What do you think is the best used camera today/price-performance wize?

[f.hayek]

Performance/Price?

A late Leica R8. Seeing them nowadays for US$500-600. It is a stupendous bit of kit for the price and if you own an R lens.

 

[splitimageview]

The problem with R bodies are the R lenses; cine market is driving up the price.

 

[f.hayek]

The problem with R bodies are the R lenses; cine market is driving up the price.

Indeed true but for select lenses. However, a 50 Summicron 3-CAM can still be found for around $500 and non-APO 90 Summicron and Elmarit are likewise affordable. The 35-70 Vario Elmarit ƒ/4, though slow, is an unsung lens that goes for about $1000 and is good enough to negate the need for primes in that range.

 

[shawn]

I bought my R8 about 6 months ago for $330, crazy good camera for that price. The design and ergonomics has really grown on me. I'd also add the R4 to that. They are around $150 and are a small(ish) SLR with a large 0.9x viewfinder.

As far as lenses the last ROM lenses are very expensive but the lenses before that are still dramatically less money than their M counterparts. They should play better on digital too.

 

[f.hayek]

Much ado about the design; either love it or hate it, until you actually handle the camera and you realize how well it's thought through. The metering is spot on and sophisticated--slide film is exposed perfectly, every frame, every time. The general appearance of the R8/9 is echoed in the design of the later S-series bodies.

The two best zooms (aside from the interesting Angenieux line if primes and zooms) were of Japanese manufacture; the 21-35 and as mentioned above the later 35-70 ƒ/4. Longer R APO Telephotos fetch a premium but even into the 3rd decade of the 21st century, remain world-class optics.

 

[splitimageview]

Sure, older R lenses are cheaper than M, but that doesn’t equate to being bargains. Even if an R body is acquired for nothing, a small kit isn’t close to bargain territory. The R lenses are also overbuilt and quite heavy. Some may prefer this but I prefer the much lighter c/y Zeiss to name one alternative.

Speaking of which, many Contax SLR bodies are available for bargain prices. I picked up a 137MD for $5.25 from keh not long ago. Spent more on replacement leatherette. 😀 Looked unused other than the missing covering.

 

[shawn]

Yes, a very well thought through camera. It also has a lot of sophistication hidden in a pretty standard control layout. For example the ability to meter studio flashes TTL.

I don't have any of the zooms but have the 21mm f4, 28mm F2.8 (first version), 35mm 2.8 (2nd version with the improved optics), 50mm F2 E55, 60mm f2.8 and the 90 F2.8 E55. All 3 cam. The 35mm and up cover the GFX sensor too.

 

[f.hayek]

Yes, a very well thought through camera. It also has a lot of sophistication hidden in a pretty standard control layout. For example the ability to meter studio flashes TTL.

I don't have any of the zooms but have the 21mm f4, 28mm F2.8 (first version), 35mm 2.8 (2nd version with the improved optics), 50mm F2 E55, 60mm f2.8 and the 90 F2.8 E55. All 3 cam. The 35mm and up cover the GFX sensor too.

I had a 28 Elmarit v.2 and (terribly) regret selling that one. I bought my R lenses way back when the line was cancelled in '08 to adapt to Nikon F mount. The Nikon is gone and re-converted them to native mount. For my R8 I still have a 35 Summicron 3-CAM, 90 APO, 100 Macro, 180 APO Elmarit v.1 and a 280 APO Telyt. Plus a TC 1.4 and 2.
Great glass.

 

[das]

Yeah, you could give me an R body for free and with the current prices of R lenses, it still would be an awful deal. Contax is definitely the way to go for the "premium" manual focus experience.

 

[Ricoh]

Just purchased an Agfa ePhoto 780 0.35MP
Super low resolution, can’t wait to see the noisy images.

 

[wlewisiii]

Yeah, you could give me an R body for free and with the current prices of R lenses, it still would be an awful deal. Contax is definitely the way to go for the "premium" manual focus experience.

Would love an Aria & a 50mm Planar if I could afford to feed it film 🙂 That would be the expense that would break me. I'll get a D700 or 800 instead 😉

 

[owlie]

I think the EOS 6D is the greatest digital camera of all time and they're less than half the original price now.

 

[Pál_K]

As for the R8, the Leitz Vario-Elmar 35-70 on my R8 isn’t the sharpest 35-70 lens I’ve ever used, but it’s what I’ve got. I do love the R8 - the form factor, the modes, the display, the solidity, and the confidence of that nice shutter sound.

One thing that really annoys me is that on/off is on the mode dial. I want to set the mode dial to aperture priority, or whatever, and leave it there. But the designers didn’t give us a separate on/off switch and thereby have forced us to constantly be moving this dial.

 

[jsrockit]

I think the EOS 6D is the greatest digital camera of all time and they're less than half the original price now.

Care to elaborate?

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

Performance/Price?

A late Leica R8. Seeing them nowadays for US$500-600. It is a stupendous bit of kit for the price and if you own an R lens.

I always find it interesting how Leica gear operates on a completely different yardstick for ‘value’.
$600 for a 35mm Leica is a great deal. $600 for a 35mm Pentax is eye-wateringly expensive.

 

[owlie]

Care to elaborate?

The best ergonomics, button layout, menu. A Canon DSLR stripped to the most essential photographic needs. I operated mine with the top screen 90% of the time and have the back screen and image review turned off. Like shooting film on the original EOS 650 almost. Pairs nicely with the 430EXII.

 

[f.hayek]

I always find it interesting how Leica gear operates on a completely different yardstick for ‘value’.
$600 for a 35mm Leica is a great deal. $600 for a 35mm Pentax is eye-wateringly expensive.

As someone mentioned earlier, cinematographers have been picking up the later and faster ROM versions so the supply dwindles. Pentax glass was made in far greater numbers, yet the unique ones like the Takumar ultra-achromats dating from the 1970's command prices well into and above the range for current Leica M lenses.

As for the R8, the Leitz Vario-Elmar 35-70 on my R8 isn’t the sharpest 35-70 lens I’ve ever used, but it’s what I’ve got. I do love the R8 - the form factor, the modes, the display, the solidity, and the confidence of that nice shutter sound.

One thing that really annoys me is that on/off is on the mode dial. I want to set the mode dial to aperture priority, or whatever, and leave it there. But the designers didn’t give us a separate on/off switch and thereby have forced us to constantly be moving this dial.

View attachment 4820448

Which 35-70 zoom do you have? The 3.5 version was never noted to be a high-performance lens.

 

[Archiver]

I want a digital Oly like M1 or late M5. I just can't pull the trigger.

I bought an original Olympus E-M5 brand new when they were released. Over ten years later, it is still a great camera. Operation is snappy, autofocus is fast and accurate, and the raw files hold up well to processing. I use it even now for some portrait work, and for travel in the last five years. The original E-M5 can be found for pretty decent prices now, and the small Olympus and Panasonic primes can be had for very little money secondhand. Treat yourself one day. 😉

 

[Archiver]

Yeah, you could give me an R body for free and with the current prices of R lenses, it still would be an awful deal. Contax is definitely the way to go for the "premium" manual focus experience.

I'm quite enjoying the Yashica 28mm f2.8 ML that I picked up a while ago. Finally got a Contax - L mount adapter and have been using it on my S5 - the focus ring is very smooth and well damped, the optics are a lot more sharp and yet characterful than I was expecting, and the price was great. The quality of the Yashica feels very close to the Contax CY lenses I handled in the shop. I'm on the lookout for a well priced Contax 50mm f1.7 to complete the 28/50 pairing, but those run at least $450 AUD in the shops right now.

 

[Archiver]

If we're on the subject of best bang for buck right now, Pentax M SMC lenses are quite reasonably priced, as are Minolta MC and MD lenses. I picked up a 35-70mm Macro MD III for under $100 AUD last year, and it's an excellent lens.