your favorite shooter

Teo · Joined: 19 Jul 2014 Posts: 1079 Location: Romania

Which is your favorite shooter (mf,af slr rangefinder ,no matter) -and why ? pleasure,fun,comodity,quality,reliabilityetc
I am oscillating ,but I think that the Minolta X700 is for me the most maniable , small enough , fun to shoot with , pleasant to action the buttons ,nice and precise viewfinder and focusing system.
The Konica FT 1 comes very close after , being heavier ,shutter priority , but motorised and biiiger viewfinder .In fact very fine one. Both of them great shooters .
In the rangefinders range (I have only ruskis) I especially like the Kiev4 with its sturdy feeling .Beautiful great shutter once you get used with it . The Fed 3 was a pleasant surprise for me funnier than I expected.
A special mention about the Canon EOS IX APS ,small and very pleasant to shoot with .AF.

TrueLoveOne · Expire: 2013-12-24

Minolta XD7. It feels right, it sounds right, it has a very reliable metering system and all my MC/MD Rokkor lenses fit on it!

I've tried almost any brand, and i have almost every Minolta body, yet i keep grabbing the XD7!

Teo · Joined: 19 Jul 2014 Posts: 1079 Location: Romania

A, you're right , it sounds right also , and meters well , that Minolta X700 also!

miran · Joined: 01 Aug 2012 Posts: 1364 Location: Slovenia

My favourite is my Arax modded Kiev 88. Shooting with it is a meditative process. At least for me. Second place goes to Minolta X700. Smile

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

The XD-7 is way up on my list, it's a lovely camera in all respects. As is my Pentax S1A, and Canon AE1p. How about the Contax RX ? it's an oddity with it's focus confirmation, which I actually like and find accurate, it's a fabulous camera that is ovelooked.

Top of the list? it has to be my Olympus 35-SP Rangefinder, which I would almost certainly rescue if the house was on fire.

Teo · Joined: 19 Jul 2014 Posts: 1079 Location: Romania

heheeee , have to change the batteeies on my x700

LifesShort · Joined: 01 Feb 2016 Posts: 71 Location: Forsyth, GA, USA

SLR (35mm): Nikon F2. A better performing, better handling, more reliable camera has never been made.

SLR (med format): Hasselblad 500C/M. I've put thousands of rolls through these cameras. Great camera.

TLR: Mamiya C220. I used this camera extensively during college many years ago.

Teo · Joined: 19 Jul 2014 Posts: 1079 Location: Romania

TrueLoveOne · Expire: 2013-12-24

tb_a · Expire: 2019-08-28

My personal favorite SLR is the Minolta X-500/X-570 which I own since it's introduction in the early 80's.
From my point of view it's the best MF camera from Minolta of all times and even better than the XD7 and X-700 as it features the best TTL metering system (also for flash).
Even my first body works perfectly till date and never had any issues although I have used it rather heavily.

My favorite TLR was the Yashica Mat124G which I own also that long and it's still in my collection. It's easy to use and delivers nice 6x6 negatives. It was at that time the most reasonable and serious camera to step into middle format photography (besides some rather crappy Russian, Chinese and GDR cameras which all had quality issues at that time). It's still up and running. Wink

For sentimental reasons I still like the XD7 as well as it was my first Minolta SLR camera which I have used.

Cheers,

!Karen · Joined: 20 Jul 2013 Posts: 837 Location: Belgium Baby

Rangefinder: canonet ql17. Maybe the Olympus 35SP Will take that spot, still have to test this one.

35mm SLR: tough choice but I think I'll go for my Nikon FE.

TLR: yashica A. Really simple, basic cheap camera but I just love it (and I have a rolleiflex Surprised

)

kansalliskalaCafe · Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2016 11:55 am Post subject:

A) If I want to take picture or my dog, or something I picked up at local flea market:
My wife's Canon 100D with auto-focus zoom

B) If I want to really feel like photographying (?):
Yashicaflex C

C) If I want to take 300 pictures of moving farm vehicles and sell 5 of them (done that):
Canon 5DII with fast auto-focus zoom

D) If I want to really feel like photographying and see results today:
Kodak SLR/c with primes

Teemō · Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Posts: 586 Location: Australia

I seem to be the exception...

Minolta SRT-102! All-mechanical goodness with a full information viewfinder and 2 cell metering. Anything more and I may as well just grab my digital camera. Wink

PhantomLord · Joined: 08 Apr 2013 Posts: 476 Location: Szczecin, Poland

My favourites are
1. Olympus OM-4, because:
- small for SLR
- multi-spot light meter in both auto and manual + memory function of set exposure
- 1/2000th speed
- big viewfinder
- fantastic to shoot with and utterly reliable with very consistent auto mode as well
- great OTF flash metering which gives, again, very consistent flash exposures

and

2. Pentax ME Super, because:
- small for SLR,
- 1/2000th speed
- big viewfinder
- cheap - I'm not afraid to bring it on the beach or in the lake (not in the water, but holding it above water level of course)
- marvellous feel of shutter button and shutter

I usually take Olympus when I want to think about the exposure and use multi spot or to shoot in auto without worrying about the exposure - it's just reliable and consistent camera. Only downside is it's pretty rare and quite expensive (at least for me), so if there is a risk of braking it by accident I leave it at home.
I had lucky to buy OM-4 with the internal electronic replaced in service with those from OM-4Ti, so I have no problem with batteries which are enough for about 6-9 months (depending on how much I shoot).

I usually take Pentax ME Super just for fun as it's very nice camera with even bigger viewfinder than OM-4 or if there's a risk of accidental splashing it with water etc. Also it takes PK lenses as well as M42 with adapter so when I want to shoot with those lenses I take this one. It's a lot less consistent in light measuring than OM-4, most of the time it's spot on with proper exposure, but sometimes it's just misses no matter how much I try to think about exposure, compensation etc.

Elmar Lang · Joined: 11 Apr 2012 Posts: 103

Hello,

my favourite 35mm. rangefinder cameras are the Kiev-4A and the Contax-II/IIa;

my favourite 35mm. Reflex are the Contarex-S; the Contax-S and the Exakta (Varex and VX-1000); lately I very appreciate the Alpa-11Si;

my favourite MF Reflex are the Pentacon Six and the Kiev-88.

my favourite TLR is the Rolleiflex 2,8/3,5F.

All the best,

Enzo (E.L.)

Boris_Akunin · Joined: 22 Aug 2013 Posts: 393 Location: Bremen, Germany

Overall, I'd pick the Minolta XD/XD-7/XD-11 for it's shutter priority mode (and because it's gorgious, especially in black)

The S-mode allows you to set a sort of minimum shutter speed that the camera can override, if necessary. The aperture range can be restricted using the aperture ring (from wide open to the set aperture).
If I want maximum sharpness, I set the shutter speed to freeze subject motion (e.g. 1/250) and the lens to it's sharpest aperture or a bit beyond (e.g. f/8).
If there is too much light for 1/250 at f/8, the camera will pick a faster shutter speed. If there isn't enough light for 1/250 even with the lens wide open, the camera will pick a slower shutter speed.
If I want shallow DOF, I set the shutter speed to 1/1000 so the camera stops down the lens as little as possible.
Also, the 0.87x (at 50mm) viewfinder gives me 1.00x magnification with my MC58/1.2.

Runners-up:
- Olympus OM-4 (large viewfinder, multi-spot meter, OTF metering)
- Canon T90 (even better multi-spot meter, faster shutter speeds)

LifesShort · Joined: 01 Feb 2016 Posts: 71 Location: Forsyth, GA, USA

Teo · Joined: 19 Jul 2014 Posts: 1079 Location: Romania

A, I forgot , because the camera broke ,but the Canon T70 was a wonderful camera to shoot with .For me.

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

Pentax guy that I am -
Favorite film shooter right now is a Nikon FM.
All my PK cameras but one are broken.
I need to send my LX in for repair.

paulhofseth · Expire: 2018-06-28

Maybe 2-3 films per year, and only on a day when the urge to go retro is overwhelming. Over the years my choices have narrowed. On Ilford XP2, exposure is not that critical. A Rollei 35s fits in a pocket, and is fairly unobtrusive.

No darkroom here any longer, so the alternative of fine-grained film, correspondingly faster optics and cropping is not present. This might call for an SLR with more lenses or a zoom, but then such baggage would most probably stay at home.

Looking at old snaps and at the digital archive, I have noticed that pictures in rain and snowstorms are few and far between, so I occasionally bring out boots, a good rain jacket and a brick-sized Nikonos V which will still fit in the correspondingly bigger raintime pockets.

Nothing matches a slow diapositive projected large, so on the rare occasions when i want to have a favourite view
fixed to a slide, I bring out the (much maligned "large") R9 and take back its lenses from the digital machine they usually live on.

Digital is another matter.

p.

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

I'll restrict my comments to 35mm SLRs.

For over 30 years, my favorite shooter has been the Original Canon F-1 (2nd version). It has a super-accurate meter and I love its partial-area metering pattern. Being a system camera, it has all the features and accessories I'm ever likely to need.

A very close second is the Nikon F2 -- a truly remarkable camera and Nikon's last hand-built one. While the F2 is a very robust camera, its Achilles heel is its meter, which simply wears out over time. But its system accessories are some of the best ever made, especially the MD2/MB1 motor drive.

I can understand the attraction of the Minolta XD/XD-7/XD-11 and the X-500/X-570. I own both an XD-11 and an X-570. The XD-11 is, I believe, the finest 35mm camera that Minolta ever produced. But the X-570 is a sheer pleasure to use in manual mode. It has an exceptionally bright viewfinder and its manual metering is fast and intuitive. I just wish that the better MC and MD lenses didn't cost so much!

I also need to mention a few more also-rans that are close to the top of my favorite list. Canon's FTb is Canon's original FD workhorse and is the camera that taught me the basics of photography. It features match-needle metering and the same metering pattern as the F-1, which makes for very precise exposure control. The Canon EF is a great blend of F-1 and AE-1 in a sexy "black beauty" package. The New F-1 is a camera that has been growing on me ever since I bought one a couple years ago. Probably even more robust than the original. I love the Nikon FE and FE2 for its match needle metering in manual mode. I like it better than the FM/FM2 even. And I like the EL2 -- the forerunner to the FE -- for the same reasons. The Nikon F3 is an elegant system camera that does everything very well. The Pentax LX is a great system camera, with OTF metering for super long exposures in dim lighting conditions. The Pentax MX is a cute little thing that's also a great manual mode shooter. And I've been fond of the KX for many years because of its match-needle metering design. The K2 is an interesting shooter -- reminds me of the Nikon EL2 with its match-needle metering and electronically controlled shutter speeds.

I've owned a few Olympi but I've never cared for Olympus's shutter speed ring design -- same goes for the Nikkormats.

paulhofseth · Expire: 2018-06-28

If the original question is to be interpreted not only as what IS the current favourite, but also as what WAS once the favourites and why they fell out of favour, this thread is destined to go on for a while.

In my case, changing technology, design, quality, subjects -and cheap used bargains- has determined camera choices.
After a fixed lens Ricoh, flexibility demanded an old Leica IIIc (or was it IIIf?). It had a nice collapsible Summicron, did fit in a pocket (and as a consequence sufferered hard knocks & ill weather, but braved all challenges).It was fed with Panatomic X and Ilford FP3. BUT the viewfinder was far from ideal. Longer lenses with stick-on viewfinders were even further from being easy to use. I had started to use diapositives, hence I could not use the enlarger as a zoom equivalent.

A Pentax SLR was the solution. Stick-on shutter-speed coupled lightmeter instead of hand-held Sixtomat. A light meter inside the camera and "auto-aperture" was next in line as the ideal user camera. Then, in order to get better quality prints, came a 6x9 with interchangeable backs so that I could switch films in the middle of a roll. Terrible film advance, but very nice groundglass (+ rangefinder )and nifty shift&rise .Also too big to fit in a pocket. I admit that downsizing to Minox C for extreme portability was a step too far. Also , small specs on the film came to be far more important. Then I gravitated towards wider wide-angles on 35mm as the subject matter of my snaps changed. Still sraddling two horses with both SLRs and RFs.

I never got rid of good optics or of the most venerable cameras, but times changed. A while after the Kodak 14 MP came out, I adopted it and finally abandoned silver bromide (and chemicals that went off after being left too long on the shelf). After that, in more recent times, a succession of different flavours of suitably treated silicium oxide with makers who have discarded most of the ancient mechanical bits. My current question mark is whether to admit that 35mm full frame digital should join the film varieties on the historical camera shelf (wile the MFT remains in daily use).

p.

TAo2 · Joined: 09 Mar 2012 Posts: 319 Location: Scotland

Like a few others...for all ye'll ever need...XD7/11

For sheer simplicity and great pictures...ZENIT 3M + HELIOS 44

lucca1x · Joined: 09 Feb 2014 Posts: 93 Location: Romania

I rarely shoot film and the results are ...well some good, some could be better, but each time I have so much fun...

35 film

120 film

I like the Rolleiflex, it is a wonderful machine and the fixed lens is forcing me to move and think about the composition. I think film cameras are very good tools for understanding and learning photography, at least for an amateur like me.

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas