Jason's 20 Greatest Cameras of all Time -- Hits? Missess ?

check out his just re-published list from 2018

Does Noteworthy always translate to Greatest?

Why not the Epson RD1 instead of the trouble prone Leica M9?

Why not the Konica Hexar RF as the first of the NON Leica M mounts?

Why not my favorite Canon SLRs - the T90 and RT?

The Pentax K1000? Really? Does best selling = Greatness?

Why not the Hasselblad V?

as the usual suspect greatest cameras duke it out among their fans ...

Stephen

 

[Deleted member 65559]

What I always thought was the marketing rational behind the K1000 was it was the least expensive camera with a bayonet mount at the time, and that they marketed the mount to other manufacturers, just like they did the Universal Screw M42 mount.


PF

Yes, Agreed. & It made a huge platform of users for the subsequently popular MX/ME and the deluxe LX.

 

[maigo]

Shall we start a 20 Greatest Cameras of all Time thread where RFF members make their own list? It seems like the proper thing to do under the circumstances...

That is an easy list - the last 20 Cameras I bought were the greatest of all time.
Until I buy the next one - then I will have the 21 Greatest Cameras of All Time.

 

[David Hughes]

What I always thought was the marketing rational behind the K1000 was it was the least expensive camera with a bayonet mount at the time, and that they marketed the mount to other manufacturers, just like they did the Universal Screw M42 mount.


PF

The buyer's rationale might be that there are/were dozens if not hundreds about second-hand and (usually) in good condition with a decent lens and dirt cheap. Also repairable when/if things go wrong and, of course, easy to find and cheap batteries.

Looking at the spec. the shutter goes from 1 second to a 1000th, just like the M6 etc, etc. So nothing to dislike and a lot to love. And when you're tired of being sensible, easily sold.


Regards, David


PS The real problem is that we are limited to 10 or 20 and have to put them in order. Some way of avoiding this might restore the usual light heartedness to the thread...

 

[Pál_K]

Pal, The last Nikkormats were produced in 1979. The K1000 was in production from 1976-1997. So there's not much overlap (more so with the Nikon FM/FM2 series) I don't know about the USA but in Canada, when i was a student, Pentax was always cheaper.

Certainly true - the Nikkormat era ended long before students of the 1990's and the early 2000 digital era. At the time the camera must have seemed like a dinosaur.

However, it seems to me that students of just the last 10 years were encouraged to seek out used K1000's, often selling in excess of US$100. Since they're buying used, I would say the even older, more robust, more capable Nikkormat was still a better choice among used cameras and they frequently were selling for under US$20.

But I do agree with my friend's assessment that the K1000 with lens was probably less expensive to photography students than a Nikkormat with even a pre-AI lens - and therefore more appealing.

 

[jsrockit]

Certainly true - the Nikkormat era ended long before students of the 1990's and the early 2000 digital era. At the time the camera must have seemed like a dinosaur.

However, it seems to me that students of just the last 10 years were encouraged to seek out used K1000's, often selling in excess of US$100. Since they're buying used, I would say the even older, more robust, more capable Nikkormat was still a better choice among used cameras and they frequently were selling for under US$20.

But I do agree with my friend's assessment that the K1000 with lens was probably less expensive to photography students than a Nikkormat with even a pre-AI lens - and therefore more appealing.

I was never a fan of the Nikkormat's shutter speed dial and I think many others were not either. I'd still rather use a K1000.

 

[p.giannakis]

I was never a fan of the Nikkormat's shutter speed dial and I think many others were not either. I'd still rather use a K1000.

Oh John, Mr Maitani shakes his head in disappointment
I actually love the placement of shutter speeds there (that's why i love my olympuses). Never used a Nikkormat thought.

 

[Vince Lupo]

How about if we go the other way - the 20 worst cameras of all time? I can think of a few to add to that list

 

[Yokosuka Mike]

How about one camera that changed my life forever?

All the best,
Mike

 

[jarski]

never used OM system, but I've thought Maitani's (and probably his entire team) innovation was to find new segment in already pretty crowded market, at that point in early 1970's. That, and perfect execution when entering into it. Bit like iPhone moment of Olympus. Sad to hear company has its current troubles

 

[f.hayek]

Olympus had serious financial scandals a few years back. It remains at the top in medical devices while Zuiko lenses have always been technically superb.

A great loss because the group that took over the consumer imaging, JIP, is notorious for liquidating the assets rather than reorganizing and selling a strengthened company.

 

[jsrockit]

Oh John, Mr Maitani shakes his head in disappointment
I actually love the placement of shutter speeds there (that's why i love my olympuses). Never used a Nikkormat thought.

I think it comes down to how you photograph. If you like to be in the viewfinder looking while changing your settings, it probably works well. However, if you make your decisions before you bring the camera to your eye and only bring the camera to your eye to make the photo... then it’s not as convenient.

 

[Erik van Straten]

If you like to be in the viewfinder looking while changing your settings, it probably works well. However, if you make your decisions before you bring the camera to your eye and only bring the camera to your eye to make the photo... then it’s not as convenient.

It is very convenient in my opinion. You'll know by feeling the lever on what speed the camera is set.

The only set back of the Nikkormat are the limited number of lenses and the noise the camera makes, first the click of the shutter and then the return of the mirror.

It is the best made camera ever. However, I now prefer rangefinders, above all the S2. But also Leicas for the rich choice of lenses made for them.

Nikkormat FTn/Nikkor H 50mm f/2/TriX/IlfordMGFB

Erik.

 

[p.giannakis]

It is very convenient in my opinion. You'll know by feeling the lever on what speed the camera is set.

The only set back of the Nikkormat are the limited number of lenses and the noise the camera makes, first the click of the shutter and then the return of the mirror.

It is the best made camera ever. However, I now prefer rangefinders, above all the S2. But also Leicas for the rich choice of lenses made for them.

Nikkormat FTn/Nikkor H 50mm f/2/TriX/IlfordMGFB

Erik.

Hi Erik,
What makes the S2 preferable over its rival the M3?

 

[Erik van Straten]

Hi Erik,
What makes the S2 preferable over its rival the M3?

Light weight. Appearance (I have an original black paint one). Smoothness. But as you know I also like the M3 very much! I can use much more different lenses on the M3. But when you put a gun at my head to make a choice I'll take the S2. It is not a rational choice, it is emotional.


Nikon S2/ Nikkor all black 50mm f/1.4/TMY2-400/AdoxMCC110

Erik.

 

[peterm1]

How about one camera that changed my life forever?

All the best,
Mike

For me this one would be easy Mike, though a little strange. For me it was .............the Nikonos 5 underwater camera. My then wife and I had taken up scuba diving and were travelling to exotic places to indulge the habit and we decided to get an underwater camera to capture the experiences.

Long story short, the Nikonos was my gateway drug as I found that I enjoyed photography on land even more than photography in the water. And I found photography and cameras more accessible than diving. The rest as they say is history - well my history at least. and thirty years + later...................

 

[raid]

I got my father's Zeiss Contina to replace my simple Agfa Rapid. The Contina lasted for quite a few years until I came to the USA. I then got a Canon AE1; then A1; then F1N; then T90. Then, .... a Leica M3.

 

[Pál_K]

How about if we go the other way - the 20 worst cameras of all time? I can think of a few to add to that list

Well, that's interesting; I don't think I've ever seen such a list. The question might be, "worst in which way?"

Ergonomically, the Argus C3 is a painful camera to hold and operate, but as a photo apparatus it's fine. For me, the Argus C3 is the only camera in 55 years that I've ever sold.

The Alpas of the 1960's, although hand made and precise, struggled to match the innovations we were starting to see in the popular Japanese SLR's. Alpa should have stayed with a precision made basic function camera and not succumbed to the Fancy New Feature Parade that started in the late 1960's.

Functionally, the Petri SLR's seemed to have a very high failure rate and consequent bad reputation.

Then there's the Ektra - it seemed clever, but they don't seem to work. I've seen five - none work.

 

[Ambro51]

Ok, here’s a HIT. Introduced in mid 1947 the Stereo Realist totally revived the Stereo Craze that lasted a decade. The Realist ( American Made) took off like wildfire and an entire support industry was built around it. The camera itself, the basic invention Seton Rochwite, was solidly built by the David White Company, their first camera bit an old highly respected firm making surveying equipment. The Stereo Realist was in active production till 1971, with Olden Camera continuing to build from parts until 1976. A total of 125,000 were made. That’s a HIT camera, in my opinion

 

[Scrambler]

Unlike Peter M, my "one camera" is harder to narrow.

The Agfamatic 200 I had as a child? The Pentax S5a my father let me borrow? Or the RF cameras that pull together the viewfinder of the Agfamatic and the adaptability of the Pentax?

Or a different track: the Canon AT-1 my ex-wife demanded I sell, or the folding Brownie my current wife bought for me. Then the slow progression through cameras where you could buy film! Cameras which could focus! And finally cameras which were old but you could focus, swap lenses and still get film!

The one LENS that changed everything: the Jupiter 8. The realisation that you could have a lens that painted rather than presented a uniformly precise (or imprecise) finish, and that I liked how that lens drew images. Getting lenses to match has been as expensive as the camera journey.

 

[xayraa33]

The camera that changed my life forever was the Praktica LTL with the 50mm Tessar lens.

Saved up my part-time job money as a youngster and got that camera from the Sears catalogue, after that I was hooked on photography and cameras in general.