What's Your "Photographic Unicorn"?

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... that mythical piece of kit you've heard existed - others have sworn to it; you lust after it like a certain literary figure's obsession with a certain gigantic whale, what to capture - or perhaps even see in captivity but you have your doubts as to their very existance?

I'll start... a 33mm Y2 (or other black and white) filter that can thread on my Iskra folder...

Another,

The hot shoe accessory for the original Canon 7

Another,

An Airies 35-V with a full set of Coral lenses

What are your photographic unicorns?
 
I read somewhere about the Minolta TC-1 camera's lens ([FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]G-Rokkor 28mm f/3.5) was made in Leica screw mount. I'm a little leary after the 28mm Rokkor-M I had that got white spots, but dang did that lens take great pictures. It also had excellent ergonomics, IMHO. The G-Rokkor is supposed to be even better. I can't imagine how much one would cost, if you could even find one.
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A two piece ever-ready case for my Minolta XE-7. ( i know its not a RF, but i liiike it)

Robin
 
Currently, it's the Aires 35 V for me as well, as well as several other obscure Japanese cameras.

Clarence
 
heliographer said:
I read somewhere about the Minolta TC-1 camera's lens ([FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]G-Rokkor 28mm f/3.5) was made in Leica screw mount. I'm a little leary after the 28mm Rokkor-M I had that got white spots, but dang did that lens take great pictures. It also had excellent ergonomics, IMHO. The G-Rokkor is supposed to be even better. I can't imagine how much one would cost, if you could even find one.
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Well, I haven't seen the mythical G-Rokkor LTM either, but I have seen results from the TC-1, and they were mouth-watering. But, ow-ow-ow, those limited Waterhouse stops...! (The one thing that makes me hug my Ricoh GR1 even tighter.)

endustry said:
Digital Hexar AF.
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Alas...! There was supposedly a digital Hexar RF in mortal form before the plug got pulled on everything. Big ouch. :bang:

Otherwise:

Unicorn, non-RF: Nikon F2 Titan with 55mm f/1.2 Nocti. Had the former, missed the latter. But I'm over this.

Unicorn, RF: (1) Black M-Hexanon 50mm f/1.2; (2) M-Hexanon 75-135mm f/3.5 dual-range (purely my idea...I beat the drum at Konica for a year and a half for this one; if they could make a 17-35, why not this?). I'm not quite over this.


- Barrett
 
Is it O.K. if what I seek is not gear but vision? Maybe not appropriate for the thread, but I'm goin' for it anyway.
The gear I have is good enough, it gets the job done. I have a choice of two formats (serious or easy-squeezy) and a darkroom that lets me put it on paper in good form. I can even get instant gratification if that is what I need, via the D word.
If there's something making me feel lustful in the world of photography it is that elusive niche. The one that is unusual enough to have room for someone to do it or do it better, and universally likeable enough to draw a following.
If I could draw a spreadsheet of what has been the good road so far, it is 'hand of man' > 'industrial ruins' > 'abandoned mines'.
The genre has been great for me; pretty technical (yeah, I'm like that), allows some axes to be subtly ground (how do we in the "1st world" expect to continue with such disrespect for productive enterprise?), a little obscure. Or so I thought until I read that the first use of flash powder was a creative photographer looking for a way to get a picture of miners at work.
Lately, the thing just isn't doing it for me, something new has got to come together or I'll be back to being artless and unhappy.
So I'm looking for my new niche. If I knew what that was it would be easy!
 
clarence said:
Currently, it's the Aires 35 V for me as well, as well as several other obscure Japanese cameras.

Clarence
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A mint one (from the looks of it) went on eBay just last week. Missed it! Grrrrr. Had all the lenses too. double Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
 
The yard sale Nikon 1 that our erstwhile bartender mentions on his site.
A genuine Orion Nikon/Contax->Leica M adapter

EIDT

Oh and a perfect Epson R-D1 guaranteed to last for 20 years.
 
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darkkavenger said:
50/1.0 Sonnar in classic Contax mount.
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Unicorn #1
For me, it's 50/1.x Sonnar in Olympus OM mount :D
I've seen an Ultron on the Bay in OM mount, went for $400 if I recall.

Unicorn #2
Blue or Gray XA2
 
erikhaugsby said:
link

It went for $350.
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I think I would have paid that much for it, but I've got too little funds at the moment to chase unicorns.

My gripe is that the cameras I find aesthetically pleasing lack the features I need. I wish I could find a chimera that had a compact body, a fast lens, high ASA metering and looks to kill.

Clarence
 
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