What is a really robust film SLR or Rangefinder?

NikonAIS · Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2020 12:48 am Post subject:

You can't go wrong with a Nikon FTn or F2. The only downside to the FTn is very few still have operable meters.

kansalliskala · Expire: 2016-12-30

paulhofseth · Expire: 2018-06-28

the original question was whether there was an SLR or a rangefinder that one could toss into a car without worry

I maintain that robustness should refer to ability to take pictures regardless of age and that battery dependent ancillary functions may be disregarded.

-Yes, the Nikonos brick is not an RF and its fiddly spring-loaded battery chamber lid might hasten its demise, but the Leicas remain strong contenders-.

Apart from being more coddled, and sometimes resting on a shelf, a halfways fair measure of longevity would be to have a count of the number of working Nikons and Leicas observed in the wild divided by the original numbers sold. Assuming that owners were equally likely to still be using film.

p.

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

If we're gonna include rangefinders:

For years, I've kept a rangefinder around for just this purpose -- being tossed around and taking it: The Canon QL-17 GIII. Its meter may not always be operable, but its shutter has never quit on me. Sometimes called the "poor man's Leica" it always manages to take good pics.

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 4015 Location: Switzerland

kansalliskala · Expire: 2016-12-30

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 4015 Location: Switzerland

kansalliskala · Expire: 2016-12-30

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 4015 Location: Switzerland

paulhofseth · Expire: 2018-06-28

how about mosquitos and gnats. On a long walk from the finnish border out to the Norwegian fjords wdedecided to walk at night, since the biting inhabitants were less active then.

p.

paulhofseth · Expire: 2018-06-28

so in addition to this geographical digression I should add at that time my robust machine was a leica IIIc with its collapsible summicron, which fit snugly into my anorak breast pocket unperturbed by the gnats that managed to sneak through the wrinkkles of its elastic wrist covers- The camera would not have taken kindly to being submerged, but did stand up to being knocked about.

p.

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 4015 Location: Switzerland

paulhofseth · Expire: 2018-06-28

gnats would not affect cameras, but in my experience, even mild, minus 10C ,conditions necessitated wrapping the camera well when entering a warm room or the lens would fog up internally and be unusable for quite a long time. Happened once to one of my takumars, Nice snaps of skiing and snow crystals however.

So for ultimate weather resistance I still recommend the Nikonos. to me it is not just about the satisfaction of owning the most robust device of its species sitting on a shelf, but it entails that in particularly inclement weather I take an Ilford XP out of the fridge and go out to take pictures.

p

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 4015 Location: Switzerland

paulhofseth · Expire: 2018-06-28

Yes, condensation on the outside but not inside and that clears up with heat-

Nicads were not particularly effective in the cold, For my Beaulieu S.8 I soldered together some accumulators to keep in my reasonably warm pocket with a long lead to the camera, but to keep the quite large schneider vario something from condensation afterwards was another matter

p.

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 4015 Location: Switzerland

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 4015 Location: Switzerland

arri · Joined: 13 Jul 2014 Posts: 95

Every camera can have problems.
Best chioce is a mechanical body but only when it were in use and not stored for years.

A Kodak Retina IIa is one of the most solid camera and very easy to repair when something happens.
It as excellent lenses, Xenon or Heligon 2/50. The folded body is very small and you can carry it in your pocket.
The pictures are in the top level, you canÂ´t distinguish it from pictures made by a Nikon, Leica, Canon etc.

When you find one which have had a complete maintenance and lubed with the new syntetic greases and oils the shutter and other mechanical part wonÂ´t be stick anymore again.

kansalliskala · Expire: 2016-12-30

I bought a nearly mint Canon EOS 1N, you could call that robust too. Wink

james · Expire: 2011-12-28

Nikon F3. It will outlast most of its present, previous and original owners.

kansalliskala · Expire: 2016-12-30

Doc Sharptail · Joined: 23 Nov 2020 Posts: 1197 Location: Winnipeg Canada

Another vote for the battery independent F2 with it's stepless mechanical shutter speeds.

The F3 not so much~ not much better than a paper weight with dead batteries.
The lone single M shutter speed with dead batteries gets old pretty fast.
I prefer the F2 viewfinder over the F3.

Or a Nikkormat FT-2 with similar battery free reliability...
It's focusing screen is an improvement over the Nikkormat FT-n.

-D.S.

RokkorDoctor · Expire: 2025-05-01

The original question was for a camera that can be treated roughly without sustaining damage.

Most robust camera models mentioned will indeed still work after several significant bumps and shocks, but whether focus/collimation is still spot on would be a different matter.

Rangefinder focus mechanisms are relatively fragile with respect to accurate alignment, and the exacting focus screen position and mirror alignment in SLR's is also quite susceptible to misalignment when treated roughly. You are often talking about (in the case of SLR's sometimes fairly heavy) components that are held in a calibrated position to a ~10 micron accuracy by nothing more than a few tiny set screws.

Doc Sharptail · Joined: 23 Nov 2020 Posts: 1197 Location: Winnipeg Canada

HansMoleman · Joined: 12 Jul 2019 Posts: 156 Location: MD USA

Didn't read the whole thread so if it's a repeat...well it bears repeating. Nikon FM2n.