"Cult" digital cameras?

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Cult is a hard term to define I spose, personally I'd say something that wasnt widely popular at the time that has kept/built a following without prices being so high that its out of most users reach(at which point I'd say its more a "collectors" item). I'm guessing any responses will probabley focus more on that now but would you say that any digital camera either have a "cult" following or the potential to devolp one?

A few that potentially come to mind for me are Leica's Digilux 2, the Epson R-D1 and the the Fuji DSLR's with two pixel types.

The obvious disadvanatge for me seems to be that unlike film you cannot make use of any improvements in sensor tech in an old body unless its modular where most of the cultish cameras were originally designed for film anyway.

I'm guessing that might mean that more recent digital cameras are more likely to earn cult status as resolution/ISO performance seems to have reached a level most people are happy with. The disadvanatge of modern digital camera though seems to be that IMHO were now in more of a "dreadnought" rather than an "ironclad" era with more stable technology and fewer weird and wonderful designs.

Potential future cult cameras that come to mind for me are...

Canon 1D mk4 - Seems like it might be the last ASPH sized camera, sensor likely to be good enough for many in the future, the price would need to drop a bit.

Sigma SD1, DP1 and DP2 M's - If the Forevon concept doesnt take off and there are no updates I can see some favouring the image quality for awhile.

Sony A900- The first and potentially last Sony/Mintola FF camera with an optical viewfinder, sounds like a very good one too from opinions I'v seen.

The Fuji X series are I spose the obvious choice but seem more like a mainstream product aiming at a cult image, unless Fuji pull the plug on the entire lineup or dump the OVF's I'm not sure I see current models devolping a cult following.
 
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D700 by Nikon. Has a devoted fanbase, many of whom haven't upgraded to the 'replacement' models and are happier with 4/5 year old technology.
 
Olymous C4040Z, C5050z etc, people still rave about them and they still go for good money secondhand.
 
i immediately thought Leica Digilux2 when i saw this thread title but its the first one you mentioned. Love mine :love:
Classic rangefinder looks & a very pleasing output in 5Mpx small easy to handle files plus all the controls on the lens barrel exactly where old time shooters would want to find them (y) talking of lenses WOW that 28-90mm equivalent Vario Summicron is often described as the best digital zoom lens ever!
£500 gets you a nice boxed example on ebay nowadays & Leica are still replacing the sensor FOC if it fails (y)
bit slow to use & RAW fiies take forever to write to card but the jpeg's are generally lovely SOOC anyway. I'd recommend one to anyone wanting a change to give one a go. you can always sell it on if its not for you & you'd not lose any money :naughty:

the D200 has a diehard following from people who love its CCD sensor but i'm not sure it will ever become a cult classic as such.....

you mentioned the Sony A900 due to last optical viewfinder & often last of a paricular line/type/style have some kind of loyal following.

the D2Xs might be the last full Pro bodied DX camera from Nikon & some people think that makes it a classic along with skin tones that are still raved about. not 100% convinced though as i love the feel of mine but the limited dynamic range is very frustrating :shrug:
 
I think that I have had few cameras that got a bit of a cult following. I think it had to do with my cameras having a great combination of features and price clicked with users who were reluctant to quickly move on to something else.

My first one was the Fuji S602Z Pro, which was an excellent Bridge camera. Not the largest zoom, though pretty good for the time. Duel card slots. They saw the limitation of Smart Media and stuck a CF card slot in too. The pics were very good for 3MP. An aperture up to f11, which is not that common for a Comapact/Bridge camera gave a bit more versatility. And a max shutter of 1/10,000th sec max shutter, was very rae then, and now.

The second on I got was also a Fuji, the F31fd. It was very good at high ISO compared to a lot of the cameras of the time. The F31fd built on the success of the F30 by adding Face Detection, and was one of the first to do it. I got my F31fd stolen in 2010, and if I could have got a new replacement F31fd, I would have, even though it was then 3 year old technology. It did very nice quality images.

I currently have the Nikon D300S, and even now, 4 years after its release, 5 years for the D300, Nikon haven't come close to replacing it in many users eyes. I think the D300 and D700 were both excellent value for money, with the combination of features, price and performance that they have been very hard to replace for users, not least by Nikon. A D800 and D600 are too far from a like for like replacement for D700 users. And the D7000 was seen by many as a step down from the D300/S by users.

I've had a bit of luck, but I think I have chosen wisely, and Have been very happy with my cameras. :)
 
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decigallen said:
D700 by Nikon. Has a devoted fanbase, many of whom haven't upgraded to the 'replacement' models and are happier with 4/5 year old technology.
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To be fair if there was a direct replacement I am sure many would consider upgrading. Nikon have really dropped a ******* by not offering one.
 
Seconded for the Fuji f31fd.
It set a benchmark for image quality that the current generation of similar sized cameras still struggles to match.
My Mum still uses hers, and looking at her files in Lightroom the quality always impresses me.

I know I'm biased, but I have a suspicion that the X10 may become a bit of cult camera.
Classic looks, solid build, excellent image quality, quirky sensor - and a slightly chequered history that camera nerds love.
 
Soda Farl said:
To be fair if there was a direct replacement I am sure many would consider upgrading. Nikon have really dropped a ******* by not offering one.
Click to expand...

I think Nikon dropped a clanger by making the D700 so good. I think they hoped that many D700 users would instantly upgrade to the more expensive D800, but to be a replacement I think you have to improve every aspect, not give with one hand, but take away with the other in features. :shrug:
 
Interesting thread, but I cant see any being cult classics they will all be forgotten in 10-15yrs. The d40 has a bit of a cult status with the strobists at the moment due to its price and sync speed.
 
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redhed17 said:
I think Nikon dropped a clanger by making the D700 so good. I think they hoped that many D700 users would instantly upgrade to the more expensive D800, but to be a replacement I think you have to improve every aspect, not give with one hand, but take away with the other in features. :shrug:
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Both companies seem to have had eyes on the others sucesses in the previous generation and gone on opposite directions.

I'm guessing the fact that the D700 like the 5D mk2 stayed popular for so long into there product life ment they felt alot of users wouldnt be ready to upgrade to a similar camera, better to chase those who wanted something different.

Not sure I'd call it a cult camera though, both because many users are waiting for a true update and because it was a pretty big sucess that didnt really have anything that idiosyncratic about it.
 
decigallen said:
D700 by Nikon. Has a devoted fanbase, many of whom haven't upgraded to the 'replacement' models and are happier with 4/5 year old technology.
Click to expand...

Think its the sensor over the body personally as I love my D3 and won't be changing it for a long time yet.
 
Not sure if its a Cult but I have Canon's original full frame camera the 1Ds , as the OP says you don't have mod cons like usable high ISO and a big screen but it still gives great results if used within its limitations
 
Having had a foot in both the main camps i would say the best ever DSRL produced was the Nikon D700 but i also likes the Canon 1DMKIIN
 
The F31 was great, I sold mine after three years use for more than I paid for it new. Usable high ISO in a compact camera 6 years ago was unheard of. If it had a wider angle lens than 35mm I'd probably still have it.

My D700 I'll keep for a few years yet unless it gets stolen or breaks. Four years of faultless use so far, can't see a reason to change it for something else. Can't see it becoming a cult camera, or any other digital camera for that matter, everything is technology driven and more disposable these days, and repairs are not as easy to do on older models as they were in the days of mechanical cameras.
 
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