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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Jason Schneider said:
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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Interesting that you picked MY post to quote regarding the K1000, considering it was probably the most lukewarm post about the camera in the whole thread, neither praising it nor bashing it. I can't complain about the camera at all; it still works to this day and I had quite a few photos from it published. I still find it ironic that it didn't meet the expectations of my teacher back in 1979 though so to one guy at least, it apparently wasn't the student camera it came to be known as.
 
Hasselblad 1600F? Really?

Hasselblad 1600F? Really?

p.giannakis said:
I cant comment on the digital cameras but the top 10 film cameras looks good to me.
Maybe i would have skipped the K1000 and include a Hasselblad 1600F instead.
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The Hasselblad 1600F is historically significant as Victor Hasselblad's first modular 2-1/4 SLR, but its metal focal plane shutter was and is notoriously unreliable, and few repair shops will touch it. The Hasselblad 1000F is better, but not by much. If I included any Hasselblad in the top 20 it would be the 500C, the first model with reliable Compur leaf shutters in each lens, and the foundation of the very successful V-series.
 
Jason Schneider said:
The Hasselblad 1600F is historically significant as Victor Hasselblad's first modular 2-1/4 SLR, but it metal focal plane shutter was and is notoriously unreliable, and few repair shops will touch it. The Hasselblad 1000F is better, but not by much. If I included any Hasselblad in the top 20 it would be the 500C, the first model with reliable Compur leaf shutters in each lens, and the foundation of the very successful V-series.
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Thanks for the info - i didn't know that.
 
Revisionist history?

Revisionist history?

Huss said:
The thing about the K1000 is that it lives in revisionist history. When it was made it never was viewed as anything desirable or aspirational.
It was a basic lump that you could not turn off the meter unless you capped the camera, that had no DOF preview etc, with many much better cameras available at the same time, including the Nikkormat FT2 which cost a lot more. I think at least double the cost of the Pentax new vs new.

But now, somehow the K1000 is seen as a top tier film camera, costing 3-4 times as much as the FT2! Because? I dunno, lists like this?

As for the M9? Of course it belongs. It was the first full frame Digital RF camera that peeps could use their legacy M glass with no shortcomings. No stoopid crop factor.. Can you imagine anyone introducing a crop M mount Digital camera now? ...
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Listing the humble Pentax K1000 among the top 20 has nothing to do with "revisionist history," a dismissive term that comes perilously close to being the intellectual equivalent of "fake news." There is simply no history to revise here. The camera was immensely popular at the time, it remained in production for over 20 years because it continued to sell steadily, and it holds its price pretty well on the used market. Ironically, what's special about it is that there's nothing special about it, but it remains a robust, competent, and affordable machine with an attractively compact form factor that enticed legions of novices and students into the ranks of serious enthusiasts. It's not for nothing that it's often referred to as the Volkswagen of manual focus 35mm SLRs.
 
The thread title has "Hits? Misses?" right in it, so it appears to be open to us submitting our opinions. Evidently not.

Glad I didn't say anything about the K1000...
 
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 know you’d like to think so... but it sold 3,000,000 units during its lifespan. So, the revisionist history seems to be coming from you. ;)
 
jsrockit said:
I know you’d like to think so... but it sold 3,000,000 units during its lifespan. So, the revisionist history seems to be coming from you. ;)
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Have you ever walked through a car rental parking lot at the airport?
They're all there...
 
I wonder if lens affordability was one of the factors in the K1000's choice for photography classes.

Consider, the Nikkormat has been available for extremely low prices ever since the early 2000's and it has these advantages:

- better build quality and robustness
- center-weighted meter (which can be turned off)
- easy DOF preview
- mirror lock-up
- self-timer
- shutter speed visible in the finder
- legendary F mount

... and this last item is why my camera-repair friend says the Nikkormat was not chosen: the lenses were much more expensive than Pentax's K lenses. Although today I'm not so sure.
 
Frankly I do not understand all the angst in some of the posts over this list and the inclusion of certain cameras. (Which seems to be an even more hotly contested point than the non inclusion of others).
Jason clearly has a lot of experience and a life time of knowledge so I am willing to respect that experience and knowledge and listen to his views, even if I personally disagree with some of his conclusions. Clearly its all subjective anyway so what is right for him may be wrong for me and the same goes for everyone else. So what's the big deal? Jason has invited contrary views so I suppose no one should be surprised that those views have been provided. But what does surprise personally me is how vehement (and even a little insulting) one or two have been.
Remember guys, it's all opinion, and opinions should always make us smile. Remember the old joke "Opinions are like #ss holes.....everyone has one." Including you and me. :) And very useful they are too! :)
So chill folks.
 
madNbad said:
The K1000 is on the list because it’s just about indestructible. A few years ago there was an article by a high school photography instructor. At the beginning of the year, he handed out some Canon AE-1’s, Nikon FE’s and K1000’s. At the end of the semester, only the K1000 were still in working condition.
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The internals of the K1000 seemed like a simplified and rougher made version of the Spotmatic Pentax. Some of the last made K1000s were made in Hong Kong then in mainland China.

The beast Nikkormat line of cameras with that bullet proof Copal Square shutter is my idea of an indestructible 35mm SLR camera.
 
Stephen,

I don't know enough about most of those cameras to agree or disagree. Some I hadn't heard of.

Thanks for sharing that link no matter. I remember reading his articles way back in early history and I enjoyed them all, agree or disagree, or wonder why he picked the criteria he did. :D:

I also still miss Modern and Pop Photo.
 
In 1985, December, I bought a K1000 for my sister. Primarily because the dept. store where I worked had them selling for $130 while our cost was $119 (yes, the mark up was that slim) and as an employee I always got 15% off so it was under store cost.
Anyway, in a trip home in 2013 I found the camera in a closet. There were no batteries in the camera so, when I put one in the meter came right to life and the mechanical function all worked fine. My sister said she had not used the camera for years. So it is probably a well built camera anyway.
One thing. For students I would want to have a DoF preview. Don’t know how many times, when I explained what it did and showed the visual effect to camera neophytes they were always amazed. I know it is not a critical evaluation tool, but it can inform a photographer before he gets his prints back that the nice blurry background they see in the vf may in fact resolve into a unpleasantly sharp bunch of leaves on the print.
 
And Jason, don’t attach too much to the “experts at everything” comments. Most of us are thrilled you are here and look forward to your posts. Even when I might disagree with a members post, I try never to be ‘disagreeable’ When posting a comment.
 
Huss said:
Have you ever walked through a car rental parking lot at the airport?
They're all there...
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Every airport all over the world? I live in Chile and travel to NYC. I’ve never seen this car in the car rental parking lots. Internationally no... but...I’m still not sure what that has to do with the importance of the K1000 in camera history.
 
Out to Lunch said:
It beats me as well, unless it is considered on par with the hideous and utterly forgettable Apple Quicktake.
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Well, what .30 Megapixel camera wasn’t hideous? But in 1994, not many had even tried a digital camera. For me, it was the first I saw in person. So, in regard to it being maybe the first real consumer mainstream digital camera it could be considered important.
 
As 'important' yes. As one of the 'greatest' cameras, no. Not that I'm going to lose any sleep over this. There are so many lists that do not make any sense either. Cheers, OtL
 
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