The best camera you never liked?

[ssmc]

MF: Hassy 500 - the reversed finder view made me feel queasy and I just could not get used to the "ergononmics". Luckily it was a loaner so apart from the film, no loss (but an interesting exercise)

35mm: I hate to say this (because I received it as a graduation present, so I'm stuck with it), but the Nikon S3 2000. I don't know why, exactly; the 1:1 finder is great (the RF patch not so much!), the lens is apparently excellent, it's very smooth and pretty quiet, but there is just something slightly awkward I can't quite define about how it feels that renews the pangs of regret over selling my M6TTL every time I pick it up. Having lubed the focusing helicoid I was amazed at how thin and springy the front plate is - an ingenious design that tensions the screws without any retaining compound, but struck me as possibly very dent-prone. And I greatly appreciated the ability to adjust the RF without special tools; mine was seriously out of whack when I got it, but it's perfectly aligned now, thanks to instructions on RFF! I'm sure the camera as a whole is not as fragile as I imagine but I just can't bring myself to want to shoot with it... 🙁

 

[burancap]

Ricoh GXR.

 

[cosmonaut]

How about another thread: Camera You Liked the Most, but Still Didn't Keep ? Or some such.....

With me that would be the Olympus E5. Other than poor dynamic range and high ISO noise it's an awesome camera. The last sensor with those beautiful Olympus colors. Pictures so sharp they look almost 3D. But the E5 was a grandfather only a few weeks after it hit the market it seemed. I loved it but once I went full frame I could never go back to constantly trying to keep the highlights under control.
Olympus has the best IS, the best dust reduction, the best articulating screen, menu, ergonomics ect. If they just could fix the DR.
I think the E-M1 will be the finest mirrorless camera for years to come short of the IQ.

 

[thegman]

Leica M6, compared to the M3 it just felt wrong.

Contax T, fiddly to use compared to a Rollei 35, and not any smaller.

Leica R8, size of a house for a diddly 35mm frame made no sense, and exposure compensation method was bad design IMHO.

 

[lam]

Contax G1, squintastic viewfinder, noisy AF.
Phenomenal 45/2 Planar.

 

[Lucadomi]

Ikoflex. It was supposed to be almost as good as a Rolleiflex but it is not (at least the one that I tried). My Rolleicord is much better.
Loved the Nikon S2 at first but could not get used to it. I prefer the Canon P.

 

[mugent]

Film: Nikon FM3a, feels cheap and tinny in the hand, VF meter is hard to read in certain lighting conditions. It's a nice camera to look at, but that's all it is. (prepares for lynching)...

I'd forgotten about the FM3A. After all the hype I'd read about this camera I was disappointed when I finally got one. It felt cheap and loud compared to my OMs.

Yes, I forgot about the shutter, sounds like someone throwing a frying pan onto a tiled floor.

 

[Bingley]

Canon 7 -- Great camera, very robust, but I just found it too big and I disliked not having an accessory shoe.

 

[leicapixie]

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136762

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136762

The mention of the Pentax 6x7 made me think,
about a camera i was offered as a trade.
The Canon EOS-3. The one with the special focus thing that
locked onto your eye. A miracle.
Sadly i needed all my psychic powers to get it to go off,
never mind focus!:bang:
The other thing is that the EOS-3 was same size body as my 6x7!
Anyone out there? The same bulk.
OK it was quieter. Well that's relative compared.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Yashica 124G MAT, EOS 3, Kiev-4AM.
Not my cap of tea, but sold them within few hours, not even 24 hours, after "for sale publishing". I guess, they are great for some.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Rolleiflex 2.8D, just couldn't get used to the waste level finder with the image flipped. Also had a Hasselblad 500CM but was able to get a 45º finder for that, so now that one's okay.

 

[waynec]

Hasselblad. With the 60mm Cf lens it was very front heavy and the GG was smaller then my previous Rollie 6006 which had a dam good metering system as well. RB67Pro. May as well shoot 4x5 for the weight and outfit size.

 

[Godfrey]

Lessee ... in recent memory ...

Voigtländer Bessa III - Lovely camera, superb lens, but feels very awkward to me in use. Prefer the old Perkeo II or Hassy 500CM. Still have it, it is for sale.

Fuji X10 - bought it based on the rave reviews of friends. First impressions good. An hour or two later ... Packaged it up and sent it back the next day. Just didn't do it for me at all.

Sony F828 ... super lens, terrible match to the sensor. Amazing IR capability, but fringing and sensor blooming all over the place. Sony R1 ... so much promise, truly terrific lens, truly terrific image quality, crippled by a two shot raw buffer. Ugh.

Fuji F30 - Never realized just how few exposures I made with it ... less than 200. Same for a Konica digital model, designation I cannot remember.

G

 

[Jay Decker]

Mamiya 7ii - never got into it, don't really know why.
Bronica RF645 - loved the camera, but the lenses were too slow and did not focus close enough
Toyo-Field 45A - love shooting 8x10, but just did not get on with this 4x5 camera
Fuji X100 - nice images, but did not handle like my Leicas

 

[furbs]

Nikon D600. Great image quality but I hated the bulk and weight from the start. Sold it mostly to fund my Leica M4 and couldn't be happier.

 

[Takkun]

Camera you liked the most but didn't keep? the EOS-7ne. I absolutely and completely loved that camera, especially for a midrange model, and was what *almost* had me switch over from Nikon to EOS completely. I instead ditched the aforementioned Rebel and all but the 7 and a 50mm, which is now in the possession of my ex, possibly never to be seen again.

I always thought the Eye Control on the Elan and 3 were clever, but yes, too much calibration needed. Though, far less confusing than the, what, 80 focus points on my Nikon?

 

[Gary Sandhu]

A list of negatives:
Nikon f4 -- annoying strap lug biting in my right thumb.
Leica CM-- small viewfinder
Minolta tc-1-- noisy
Ricoh GR1-- blurry viewfinder
X100-- dainty build
D700-- inferior LCD LED readout compared to F6 and D3
Plaubel makina-- noisy
Nikon S3- viewfinder patch
Contax iia -- small viewfinder
Leica iiif-- small viewfinder
Leica R6- shutter lag
Leica M8- noisy and lag
Nikon F3- fussy LCD light
Nikon Fm3a-- separate AEL button? And hard to see metering needle
And finally
Iphone camera in ios7-- the shutter button activates upon pressing, not releasing!

 

[furbs]

Iphone camera in ios7-- the shutter button activates upon pressing, not releasing!
Last edited by Gary Sandhu : 1 Minute Ago at 18:49. Reason: Iphone autocorrect!

That thing is nothing but problems for you! 😛

 

[FrozenInTime]

Ricoh GRD mkI : coming from a GR1, the raw write times were terrible and the camera froze up preventing lens collapse until the write was finished.

Nikon FM2 and 58mm Noct-Nikkor : bought the camera to try out the lens, which sucked - light points remained spherical but expanded into globes. The camera winder had no ratchet. Leica M6 and Noctilux was the winner of this contest.

 

[RedLion]

Leica M6 ttl = too large and heavy.
Leica M8.2 = too expensive for what it was.
Nikon F2 = too large and heavy for what it was.