Which camera gives you the most fun and which gives the most satisfaction?

[Keith Drysdale]

So far this year I have shot a roll in a Canon A1, Minolta AL-F, Praktica MTL 50, Nikon Zoom 600AF, Olympus Superzoom AZ300, Pentax Espio 140, Pentax MV and Zenit TTL. I managed to get shots I'm very happy with from each of them but some are more pleasant than others to use. Some that I used to enjoy using are now a pain.

The Canon A1 is probably the best camera in this list, but the one I had the most fun with was the Pentax Espio 140. The little plastic zoom compact is a doddle to use (and very light) and the images are sharp enough for most of what I need. I got some great images from the Nikon Zoom too, but I have just scanned a film that my good lady shot in it and I am hugely impressed with the accuracy of the exposures and total lack of flare on the shots she took in the direction of the sun, with no bleeding of highlights into the shadows (maybe Delta 100 helped with this).

My shot from the Pentax Espio 140 on FP4+, developed in Ilfosol 3 (Hazy sun with light clouds)



My good lady's shot of me with the Nikon Zoom 600AF on Delta 100, developed in Ilfosol 3 (Bright sun with mist coming in off the sea)

 

[Gary R. Smith]

Keith! You're pumping through the film! I've only shot 3 rolls of Fujicolor so far (well, still 10 shots to go on the last roll). I've shot a bunch of digital and I feel like the camera I grab most often is the Panasonic Lumix gx9. I did enjoy shooting my first ever Nikon with the 35/2 lens (that replaced the e-series Nikon zoom that fell apart). This was shot with the Nikon and Nikkor 35/2 on Fujicolor and developed with Cinestill Cf41 Simplified Two-Bath. Then the negative was inverted using FilmLab and cropped.

This was shot with the gx9...

 

[Paul Taylor]

I think for me, the two questions have the same answer - and that is my Bronica EC. I love using the camera, it is so much fun - yet I am consistently surprised at how great the image quality is. Close second place is my 4x5 Toyo - but the Bronica wins out due to portability.

I dug around and found the right cable to go from the flash port on the bronica to my Godox wireless flash transmitter (which is for my Lumix G9) so I can trigger my Godox V1 Pro flash. Hoping to wrangle some coworkers into portraits tomorrow just to try it out.

35MM wise - my Contax RX still reigns supreme as the most satisfying and fun to use. Second place is my Nikon F4s.

 

[Keith Drysdale]

Keith! You're pumping through the film! I've only shot 3 rolls of Fujicolor so far (well, still 10 shots to go on the last roll). I've shot a bunch of digital and I feel like the camera I grab most often is the Panasonic Lumix gx9. I did enjoy shooting my first ever Nikon with the 35/2 lens (that replaced the e-series Nikon zoom that fell apart). This was shot with the Nikon and Nikkor 35/2 on Fujicolor and developed with Cinestill Cf41 Simplified Two-Bath. Then the negative was inverted using FilmLab and cropped.
View attachment 22308
This was shot with the gx9...
View attachment 22309

I have to keep a steady flow going to feed my YT channel. The Zenit and the Praktica made it feel like a chore and that's probably why I enjoyed the light weight and automatic everything of the zoom compacts.

 

[Peter Roberts]

Most satisfying camera? The Minolta XD7 with the Rokkor 45mm f2 on the front. I find it a perfect walkabout combo. Here are a couple of recents. Just things that caught my eye. Tri-X, Rodinal 1:50.






Most fun camera? Currently a recently rescued Halina Viceroy. A cheap, Hong Kong made pseudo TLR. I may write it up for 35mmc, but for the time being here are two from the first roll I ran through it. I was pleasantly surprised by the genuine retro look that the images have. Kentmere 400, Rodinal 1:50.

 

[Keith Drysdale]

Most satisfying camera? The Minolta XD7 with the Rokkor 45mm f2 on the front. I find it a perfect walkabout combo. Here are a couple of recents. Just things that caught my eye. Tri-X, Rodinal 1:50.

View attachment 22310

View attachment 22311


Most fun camera? Currently a recently rescued Halina Viceroy. A cheap, Hong Kong made pseudo TLR. I may write it up for 35mmc, but for the time being here are two from the first roll I ran through it. I was pleasantly surprised by the genuine retro look that the images have. Kentmere 400, Rodinal 1:50.

View attachment 22312

View attachment 22313

Some great shots there. That veedub is absolutely gleaming! The first camera I bought was a Halina Paulette, which was quite awful but I learned a lot from its, and my, mistakes. I like that cemetery - I could find inspiration shooting there!

 

[Beth Anthony]

the fuji 50r was my funnest and most satisifying camera. i like the 100s ii, it's a lot of fun, but the 50r was funner and i'm not sure why.

 

[Peter Roberts]

Some great shots there. That veedub is absolutely gleaming! The first camera I bought was a Halina Paulette, which was quite awful but I learned a lot from its, and my, mistakes. I like that cemetery - I could find inspiration shooting there!

Thanks, Keith.
The cemetery is Brompton. One of London's 'Magnificent Seven' Victorian cemeteries and unique among them in that it's also a Royal Park. Well worth a visit if ever you're in London.

 

[Gary R. Smith]

Is your shot of the Badlands Beth?

 

[Beth Anthony]

Is your shot of the Badlands Beth?

yup. badlands national park in south dakota. taken at sunset, but looking away from the sun just as the last light was hitting the rocks.

 

[Gary Ayala]

Most Fun: Canon MKII 1Ds. It was my first camera with nearly instantaneous auto focus.
Most Satisfaction: Fuji XPro-1. The XPro-1 was simply beautiful. It was love at first site ... I walked out of the camera store caressing the XPro-1. While the XPro was beautiful it was as slow as a dog when focusing. And when the light faded ... it just howled. But Fuji lenses are superb ... I was determined to make this little beauty work for me. The XPro took me back to my roots. Back to film. Back to when auto was a car not a camera setting. I had to change the way I was shooting from pointing the camera and boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom and sort through the zillion of images in post (knowing there be a decent shot in the bunch). The XPro, in comparison was ... Boom. No more safety in numbers. Like with film, I had to anticipate the action, position for the pre-visualize image and wait for it all to come together ... then boom. The slow camera made me think and pre-visualize the final image ... the XPro challenged me.

 

[Beth Anthony]

Most Fun: Canon MKII 1Ds. It was my first camera with nearly instantaneous auto focus.
Most Satisfaction: Fuji XPro-1. The XPro-1 was simply beautiful. It was love at first site ... I walked out of the camera store caressing the XPro-1. While the XPro was beautiful it was as slow as a dog when focusing. And when the light faded ... it just howled. But Fuji lenses are superb ... I was determined to make this little beauty work for me. The XPro took me back to my roots. Back to film. Back to when auto was a car not a camera setting. I had to change the way I was shooting from pointing the camera and boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom and sort through the zillion of images in post (knowing there be a decent shot in the bunch). The XPro, in comparison was ... Boom. No more safety in numbers. Like with film, I had to anticipate the action, position for the pre-visualize image and wait for it all to come together ... then boom. The slow camera made me think and pre-visualize the final image ... the XPro challenged me.

i fell in love with the x-pro 1 as well. then the xt series as they got faster. now it's the gfx... still slow (ok, maybe not as slow), but so satisfying. forcing me to slow down really helped me improve my photography.

 

[Gary Ayala]

i fell in love with the x-pro 1 as well. then the xt series as they got faster. now it's the gfx... still slow (ok, maybe not as slow), but so satisfying. forcing me to slow down really helped me improve my photography.

My XPro-II broke, I'm waiting for the XPro-IV. The GFX does deliver an extremely nice image. Presently, when I shoot, I shoot with the XT-4. Usually, I shoot with two cameras, one with a wide angle and the other with a long lens. I miss the XPro-II.

 

[Beth Anthony]

My XPro-II broke, I'm waiting for the XPro-IV. The GFX does deliver an extremely nice image. Presently, when I shoot, I shoot with the XT-4. Usually, I shoot with two cameras, one with a wide angle and the other with a long lens. I miss the XPro-II.

i've got the x-t4 as well. i'm thinking about selling it. it doesn't see much use. it was my toy photography camera, but i broke down and bought a macro lens for the sony so i could start reducing my kit.