Most Influential Cameras of All Time

RayPA

RayPA

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Has this been posted here yet?. I couldn't find it after a couple of searches. It's Adorama's opinion on the 14 most influential cameras of all time.

I was surprised that a Leica 'M' or some other RF didn't make the list.

1. Kodak Brownie 1900
2. Leica I, Model A, 1925
3. Kine Exakta I 1936
4. Kodak Super Six-20 1938
5. Nikon F 1959
6. Asahi Pentax K1000 1977
7. Minolta Maxxum 7000 1985
8. Sony Mavica 1981
9. Kodak DCS 100 1991
10. Kodak DC 210 1998
11. Nikon D100 2002
12. Canon EOS Digital Rebel 2003
13. Apple iPhone 2008
14. Sony SLT Alpha-55 2010





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Well the Leica I, Model A made it. There are a few cameras I'd take off that list, and a few I'd add. And why only 14.
 
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The Minolta 7000 was a great influence on me:
When I realized that was the way the world was going - all buttons , electronics and wonder plastic, I bought my first Leica a used M2.
The bias stuck - I opted out of an entire era and still to this day have never bought any 35mm AF SLRs.
 
thegman said:
All pretty good except the last really. Nice camera? Maybe. Influential? No.
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Agree about the last camera. Influential?? It was released last year. Not enough time has elapsed to really make that determination. I would have added an MFT camera (Panasonic G1?) in its place.




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The Minolta 7000 was memorable to me as a huge piece of junk. Defined the word: hunt, when it came to auto focus.
 
JSU said:
Anyone checked the used displays at Adorama, they must be seriously overstocked in several of these. :eek:
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Ha! Good one. One of my first thoughts on this was maybe they had an overstock on the Sony. :p

In fairness to the writer, from the article:

Adorama said:
I have tried my level best to select those cameras that were real trendsetters or had the greatest influence on the development of the photographic industry as a whole, but keeping it down to a mere dozen inevitably entailed some hand-wringing compromises. Frankly, I had far too much fun doing this to ask you to take pity on this hapless writer, but I nevertheless extend my apologies in advance to lovers of the Hasselblad, Rolleiflex, Leica M3, Nikon D90, Canon AE-1, Konica C35AF and Autoreflex, and many other worthy machines that did not make my cruel cut.
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I think the Hassie, the Rollei, the Leica, and the Canon should be on the list.


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Where's the Canon AE-1? They must have sold millions and millions of them. AE, Program, and a lot of features that made the Pentax K1000 look like an old antique.

How about the Kodak Retinas, the first cameras to use 35mm roll film cartridges? That was a huge influence on photography.

I'm not sure about a lot of the cameras on that list, and yes, where's the Crown Graphics? Tune in to any movie made between 1930 and 1970 and you'll see those cameras in every scene that required a news photographer. Maybe even into the 80's. I'd think that the first AE and AF cameras were also wildly popular and influential to photography.

No, that list is not a good one.
 
Surprised nobody has mentioned the Olympus OM-1. It wasn't the first to make a light, compact camera, but they were the first to make the idea popular. And where I might agree it wasn't perhaps such a trend setting influential camera, it sure has developed a cult following.

Just mostly surprised it hasn't been mentioned, like the Rolleiflex was. Rolleiflex was/is a good camera. But I don't think it was trend setting nor influential. Other TLRs came first, were pretty good, and cost less.
 
I think its a pretty poor list really, and seems to list ‘popular’ cameras more than truly influential. a good example would be the Pentax K1000. there was nothing influential about that camera neither when it was introduced (in 1976, not 1977) nor during its long life. it was popular, but not influential at all that I know of in both photography or photographic equipment. the 1957 ‘Asahi Pentax’ was by FAR, more influential in every way. if it weren’t for the success of the Pentax, the Nikon F may not have ever existed in its current form, much less ever become revered. the 1964 Spotmatic was also far more influential. how did these not make the list?

I don’t really see ‘popular’ and influential being the same thing and I don’t think using popularity to define such is a good idea. I think the writer did a very poor job and a disservice to the history of photographic technology in my opinion. but thats just my opinion.
 
FrozenInTime said:
The Minolta 7000 was a great influence on me:
When I realized that was the way the world was going - all buttons , electronics and wonder plastic, I bought my first Leica a used M2.
The bias stuck - I opted out of an entire era and still to this day have never bought any 35mm AF SLRs.
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Same here. My Maxxum experience drove me, in 1991, to a Nikon F, thence to Rollei MX, then Leica M3.
 
I'm surprised the Kodak Super Six-20 made the list... it may have influenced other designs or incorporation of features into future cameras, but was kind of a dead-end in itself, not unlike the Ektra 35mm.

I should think that the Bakelite Arguses ( Argii?) deserve a place on the list, as does the Rolleiflex... how could the Rolleiflex NOT be condsidered influential ? How many dozens of TLR's tried to be Rollei clones, or were at least clearly inspired by the Rolleiflex ?

I agree that the Graphic press camera is a curious omission... also what about the Graflex SLR press cameras ?

I would make a case for the original Asahi & Honeywell Pentax screw-mount cameras more than the K-mounts...

And then there are the Polaroid Land Cameras...

Perhaps the term "influential" needs to be tightened-up ? Influential on whom: camera designers, camera users, professional photographers, popular culture ?
 
Luddite Frank said:
And then there are the Polaroid Land Cameras...

Perhaps the term "influential" needs to be tightened-up ? Influential on whom: camera designers, camera users, professional photographers, popular culture ?
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this may be the best example really on the idea that the writer really put no effort into this list and did very little research, because the polaroid (due to the land cameras) have probably been one of the most influential camera(s) for nearly all possible criteria for the definition of ‘influential’ and yet not a single polaroid was mentioned? who here hasn’t owned or at least knows somebody who has owned and probably loved their polaroid? and the sony A55 just ridiculous for many reasons, only one of which is that the re-introduction of the pelical mirror SLR has had no obvious influence at present on the industry and as far as I know hasn’t been a huge seller for sony. what has the A55 influenced?
 
Jason Schneider is the Author of the article. I miss his monthly camera collecting articles in Pop Photo, quit reading the magazine after those articles became sparse.

Long time Reader...

WHAT! No mention of the Graphic Jet 35 with it's CO-2 advance! (one of the first Jason Schneider articles that I read from ~40 years ago)
 
Brian Sweeney said:
Jason Schneider is the Author of the article. I miss his monthly camera collecting articles in Pop Photo, quit reading the magazine after those articles became sparse.

Long time Reader...

WHAT! No mention of the Graphic Jet 35 with it's CO-2 advance! (one of the first Jason Schneider articles that I read from ~40 years ago)
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Here it is:
5433886187_76b84752c6_z.jpg
 
I looked at a few that I knew nothing about. I'd take the Kodak Super Six-20 off the list. From what I read, it's the first auto-exposure camera. However Kodak employees called it "boomerang" because it was returned often for malfunctioning. How influential can a camera be if it doesn't work well enough to use?
 
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