Hi-end classic SLR with a 40. Nearly unlimited budget. What are my options?

Everyone knows that Special Edition cameras are worth the most and most desirable.
So that is what I recommend.

I just picked up this Hermes Special Edition SE Pentax. Look at that glorious rich mahogany leather.
No run of the mill black stuff on this puppy..




($35 in perfect shape with lens! What a sweet little camera but obviously not what the OP has in mind)
 
Ko.Fe. said:
Question for remaining users, not collectors. If any...
I see Pentax, Olympus and Minolta cameras in this thread.
Are they still good for everyday use?
Or they are once in a while cameras now? How about service?
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I have a couple Minolta SRTs and an X-500 that are reliable for everyday use or travel. All three have been served by independent repair shops here in Japan in the last few years, and all are working great. Service was about ¥8,000-¥10,000 per body. The SRT is a wonderful mechanical camera, and a simple volt converter battery adapter allows the meter to make correct readings with silver oxide batteries. The X-500 is fantastic. Huge brilliant finder, lightweight but high level fit and finish, all the features you need, and none that you don’t.

On top of that, the Minolta lens line has some real gems: 24mm f2.8, 58mm f1.2 etc.
 
The challenge in shopping for an expensive film SLR is that beyond a certain relatively modest price point, you wind up in the domain of luxury products and collectables, and can be it's own peculiar reality having little to do with actually taking photos.
 
JeffS7444 said:
The challenge in shopping for an expensive film SLR is that beyond a certain relatively modest price point, you wind up in the domain of luxury products and collectables, and can be it's own peculiar reality having little to do with actually taking photos.
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I guess it depends on how one interprets the OPs starting thread. "pretty much unlimited budget." I didn't interpret that as "looking for expensive status camera," but rather... "what's the spread of what's out there & what is the range of cameras I should consider." Really, a new Nikon F6 is $2500, and an F2 Titan is $1500-2500. Peanuts really compared to a Leica M10 digital......;)
 
Deardorff38 said:
I guess it depends on how one interprets the OPs starting thread. "pretty much unlimited budget." I didn't interpret that as "looking for expensive status camera," but rather... "what's the spread of what's out there & what is the range of cameras I should consider." Really, a new Nikon F6 is $2500, and an F2 Titan is $1500-2500. Peanuts really compared to a Leica M10 digital......;)
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And I didn't interpret the OP's intent as wanting to pay top dollar for the sake of paying top dollar! Being thrifty has helped me obtain many a Leica M...

F2 Titan is a limited-edition collectable, and F6 can be had secondhand for under $1K.
 
"F2 Titan is a limited-edition collectable" There are several Titans on Ebay between $14-1600....so not exorbitant. Jeff, I wasn't specifically pointing at your post. There are a few posts that aim at either end of the 'economy' question. The OP can be both thrifty (if he wants) and have a great choice from a wide range of cameras, depending on which characteristics he decides to put at the top of his priority list.

"So pardon me for willing to spend more on a camera made to a higher standard, or of better materials, that would look a little prettier and be more valuable to me and more fun to use." .....the OP

If I were an SLR guy(i'm not), I could happily drive away with a reliable Nikon F2 Titan and a 35mm f2 or 1.4 (not really a 40mm guy) for less than the price of a used Leica M6 body. If that were my choice, I'd consider it pretty thrifty.
 
I may have missed it but what about a Nikon F6 and 40mm VC? I own neither but if I wanted to buy a trouble free professional camera it would be the F6. All the cameras in all the posts were great cameras - in their day, and I've own(ed) many of them. But if budget isn't a concern I'd want a professional film body recently (or still) in production. The only camera that I know of that fits that bill is F6. And as far as I know the VC 40mm is the only 40mm produced, so it wins by default.


To a previous post, I think the Leicaflex SL 2 is better than the R6 and I know of no 40mm lens that will fit it.
 
lcpr said:
Another vote for the CV 40 Ultron. I use mine on my FM3a and F2:

xWcwa3A.jpg
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Beautiful! You can hammer nails with that thing (& of course take photos)
 
Oren Grad said:
... I'll mention the Canon EOS-1, 1N or 1V, paired with the EF 40/2.8 pancake lens - biggish but rugged body, tiny lens. That EF 40 is a fine lens by any standard and a steal at its very low price.

If you are willing to put up with a less rugged body with a more plasticky feel, one of the Canon Elan bodies with the 40 would make a compact, inexpensive, but very capable camera. And one of the Rebel bodies with the 40 would feel ultra-cheap, but would be very small indeed.
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I would second the above recommendation. I got an eos30/elan just 3 weeks ago and as far as ruggedness is concerned it seems fine to me. I wouldn't put it under a range rover but for industrious daily use it's more than capable. The autofocus on any EOS film camera is what you would expect of a modern digital EOS and the lenses are outstanding.

Even the venerable EOS-1 series are quite compact with said 40mm pancake.

In any case good luck with your search
 
Beemermark said:
..but if I wanted to buy a trouble free professional camera it would be the F6. ...
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My perfect condition never abused F6's AF failed. Nikon in LA replaced the rf module and recalibrated it. Just over $200 IIRC. They said they saw quite a few of these, so much for trouble free..
On the upside, Nikon USA still repairs the F6!
 
Huss said:
Why the need to modify a CV 40 f2? Comes in Nikon mount.
And the Nikon F2 Titan, F3P, F3 Limited, FM2/T are all titanium cameras.

The thing about the F2 Titan is that there are many fakes out there. Sover Wong's website shows how to spot them.
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I was taking high-end to mean high spend not just turning out good photo's. A lot of people spurn stuff that's off the shelf in favour of modifying something and wasting money.


Regards, David
 
Thank you everyone for your suggestions. It looks like fm3a and OM4 are indeed pretty safe bets in my case, but I like the idea of LX as well.

Nikon F6 is not my cup of tea aesthetically. I really like the look of classic cameras, it's a part of the experience of shooting film for me, and takes me back to Zenith days as well.

I've decided to throw together a price comparison, looking at ebay mostly. I was not choosing cheapest cameras but was looking for clean ones in 'near mint' condition, even tho some sellers really like to stretch the definition of 'mint'.

Here's the list with some prices:

$1,000 - fm3a with ultron - 650 body, 350 for sl II N or SL n
$900 - fm3a with nikkor P 45 2.8 - 650 body, 250 lens
$800 – fm3a with nikkor GN 45 2.8 - 650 body, 150 lens
$750 – s2b with 45 tessar - 600 body, 150 lens
$650 – pentax lx with 43 1.9 - 300 body, 350 lens
$600 – om4 with zuiko 40 2 – 200 for a clean body, 400 for a lens
$550 – s2 with 45 2.8 tessar - 400 body, 150 lens
$500 – pental lx with rikenon 45 2.8 – 300 body, 200 lens
$400 – pentax lx with 40 2.8 - 300 body, 100 lens
$180 – Minolta XD-7 + 45/2 Rokkor X, Body 150, lens 30

I think at the moment I gravitate more towards options in the middle of the list –
$650 – pentax lx with 43 1.9
$600 – om4 with zuiko 40 2

But fm3a with the ultron seems to be a great option as well, even tho is almost twice as pricey as the other two. I'm currently browsing some manuals to look up dimensions and weight of these cameras, so I can compare them better. I think I will also take an advice someone gave me a coupel pages back and look at Contax 159 and Aria. Aria is one ugly camera to my taste, but it seems to be extremely tiny and packed with features.

I was also looking at flickr albums from Pentax 43 1.9 and I must say I really like the rendition in most cases (apart from corner bokeh at mid-range focus, it gets really nasty). I was looking at some Pentax auto-focus bodies and thought maybe I can live with something like an MZ-5, it's not a classic looking camera, but not as ugly as later Pentax models.

Meanwhile I've borrowed canon 300x from a friend today. Feels snappy, and it's really small (paired with a summicron 50, he does not have the pancake), but its so plasticky and fiddly, you can hear the plastic squeak under your fingers as you pick it up. I won't be able to live with it as my only film camera for sure.
 
Might also consider an FE2, older than the FM3a, but easy to find newish copies. Update the focus screen to the FM3a K3 screen ($30ish) and it’s virtually the same experience, not that this is necessary with 40; the original screen is excellent. I paid a little over $100 for mine on eBay and it looks new.
 
Funny, went through the same quandary. I already owned an FM2-T and FM3a and opted for the Voigtländer 2/40 SL I. Has this unique cone hood (the Nikkor 45/2 has a similar one) and build reminiscent of Nikkor of the 60's-70's.
Considered the OM4 and a Zuiko 40 because of the size and unequaled VF. The wonky electronics and build not quite up to Nikon's standards convinced me to stay with what I had (the hybrid shutter of the FM3a and top speed of 1/4000th sec clinched it for me).
Always loved the size of Olympus, though.
 
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