JeffS7444
Well-known
Nikon F and Olympus OM-1 beauty is more than skin deep! I've serviced both, and was impressed by how readily the former can be dismantled, and overall build quality. OM shows more signs of cost-reduction, but I marvel at the cleverness of the design: Despite it's compact size, the OM's interior isn't particularly crowded.
That Exacta looks insanely heavy!
cboy
Well-known
Thankyou OP I felt nostalgic reading the post....I miss my OM. Shame about the company and how far has it fallen from its classic days of the OM
raydm6
Yay! Cameras! 🙈🙉🙊┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘ [◉"]
It's actually not too bad and feels smaller in the hand that the photos depict.
raydm6
Yay! Cameras! 🙈🙉🙊┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘ [◉"]
Your welcome.. This model has the film cutting knife (the little knob on bottom of the camera). Crazy feature!
Roger Hicks explains it in this article: https://www.shutterbug.com/content/classic-cameras-exakta-varex-iia-adequately-complicated-classic-page-2
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
I am trying to be a bit subversive here...
Nice camera but i liked the OMs better. I eventually sold it.
Hari
Well-known
Ditto with Erik. Inovative lenses are the hallmark of the Nikon SLR system. They improved the motor with the F2,
so that it could be taken off mid-roll, also though the original "F" has the option for removing the battery pack in
cold weather, this was likewise improved in Nikon F2, only to be dropped in F3. Plus the F2 brought out a 100 foot
motor, the only one in existence. The 100 foot motor is now expensive and rare.
so that it could be taken off mid-roll, also though the original "F" has the option for removing the battery pack in
cold weather, this was likewise improved in Nikon F2, only to be dropped in F3. Plus the F2 brought out a 100 foot
motor, the only one in existence. The 100 foot motor is now expensive and rare.
Hari
Well-known
I just purchased a plain DE-1 prism for my black F2. Now it's beautiful!!
Shafovaloff1
Well-known
I would also like to nominate the Rectaflex as an Italian designed SLR beauty, a "Telois Paris" marked later model. I have recently adapted an Olympus lens to its mount...by way of a 2X adapter...but will soon modify the Zuiko 50mm 1.8 for direct mounting. Looking for wider and longer Zuiko lenses to modify. Careful though, the earlier Rectaflex have a facing inside the mount which interferes a bit with the simplest way to modify the Zuiko for attachment. With the 2X adapter the screen is bright and the focus bar is magnified to make focusing a snap at the modified 100mm focal length. Also, close focus is great and beyond infinity focus is encountered so, careful.Attachments
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santino
FSU gear head
had to look that up, indeed beautiful. I wish there were more great italian cameras.
markjwyatt
Well-known
How about the Praktica VF and even more so IV (which I do not have)?
Praktica VF with Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f2.8 Tessar by Mark Wyatt, on Flickr
Praktica VF with Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f2.8 Tessar by Mark Wyatt, on Flickr
mike rosenlof
Insufficient information
Don't agree with all here, but that's OK. I would add Contax RTS, the first one.
Nitroplait
Well-known
Only black cameras are on my beauty SLR list. Don't know why, but that is just the way it is.
hap
Well-known
A black Pentax MX/LX look quite nice. However, I'm invested in Nikon cams and Nikon lenses. Hard to go wrong.
nikon_sam
Shooter of Film...
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
Exaktas aren’t heavy in comparison to many 35mm SLRs. I have four VX’s, a VX IIa, and an Exakta 500 (also known as Exa II). They are fun to use and I’ve used all of mine quite a bit, including the slow speeds and timers. I’ve long waited for an opportunity to use the film cutting knife. Someday…
For Canon, I think the EF Black Beauty is truly their best “1-step down from professional” SLR. Its features and viewfinder are wonderful. I never liked the scribbled advertising on the T series, nor their blob shape and controls.
For Canon, I think the EF Black Beauty is truly their best “1-step down from professional” SLR. Its features and viewfinder are wonderful. I never liked the scribbled advertising on the T series, nor their blob shape and controls.
james.liam
Well-known
The Exacta looks like the great grandmother of the Leica R8 & R9.
Retro-Grouch
Mentor
And it's prettier!
Benjamin Marks
Mentor
This may stray outside the parameters, but I will make a plug for the Pentax LX -- which was almost as small and elegant as the Olympus OM-1, but with all kinds of pro-level swappable do-dads. I had one with both a high-eyepoint and a waist level finder. I often shot with the waist level finder, but kept closed, which en-smallified the camera profile even further. I zone focused like a Leica and the shutter was about as quiet. I liked this camera so much, I bought it twice. Once before I swapped everything out for Nikon due to parts availability where I was working, and then again when the advent of autofocus in pro gear caused used LX prices to drop. Fabulous bit of engineering.
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
There’s a guy on another photo forum who numerous times has demonstrated the low-light exposure capabilities of the LX - he made a few photos of Hoover Dam and various other nighttime photos where the LX made extremely long exposures, monitoring the light striking the film. The results were spectacular - so good they could’ve been used for an advertising brochure and you’d swear it was made with a large format camera.