Hall of underrated cameras

PMCC said:
Another minus of the Vitomatic is that it is prone to *total* rangefinder patch fade, which is not really reversible and turns the camera into a scale focuser -- problematic with a 50mm at f2.
Click to expand...

Right! However, it can be remedied through clean-up, at least in some cases. There's a full tutorial on it elsewhere in RFF.
 
based on their price, Pentax Spotmatics seem underrated too, dont know if rightfully so. bought one recently mainly because it had lens on its nose, that I wanted. seems robust and nice old school SLR.
 
I agree on the Fujica SLRs. I have an old ST-801 which is a brilliant camera. It desperately needs an overhaul of the seals and a general tune-up, but its a wonderful photographic tool when it's taken care of. Awesome lenses, to boot. I regularly use the 28 f/3.5 EBC and 135 f/3.5 EBC on my X-Pro1.
 
Canon A35f.
http://www.theothermartintaylor.com/moveabletype/archives/cameras/000158.html

One of the very few Rangefinders with built-in flash. Best looking 70s-RF-camera, imo, very well built and great lens. It's kind of a better looking Canonet 28 with flash. Mostly overlooked as the Canonet on the other hand is totally overrated.

Oh, and in general almost all 80s and 90s P&S are underrated although many of them are just as good as the few overrated ones (t4, stylus epic etc.).
 
p.giannakis said:
I was wondering whether it will be a good idea to start a thread in which we post pictures of underrated cameras which deserve a place in our "Highly recommended" list.

I kick start first. Fujicas can be bought for peanuts.

fujica.jpg


Show yours.
Click to expand...

Nice to see another Fujica afficionado. In my opinion they have always been underrated; not 'real' cameras compared to the Nikons, Minoltas, Canons and Olympus. The ST 901 and ST 801 fit my hands well, both being small, but heavy enough not to cause problems of being 'toys'. The 901 had special dampening in the mirror mechanism so no MLU was required. The 901 also had the silicon blue cell (SBC), superior for low or rapidly changing light, since it had less memory. No other 35mm camera had it at the time. The Luna Pro SBC used that as well. The Fujinon lenses are unbelievably sharp. Being M42 mount, it will take a lot of other brand lenses as well.

The Yashica FX 103 is another under rated camera I think. It can use All C/Y lenses, but the Yashica lenses are quite good. You wouldn't hesitate to use them unless you had a Contax lens.

U50I1182913007.SEQ.0.jpg


Another much under rated camera is the Welta Weltini. Compact, good lenses, double-exposure prevention with override. The Welta Welti without RF is even more compact. Two Weltinis below, one with f/2.8 Xenar, the other with f/2 Xenon.

U50I1190602263.SEQ.0.jpg


I'm surprised no one has mentioned the early Pentax HV/SV cameras w/o light meters.

EDIT: I see one other has mentioned the Fujica lenses, and also the Spotmatic, which did have the built in light meter.

I also meant to comment on the price of the Fujicas as mentioned by the OP. I haven't looked for quite a while now, but for many years, the camera held their price well, and the lenses even more so. Plus, there weren't as many of them made as the pricier big four of Nikon, Canon, Pentax, and Minolta. I have had my ST 901 for over 35 years, and could only guess at the number of rolls of film I have put through it. Its auto-exposure remains as always, spot on.
 
What kind of cameras are we talking of? Rangefinder, definitively the M5 and the Minolta CLE. SLRs any Leica, they were really great and people always said bad things of them. Also the Nikon F6, come a bit too late but is probably one of the best cameras ever made. Digital, definitively the Sony Alpha A900 and anything Pentax. Other cameras in no particular order almost any Ricoh camera (except the gr which is in a way overrated), the Fuji Klasse, the Nikonos RS underwater camera and now I feel that the Nikon 1 cameras are underrated in the sense that everyone stress they have a small sensor and few see how fast actually they are compared to size and price.

GLF
 
One group of cameras that people overlook are the "B" list Japanese 35mm SLR's like Minolta, Mamiya, Yashica and Fuji... all of these companies put out excellent glass and these cameras are very affordable. I really like the Mamiya line of 35mm SLR's. Film models can be found for less than $100.00

Here's some info on the Mamiya cameras: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamiya
 
"the Vitomatic IIa with the Ultron lens" is not cheap
Retrotech68 said:
Totally agree, although from a purely practical standpoint, the Vitomatic IIa (and the IIIB too) with the Ultron lens is as good if not better as the quirkier barn-door Vitessas... The only minus point regarding the Vitomatic is its strange weight/size ratio. It is rather compact, but weighs and feels like a chunk of cast iron! 🙂

I second what have been said about Minolta SLRs. And the Pentax K1000 is indeed way overrated... I used an almost new specimen 21 years ago and suffered all sorts of issues, starting with film transport (a truly serious P.O.C.).

I also agree on the V. Perkeos. I also think the Zeiss-Ikon Super Ikontas are underrated. The later versions are solidly built and produce excellent results if well maintained.
Click to expand...
 
bitfeng said:
I would like to add Olympus 35RC to the list for its simplicity: anything you need and nothing you don't need.
Click to expand...

Nice camera for sure but you can hardly call a camera underrated when even Ken Rockwell is raving about it on his site and therefore the prices have gone up a lot in the last 2-3 years.
 
Another much under rated camera is the Welta Weltini. Compact, good lenses, double-exposure prevention with override. The Welta Welti without RF is even more compact. Two Weltinis below, one with f/2.8 Xenar, the other with f/2 Xenon.

U50I1190602263.SEQ.0.jpg


I'm please someone has mentioned Welta, some of them are quite special, mine have Tessars, you can also find the Weltini with an Elmar.

The problem with the Weltini is its upsideddonedness...which I find hard to explain

Late Karats are excellent, and Dollinas are also very capable devices...one could go on
 
Sparrow said:
... there you go;

[pic snipped]

it takes photos like this ...

[pic snipped]

but I can't get her to take it off the "P" setting
Click to expand...

Then get her the X-500 (or 570) and swap them when she's not looking. The X-500 has better manual metering, which will help wean her off of the 'P'. The X-500's are usually pretty inexpensive.

cheers,
David
 
oftheherd said:
. . . I'm surprised no one has mentioned the early Pentax HV/SV cameras w/o light meters. . .
Click to expand...

Possibly because they're not underrated? They're REALLY nice cameras, though the shutters have often slowed down dramatically (by a stop at 1/30 to 1/500, a stop and a half at 1/1000) over the years.

Cheers,

R.
 
filmfan said:
Minolta X-370
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Mine is tough as a Army Jeep, Lightweight and extremely user friendly.

Coupled with some good Minolta primes and a quality film and it makes an excellent companion for a day out.

Love it, And it is very kid friendly as well in auto mode.
 
actually, all film cameras, 35mm ~ 120 format cameras are all underrated...
most people will go digital with auto-focus, preview screens, sd-cards etc. all film cameras and their shooters should be celebrated... 🙂
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom