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
 
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CameraQuest said:
Glad you mentioned the Nikkormat.

Really, I always hated that camera, all models. Just not good enough to play 2nd fiddle to compared to the F2. 5th fiddle, maybe.

Yet Nikkormats had, have, plenty of fans.

We all have different ideas on what makes a good camera,
and that is a good thing!
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? What's to hate?

Super solid build. Smooth film winder. Lovely DOF plunger. Cool exposure preview on top plate. Metal shutter. Shutter info in VF. FT2 only needs one 1.5v cell. Can use AI and non-AI lenses. Can use same hand to focus , change aperture and change shutter speed, no need to move trigger hand from shutter button..
 
I'm not sure what parameters were being employed with this list. Best small cameras? Best handheld cameras? Consumer -- prosumer -- pro cameras? If it was best cameras 1930s-present I'd get it, but there's the inclusion of the original 1888 Kodak, and then nothing until Oskar Barnack shows up. Where are the Graflex SLRs, used by every photojournalist for decades? The Speed Graphic, for chrissake! Just look at any movie made before 1960 with photojournalists in it, and you'll see a lot of press cameras and not much else. The Hasselbald 500C, the workhorse of event photographers for years? I know this article was in Shutterbug, but it's really similar to the clickbait lists that flood websites nowadays. Successful, too, since we've all taken a bite. Oh well, still fun!
 
re: Nikkormats

Huss said:
? What's to hate?

Super solid build. Smooth film winder. Lovely DOF plunger. Cool exposure preview on top plate. Metal shutter. Shutter info in VF. FT2 only needs one 1.5v cell. Can use AI and non-AI lenses. Can use same hand to focus , change aperture and change shutter speed, no need to move trigger hand from shutter button..
Click to expand...

dim finders, loud shutters, most have awkward around the lens shutter speed dials, heavy anchors with only basic features.

In contrast the later Nikon FM/FE etc series were and are great.
 
CameraQuest said:
re: Nikkormats

dim finders, loud shutters, most have awkward around the lens shutter speed dials, heavy anchors with only basic features.

In contrast the later Nikon FM/FE etc series were and are great.
Click to expand...

My Nikkormat FTn was my first SLR, didn't feel dim. Same with the shutter. I rather liked being able to change the shutter speed and the aperture with the same hand keeping my right firmly affixed and finger ready if I was going to miss the shot.

I like the heft, feels solid in the hand. I could lock up the mirror for long shots, having the exposure visible from the top plate IMHO ROCKS!!

The FM/FE family never felt the same in my hand.

To each his/her own.

B2 (;->
 
CameraQuest said:
re: Nikkormats



dim finders, loud shutters, most have awkward around the lens shutter speed dials, heavy anchors with only basic features.

In contrast the later Nikon FM/FE etc series were and are great.
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Tend to agree with Stephen. I bought a couple of Nikkormats a few years back. They’re definitely tank like. I then picked up a Nikon FM and then an FM2n and bingo! Smaller, lighter but still robust, with great metering. The FM/FM2n set is now my go to SLR kit.
 
CameraQuest said:
re: Nikkormats



dim finders, loud shutters, most have awkward around the lens shutter speed dials, heavy anchors with only basic features.

In contrast the later Nikon FM/FE etc series were and are great.
Click to expand...


Contrasting them to later, more modern cameras is not such a contrast.
:)

I also have the FM and FM2, and they do have improved features as could be expected. But the Nikkormats definitely 'feel' more rugged. And are a crazy deal for the money in comparison.

But going back to the K1000, having that on the list (forget the Nikkormat for a moment) instead of the FM for example, is silly. It's only claim to fame is that it is NOW famous and desired by, um... (forgive me) hipsters. It NEVER was desired when it was in production, it was the penalty box of 35mm SLRs.

Then again, people now are freaking out about the Nikon F2 with meter less DE1 head, when that was the bargain basement F2. The F2AS with the DP12 head is far superior but not cool.
 
To everyone questioning the inclusion of the K1000...well certainly it’s reputation is a bit overblown. Personally without question to those who have asked me about it I’ve strongly recommended that they instead buy a KM or KX, which can usually be had for less. But it’s hard to fight ‘perception’ even if poorly based. And, if they go ahead and get a K1000 they probably won’t ever feel they are limited.
In the current market for a student 35mm SLR I’d be strongly drawn to the Nikkormat. Even back in the day (1970’s) we called them a ‘hockey puck’ because they were so tough.
 
Dpingr1 said:
I'm not sure what parameters were being employed with this list. Best small cameras? Best handheld cameras? Consumer -- prosumer -- pro cameras? If it was best cameras 1930s-present I'd get it, but there's the inclusion of the original 1888 Kodak, and then nothing until Oskar Barnack shows up. Where are the Graflex SLRs, used by every photojournalist for decades? The Speed Graphic, for chrissake! Just look at any movie made before 1960 with photojournalists in it, and you'll see a lot of press cameras and not much else. The Hasselbald 500C, the workhorse of event photographers for years? I know this article was in Shutterbug, but it's really similar to the clickbait lists that flood websites nowadays. Successful, too, since we've all taken a bite. Oh well, still fun!
Click to expand...

https://www.shutterbug.com/content/10-more-greatest-cameras-all-time
 
The K1000 was my first camera and many schools had these cameras as loaners. It was a very important camera. Very influential. Best, no but influencial... very.
 
jsrockit said:
The K1000 was my first camera and many schools had these cameras as loaners. It was a very important camera. Very influential. Best, no but influencial... very.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the K1000 was the Chevy Malibu of cameras.

i.e. no-one wanted to buy one so they were given out cheap to rental companies I mean schools.
 
Huss said:
Yeah, the K1000 was the Chevy Malibu of cameras.

i.e. no-one wanted to buy one so they were given out cheap to rental companies I mean schools.
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I was gifted two K-1000's several years back. Very unimpressed. I donated them to the FPP camera giveaway program. Hopefully somebody out there likes them better than I did.

Jim B.
 
Huss said:
Yeah, the K1000 was the Chevy Malibu of cameras.

i.e. no-one wanted to buy one so they were given out cheap to rental companies I mean schools.
Click to expand...

At least it wasn't a Pinto.......(read rear end collision fire)

Minolta SRT-101, Canon FTB, Konica S2 filled that roll too.

I have to admit that I was WRONG. Nikon EMs are still out there working, same with FM/FE and alike. I thought 10 years max, damn I was wrong.
Can't speak to other manufacturers, I don't search for them, but I see some plastic cameras working and somewhat retaining some value.

B2 (;->
 
CameraQuest said:
re: Nikkormats



dim finders, loud shutters, most have awkward around the lens shutter speed dials, heavy anchors with only basic features.

In contrast the later Nikon FM/FE etc series were and are great.
Click to expand...

I have to admit, the Nikkormat Ftn was the first good camera I bought. I agree entirely,...but the FM was 10 yrs away. I couldn't believe the difference when i traded the Ftn in on a used F. I was sold.
 
Pentax K1000 kerfuffle

Pentax K1000 kerfuffle

css9450 said:
I think the K1000 has become "famous for being famous".

I got mine brand-new in 1979, and at the time, it was seen as the cheapest, most bare-bones camera-shaped object available. It got no respect. I was taking Photography in H.S. and needed something in a hurry to replace the jammed Minolta SR-1 I'd been using. The teacher almost made me try to return the K1000 if I could, because it lacked some of the features he felt were prerequisites for a proper student camera (chiefly, self timer and DOF preview). That those items were found on the very next rung up the K-series ladder is almost completely forgotten by K1000 users today.
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First of all, writing any article entitled 20 Greatest Cameras Of All Time is asking for trouble. It's just too easy to take potshots at the writer's choices because they're all inherently subjective. Having said that, the Pentax K1000 is beloved because it's a simple, straightforward, sturdy, well made , and reliable, and has an attractive, handy, compact form factor. Also the standard 50mm Pentax or Takumar lenses are very good indeed. A built -inself-timer and DOF preview are nice to have, but not essential in student camera in my opinion, and anyone requiring these features will find them in a middle tier K-mount Pentax SLR of the same vintage. The K1000 was produced for over 20 years, first in Japan, Then in Taiwan, and eventually in China not because ir was "famous for being famous," but because it provided excellent performance at a very affordable price, and many photography teachers recommended it to their students.
 
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