Your OTHER cameras

[pingflood]

I know we aren't all 100% pure Pentaxians here, so fess up. What other cameras do you use?

I have too many to remember, but here is a partial list of ones I enjoy:

Crown Graphic 4x5
Everybody needs a large format rig. Haven't shot this in a long time but I really need to. There's something magical about watching your image on such a giant screen.

Olympus OM2
Probably the best handling manual focus film SLR ever built. Great autoexposure mode (aperture priority) with off-the-film-surface metering, small and built like a tank, and the great Zuiko glass. Have only one lens--a 50/1.8--but it's really all I need. It's a lot of fun popping some nice color film (Kodak Supra 100 for me) in and going shooting classical style sometimes.

Yashica-Mat 124G
Doesn't see much use, and it's a bloody shame. The Yashikor lens(es) on this camera is so sweet, and for a TLR it's light and nimble.

Fuji GA645
The ultimate point-and-shoot if you ask me. 6x4.5 negatives, autofocus, huge and bright viewfinder with parallax corrected brightlines. Can be run in full auto mode, aperture priority, or manual. Fantastic 60mm f/4 lens. Some samples of its performance can be seen in Dante Stella's Mamiya 6 review:
Dante Stella

Leica IIf
I had a III and some more lenses and viewfinders, but settled on this setup: IIf with a ~1936 uncoated 50/2 Summar. Images doesn't get more classic looking than this.

Mamiya RB67
The beast! Complete with 90mm and 250mm lenses. Rotating 6x7 back, centrifugal mirror slowdown mechanism to practically eliminate mirror slap (you can shoot at like 1/60th with this thing, try that with a Pentax 67!), will probably survive a nuclear war. Great optics, and a ton of annoying interlocks/safeties that all have to be JUST RIGHT for it to fire the shutter. Every time I bring it out it's ten minutes of fiddling to figure out what I forgot this time.

Those are the main ones. I also sit on a couple of Spotmatics, a Mamiya SLR, some miscellanous rangefinders (Yashicas and Minoltas), some point and shoots, a Nikon F... and a bunch more.

How 'bout you?

[lithos]

Non K-mount?

Only thing I've got is an Olympus XA.

Truly a masterpiece of design, from the lens to the rangefinder to dust barrier to the transcendal shutter release. A wonderful delight to behold, to be held in your hand.

Sure, the lens isn't SLR quality, but the engineering it took (an f2.8 35mm Zuiko - six elements, five groups) to make it small and full frame. About the size of a 20 pack of durries. The lens is fulla low-dispersion and high refractive glass to squeeze it down - and there's still a quarter inch or so between the rear element and the film plane.

There's some chrome-abb, and it's not tack sharp, both measured on some absolute scale, but for what it is, it's brilliant.

Quiet as a church mouse, too.

[KungPOW]

At the moment I have:

Zeis Ikon - Belonged to my grandfather. He used it in the Canadian artic circle during his stint as a weatherman. It doesn't work anymore.

Brownie Box Camera - Belonged to my other grandfather. great shape but the viewfinder mirrors have come loose.

Olympus XA - One of my favorite film cameras. Used it today.

Canon EOS-1N - my only autofocus film camera. Just got it. Really enjoyable to use, comfortable, everything feels "pro", has a spot meter, great view finder, and the lens is image stableised! But I only have one lens, and its not too fast. (3.5-5.6), so as the grey day bacame darker, out came the Olypus XA!

Yashica GSN - Bought it on a whim. Had to fix the "pad of death". Kind of a quirky camera. It "chirps" after a long exposure. It has some internal issue that causes the shutter to trigger if the focus is set from 3m - infinity. Seldom ever gets used. I just like the XA so much better.

Yashica Minister III - bought it for 15 bucks. It looks almost new. Quietest shutter of any camera I have ever used. I should use it more. The light meter dosen't require batteries. Has a strange guide number system to set the exposure.

Then I have various Pentax film cameras. S3, Spotmatic, LX, KX, ME super, K1000.

If I could only keep one of the cameras, it would be the LX. But my favorite camera when you consider cost, function and "value" is the ME super. The XA, I would hide in a pocket.

[brumby]

Right now, my ONLY cameras are a Canon Powershot A720IS and a Panasonic Lumix TZ-15 (TZ-5 in the US). Yep, they're both point and shoots, but good ones, especially the Panasonic.

There may be a Canon P&S (or possibly even a Panasonic) for sale on here in the very near future.

[stevebrot]

Well here is the family portrait:

• Olympus XA
• Ricoh XR-7
• Ricoh Singlex TLS
• Canon G2

All are fully functional and all are much enjoyed. I particularly echo the comments regarding the XA. My only complaint is that it vignettes under some conditions.

Steve

(Anyone knowing where I can get a replacement wrist strap for the XA?)

[ChrisPlatt]

• Bronica RF645
• Konica Hexar AF
• Contax T
• Petri Color 35
• Minox 35ML
• Olympus XA, XA2, XA3, 35RC, Stylus Epic
• Konica C35
• Sears mini 35 (aka Ricoh FF-1s)
• Ricoh 500G
• Walz Wide

[woof]

Originally Posted by pingflood

I know we aren't all 100% pure Pentaxians here, so fess up. What other cameras do you use??

Nikon F with plain prism
Nikon F Apollo with Photomic prism
Nikon F100

woof!

[ve2vfd]

Minolta X-700... that was a workhorse.

Pat

[séamuis]

Kodak Retina IIF
Kodak Retina Reflex III

[Ratmagiclady]

Originally Posted by lithos

Non K-mount?

Only thing I've got is an Olympus XA.

Truly a masterpiece of design, from the lens to the rangefinder to dust barrier to the transcendal shutter release. A wonderful delight to behold, to be held in your hand.

Those are surely nice. I've got a Canonet G-III that's a bit of a work in progress... waiting on me to check a light seal job that was interrupted by a move before I was fully satisfied with my work, and check out the RF and such. Then it's a test roll: there's some damage to the coating of the lens which may or may not be an issue formy intended use.

I've got a decent Canon FD outfit, a slightly-brassy F-1N and an A-1, a few others in various states of needing-maintenance; an AE-P in need of a CLA, an old FTb with a few issues, and a couple of FT's which might make up one fully-functional one. Not a lot of fancy glass, have a 50 1.2 and 85 1.8 SSC which take up most of my shooting between them.

And a bit of Mamiya, a 1000s, a dubious 80 and a lovely 110. (love that lens.)

Also a Lumix bridge camera, (An FZ-7: very nice, but if you like these, go for the FZ-8, which has key improvements. Wonderful lens, very handsome, OIS and reach is something out of sci-fi to me. ) And that's pretty much it.

[Stratman]

I have a Ricoh KR-5 that I bought new in either 1980 or '81, with the 55mm F2.2 lens. And a Ricoh KR-5 Super that I picked up at a goodwill store for $6.00 It came with a 50mm F2 lens, and a 2 X CPC teleconverter.

The KR-5...

[xs400]

Minolta SRT-202
Minolta X-570
Canon Powershot S60
Olympus XA

[Jester_rm]

Hmm...lemme see...

Minolta Vectis S-1 (my first SLR...APS format, not a bad little camera)

Yashica YF Rangefinder (Belonged to my dad, needs a CLA and minor repair but in good shape otherwise)

An old Kodak folder, not sure what model but nothing special, from my Aunt's estate

An early Olympus digital, 2.0 mp I think, my first digital

A Sony Cybershot something-or-other, was a wedding present, nothing special.

almost forgot...there's a Zenit and a Sears M42 SLR in there somewhere, not sure what models, I got them for the lenses attached to them.

I think that's all

[Talisker]

The ones that see at least some use are:
Panasonic DCM LX3
Bronica 645RF + 45mm, 65mm, and 100mm lenses (my favourite!)
Voigtlander Bessa T
Voigtlander Bessa R2 + five lenses from Voigtlander 15mm to bargin 135mm Tele-elmar
Gaoersi 617 / Fujinon 90mm F8
Konica Big Mini

(I did have an Olympus XA once, but I left it on a plane in Canada - would probably cause a security incident these days: 15 years ago it just 'disappeared'...)

[Tyler]

Pentax 67
Yashica GSN
Yashica 124G (hopefully it will sell)
and then I will have a Contax G2 with 28mm 2.8 Biogon.

Would love a Super Speed Graphic soon, too