Pretty cameras

Muggins said:
John Robertson said:
Not when you are an impoverished kid in the 50's, with a passion for photography, I took thousands of shots with mine, even did a wedding with it!!!
It still looks and works like new !!
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Wow - you aren't kidding! Do you have any of the accesories for it and, if so, does it hang together as a system camera? I've always been intrigued by the extras, as Purma seem to have taken it quite seriously, and I guess it was probably the cheapest way of getting something with a shutter that went up to 1/500?

But that's very off topic...

Adrian
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I have a set of close up lenses (6),filters (5), lens hood, and flash. The shutter speeds are 1/25;1/150;1/500 with Beck Anastigmat 55mm f6.3 lens, which is "bloomed" i.e. coated. The shutter often quoted as working by gravity, is spring powered, the gravity bit is on a weight which depending on how the camera is held alters the width of the metal focal plane shutter slit.
It is NOT a camera for use in a library, the shutter sounds like a roller garage door slaming shut!!!! It takes 16 square shots on 127 film.
There were three Purmas
http://www.gbcameras.org.uk/Purma/Purma index.htm
and
http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/site/entry_C647.html
should help.
for Witness Advocate and others see


http://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/Ilford/Index_OtherCameras.html

John.
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Keith said:
And of course ... hard to go past one of these. Some of the pics Jonmanjiro has put in the RFF classifieds really shouldn't have been allowed! :p
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Keep an eye on the classifieds, Keith ;)
More photos that really shouldn't be allowed coming soon :D

My vote for the prettiest camera goes to the SP 2005 too. Its also a beautiful camera to use :)
 
I think this thread if anything has brought home to me how absolutely boring the majority of todays compacts are, you go into a camera/electronics store and the cases are full of little rectangular boxes with a lens at one end which apart from the logo all look very much the same.
The SLRs are not a lot better. It used to take at least 15 minutes for my family to drag me past a camera shop window, now I hardly give them a second glance!
 
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CLE-RF said:
The Leica M5 in black chrome.

If the M9 would ever be looking like that, I would sell a kidney after all:eek:
Or else, as a runner up: The Vivitar 35ES, because the front panel and the paint job make me think of my Black M3
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Many cameras look better in black! :) I admit I got the black GIII because I thought it looked cool.

Somebody here once said that the Mamiya SD looked like a "cheap transistor radio" or something, but I think it's very attractive, almost menacing with that big eye staring at you! :)

I don't think the Argus C3 is particularly attractive. Looks like a Rube Goldberg machine! I do know that many people love them.

One I saw over at a FOAF's house the other day which I had forgotten about was the Polaroid Swinger. Very nicely styled. This particular one would probably work if you could find film for it.
 
I nominate the RTS III, direct descendent of the Contax RTS as realized by Porsche Design Studio: spare, masculine, massive.

rts3.jpg

​
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Doesn't hurt that this SLR is highly functional and a joy to use (weight excepted).
 
I nominate the original Canon IXUS (APS) with that amazing pop-up flash which was astonishing until it broke; and the Kodak V610 which I lusted after but never bought...
 
Ugliest:

-- Kodak 35 RF (ugly conglomeration of knobs and exposed gears and low-grade plastic)
-- Canon's high-end film and dSLR (looks like they were left out in the sun too long)
-- New Cosina Voigtlander Bessa cameras (hate the top deck cut out around the rewind post)
-- Zeiss Ikon Contarex Bullseye
-- Argus C44 (low grade plastic, bright red button and odd shape)
-- Early Leicaflex SL (body design is absolutely boring)
-- Nearly all plastic P&S models and most of today's digital P&S models (very little thought to design -- seen one, seen them all)

Later, I'll mention some of the ones that I like.
 
Ugliest!!!

Canon Epoca, ----- When I showed it to a customer, he said it looked like a toilet pan with the seat lifted,!!
 
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gdi said:
I keep going back to that camera, I assume it is quite rare, but how expensive? If anyone has a lead on finding a nice Advocate please PM!
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Sorry but neither the Purma or Advocate are for sale.
The first was my fathers 13th birthday present to me, he died suddenly three days later,and the Advocate was his pride and joy and is one of very few things I have belonging to him.
I would probably starve before I sold them.
Sorry!!
 
Maybe it's the work I put into repairing it but I have seen few cameras that match the elegant simplicity of a Cherry Wood Gundlach Korona.
 

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I would put the M2 with a v1 Summicron high up on the list.
The Nikon F with pentapriem and the old style 105f2.5 with the chrome barrel.
The Rd Leica 111f with self-timer and a collapsible 50f2.8.
The Nikon SP and a 35f1.8 (chrome or black doesn't matter).
The Ilford Witness - it was a rather spectacular design.
A Sinar PII fully loaded - an engineering master piece.
Pentax Spotmatic in black paint.
One of favourite combo's as a "looker" a Leica II with the Hektor 50mm f2.5 - nickel plated and with nickel plated controls .
I also like the look (and performance) of the blue/gray Bessa T with the Heliar 50mm f3.5.

Worst case scenario:
Zeiss Contarex Bullseye!!!
Alpa 6 and 10 ( actually most Alpa's).
Any gold plated monstrosity from any manufacturer.
I agree that the Mercury Univex is ugly - but it is soo ugly that it transcends bad taste.
 
The Nikon Rangefinders are pretty hard to beat for good looks and utility - especially the new models they released in the last few years. I don't think any red-blooded rangefinder enthusiast could deny that. In the SLR universe, I like the Nikon F with a meterless prism and any decent Nikkor lens mounted on it: pure and simple quality.
 
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