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

[Greyscale]

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.

There was a black Zenit S that I was bidding on on eBay about a year ago ... listed as a "Zehum C" because of a missed translation. Shiny black enamel with white Cyrillic lettering, so pretty. I have never before seen a black one, nor have I since. It called to me, literally, in my dreams, I got up at 3AM to increase my max bid... but in the morning, it was gone, lost to a sniper even more insomniac than I was.

 

[gilpen123]

Two that I can remember; a Nikon S3 2000 with 50 1.4 and LHSA M6 special ed that I couldn't bring myself to use and abuse. The S3 could have stayed but the focus patch is not contrasty enough for me.

 

[cosmonaut]

M3, twice.

Ditto.......

 

[Keith]

Do the bears defecate in the woods?

Is the Pope a Catholic?

Does Joe have enough bags? :angel:


My P67 ii comes to mind here ... it's big (enormous actually) and beautiful IMO and I had to have it! 😀

 

[barnwulf]

Originally posted by: Keith
Do the bears defecate in the woods?
Is the Pope a Catholic?
Does Joe have enough bags?

My P67 ii comes to mind here ... it's big (enormous actually) and beautiful IMO and I had to have it!

When you posted the photograph of the P67II with the lens hood it I felt a deep pain. But, it went to a good home with someone that appreciated it. Jim

 

[Keith]

When you posted the photograph of the P67II with the lens hood it I felt a deep pain. But, it went to a good home with someone that appreciated it. Jim

I haven't used it for a little while Jim but that doesn't matter much IMO.

It's like having an AC Cobra parked in the garage ... you don't have to drive it all the time to understand why you needed it! 😀

 

[mgilbuena]

I purchased a Zenit SD for exactly this reason. I have the Kiev 60 SLR medium format camera and discovered that the Zenit SD is a splitting image of it's larger, bigger and bulkier brother.

It's so funky and has so much rough Russian character that I simply had to have it. It's a great functional shooter as well, but $40 bucks later and the Zenit SD was mine.

 

[Harry S.]

I think of all my cameras, my silver Zeiss Ikon is the most handsome. I didnt buy it for that reason, but as I dont use it anymore, I wont sell it for that reason!

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I've been known to do that. Cameras and lenses.

I've also bought some that are just downright ugly.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

And just strange.

 

[Keith]

One camera that I'd definitely buy if I had the spare cash would be a Linhof Technika ... Mael had one advertised in the classifieds a while ago and I swear that is the most beautiful camera I've ever seen!

One day!

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I got my first M5 by accident. It's black. The second was love: it's a silver chrome body, to me, the most beautiful design ever.

Of course, so are my other Leicas! 🙂

 

[kdemas]

Yup. Nikon S3 Millenium in Black, then Silver too. Both have moved on to nice homes.

The black S3, to me, might be the prettiest camera ever, along with the black SP 2005.

 

[farlymac]

One camera that I'd definitely buy if I had the spare cash would be a Linhof Technika ... Mael had one advertised in the classifieds a while ago and I swear that is the most beautiful camera I've ever seen!

One day!

You and me both, Keith.

I did buy my Contax IIa because the photos of it were so compelling, I just had to have it. I could have gotten one some other time, but the looks of that camera just said "Do it now!". The one camera I did buy for it's looks alone was a Bencini Koroll. And it's a pretty good shooter too, despite the bad reputation.

PF

 

[Argenticien]

Bronica S2 (much on looks, but also on functionality). Write-up and pr0n over here.
--Dave

 

[Keith]

I also really like the look of the little Robot ... it looks like it's been carved from a solid block of metal!

 

[hteasley]

If you're able to shoot it, please let me know how it goes. I've always been curious about that camera.

OK, I shot it this evening. Rolls of Portra 160 arrived, and I ruined a roll trying to get it loaded: 828 is not merely a little thicker than the custom Compass rolls, it's a lot thicker. The backing paper is very thick on these rolls, and the caps on the spool were far too big in diameter to use the spool unadulterated. So I had to pull the caps off, try to roll out some of the film, and then load a half-sized roll. And it didn't work.

But it left me with a brass spool that basically fits, so I tried rolling from a 35mm cartridge in the changing bag, and that worked out. So I have a couple shots (that were more than garbage).

Lecoultre Compass 35, SFX 200, f/3.5 at 1/8

A couple more shots in the flickr gallery I linked earlier. The camera in question:

 

[Phil_F_NM]

My old M2 was that camera but I sold it years ago.
Old wooden view cameras are always beautiful. I turned down an offer on an old wood and brass Korona a few years ago and regret that.
My choices now for prettiest camera would be either a Rolleiflex 2.8F or a black paint Nikon S2 (original or repainted) with a 50mm f/1.4 lens. Yeah, simple but I think those things are amazing to look at, let alone use.

Phil Forrest

 

[heartattackandvine]

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

That's an awesome collection you've got there... Really impressive!

 

[DanOnRoute66]

Aires IIIC. Unfortunately the inside was the opposite of the beautiful outside; that is, completely bollocksed.