What kind of cameras do you prefer?

ariel7515

ariel7515

Suspended / Banned
Messages
780
Name
Ariel
Edit My Images
Yes
What kind of film cameras do you prefer?

That is the main question, but let me explain it, reading the thread opened by Downton Mini in this section about buying a Nikon F80 camera, I've started to wonder about the preferences of the people when comes the time to buy a film camera (35mm, medium or large format).

Do you prefer a modern camera full with electronics and automatism? or do you prefer an old mechanic camera? Why? and what other factors do you have in mind when buying a camera?

In my case, my father gave me his Yashica FR1, a camera from 1978, one of the first with electronically-controlled shutter and AUTO mode (aperture priority), I really love it, its a great camera, but the shutter doesn't work without the battery.

In the other hand, a friend gave me a KIEV-4M camera, from 1977, a full mechanic rangefinder camera, and an Olympus OM-1 from 1972, a full mechanic SRL camera. And some time later I buy a Yashica FX-3, another full mechanic SLR.

I'm very happy with all of them, but if I must chose, I prefer the mechanical ones, basically because I don't want to depend on a battery. Besides, I don't use autofocus, auto mode or any other automatism, so I don't need any electronics in my cameras.

I must admit that the light meter included in the FR-1 or the OM-1 is an advantage, of course, but I can always use an external light-meter.
 
I prefer old, mechanical cameras on the whole - although I tend to prefer having aperture priority (which requires a little bit of electronics) on my 35mm SLR bodies. Why? Because I have a fantastic DSLR that is full of electronics, automatic functions, and I shoot film for a break from that.

Additionally, I shoot a lot of medium format and medium format + automation generally equals expensive gear.

As for battery dependence, most of my battery dependent cameras use tiny button cells, often only one SR/LR44 - trivial to pack in, especially when they come in cheap blister packs.
 
Give me a completely manual LF camera any day of the week. I love the connection to the photograph that a manual camera gives you, I love the pace, and I loves the results. Automatic this and that just seem to detract from it all for me.
 
I generally prefer an SLR or rangefinder or a point n' shoot and always 35mm, medium format and large format film and my cameras should preferably have just a mechanical shutter and not rely on batteries unless I want a camera with auto-everything.

My preference is always dependant on my mood and what I want to achieve.

Sorry I cant be of more help but it's an answerable question for me:thinks:
 
Fully Manual regardless of format.

Prefer the simplicity of them with lack of menus, batteries and other gadgetery.

Having said that I do love my FE and of course a built in meter has it's advantages at times.
 
Fully automatic slr is what I use. I don't want to be faffing around for ages and missing a moment because I'm too busy having to twiddle knobs and wind it on. Motorwind is essential as is in camera metering. It leaves me free to concentrate on the content of the shot itself rather than having to spend ages working out how to achieve it.

The camera I have can be full manual if I want too so if there is a situation which it can't cope with then I can still have full control. Most of the time it seems to be ok so I never need it. The the exposure latitude of colour film it's never going to be so far out anyway. If I shot slide film I might have to be more careful :)

I always carry spare batteries so battery life isn't a concern either.
 
I like them all! I love my old no nonsense zenits. But at the moment I am shooting with an automatic nikon f75. I love this too.
 
Most SLRs are fine by me, as long as it doesn't have needle display for metering or a dim teeny viewfinder. Not a fan of big clunky things.

I like my OMs, I love my Pentax ME and a I love my Nikon F100 because it's set up identical to my DSLRs which is very useful!
 
Completely manual, no batteries, no lightmeter.

My Nikon Fs are perfect in this respect.

For medium format, I like TLRs such as Rolleicord and Rolleiflex and have been using a Mamiya C330 over the weekend.


Steve.
 
Semi-automatic for me too. I prefer my cameras to have a meter and aperture priority with traditional chunky dials.

I appreciate that my F100 is an amazing piece of kit but I can't engage with it in the same way as my FE2. And the aperture is inside the lens so it should be controlled by a dial on the bloody lens!
 
More important is "what lens do you prefer"..but with cameras it's horses for courses for me. A canon T90 with 300tl flash gun is a very good combo for groups or weddings etc...but on holidays I choose the canon T70 with Konica TC or Pentax S3 because they are lighter than the T90 and I can trust them (probably other cameras I can trust as well but can't use em all :) ).
 
Last edited:
I choose my cameras by how stupid I look holding them.

I see Brian does too


high fives Bri....lol





.
 
Last edited:
I just like cameras that feel 'right' and whether they're manual, semi-auto, electronic, battery-less, etc, has very little influence on how right they fee to me. I have more of a connection with what I'm shooting than I have with the camera I'm using; how I take the photo is more about how I interact with the scene rather than how I interact with the camera so I can't really put into words what makes a camera feel right to me, they just... Do. Or don't. Or something like that... :)
 
Last edited:
joxby said:
I choose my cameras by how stupid I look holding them.
Click to expand...

In that case... I choose mine for the potential to cause my wife or children to be embarrassed when seen out in public with me.


Steve.
 
joxby said:
I choose my cameras by how stupid I look holding them.

I see Brian does too


high fives Bri....lol .
Click to expand...

:lol: You've spotted my disguise as people don't bother you if they feel sorry for you, also handy for getting thing cheap at the bootie :lol:
 
Completely mechanical and manual, and my favourite is the Nikon F2. It just pushes all the right buttons for me. Beautifully made, just about bulletproof, feels good in my hands, and has simple, direct, controls. The metering head is battery dependent, but I can manage quite well without it.
 
freecom2 said:
I prefer old, mechanical cameras on the whole - although I tend to prefer having aperture priority (which requires a little bit of electronics) on my 35mm SLR bodies. Why? Because I have a fantastic DSLR that is full of electronics, automatic functions, and I shoot film for a break from that.
Click to expand...

Agree with this - although I shoot in manual my D700 meters and focuses so I dont need to think much. My M3 and Rollei need me to do everything. Its different. I also like the Medium format of the rollei which i could not afford in digital form.

Did like using my F80 but decided to sell as i cant keep carrying around so many cameras and is similar to my D700 in a way, although it does produce great effortless results.
 
Like many here I prefer manual mechanical cameras. I feel more connected to the picture using them....but there's always the exception. Really enjoying my Pentax 67. Manual focus and exposure, but totally battery dependant.
 
35mm. Not fussed about whether a camera is battery dependant as long as it is manual focus and has manual & aperture priority shooting modes. Nikon F3 & FA are ideal.

Do have others in the collection that range from a F with an eye level finder to an F5 & all find a place & get used. Sometimes I fancy a different approach on the day.
 
I love it when I have the time to use my Mamiya C330f, nobody around just me, the scenery and the camera. Otherwise (and I think the camera they can bury me with) I love my F100. It does everything perfectly.

Andy
 
Thank you all for your comments.

The preference for mechanical cameras here is clear, in general, but also we have different points of view on the same subjet and that's great. Lucky for us that we still have a large variety of cameras to chose, for now.

But I must agree with those, like Paul, who have said: "I just like cameras that feel 'right'", because it's true, I like a camera or I don't, no gray areas. Why? Sometimes I don't even know why. :)
 
Simple and mechanical. The essential few controls: shutter, aperture, focus - the camera can almost become an extension of your body & brain. Of course if you're taking kids running about or birds in flight I can see an advantage in autofocus but I never went down that route. Neither did I ever acquire a medium format or larger camera, and if I now should, I have no means of scanning other than 35mm ... one can't have everything!

Also if I'm to have just one camera - it will most likely have a rectangular format rather than a square one. I'm used to the discipline of cropping at the time of taking (what else are viewfinders for?). No noisy motorwinds either.
 
Last edited:
ariel7515 said:
Thank you all for your comments.

The preference for mechanical cameras here is clear, in general, but also we have different points of view on the same subjet and that's great. Lucky for us that we still have a large variety of cameras to chose, for now.

But I must agree with those, like Paul, who have said: "I just like cameras that feel 'right'", because it's true, I like a camera or I don't, no gray areas. Why? Sometimes I don't even know why. :)
Click to expand...

Well it's a puzzle what "feel right" means as in my collection.... 99 % feel right, if it means the "controls" work better then I'd agree as I'm using a mint Praktica BCI at the moment and the wind on is the worst I've come across and feels like it's full of sand, mind you it might need oiling :shrug: A contax 139 is sooo smooth, but lenses for it are very expensive, so don't use it much.
 
I would echo the simple and mechanical thoughts as a preference as it does give more involvement and pleasure in the finished article and I use the Hasselblad 95% of the time these days. But focussing a Hasselblad following my kids’ rugby can be tricky so sometimes I use a Minolta Dynax 9 and enjoy the auto focussing five frames a second burst!

Mark
 
Threeracers said:
I would echo the simple and mechanical thoughts as a preference as it does give more involvement and pleasure in the finished article and I use the Hasselblad 95% of the time these days. But focussing a Hasselblad following my kids’ rugby can be tricky so sometimes I use a Minolta Dynax 9 and enjoy the auto focussing five frames a second burst!

Mark
Click to expand...

I don't think I've dared use mine on continuous yet.. bzzzzzt. Oops no film...
 
droj said:
Also if I'm to have just one camera - it will most likely have a rectangular format rather than a square one. I'm used to the discipline of cropping at the time of taking
Click to expand...

I use square format cameras for the same reason - I prefer square pictures.


Steve.
 
Another vote for mechanical cameras.

Helps make me slow down and think about what I'm doing.
 
Although I used to use a few old Pentaxes (?Pentaces?!) about 3x years ago, I never really found them that comfortable to use - too angular. The modern rounded types fit me much better and far more comfortably. Has to be said also that AF, auto exposure and motor wind all make life so much easier too. They don't necessarily make every shot perfect but they sure as eggs is eggs make decent shots easier to capture!

Although I have in the past used a selection of gear from the ubiquitous 110 instamatics up to 2 1/4 square in TLR and Hassleblad form, I've always owned only 35mm (or d***t*l) due to size and budgetary constraints. Now I have the space and money to go the MF route, I also have a D800 which comes pretty close to the quality MF would give me (in a much more convenient package), although I have been tempted to pick up a cheap MF kit as a plaything.
 
Oh God, I just love cameras! So long as they're made of metal,feel cool to the touch and make a nice metalic "clink" when the shutter's pressed (soft clink - Leica or bang! clink - Bronica) they're all lovely. Having said all that, for walking around, carry everywhere, I love my X10!
 
^^^WHS^^^ (including the last bit ;) )
 
I would love to have the time and resources to use a 5x4" camera but for what I need and do, I just couldn't go back to anything other than a modern DSLR
 
excalibur2 said:
:eek: wrong forum
Click to expand...

I should have said that like Woodsy says, with large format there's something special happening once you get into that mindset of shooting only when you need to. I loved the prep of loading up backs and really using my instinct for a shot, as opposed to just rattling frames off, which is what happened with work using 35mm (film costs were covered so I just went mad and shot loads of rolls).

I have an FE that gets dusted off for odd occasions but I'm just finding that 'magic' of shooting film has disappeared for me. I think it's probably work photography taking over from personal photography, where digital just does everything better.... I keep looking at AF cameras when they come up in the classifieds - Nikon F5 for example - but I'm just not sure it would get the use. I blame it on selling my ETRSi, I loved that camera and it went everywhere...

Maybe I need to go back to a camera I loved? T90 with a few FD lenses and some Xpan might do the trick :)

...anyway, I'll get my coat ;)
 
Last edited:
I am not sure, I love all my cameras.

I like the fully mechanical set up of my TLR, the semi-auto setup of my Pentax and the full whizzes and bangs of my dSLR.
 
specialman said:
I should have said that like Woodsy says, with large format there's something special happening once you get into that mindset of shooting only when you need to. I loved the prep of loading up backs and really using my instinct for a shot, as opposed to just rattling frames off, which is what happened with work using 35mm (film costs were covered so I just went mad and shot loads of rolls).

I have an FE that gets dusted off for odd occasions but I'm just finding that 'magic' of shooting film has disappeared for me. I think it's probably work photography taking over from personal photography, where digital just does everything better.... I keep looking at AF cameras when they come up in the classifieds - Nikon F5 for example - but I'm just not sure it would get the use. I blame it on selling my ETRSi, I loved that camera and it went everywhere...

Maybe I need to go back to a camera I loved? T90 with a few FD lenses and some Xpan might do the trick :)

...anyway, I'll get my coat ;)
Click to expand...

Well just for you if you have about 6 grand to spend...D800e plus the best 55mm lens in the world:- :)
http://diglloyd.com/articles/ZeissZ/ZeissZ-Otus-55f1_4.html
 
Like most people on here I have a mix of fully manual, semi, auto and full auto cameras and again a mix of battery dependant or not. Again like most I love all of them.

I just use which ever cmaera I am in the mode for using at the moment it is the Pentax 67,tomorrow could be the Nikon F4 :)
 
For the past couple of years, I've used my modern film SLR's (F100 and F6:) ) more for practicality as they function similarly to, and use the same lenses as, my D700. My photography is more on the hoof as well, so it just works.

I do have an old FM in my cupboard that I've not used much recently, as well as a Mamiya 645, I think I'll dust them off again soon as it's nice to do something different every now and again. I still fancy trying a Fuji MF rangefinder, can't quite justify it at the moment given how little film I've shot of late!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top