Most Influential Cameras of All Time

I wonder if there would be any more agreement with regards to the most influential photographers. Probably not.
In ten years, which camera gets the nod for ushering in the mirrorless digital camera. Perhaps, we have yet to see it.
 
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RayPA said:
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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No Argus? What exactly did the Pentax K1000 do that that the Argus C3 hadn't already done decades earlier? It's notable for being in production forever, but it hardly influenced anything... and if that's what counts, then surely the C3 beats it in that regard.

No Contax S, Praktina, or the original Pentax. The Contax S introduced eye level viewing through a pentaprism, as well as the M42 mount. What more needs to be said about it?

The Praktina was the first true "system" SLR, it had an internal automatically operated diaphragm linkage before any of the Japanese companies caught on, as well as a motor drive long before the F...

Nevermind if we're speaking influence here, something is surely wrong when the original Praktica is left off of the list. The Asahiflex was quite obviously inspired by the Praktica - and pretty much every early Japanese SLR copied the the Praktica shutter instead of Exakta's. The Praktica also introduced the M42 mount simultaneously with the Contax S.

The Kodak Super Six-20 is one I would have left off of the list. It may have been the first auto-exposure camera, but the only influence it had was to convince people not to design or buy cameras with auto-exposure.
Worst still, it used 620 film! :D

It is perplexing the Leica M3 is not on the list. My guess is that while it shook up the camera industry good in 1954... ultimately the camera industry went to SLRs, so its influence ultimately didn't extend that far. Or the list isn't very good. haha
 
I only can imagine how many leica M users have looked at this list, scoffed and moved on! :D

How dare they! :p

For me the most siginificant inclusion is that that first Kodak digital ... the DCS 100. Talk about a game changer!
 
I considered buying the DCS100- played with one at a computer show. It was $20K, not $30K. The DCS460 in 1995 was $30K, 6million pixels. The requirement for the separate digital storage unit was inconvenient. I ordered the DCS200, had Kodak make it without the IR mirror. $12,400 for the Body.
 
séamuis said:
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?
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I had exactly the same reaction. If it's significant and game changing we're talking about, you can't leave Polaroid out. I really was surprised the author thought the A55 deserved to sit alongside the Brownie or the 1st AF camera (Minolta 7000) as a significant development. I'd probably have put in the first m4/3 as well because that really HAS been a game changer and in a short amount of time.
 
Along with the aforementioned Rollefilex, Speed Graphic, and Leica M, the Fuji Quicksnap was first popular disposable camera.

Ditch the Sony Alpha: no different than any other DSLR.
 
In spite of the fact that it was a film camera already struggling for survival in a digital world on it's release I would have been tempted to include the Nikon F6. That camera does as much as can possibly be done with film and deserves a place because of this IMO!
 
I would take several cameras OFF of that list and DEFINITELY include the OM-1, the Spotmatic, Canon F-1, Kodac Retinas in all its forms, Contax IIa, etc
 
But influence of 126 was a dead end. They came, they conquered, they died a prolongued, drawn out death as auto-loading 35mm cameras came on the market. And now, what legacy have they left? Lots of half used magicubes, and millions and millions of unuseable cameras.

The Instamatic's influence is ultimately trivial I think.
 
I agree that the OM-1 is a significant camera but really it was only a refinement of what was already out there. Maitani's Pen series was probably more ground breaking with it's vision of a miniature SLR that maximised use of an available format with a unique design and high quality optics ... if any Olympus product deserves a place in this list it would be the Pen F for me!
 
Right, the "instant" camera, the Polaroid. Maybe that camera had one of the greatest influences on photography as a medium. No darkroom (or inkjet printer), no 1 hr photo service, no nothing. Take your shot, and there's a photo in your hand a minute later. It's still magical just thinking about that, and it's been how many years since that camera was developed? Unfortunately, the less-than-stellar image quality, large and cumbersome cameras, and small print sizes kept it from running over all the other competition.
 
tunalegs said:
But influence of 126 was a dead end. They came, they conquered, they died a prolongued, drawn out death as auto-loading 35mm cameras came on the market. And now, what legacy have they left? Lots of half used magicubes, and millions and millions of unuseable cameras.
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Aside from the 'auto-loading' statement, could not the same be said for Polaroid cameras? Polaroid, while popular, really wasn't influential—in the sense that it spawned a bunch of copycat cameras or a branch of instant cameras. It was pretty much a proprietary formula that only Polaroid used. Kodak was certainly influenced by it—enough so to steal it and later be successfully sued. :p

Polaroid certainly had an IMPACT on photography—changing the way pros worked, etc. But influential?? Maybe if you can make a link between Polaroid and digital.... :D



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Steve M. said:
Right, the "instant" camera, the Polaroid. Maybe that camera had one of the greatest influences on photography as a medium.
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Spot on! Edwin had the vision...."Don't undertake a project unless it is manifestly important and nearly impossible."

Gary
 
RayPA said:
Aside from the 'auto-loading' statement, could not the same be said for Polaroid cameras? Polaroid, while popular, really wasn't influential—in the sense that it spawned a bunch of copycat cameras or a branch of instant cameras. It was pretty much a proprietary formula that only Polaroid used. Kodak was certainly influenced by it—enough so to steal it and later be successfully sued. :p

Polaroid certainly had an IMPACT on photography—changing the way pros worked, etc. But influential?? Maybe if you can make a link between Polaroid and digital.... :D
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Instant cameras are still around though. 126 and its little brother 110, are not. :angel:


one90guy said:
Did not the Argus C-3 bring 35mm to the fore front?
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I think the Argus line in general did. Kodak tried to introduce 828 as a "consumer" 35mm film, but the success of the Argus line meant the 135 cartridge gained ground far more rapidly than 828. I think Kodak thought that the complexities of loading and rewinding film were going to be too much for casual photographers... this mindset lead to the eventual creation of 126 (126 BTW is essentially 828 film in a cartridge - 35mm wide, with a single indexing perf. per frame and paper backed). 126 did a pretty good job of killing off 120/620/127/616 etc. in the casual snapshooter market. But it still couldn't keep people away from 35mm.

Whether or not another company would have taken up 35mm like Argus did would only be speculation, but as it sits, there's no denying that they sold millions of 35mm cameras - and in doing so influenced many other companies to develop cameras for 135. So it is kind of silly I think not to have at least one Argus on a list of influential cameras.

JSU said:
Once 35mm film is gone, how may hundreds of millions of unuseable cameras will there be?
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Many more, made over a much longer period than those for 126. I think that pretty much says enough. ;)
 
I would have put these ones in there:

Canon ae1 - sold heaps of them, first program SLR
Sigma dp1/Olympus e-p1 - the beginning of the big sensor in compact digital camera revolution.
Canon 5d - the first affordable full frame 35mm DSLR, one of the most used professional DSLRs in the world.
 
If you change your question to the 'most influential 35mm camera company of all time' I would say Olympus. They made more cameras that were great from entry level to prosumer with more innovation than any other company. Plus, they put great lenses in their low end cameras which the two big boys never did.
 
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