The Pentax line had many professional users. Really should be added for a serious poll.
Of course, I voted for Nikon.
Of course, I voted for Nikon.
Sparrow
Veteran
Don’t know about top one, but the most evil has to be the F3/MD4, whoever styled that defiantly didn’t get “cute” as part of the brief, and his previous job was doing the apache-gunship by the look of it
Chuck Norris dropped one on his foot once … and noticed
Chuck Norris dropped one on his foot once … and noticed
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dacookieman
Cookie Monster
OM1
It definitely is my favourite! love it so much..ahhhhh
It definitely is my favourite! love it so much..ahhhhh
skibeerr
Well-known
PENTAX LX
Amateriat how could you forget this classic :bang:
cheers,
Wim
Amateriat how could you forget this classic :bang:
cheers,
Wim
normclarke
normclarke
I bought my first Nikon F in 1963 and was not impressed after the Pentax I had previously owned. After many years trying most of the opposition I have settled on a rather well worn F and put this down mainly to the consistancy of the lens system, I also found the the moddified mirror box in the later F's to be an improvement on the original. Had a nice black OM1 but did not rate the lenses against the Nikon. Only my opinion!
Best,
normclarke.
Best,
normclarke.
f6andBthere
Well-known
Pentax ~ they couldn't even manage to put the correct shutter dial on the SP500!
Or did they just put the wrong name on the SP II? :angel:
Or did they just put the wrong name on the SP II? :angel:
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Benjamin
Registered Snoozer
The Nikon FM2/n for me, without a shadow of a doubt. Everything that you need, nothing that you don't.
It's brilliantly simple, rugged, reliable, affordable, and of course fully mechanical.
There's an abundance of great lenses out there for the system, especially the 85mm f/2 and the 28mm f/3.5 Nikkor. The MD-12, though I don't really use one, is also pretty awesome.
Also, 1/4000th as a mechanical speed is pretty amazing, as is the 1/250 flash sync..
I never did like the Olympus system though I'm afraid.
It's brilliantly simple, rugged, reliable, affordable, and of course fully mechanical.
There's an abundance of great lenses out there for the system, especially the 85mm f/2 and the 28mm f/3.5 Nikkor. The MD-12, though I don't really use one, is also pretty awesome.
Also, 1/4000th as a mechanical speed is pretty amazing, as is the 1/250 flash sync..
I never did like the Olympus system though I'm afraid.
Bill58
Native Texan
The F2as for it's superb metering system, but the Nikkormat FTn for it's ruggedness. Both were reportedly handbuilt.
gavinlg
Veteran
OM, and the f3 are my fave. Don't like the other nikon F's as much though, so I voted for OM. I would love the fm2n if it weren't for that godforsaken shutter lock that makes the advance lever poke my eyebrow when I try to take a picture vertically with it - worst design ever.
Benjamin
Registered Snoozer
I like the shutter lock, and I don't think that I've ever poked myself in the eye with an advance lever. What on earth were you doing?
Richard Ross
Established
OMs for me every time. A friend has a Nikon FE and the viewfinder's like squinting through a keyhole after the OM1/2. I had a Contax RTS II for a while and it seemed positively primitive in use although nicely built.
zuikologist
.........................
Pentax for me : K2, MX, LX
No Hasselblad on the list?
No Hasselblad on the list?
Livesteamer
Well-known
I like my OM's but Nikon F is #1. I've put thousands of rolls thru mine, add in their history and longevity and it's an easy choice for me. What other camera would get the compliment of being called "a hockey puck" for it's toughness. Joe
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
I do admit to being a little envious of the extra two stops available with the Nikon FM's shutter ... that in my OM I would like! The OM4 with 1/2000 comes close but 1/4000 in a mechanical shuttered SLR is very useful if you like fast lenses!
ZeissFan
Veteran
Top 5 -- what does that mean? Best cameras? Most important? That's going to be a tough one.
Most important would include the Exakta and Contax S (1940s), the Pentax Spotmatic, the Nikon F series and maybe Canon AE-1 (for foisting plastic cameras on the world).
The Zeiss Ikon Contarex, Leica SL and Alpa might fit in there somehow to show there was a market for upper-tier products, price be damned.
The Olympus OM series (single-digit models only) led the way in the downsizing of SLRs. The Minolta XD-11 was the first multimode SLR.
The Pentax K1000 would have a special place to show that people still wanted a bare-bones model without the frills.
Best SLRs in history? Hmmm. Need a lot of time to think about that category.
Most important would include the Exakta and Contax S (1940s), the Pentax Spotmatic, the Nikon F series and maybe Canon AE-1 (for foisting plastic cameras on the world).
The Zeiss Ikon Contarex, Leica SL and Alpa might fit in there somehow to show there was a market for upper-tier products, price be damned.
The Olympus OM series (single-digit models only) led the way in the downsizing of SLRs. The Minolta XD-11 was the first multimode SLR.
The Pentax K1000 would have a special place to show that people still wanted a bare-bones model without the frills.
Best SLRs in history? Hmmm. Need a lot of time to think about that category.
micromontenegro
Well-known
The Contarex Super, of course ;-)
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
The odd one out, but a serious contestor: the Chinon Memotron CE-II
DrLeoB
Shoot a IIIc "K" !!!
Alpa 6c/9d
rbiemer
Unabashed Amateur
I spent several years with a Pentax K1000 and liked it quite a lot, Had a K2DMD for a while and liked that one a bit less.
I wanted to like the OM series; tried an OM2 and it just didn't "click" with me.
I used a friend's Nikon FA and it was OK. He later got an F3 hp and that one I really liked.
And the Contaxes always appealed to me but were out of my budget when they were new.
Now, I have an EOS (Elan IIe) and that seems to cover most of my SLR needs.
And I'm hesitant about getting into another system; I've worked hard over the last year os so to minimize my pile o' cameras to what I actually "need": I'm limited on how much physical space I can give to my gear--and getting a bigger place to live for no other reason than to be able to own more stuff strikes me as silly.
Rob
I wanted to like the OM series; tried an OM2 and it just didn't "click" with me.
I used a friend's Nikon FA and it was OK. He later got an F3 hp and that one I really liked.
And the Contaxes always appealed to me but were out of my budget when they were new.
Now, I have an EOS (Elan IIe) and that seems to cover most of my SLR needs.
And I'm hesitant about getting into another system; I've worked hard over the last year os so to minimize my pile o' cameras to what I actually "need": I'm limited on how much physical space I can give to my gear--and getting a bigger place to live for no other reason than to be able to own more stuff strikes me as silly.
Rob
gavinlg
Veteran
I like the shutter lock, and I don't think that I've ever poked myself in the eye with an advance lever. What on earth were you doing?
It's weird that no one else has this problem, but I actually can't get around it.
When I turn the camera vertically to take shots, I do it so that the prism is facing the left, and the advance lever must be out a few cm's to allow the shutter to go off. When I bring the camera to my eye to frame and take the picture, the jutting out advance lever presses up hard against my eyebrow long before I can get my eye up to the viewfinder. It's really weird that no one else has this problem - I don't have a prominent eyebrow or anything haha...