with a 90 being 2nd.
 
My favorite camera would be between the Mamiya C330f and the Minolta Autocord CdS-III. In truth, I can't imagine being without these two.

The Mamiya has much broader capability and I am absolutely awed by Mamiya's brillance in re-imagining the TLR and developing such a capable photographic system.

At the same time, there is something almost magical about the Minolta, and the built-in CdS zone/semi-spot meter is so accurate and effective that there is no reason to resort to a separate meter with this camera.

I've always had a weakness for TLRs and I really appreciate the simple, robust, vibrationless quality of the breed. I have a parallax corrector (Minolta's Paradjuster and Mamiya's Paramender) for both cameras, so I consider parallax less of a problem than a moving mirror. A particular advantage of both Mamiya and Minolta TLRs is that neither one bends the film over a roller before it lines up over the film gate.

- Murray
 
My Grandfather's Nikon FTN

My Grandfather's Nikon FTN

Dear Dee,

I had it refurbished and had the 58mm/f1.4 cleaned and lubed.

I still can't bring myself to finish the roll of film in it that I loaded after the work was done?

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg, PA 🙂
 
My favorite and go to camera is a Nikon F. My first one is an Apollo model, I have used it as yearbook photographer in high school and in college at Brooks Institute. A couple of months ago I was shooting candids with it at a wedding. The bride and groom and parents loved the photos. I now have seven F's.
 
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