Plastic Bodied SLRS?

[gb hill]

People give the Bessa R a bad name because it feels cheap to them but I love mine and I don't even give it a thought. To me it's a lightweigh well made camera just like most new cars being made today. People don't seem to mind that they are driving down a highway in a shell of flimsy metal & plastic everything else!

 

[bgb]

I got myself an F80 for Xmas and i have no intention of dropping it or using it an a hammer 🙂 A great piece of precision equipment that deserves to be treated with respect, even if it cost very little.
Sure the F100 has better weather sealing but I'm happy with my little plastic fantastic ....It has been responsible for lowering my G.A.S to almost nil 🙂

 

[kxl]

Th F90 is nice, but note that:

1) If you can come up with another $150, the F100 is a better-built body with better compatibility with more lenses.

2) An F90 will meter with AI/AIS lenses but work only in S-priority or Program mode with G lenses.

3) An F80 (same prices as F90) works with G lenses but works only in M mode (and no metereing) with AI/AIS lenses, so you'd have to use Sunny 16 or a handheld meter with AI/AIS lenses.

I picked up an F80 a couple months ago and have been having fun with it a small G lens. I use a Luna Pro S meter when using my 85/1.4 or 105/2.5 AI lenses.

 

[zgeeRF]

My N90S has been working great since the late 90s and the only problem has been the scratchmarks of the plastic in the back that they peel-off. Very sturdy and reliable. It also feels so small compared to the newer Nikon slrs.

 

[BillBingham2]

I loved my Bessa L and it was PLASTIC to a level more than I think any Nikon (other than perhaps the FM-10) ever was. I looked at it as a camera that I could replace without spending a fortune if I ever needed to. It was LOADS of fun and never tried to test gravity even once.

B2 (;->

 

[Steve M.]

I'm seeing several camera models that I owned at one time or another on this thread. A 6006 w/ plastic 35 80 crap zoom was my first AF camera and it made really great photos. Loved the sound of it's motor wind. Ca-ziiiing. An 8008s was the best plastic camera I ever had and I liked it lots more than my F100 which had one f the loudest shutters known to man. The 8008s was really quiet compared to it. Then there were the several N80 (F80) cameras that had a really nice feel to their otherwise plastic bodies and the quietest shutter I ever heard in a SLR. Would have kept it but for it's woeful viewfinder. Looking through the 8008s viewfinder was like looking through a big picture window.

Never had any problems w/ any of these plastic cameras and would still be shooting them if I hadn't once bought a Leica. After seeing it's photos the Nikons were all sold.

 

[bgb]

"Never had any problems w/ any of these plastic cameras and would still be shooting them if I hadn't once bought a Leica. After seeing it's photos the Nikons were all sold.:

I never realized that Leica were that good ! I have just purchased an F80 and love the little beast, no problems at all.
I have some experience with fixed lens rangefinders Electro, XA and the like but no experience at all with Leica, don't think i have ever seen a real one 🙁
Which Leica did you buy and what lens are you using .... do you think you could explain why the Leica was so much better?
I have heard the same story from a highly respected camera tech here in NZ so I believe you I just want to understand why.
There is of course a hell of a difference in price but like most of us i search for that one magical camera 🙂
Cheers, Brian

 

[Rico]

I prefer the feel of metal, but my Contax Aria is remarkably rigid for an SLR sheathed in plastic. Of course, it has an aluminum frame underneath.

 

[Johann Espiritu]

I have an EOS-3 too, which is plastic but has held up through all the years its been used and rolls of film passed through it. Still runs perfectly.

 

[philipb]

The F80 seems to be a popular plastic SLR for good reason: it feels good and works well. I have one.

Boeing 787, anyone? Some might say it's a plastic aeroplane held together with glue.

 

[css9450]

My N90S once jumped out of my camera bag and fell down the stairs - bump, bump, bump, bump - all the way to the bottom (actually, I was headed out and grabbed the camera bag, not noticing the top was unzipped and carrying it crooked). Aside from a couple scrapes on the plastic body, it has worked perfectly ever since, and its been about 5-6 years since the fall.

 

[Stuart John]

I personaly don't have any probems with plastick camera. My EOS100 and EOS1 both came with me when I worked as a cruiseship photographer. The EOS100 was dropped several times. The battery door broke of but that is normal on those. In the end the EOS100 kind of failed because the little spring that keeps the AF mirror broke so the camera would only AF when pointed up to the sky. It still works using manual focus but it does not see much use any more. The EOS1 was sold after 11 years or so use and functioned as good as the day I bought it and was pretty much in the same good condition. The Canon 50mm 1.8 was still mint and working as was the Canon 35-135 and the Tokina 28-70 2.6-2.8 ATX pro II was still perfect as was the Tokina 80-200 2.8 ATX pro II. Sadly the Sigma 24mm 2.8 won't AF any more after being dropped so it lives happily on the EOS100.

 

[japro]

I had a pair of Minolta Maxxum 9xi bodies for the better part of a decade. The 9xi body utilized a stainless-steel mirror box assembly, mated with a polycarbonate film chamber, cast-zinc bottom, and what Minolta describes as a "fiberglass-reinforced polycarbonate top plate with a scratch-resistant UV coating."

All I knew was that the thing was damn near bulletproof. And it really was hard to scratch. It took its bounces in seemingly good humor.

Someone once showed me an issue of a german photography magazine where they tried to destroy a 9xi so they could find out whether minolta really repaired their 9xis in 24 or 48 hours (not sure) like they said back then. As it turned out, the cameras is very difficult to destroy even intentionally... 🙂

The only camera I ever dropped was my plastic Dynax 5D. And it still looks and works fine.

 

[David Hughes]

But, just look on a well known auction site and see the number with battery compartment lids missing and / or held on with sticky tape. I think it's those hinges made of thin plastic that do it.

And I've had three of the lightweights (none of them any age to speak of) and one is still going strong and the other two are erratic in performance. My guess being the circuitry from the battery and across the hinge...

Regards, David

PS Brilliant when they worked and I'm still wondering what a repair would cost as they were the last of the 35mm cameras and very sensibly mature in operation, especially in "P" mode.

 

[Steve M.]

I once accidentally dropped a Canon A1 from the top shelf of a closet onto a hardwood floor. Didn't even scratch it the prism housing. I'd always thought it was an all metal camera and was surprised to find that it, the AE-1's, and other Canon FD line had a plastic top on them. Not sure about the F1. These cameras have held up so well that to this day I can't tell they're plastic whenever I see one. Having said that, I prefer an all metal camera. The Leicaflex SL that I bought from Erik on the forum here (thanks!) is really heavy, but it just has a great feel to it. Love that camera.

Like others here, I have a Nikon N6006 and love it, and the F80 I had was even better. Wonderful rubber covering, and the quietest shutter I've ever heard in an SLR. If it wasn't for the somewhat small and dim viewfinder I would have gone for one instead of the N6006.

Brian, I just now saw your post. I don't want to go off thread, but yep, I think the Leicas are that much better. If you shoot the Leica SLR's, the optics can actually cost LESS than Nikons. I'll PM you and send you photos if you wish. Steve.

 

[bgb]

Evil Leica GAS strikes downunder!

Evil Leica GAS strikes downunder!

Hi Steve,
Thanks for the PM mate.
I'm now in the throws of a major GAS attack looking for a Leica!
There is one on the NZ auction site but i have no real idea of its condition, but it is black and a Leica and that's all that counts huh? MY local semi-retired camera tech is Leica trained and I'm sure he service it for me. During our last chat i asked him if Leica glass was really that good? The answer was Ja!

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=265299737

 

[pvdhaar]

I had a Nikon F60 in a rucksack when it was pouring with rain so bad the rucksack completely flooded. When I took the F60 out, at first it seemed it was merely completely fogged. So, I took of the lens off, only to find water standing in the bottom of the mirror box.

Really thought it was a goner, but after pouring the water out and having it set to dry, imagine my amazement when it kicked back to life a day later.. and served me a couple years still after. I since have a deep respect for Nikon's cheap 'n plastic SLRs..

 

[css9450]

But, just look on a well known auction site and see the number with battery compartment lids missing and / or held on with sticky tape.

Haha that reminds me of my Dad! Everything he owns that requires batteries has the tape-on-the-door mod. His camera, his Walkman, his video cam, his razor, etc.

 

[Fuchs]

Plastic cameras bounce when dropped. In the very worst cases their outer shells crack Metal cameras bump. And got dinged/dented per secula seculorum. Don't ask me how do I know.

I think plastic cameras tend to endure impacts better, due to the semielastic nature of plastic and due to the fact that almost all of them have hard metallic inner chassis. Cameras like the Leica M have no protecting shell outside, and then when they get dented the impact force is transmitted with little attenuation to the insides. I have seen a lot of M2/M3 VF that go black cause a direct impact on the top plate (ie dropping it to the floor from hand height) has caused prism separation. A similar drop with even a heavier SLR, such as a Nikon N8008 or a Minolta 9xi is less prone to cause structural damage. In these latter cases, the weakest point is the lens mount when a heavy lens is attached, and that is usually damage to a metallic part.

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

Bah!....haven't we been told often enough here - 'real' cameras are hand made of brass and steel, will last for centuries and are lovingly fondled - by the fireside on cold winter nights, and have their portraits regularly shown on-line. These horrible new plastic cameras - especially ones that need a silly little card inserted, are to be loathed and avoided like the plague!
Dave.