Top three best cameras you have ever bought

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So here's my list from quite a few good ones and some terrible ones, that I sold/dumped after trying them.

1. Olympus Pen-F
2. Olympus OM1n
3. Rollei 35 LED
 
1. Sony RX1 - Unique but tough to justify financially so let go of it.I have a feeling the RX1RII would be my dream camera, but it's so out of reach!

2. Nikon D50 - My first camera and I still look back at the photos I got with it now and can't better them.

3. Sony A7RII - I've gone through a whole lot of mirrorless cameras but this is the one that finally stuck, still my main camera. An absolute joy and pretty much faultless.
 
So here's my list from quite a few good ones and some terrible ones, that I sold/dumped after trying them.

1. Olympus Pen-F
2. Olympus OM1n
3. Rollei 35 LED
So how do we work out which ones are the good ones and which ones are the ones you sold/ dumped? I thought it was just the top three cameras you have ever bought?

Are these three ones you dumped or the top three you bought?
 
Nikon D700 Legendary camera but times move on

Nikon D4S Should never have got rid of this one

Pentax 645Z Loved this but just couldn't justify keeping it for all the use it got
 
Nikon D4 - good at everything except size and weight
Nikon D800 - only top 3 because of the sensor, its not a great camera otherwise.
Nikon D600 - better than people make out. Especially the people who never owned it and look at spec sheets.
 
Canon 5D MkI - when it first came out, my first foray into prosumer tech.
Olympus OMD EM5 - MK I - to me this entire system was a revelation in terms of portability and quality of image. Had this when it first came out (2012) and only just recently sold it all last month. Awesome.
Nikon D3S - Just a beautiful camera and the crispness and clarity of image was outstanding.

Currently have the A7R III - no it doesn't make the top three. Yet.

Oh and dumped..

Had a few cameras, all good really. The only I did not get on with, is the Nikon D300S.
 
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My 3 are;

Nikon D300S. It was a camera that could do almost everything at the time of its release, and for many years after. It felt like an extension of my hand it was so comfortable to use. Best AF, high ISO, Fps, Buffer of anything else bar FF at the time.

Fujifilm FinePix S602Z Pro. This was the camera that got me back into Photography after many years. Coming from SLR in the past it had to have a viewfinder. :) Again, it seemed to do everything well. Dual card slots in 2002 (I got it in 2003), Smart Media and Compact Flash. The 16Mb limit of 128Mb of Smart Media cards led me to getting a 1Gb Microdrive for £150! Almost half the cost of the camera. lol It came with a 16Mb card, but could record TIFFS that were 25Mb. lol Very sad when mine got stolen.


Fujifilm FinePix F31fd. Another Fuji, but because of the time and tech since the S602Z Pro was released, pretty close on quality. One of the first cameras with Face Detection. Wasted on my mostly peopleless pics. lol This was the camera that was with me all the time because the S602Z Pro was too big. lol It is tiny next to something the size of the D300S. It went in the same incident as the S602Z Pro. :-( I still always have a small compact with me at all times because this was so useful.

I think I have picked pretty well with cameras over the years (don't we all ;-)) but I think these three were stand out cameras for various reasons for their time, and lasted quite a long time quality wise. It took a few years for them to be bettered imho.

Because I think I have been happy with what I have bought there are/were not too many to choose from, another five and two of them were replacements for stolen gear. It is a amusing when you read of people changing back and forth seemingly every five minutes. lol Whatever makes one happy. :)
 
From my film days it was a Pentax ME Super
First digital was my Canon 300D which got me on the upgrade path every couple of year.
 
Olympus OM10
canon G12
Nikon D5300

Obviously very much an amateur ;)
 
Canon EOS 600
Nikon D3s
Nikon P7800
 
Olympus OM1n, had 2 and an OM2 I never liked. All long gone.
Canon T90, still have one tucked away with 6 FDn lenses.
Sony R1, first digital camera. Was great at the time but awful evf.

Times move on.
 
My top camera is my current main body Canon 7D MK 2
Fantastic autofocus excellent image quality
Always got to move forward but my first DSLR a Canon 350D got me into digital and I’ve still got it it’s a bit scruffy now with a high shutter count but it still works perfectly
Not ever had a bad camera sorry :)
 
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Pentax 645Z......wonderful sensor and dynamic range..
Eos 1DsMkIII.....rendered beautifully for its generation.
Eos 1DxMkII...... just gets the job done.
 
1. Kodak 36 Instamatic, my first camera and I took it everywhere.
2. A Nikon SLR, I had it decades and I can't tell you the model number as I never noticed as I wasn't interested in the kit only in using it :D
3. Sony A7, it's just about perfect and now that I'm more interested in the gear I can use just about any lens on it.
 
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Hard to say, I've been impressed by quite a few but in no real order

Oly OMD EM5 Mk2 Nice compact well built camera with a lot of features and excellent IQ
Sony A7R2 Nice compact well built camera with excellent IQ
Sony RX100 Mk4 This camera never stop impressing me, punches well above it weight, really compact, I like the design and the IQ is stunning for such a small camera, I've bought the MK 6 to get the extra zoom plus other features they have added.
 
1. Fuji X-T1
2. Fuji S5 Pro
3. Pentax ME

Yes, I chose a Pentax over my beloved Olympus OMs! That Pentax is an absolute gem, bright, large and brilliantly simple viewfinder permanent aperture priority mode, so simple and it just works. The digitals, well the X-T1 I have had longer than any car I've owned, it is just an exceptionally verastile camera that does everything I want, bumping the S5 Pro into 2nd. If they had continued the S series development, that would have been a weapon!
 
Olympus XA
Olympus Pen F
Nikon D750
 
Hasselblad Xpan - for it's unique perspective, combined with superb lenses.
Pentax 67 - for the sheer image quality. The negatives blow me away every time.
Mamiya 6 - for being so light and compact for a 6x6 camera, plus the amazing lenses.

(and I have to sneak my Hasselblad 503 in for the pleasure of ownership, great IQ and build quality)
 
So how do we work out which ones are the good ones and which ones are the ones you sold/ dumped? I thought it was just the top three cameras you have ever bought?

Are these three ones you dumped or the top three you bought?
Those are my top
 
Sony A7III - What is in this is so far ahead what I ever had before.

Canon 5D4 - As a system, this is great

Canon 5D2 - my first FF DSLR, gave me that look I always had in my head to be realised.
 
D80 - my first proper digital camera and the one I learned how to manually expose on as it had two wheels, one for aperture, one for shutter.

D800 - love it and still have it but it got drowned in a lake so it's on semi retirement/loaned out to workshop clients who turn up with bad cameras/used for seascapes in case it gets drowned. It owes me nothing now.

D810 - suprisingly quite a lot better than the D800 sensor wise. Really the camera the D800 should have been and I love it so much I have 2.
 
Minolta 7000 - not for the AF, but for the fantastic focussing screen that was so bright & the easy and intuitive handling.
Bronica ETR - Medium format roll film camera for good handling and that womderful medium format image quality
Nikon D610 - first digital camera that matched/bettered film for me.
 
not necessarily the best but very useful is my Nikon L26? compact camera. it is great for checking house roof gutters taped to a Skyvac pole. Each of the Nikons D70s-D200-D300- D800-D810 ( the last three still own), have been the best at the time. I would not put one above the other, each new camera generation is going to improve on previous versions
 
1. Rolleicord Va - Great to use, amazing IQ and just a great camera
2. Leica M6 - As above, but a lot of money to have sitting around most of the time.
3. D700 - First FF camera and just perfect on every way!
 
Nikon Coolpix 3100----First digital camera and took loads of photos with it when my daughter was young
Pentax K100d----First digital DSLR and got me into more serious photography
Fujifilm X-E1----Made me realise you can take a decent photo without lugging round loads of weighty and bulky gear

Olympus AF-1----This would have been right up there, but I didn't buy it. My then girlfriend did as an engagement present for me. 35mm auto everything and took loads of slides with it as well as film.
Still got it over 30 years on and bought a new battery and film for it last month, look forward to getting them developed
 
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In order of ownership, not preference..

Nikon D700 - my first full frame camera. I still look at the RAW files and love the colours.
Fuji Xpro1 - great images and even more fun to use. Never understood why I sold it.
Nikon D750 - my current camera. Does everything I ask of it extremely well, from landies to aircraft.
 
Olympus E-M1II - My current mirrorless go-to camera.
Canon EOS 5D - bought new from a physical Jessops outlet in 2006 and I only sold it last year to upgrade to the 5DIII. If it had auto-ISO I would probably still have it.
Canon A-1 - probably the film camera that I enjoy using the most; I love the combination of mechanic and electronic components in this one.

I'd also like to mention the Sony RX100 IV because that's the camera I almost always have with me and it is absolutely great for what it is.
 
In no particular order:

Pentax ME Super. I really got into my photography after I bought this, but it was replaced by

Canon EOS 620. A real game changer in it's day, with it's little brother, the 650, they were the first Canons with the new EF mount AF lenses, which we still use today. I still have my 620 which I purchased new back in 1987.

Fuji X-T2. After sticking with Canon for all those years, the X-T2 stepped everything back up and I found my photo mojo again. It goes virtually everywhere with me, and the glass is superb.
 
Agfa folder from the 1930s. I bought it as a 17 year-old because it looked good but it allowed me to make pictures, not just snap shots.
Zenit E. My first SLR and made me learn a lot. A brilliant camera and a brilliant teacher.
Minolta creative compact digital - took me back to photography after a few year's break and got me taking (free) risks.
 


No order…

P2 4x5, single digit Nikons, RZ.
 
In order of purchase:

Canon A1 - a 5 mode manual-focus 35mm masterpiece that I bought new in 1980 and still works as well as the day it was bought. The first 35mm SLR to give us P TV AV M (P S A M) and stopped down AE, which subsequently became the industry standard for SLR cameras.

Canon EOS-3 - a fantastically advanced 35mm auto-focus masterpiece that I bought new in 2001, with more features than I can remember including 45 zone eye-controlled focus points, which has got to be one of the most useful features Canon ever produced. I still have this camera too, and use it quite regularly.

Canon 6D - a fantastic bang-for-buck (at the time) full-frame digital camera, which consistently delivers lovely looking photos - a triumph of performance over on-paper specification. Bought in 2014 and still in regular use as my main (and only) DSLR camera.

Runner up - Canon EOS 30, which is like a simplified version of the EOS-3 but in a smaller, lighter package - including 7 point eye-controlled focusing system and a 35 zone metering system. A bit more lightweight and fragile than the semi-pro EOS-3, but great fun to use and delivers very good results.
 
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You still have it Graham?

Sadly no, it was never really mine, for although "I" chose it and bought it. The UK government paid for it, and its many decades since I worked as a photographer for the Ministry of Defence. But it was a fantastic camera, the standard issue was MPP technical and monorail cameras and I had to fight really hard to get the money for the Sinar, and it was fantastic tool.
 


Mine neither… it was stolen when I was in Spain… a jewel! Now, I
still have the Master Kardan GT, 4x5 as well in an Halliburton case
that is unused since 20 years or so. What a shame!

Why is your name Graham and others Grahame… what is the dif-
ference?
 
Rolleiflex 6003 Pro - amazing lenses and superb handling for a 6 x 6. Built in exposure meter in body and different metering modes; knocks the socks of the Hasselblad 501 I had.

s-l1600 (1) by Fraser White, on Flickr

Nikon F3 - just wonderful!

Nikon F3-235 by Fraser White, on Flickr

Nikon FE2 - fantastic Camera that started my interest in photography during the 1980's.

None of my digital cameras (Nikon D2h, D3 & D4) have come close to the pleasure I get from the film cameras.
 
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Mine neither… it was stolen when I was in Spain… a jewel! Now, I
still have the Master Kardan GT, 4x5 as well in an Halliburton case
that is unused since 20 years or so. What a shame!

Why is your name Graham and others Grahame… what is the dif-
ference?

I think its Graeme and Graham, but I have no idea of the origins, never seen it spelt Grahame. There is a Clan Graham. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Graham#Origins_of_the_clan, but not sure what that tells us. Personally, I have only ever come across one person who spells it Graeme, but you do see both spellings.

But back to cameras I liked Linhofs, but only ever used old ones an older Kardan, a Technika 5x4 and a Technika 70. I photographed a life boat launch, from a rowing boat with the 5x4 Technika, one shot one chance on Ektachrome. A far cry from today when it would probably be done at 10fps, and you would just choose the best out of dozens. To this day, I'm still not sure why it "had" to be a 5x4 transparency, even though it was going to end up as a large poster, it would still made much more sense to have done it on the RB, where we also had a longer lens, and it would have been a lot safer, as we needed to be scary close to the lifeboat when it hit the water.
 
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