• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

What is / are your most memorable camera(s)?

rdenney

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Dec 30, 2020
Messages
2,235
Likes
3,856
Mine would be the two Nikon F2s I was occasionally able to borrow from a pro photographer friend during the couple of years that I was a photojournalism major. Weighed a ton built like a tank, and they were far better cameras than the AE-1 I owned. Especially when I also had the motor drives and the 200mm f2.8 with a monopod.
I think of the AE-1 like the 80's Toyota Camry of the camera world--a good and reliable camera that got a lot of folks into good and reliable cameras, but not something one really wants for the track or for hauling all of one's possessions from coast to coast.

As for me, I skipped the AE-1 entirely. My first Canon SLR was an F-1, and to that I added a TX (cheapie pure manual camera), and, much later, a T90. The T90 was my first automatic-exposure SLR, and the key forerunner to the EOS cameras that switched to the EF mount (the T90 used the FD mount).

The F-1 was similarly featured to the F2 Photomic, but it was cheaper. I never had the real motordrive for my F-1, but did eventually get the Power Winder A for it. I wasn't into journalism, however, except for a few gigs shooting bicycle races for the long-gone Midwest Bicycle Review. My main gig camera in those days was a Mamiya C-3, and though I made a lot of money with it, it's not anything like my most memorable camera.

Rick "cheaper than Nikon" Denney
 

rdenney

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Dec 30, 2020
Messages
2,235
Likes
3,856
There's something about brassed black-lacquered cameras that brings back real memories for me.

Rick "who takes full credit for the spots where brass is showing through on his cameras" Denney
 

mhardy6647

Grand Contributor
Joined
Dec 12, 2019
Messages
11,211
Likes
24,170
DSC_9971s.jpg
 

JeffS7444

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jul 21, 2019
Messages
2,347
Likes
3,507
My brassed and battered $25 Olympus OM-1! As received, paint on the die-cast surfaces was loose and flaking, and the underlying metal was powdery with corrosion. And at some point, someone had applied touch-up paint with a heavy hand. Did not attempt to hide all signs of use, but wanted to protect the bare metal. Sanded away the loose paint and smoothed out the worst of the previous owner's handiwork. Laid down some fresh laquer (with a brush) and hand-polished. Paint on top and bottom covers was mostly intact, but had lots of typical wear along the edges, and I ended up touching up most of that too. But I don't have much experience with lacquer, so there are visible brush marks and my touch-ups are less than seamless. But considering how trashy the camera body looked as received, I got no complaints. Frankly, I'd have done better to spend an extra $100 for a better specimen, but then I wouldn't have as much of a story to tell.

_A190685-stacked.jpg
 

dougi

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
May 31, 2020
Messages
845
Likes
763
Location
ACT, Australia
Konica Hexar RF. My first rangefinder which made me fall in love with that type. Unfortunately, digital rangefinders are far too expensive and I have to make do with pseudo RFs such as the Fujifilm x-series.

hexar.jpg
 

thefsb

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Nov 2, 2019
Messages
796
Likes
657
I had a lot of adventures with the Oly μ[mju:]-1. Seriously tough camera. Lucky too. Ah, the stuff we went through together!

1634745546781.png

1634745596631.png
 

thefsb

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Nov 2, 2019
Messages
796
Likes
657
My favorite "boring" choice: They simply deliver the goods without fuss, year after year. I think no other cameras have remained in service with me for as long as Sony's A7- and RX100-series cameras. If not for the film cameras that I buy cheaply, I'd have almost no new photographic equipment to talk about! To date I have owned 1 RX100 and 2 A7s, and unless a person needs 8K/10K/12K video or even-faster autofocus, I haven't a clue what the upgrade path is from an A7R4 - or whether there is one.
I can always find a use for even faster AF.

2021-10-07-Lucy-Zeno-Eva-Cat-Rock-DSC05034-1600.jpg

This is Lucy (nearly 4 years) leading Zeno (9 months) on a chase. She's a pound mutt from Georgia and he's a pound mutt from Alabama.

I used the original A7 for quite a while and didn't think it was without fuss. Better than the NEX-5 but they still had a long way to go. The 7RM3 that I have now is very, very good.

And for years I used the original RX100. It was ridiculously good for its size. I got so many good pics with it. All digital compacts before it were disappointing and frustrating and the RX100 was miles better, not merely satisfying, it was frequently impressive.
 

JeffS7444

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jul 21, 2019
Messages
2,347
Likes
3,507
I can always find a use for even faster AF.

View attachment 160331
This is Lucy (nearly 4 years) leading Zeno (9 months) on a chase. She's a pound mutt from Georgia and he's a pound mutt from Alabama.
Cool zoomies! But have you ever considered denial as a money-saving strategy? Say that you've got a camera with slow autofocus: You can quote Henri Cartier-Bresson with a dismissive "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept" :p
 

thefsb

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Nov 2, 2019
Messages
796
Likes
657
Cool zoomies! But have you ever considered denial as a money-saving strategy? Say that you've got a camera with slow autofocus: You can quote Henri Cartier-Bresson with a dismissive "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept" :p
I could tell you the story of how I came to own such a crazy expensive camera as the 7RM3. It's hilarious but right now I need to get dinner ready.
 

Gorgonzola

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 27, 2021
Messages
1,016
Likes
1,398
Location
Southern Ontario
My most memorable camera, though I owned only for a short time unfortunately, was a Leica M3. This was an exquisite piece of craftsmanship for the all-mechanical era.

pt-LeicaM3-01.jpg


My second most memorable camera was my remarkably compact and handy Olympus OM-1. Based on my pleasure with the OM-1, I soon acquired an OM-2 and then an OM2S Program.

Olympus-OM-1-Review-3-of-12.jpg
 

JeffS7444

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jul 21, 2019
Messages
2,347
Likes
3,507
My "new" Agfa Isolette III! It's been sitting in my repair queue for a few years, and I've finally restored it to working condition. The green grease used in these mid-1950s Agfa cameras is infamous for hardening with age, and when it does, it becomes impervious to common solvents, making it very difficult to disassemble and clean seized mechanisms. The appeal of this sort of camera is the slender easy-to-carry package combined with big negative: 6x6 in this particular instance. I'll probably need to replace the bellows at some point, but that's an easy job compared to clearing away that foul green grease.
Agfa Isolette III.jpg
Agfa Isolette III Top - Merged.jpg
 
Top Bottom