In response to Fen's thread here: http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?106191-10-Classic-film-cameras, I thought this would be the perfect way to start an argument or three. So... here's mine, let's have yours, and a few words why.

In no particular order, other than I own at least one of each:

1. Vest Pocket Kodak - the Minox of its day, small, portable, and introduced a film format still (just!) holding on today 101 years later. The Autographic version introduced EXIF data - in 1917!

2. Werra 1 - compact 35mm full-frame camera no bigger than a half-frame and so clean that it was almost anti-styled. Add in a Tessar lens, and you have a winner.

3. Olympus Trip 35 - redefined the compact point-and-shoot with it's Zuiko lens and auto-exposure system. Many still taking great pics today - anyone else notice it crept into AP's letters page twice the other week?

4. Coronet Popular Twelve / Dynamic Twelve - magnificently fugly. No other merits at all, as was common with Coronets!

5. Box Brownie - of any variety. Bought photography to the masses, and still capable today with a little care. Kodak, what have you done? :-(

6. Argus C3 Matchmatic - Truly a Wizard camera, thanks to Hairy Blotter and the Chamber Pot of Secrets, it's beigeness and awe-inspiringly unergonomic design make it a must for the masochistic photographer. A surprisingly sharp lens...

7. Olympus OM10 - my first SLR. What more do you need to know?

8. Kodak Retina II. A Retina took the first photo from the summit of Everest, and George Lowe (RIP) documented the expedition with his Retina II. So there you have it, a proven ability to produce iconic photographs in the toughest conditions.

9. Nikkormat ELW. Your boat will never drift away if you have one - heavier than a Zenit!

10. Kodak Duo-620. As used by the aliens on planet Zorglub who took Amelia Earhart's when they abducted her - well, until they ran out of 620 film!

There you go, let's see what other people think!

Adrian

 

My list, most of which I own, or have owned

1 Zeiss Super Ikonta 531/2, 8 0r 16 on 120, coupled range finder, Tessar lens, which I have, almost equal with it the equivalent Voigtlander Bessa 2 model which I had way back in 1957

2 Agilux 6x6 interchangeable lens developed from WW2 aerial camera

3 Rollei, never owned, but lusted after. I did have a Yashica 4x4 for a while after an RAF trip to Singapore, passed it on to my son.

4 Agimatic, cheap and cheerful (less than 25 quid in 1958) 35mm interchangeable lens, uncoupled Rf, extinction meter

5 Olympus PenF, half frame interchangeable lens (never managed to afford a second lens in those days!)

6 Minolta 110 Zoom MkII,

7 Minolta 7000, claimed to be first SLR with both AF and motor advance, kept mine for years until I went digital

8 Olympus XA, all you needed in pocket size

9 Minolta A200 very handy 9Mpx bridge with antishake and reasonable zoom

10 Minolta 5d my first DSLR, uses the same lenses as my 7000, and brings some new ones with it, maybe only 6Mpx but I prefer it to my 14Mpx Sony A350 for most of what I do, I suspect the noise performance is better than the Sony above 800 ISO.

I've not included other drool worthy cameras, I think of those the Linhof Technika was probably at the top of my wish list.

 

I have a thick head this a.m. (more than normal ho ho, and NO, before you ask, I wasn't out late, drinking, eating to excess yesterday or in the small hours!) so this is going to be a struggle but here is a very personal selection:

Ten 35mm classics or otherwise I would like to have temporary custody of in my head in no particular order:

Leica IIIf
Nikon F2 chrome with plain prism and 50mm f2 {nothing like being specific!}
Minolta XM
Leica R7
Olympus 35RC
Nikon F100
Leica M7 or MP (or both)
KI Monobar
... now I'm struggling ... umh
Olympus OM2SP
Pentax LX ...

... how's that?

 

1. Nicca 3-F, Japan's Leica.
2. Zeiss Ikon Contina-matic III
3. Yashica Electro 35 GT
4. Pentax Spotmatic II
5. Mamiya C330 f TLR
6. Nikon F2
7. Miranda Sensomat RE
8. Olympus OM 2n
9. Minolta XG-M
10. Mamiya 645 1000s

 

A more worldly and practical list than Hasselblads , twin lens thingys, and ancient bellows jobbies.

1. Nikon F2 - vastly superior to the original F which weaned pros off rangefinders
2. Leica M6 - best rangefinder - within lusting range now secondhand
3. Nikon F3 - very small by todays standards - kept going for 15 years as pros resisted F4
4. Pentax Spotmatic - used by Bailey - very lustworthy despite clinging to screw mount
5. Zenith E - little boys first SLR at tiny tiny prices
6. Canon AE1 - won every single magazine camera group test for several years
7. Praktica LTL2 - excellent step up from Zenith E for tiny money - more affordable than the Spotmatic you really wanted.
8. Olympus OM1 - small classy alternative to worthy but ugly Nikkormat FT3
9. Olympus XA - only just taller than a 35mm cassette - coupled rangefinder better than "guess the distance" Rollei 35's
10. Minolta 7000 - first easily available auto focus SLR that everyone had heard of.

 

Rolleiflex 2.8F
Sinar 6x9 monorail ( not the 5x4 with a 6x9 back) (Only ever seen one)
Olympus 35 SPn
Olympus XA
Olympus OM1n
Nikon F3 hp
Canon 7 SZ
Leica M4P
Compass Camera (Jaeger LeCoultre & Cie.,) The ultimate bling
Ernemann Ermanox Film Camera (as used by Dr. Erich Salomon)


There are so many exceptional cameras that it would be hard to chose a collecting list, but it would be hard not to love the above.

 

Brain working a bit better today but may be errors as am posting from memory without G**gle checks, here's my all-time film classic list for Adrian, almost sticking to his brief (sorry, more than 10 ):

Kodak Box Brownie - advent of 'film' & photography for the masses
Gandolfi - a camera that covered the lifetime of photography from coated plates up to the latest E-6 emulsion
Leica IIIa/c - not the first, I know, the Ermanox pioneered but the Leica was a 'changed the world' camera that was most effective
Rolleiflex - amazing quality with portability
Hasselblad - the bird watcher's camera that went to the moon and made a lot of livings for a lot of photographers
Sinar - almost ditto, just forget the bird & lunar photography (although I wouldn't mind betting Sinars photographed components of space vehicles)
Brownie 127 - the black oval one, the memory of which always makes people smile
Pentax S1/S1V - instant return mirror - start of the SLR revolution
Olympus Trip 35 - iconic!, say no more
Nikon F/F2 - ultimate system SLR
Konica Reflex - first auto exposure SLR?
Olympus OM1 - game changer
Canon A series - start of 3 decades of dominance, biggest selling (?), and first multi-mode SLR
Konica compact (cannot remember desig.) - first built in flash
Konica AF compact - first AF in camera
Minolta 7000 - first autofocus SLR camera
Canon EOS 1V - game ender, the ultimate! - unless you are a Nikon obsessive

Cor! It's 17 and I could add the Minox 35 or Olympus XA or both or the original Lomo or a Diana.

And then there's Polaroid - is it film or is it something else or is it unique?

So a top twenty, perhaps?

 

Oops! Realised I missed a couple of strong contenders to round out my Top Twenty above: Exakta for its use, especially with microscopes, in medical, scientific and other professional fields plus, similarly, the Topcon Super D, which IIRC was a specified SLR camera - on a short list of one! - for some military forces, especially the US.

 

Brownie 127
Ilford Sportsman Pronto
Fed 3
Yashica Electro 35 GTN
Zenit E
Pentax SPF
Canon A1
Ricoh 35G
Yashicamat
Nikon F80

Roughly in the order in which I acquired them. I still have them all.

 

From my collection , I would say the Top 10 are in no particular order..

1] Nikon F80

2] Zorki 4K

3] Nikon F90

4] Yashica Mat

5] Canon EOS 5

6] Canon AE-1 [ got 3 of them ]

7] Canon A1 [ got 2 of them ]

8] Olympus OM2

9] Olympus Trip

10] Mamiya ZM Quartz

 

Again in no order:

Original Nikon F with 'Box' Photomic head. - probably because of how it looks.

Leica, maybe the IIIG - because I don't know enough about the different III variants to make a more precise choice than that.

Hassleblad V series. - Because of it's handling and are still out there, nailing shots commercially but nowadays with digital backs installed on them.

Zeiss Contarex Electronic - Over engineered (to evade Leitz's patents) Zeiss's monstrously expensive and heavy swansong. If my memory serves me correctly, it took the BJP 3 issues to review it!

Minolta Dynax 9 - never sold that well, and built like a brick latrine. was also their grand swansong too.

Alpa 12, any configuration. - Engineering excellence in my opinion; saw one at the photoshow at the NEC, and marvelled at how a MF camera could be made so small!

Olympus OM1. - Proved that system cameras don't have to be big and heavy.

Olympus half-frame Pen F. - Yoshihisa Maitani's most innovative design.

The original Kodak Box Brownie - Brought photography to the masses.

Canon EF - Automatic version of the bullet-proof F1

 

Blimey, didn't I answer this one?

1. Rolleiflex 3.5F Xenotar
2. Rolleiflex 2.8F Xenotar
3. Rolleiflex 3.5F Planar (6 element)
4. Rolleiflex 2.8F Planar
5. Rolleiflex 3.5F Planar (5 element)
6. Rolleiflex Old Standard
7. Rolleiflex T
8. Rolleiflex 2.8A
9. Rolleicord Vb
10. Baby Rolleiflex

 

So, you're not keen on Canon then?

 

I think I must've missed this thread when it was first posted. So here goes:

Zeiss Contessa 35 533/24
Zeiss Super Ikonta B 532/16
Balda Super Baldax
Zeiss Super Ikonta 531
Voigtlander Vitessa L
Voigtlander Perkeo II
Voigtlander Vitomatic II
Kodak Retina IIIc 021
Zeiss Contaflex IV 864/24
Voigtlander Vito II

Not sure about the exact order.

 

Rolleis are always my first love .

Might do a more general one in a bit...

 

Just for you, 13 classic Canons, in no particular order for the first 10:

1. Canon IIf
2. Canon 7
3. Canonet QL17 GIII
4. Canon FTb QL
5. Canon EF
6. Canon F-1N
7. Canon A-1
8. Canon T90
9. EOS 5
10. EOS 1V

11. EOS RT
12. Canon F-1
13. Canon 110ED

Each of these is a really nice camera to use IMVHO, and each a genuine contender for best of its type at the time over a 50 year period.

 

OK, something a little different - 10 classic electronic film cameras:

1. Rolleiflex 3003
2. Contax RX
3. Fuji DL Super Mini
4. Olympus Mju II
5. Polaroid 1000
6. Mamiya M645
7. Praktica B200
8. Pentax ESPIO
9. Canon EOS 10QD
10. Rollei A110

 

Whoa there, boy! Stretching the use of 'classic' a bit, aren't we?

 

Nope.

 

Most Leicas
Most Gandolfis
Most Alpas
Most Retina RF models
Hasselblad 500 series
Later Linhof Technikas and Technikardans
Some Robots
Nikon F
Olympus Pen W
Pentax SV

Well, that's 3 individual models from otherwise good or average makers, and seven series or indeed manufacturers -- but (for example) choosing a Leica M3 over an MP is a matter of personal choice.

Cheers,

R