fotomas Posted March 19, 2014 Share #221 Posted March 19, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Not quite comparable, but I love my Sinar 4 x 5 and 8 x 10. And the Noblex 150 UX or Mamiya 7II are also nice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 Hi fotomas, Take a look here Your favourite non-Leica camera. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
leicaphilia Posted March 19, 2014 Share #222 Posted March 19, 2014 The Hexar RF. I've owned both it and the M7 and much prefer the Hexar. Also, a vote for the plain prism Nikon F. In digital, it would be the x100. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick_S Posted March 19, 2014 Share #223 Posted March 19, 2014 I always wanted a Black Minox AX, the last mechanical model they made (only 222 in that colour), but the 8x11 format seem to have moved towards obsolescence. Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted March 19, 2014 Share #224 Posted March 19, 2014 I always wanted a Black Minox AX, the last mechanical model they made (only 222 in that colour), but the 8x11 format seem to have moved towards obsolescence. Nick Nick, Black AX’s fetch rather a lot of money. You can buy an LX which is only a bit bigger and have more reliable electronics than the earlier C, for a fraction of the cost of an AX, especially if you are prepared to have chrome rather than the rarer black. The AX’s are also quite difficult to open to change cassettes. They were really made as a collector not a user camera. Paul O’Sullivan of MS Hobbies in the UK sells guaranteed S/H Minoxes, which he has overhauled plus the cassettes filled with the film of your choice. He also offers a processing and scanning service for 8 x 11. I have started using my Black Minox C again since he did this and I also have a sub-miniature Rollieflex that uses 8 x 11 film but that is more of a novelty than a serious using camera. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2014 Share #225 Posted March 19, 2014 ... The cheapest black Minox 8x11mm might be a Minox EC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted March 19, 2014 Share #226 Posted March 19, 2014 The cheapest black Minox 8x11mm might be a Minox EC. There’s a good reason for that. Very different quality of lens to “proper” 8 x 11 Minoxes and more akin to the lenses in some of the digital Leica micro pastiches they sell nowadays. I bought one of those and it took worse photos than my ten year old Treo phone, that my grandson uses as a toy now. Luckily the camera failed after just one day, so I could send it back for a refund. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted March 19, 2014 Share #227 Posted March 19, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) I was told just last week, that the best Minoxes you can get, are those made for the security services, which apparently according to one of the UK Minox experts, Paul O’Sullivan, had specially selected lenses. I bought my ‘C’ in what was then Czechoslovakia just after the velvet revolution, when I went to talk to the new government about insurance company changes needed for a free market. It came with a document copying stand, which has notched legs to match the close focus markings on the lens adjustment and a microfilm reading attachment. It also came with an odd binocular adapter. So given those three accessories and where I bought it, from someone in a government office, I assume it was ex StB, the Czech version of the KGB or from somebody spying on them It takes much better pictures if you have in your other hand, a Martini, shaken not stirred. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted March 20, 2014 Share #228 Posted March 20, 2014 I have a B which I use occasionally. It is a completely practical camera - thanks to Paul at MS. It's also a jewel. Sent from another Galaxy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berth Posted March 20, 2014 Share #229 Posted March 20, 2014 I really loved my Voitlander Bessamatic SLR from 1960, but my favorite non-Leica has to be the Canon EOS-3. Really a technological marvel that made wonderful images. I'm still using the L zooms I bought with that camera, but now on a 5D2. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted March 20, 2014 Share #230 Posted March 20, 2014 My favourite non-Leica film camera is my Pentax 67. The aspect ratio looks much better to me than 6x6 MF format and the lenses are superb. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted March 21, 2014 Share #231 Posted March 21, 2014 Be careful Pete, that 67 may make your eye slitty. 6x6 is designed to keep your eyes wide open. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trojancast Posted March 21, 2014 Share #232 Posted March 21, 2014 Canon 5D Mark III. The Mark II was awful though. Really? I quite like mine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berth Posted March 21, 2014 Share #233 Posted March 21, 2014 Really? I quite like mine. Yes, I was a pretty early adopter in Januarly 2009, and over the last 5 years I've been extremely pleased with my 5D2. Really very high quality images from my L Zooms, as least partially due to Canon's image processing software and overall user friendly operating design. I like the mechanics of operating the camera, an easy step forward from my first serious entry into didital photography, the 20D, and the even earlier EOS-3, purchased just before the turn of the century. Predictive auto focus tracking of moving targets has been strong, and lightning fast, metering modes are plentiful and accurate, the effective Battery life has been great, and the sensor cleaing feature has ***gasp*** actually kept the CMOS dust free throughout my 5 years of ownership. The 5D2 is a professionals tool. I'm not remotely tempted by the 5D3. The darkside is that with the L lenses, it's a bulky, heavy package to haul around. Discrete it is not. I can't speak for Canon's service, none of my 3 Canons has ever needed the most minor of adjustments, and the 4 L lenses have been impecable in operation, two of them for almost 15 years. Even the 10-22 S lens dedicated to cameras with APS sensors worked extremely well. It could be Canon's service is lousy and that I've had a 15 year run of good luck. Reading the commentary by M8, M9, and M240 owners is a bit dreprsessing Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted March 21, 2014 Share #234 Posted March 21, 2014 … Reading the commentary by M8, M9, and M240 owners is a bit dreprsessing But you have to temper that with the knowledge that owners who have no problems don't generally post about it so the view is distorted. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticman Posted March 21, 2014 Share #235 Posted March 21, 2014 But you have to temper that with the knowledge that owners who have no problems don't generally post about it so the view is distorted. Pete. I've been enjoying this thread, so a bit sad to see it dragging in other issues, but is this really true, Pete? It's stated so often that it's become almost a cliché, but on an enthusiasts forum like this I'd say the positive "bought my new M[*] today and I love it" posts far outnumber the gripes? Anyway, to get back on topic, my favorite camera/lens combination at the moment is the much-maligned Mamiya 645 1000s with the 80mm f1.9. Wide open, the images look like you're using a medium format Noctilux. If I'm allowed a second favorite, I'm just so totally awed and enchanted by the Mamiya 6: the soft 'tick' when taking an image is simply beautiful, the lenses are perfect, and looking through the rangefinder you imagine you're a shrunken Alice in Wonderland with a giant Leica in your hands. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berth Posted March 21, 2014 Share #236 Posted March 21, 2014 But you have to temper that with the knowledge that owners who have no problems don't generally post about it so the view is distorted. Pete. Yes... which is why I'm wondering if an M-E or M9-P should be in my kit. The small form factor is addictive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted March 21, 2014 Share #237 Posted March 21, 2014 Yes... which is why I'm wondering if an M-E or M9-P should be in my kit. The small form factor is addictive. I think that is called 'drip feed'! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted March 22, 2014 Share #238 Posted March 22, 2014 I've been enjoying this thread, so a bit sad to see it dragging in other issues, but is this really true, Pete? .... I think it is, Mani, and it stands to reason. In my experience people like to have a good old moan and what better excuse than if their expensive camera doesn't work as they'd hoped or expected it would. For instance I don't recall many threads along the lines of "I've had my Leica for 14 months and it's worked flawlessly." yet there are a host of threads starting with gripes. The ratio of owners* to complainers is hugely in favour of the owners so it stands to reason that most don't complain about their cameras. *Yes I recognise that an accurate number of owners of a model is not published but rough numbers can be deduced with a bit of research. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted March 22, 2014 Share #239 Posted March 22, 2014 Let me introduce a parallel argument, no apology for going off topic, because I'm not the apologetic type, usually. Some time ago my local Council published statistics on dogs in the municipality that had committed 'infringements' according to bylaws. The number of dogs infringing bylaws was apparently large, in the order of 1500 as I recall. This precipitated a howl of disapproval from community members. I checked the number of registered dogs in the municipality to find there are something like 13000 registered dogs . (Caveat: these figures may be a bit rubbery, but definitely in the right order of things). My point to the populace was that far and away the majority were 'law abiding', but of course nobody reports an incident where 'nothing is wrong'. My point here is that success rarely gets noticed, failure nearly always gets reported. Just look at the current MH370 disaster for an example. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lphong Posted March 22, 2014 Share #240 Posted March 22, 2014 i like the nikon F3, although i have never had one. I like it because it is robust and relatively cheap, plus the fact that it is easy to use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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