RF Camera Beauty Contest - THE FINAL !!

[FrankS]

It's all wasted time anyway, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Having done some wedding photography I've learned that there is aleast one person who finds the bride attractive. Looking at cameras is better time wasted than getting drunk at a bar in the afternoons.

 

[allthumbs]

Go P! You're no contessa, but you're pretty fine.

 

[RayPA]

I've a Canon P sitting on my desk, and it is an incredible looking camera. Truly some of the finest lines of any camera. I can't bring myself to put it back in its bag. But there is beauty and magic in the M cameras that can't be found anywhere else.

The P says 'Look at me. I'm gorgeous,' and while I use my Canon P, I'm almost content just to gaze upon it, like a static piece of art.

The M camera seems to say "Look at me. I'm gorgeous," too, but it just begs to be held and used. That's the allure, the beauty behind the beauty, the beauty that inspires, and exactly why my vote goes to the M (specifically, M3).


🙂

 

[allthumbs]

RayPA, that's exactly what I meant when I said a round or two back that a camera's beauty is in the eye of the holder. As we're down to a bunch of cameras I've never held, I can only behold and vote accordingly!

 

[kbg32]

MP gotta be black!

 

[kbg32]

It's all wasted time anyway, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Having done some wedding photography I've learned that there is aleast one person who finds the bride attractive. Looking at cameras is better time wasted than getting drunk at a bar in the afternoons.

Well said Frank!

 

[jan normandale]

Frank, obviously you are speaking for yourself...... I might visit one after witnessing this "leica binge" and "it's not time wasted, it's time well spent". Look at Leicas or visit a bar..... hmmmm... anyone want to join me? Cheers!

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Rick, I was just being facetious.

Thanks for investing time and effort in this endeavor. It's fun!

And I admire the lines and design of the M bodies, but in particular the M3. Hence, my vote went for that one.

Let the winner in! 🙂

 

[KoNickon]

Well, I thank Rich for doing this -- a fun exercise and probably pretty time-consuming on his part. But I have to say I voted for the P, rather as a protest. Seems to me the Ms should have been one entry as a group -- they are just too similar (except for the 5) to warrant separate treatment.

A poll of which M the group likes best might be a good idea.

 

[allthumbs]

A poll of which M the group likes best might be a good idea.

As it turns out, that is what this poll seems to have become, more or less. 😱

 

[RayPA]

RayPA, that's exactly what I meant when I said a round or two back that a camera's beauty is in the eye of the holder. As we're down to a bunch of cameras I've never held, I can only behold and vote accordingly!

Hi Allthumbs,

My post wasn't a reply to yours (I hope it didn't come out that way), purely coincidental that they're one after the other. I was just trying to define, elaborate and explain my vote. Without a doubt the P deserves to be here. (I think I predicted it would be here in one of the semi-final rounds.) For me the difference is that not only do I enjoy looking at the M3, but I want to pick it up and use it, as well, while I'm content to look at the P (if that makes sense). I don't have an M3 (never held one, in fact), but I have an M camera. 🙂


Thanks.





🙂

 

[allthumbs]

For sure, Ray, you were very clear, and very eloquent, too. And that is really all I was trying to say! I completely agree that holding and using a camera will change your perception of it, for better or worse. I think that's the trouble people are having with this poll. I think it is impossible to consider a camera's objective design, whether aesthetic or mechanical, in a way completely divorced from one's subjective experience of not only that camera, but every camera one has known. Some of us are endeavoring to do exactly that anyway, while some of us are doing the opposite and treating "beauty" as a purely subjective experience.

I hope we're all enjoying the exercise.

 

[John]

I like the MP. You can dress it so many ways. 😀

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Francisco: there's always the Leica a la Carte Credite! For the principle of it I wouldn't get one; just go straight for an M3; I've fondled many of them. True beauties they are.

 

[VinceC]

>>Seems to me the Ms should have been one entry as a group -- they are just too similar ... <<

C'Mon. They're not similar at all. I mean, the M3 has a self-timer and the others don't. That makes it stand out in my book. 🙂

 

[SolaresLarrave]

There's also the top plate design: the front windows get special treatment in the M3: very elaborate and ornate... something that won't appear in the M2 and later bodies.

So... they're not quite alike, although their insides (with very minor exceptions) remain the same.

When does this poll close? 😕

 

[Rich Silfver]

In...25 hours 🙂

 

[je2a3]

Form follows function = M3, the first RF camera I ever owned. It started my fascination with photography and collecting gear. Although on sheer aesthetics, I would prefer one of the early black enamel Barnack [Leica II or III], the M3 wins in terms of design for ease of use and facilities offered in such a compact package.

Joseph

 

[dadsm3]

I like the eyebrows on the VF windows of the M3.....something was lost when they were deleted.

 

[MelanieC]

Well, this is fun -- I apparently own two of the hottest rangefinders out there. And to think that last Christmas, I didn't even understand what a "rangefinder" was...

I just got a Canonet (it was $35, I couldn't say no) and while it's cute, I wouldn't call it beautiful. To me it's just a bit gawky. But it's solid and easy to use and I might think it more beautiful if my first roll of film through it turns out well.

Still, I'm looking forward to getting my M3 back from its CLA trip. There's something about that camera that makes me want to use it AND fondle it. I don't fondle the Canonet. Then again, I'm terrible about playing favorites among my dogs, too.