Have you ever bought a camera just because it was so beautiful?

[Ronald_H]

My Leica M2 (especially with the Summicron DR on it) and my Yashica Mat 124 are both gorgeous to look at. But this is more of an added bonus. They both still count as cameras, as tools. I'd rather have them look ugly and work well, than look beautiful with a stuck shutter.

But I have been yearning for a Zenit-S for a while now. There are so many reasons not to buy one, but it looks sooooo nice. Shame Leica never made an SLR this dinky, based on their screw mount cameras.

 

[_larky]

Yes, M6. I saw it, held it, HAD to have it. I was powerless.

 

[_goodtimez]

You bet I did. I'm a complete fetishist and metal lover. All my gear is at first beautiful to my my eyes:

M3, M4-P, M6, MP, F, F36, FTn, FT2, S2, S3, Robot Royal 36.

The good point is that they are also delivering pretty good photographs.

 

[ed1234]

Yeah, looking for a MP or M7, almost bought a under priced MP as there was chipped on the top plate, but backed off during payment confirmation because want to look through the whole list again to make sure if I didn't miss any better deals. Then saw a lizard skin CLE, clean with a 40mm rokkor, flash, and a brown never ever ready case( the brown case is suppose to be for the limited gold edition CLE). Without second thoughts, gone through the process in 30 seconds, and camera arrived in 4 days from Japan.

 

[ed1234]

I was powerless.

Yep, the weakness on the knees.

 

[Shac]

Yes - more than once 🙄 - M4, R4sp, Nikon F's and F2's (chr and bl) & most recently a Leicaflex SL2. Still have the M4, F's, F2's & SL2 and all in use

 

[PaulW128]

Guilty!

I fell in love with the Bessa R2 Olive and bought one and of course they look so damn sexy with a silver lens attached so I bought a 35mm 2.5 silver Color Skopar to go with it.

After using it a couple of times, I realized that I wasn't a rangefinder kinda guy and sold it to somebody who gave it a good home. But it really is a pretty camera

Paul

 

[Roberto V.]

Zeiss Contaflex I and Kodak Flash Bantam. The Contaflex has the added bonus of taking stunning photos and being the same size as a Leica M with a short lens (like a 35 'lux pre-asph), and the Bantam is decent enough for snapshots, and quite compact

 

[Hibbs]

Yes, my Leica M3, Canon P, Oly Pen FV and a Fujica Rapid S2.

~ Hibbs

 

[ruby.monkey]

Well, yes - my M3 with 50mm rigid Summicron.

 

[hteasley]

My father is looking for ways to spend his money before he goes, and he just bought me a Lecoultre Compass 35 on ebay, pretty much just because he loves nice watches and recently toured the Lecoultre factory, and he knows I love cameras. It takes a custom roll of 828 film (6 shots instead of 8) so I may not be able to shoot it easily. It's on my mantle now.

I've got some 828 on order with B&H, so I hope to soon see if it works well. If I can't get the roll to load, I have a friend of a friend who may be able to fab me a new spool, and I'll try again.

 

[JasonC]

Yes, an Exakta Varex VX IIa. It is a work of art.

 

[HuubL]

Then buy one. You should be able to find one for less than 50 US$. I've had one. It was completely intact, with a nice clean lens, intact prism and even de cord for lifting the mirror was still intact. Unfortunately, the bottom plate was pretty loose and it leaked light terribly. It's nice to play with, for a week at most, then you can sell it for what you paid for it.

My Leica M2 (especially with the Summicron DR on it) and my Yashica Mat 124 are both gorgeous to look at. But this is more of an added bonus. They both still count as cameras, as tools. I'd rather have them look ugly and work well, than look beautiful with a stuck shutter.

But I have been yearning for a Zenit-S for a whie now. There are so many reasons not to buy one, but it looks sooooo nice. Shame Leica never made an SLR this dinky, based on their screw mount cameras.

 

[leica M2 fan]

Of course they have to be beautiful! If they work well then you have two good reasons. In this regard I have my M2 and Exakta Varex VX which i consider beautiful to look at. My most beautiful is my Alpa 6b and the photos produced by the Switar 50/1.8 are stunning. I tried selling it and at the last minute couldn't let it go even for a pretty large sum.

 

[HuubL]

BTW, I know that feeling all to well. Click my signature pic below... 😉

 

[Ronald_H]

BTW, I know that feeling all to well. Click my signature pic below... 😉

Too bad you sold the Zenit 😀

 

[HuubL]

Too bad you sold the Zenit 😀

If I knew you were interested, you would have had it. I believe I sold it to a fellow RFFr in Japan about a year ago.

 

[telecentricity]

Is there any better reason to buy a camera? A Nikon SP with a black 35/1.8 is more than beautiful.

 

[barnwulf]

Yes, a Nikon S3 Limited Edition Black, my black M4-P and a Leica II. Oh yes, probably the rest of them too. Jim

 

[jbielikowski]

M3, twice.