To me, cameras have this magical draw that is likened to bourgeois women to LV bags. But, not all cameras are made the same, and not all cameras capture my attention the in same way. Below is a list of 10 cameras in my books that have that magical soul to them and are charismatic in their own unique way. The list is in no particular order or preference.

1. Hasselblad Xpan I/Xpan II/ Fuji TX-1/ TX-2 – They’re basically all the same camera, just branded differently, with the version II having a few minor bugs fixed. I love it that it’s a true panoramic camera, (it takes 2 frames of 35mm) instead of using a rotating lens like some other panoramic do. Everything just looks better in pano mode in my opinion, especially landscape. They don’t make them anymore, I read it’s due to some EU law that taxes the use of precious metals, and since the Xpan/TX uses a Titanium body shell, it’s no longer cost effective to produce them. A real shame, because it’s a really nice camera.

2. Epson R-D1/R-D1s/R-D1X – All 3 iterations are very similar, with very minor tweaks here and there, nothing really earth-shattering. If you look to the end of the list, you’ll realise that the list doesn’t contain many digital cameras, simply because I feel digital cameras of today seem to serve one purpose only, that is, to make the most money out of you, and they no longer think of the photographer anymore, hence, i have a greater affinity for film cameras. The Epson, however, is one of the only 2 digital cameras to make it to this list. It’s the world’s first digital rangefinder, and has this really cool analogue display that’s made by Seiko, one of Epson’s affiliate companies. The analogue display is reminisce of a car’s petrol gauge. Really cool stuff. Looks aside, the camera does perform very well. It uses a Nikon D70/D100 sensor but in my opinion, Epson has done a much better job at tweaking it to get much more natural looking colours out of it. The ISO is also better controlled than the D70 in my opinion. Pity that Epson has made no announcement of creating a version 2 of this wonderful camera. The Epson is one of the only digital cameras that have managed to hold their value so well. They’re hard to come by in the 2nd hand market and are often quite pricey.

3. Hasselblad 500 series – The camera that went to the moon. Which other camera can boast of that accolade? I love medium format cameras that take square images, and the Hassy is one of the best at doing just that. It’s a very well thought out design that is still relevant today, even though its more than 30 years old. Everything is modular on the camera, meaning, everything can be changed or swapped. It was THE fashion camera of the 70/80s because it was considered small enough for handheld use, albeit still quite large, but compared to it’s competitors, its really quite remarkable how they managed to keep it to this size. The lenses that accompanied the Hassy were made by Carl Zeiss and are all tack sharp and a real joy to use. The only 500 series that Hasselblad still makes is the 503, and to stay relevant, they’ve made a CFV, which is a digital back which can make any of the 500 series cameras into digital cameras instantaneously (modular, like I said before). There are many used 500 series out there that are really worth it to get if you want to foray into medium format photography.

4. Leica MP – Need I say more? The name itself is a cult in the photography world. They’re the “Apple” of the photography world. Oddly enough, the other M series camera never caught my attention before, even though I know many others swear by them. The MP is Leica’s flagship fully manual camera. Meaning, if you’re in Antarctica and all your batteries went dead, your MP is supposed to still work. I like the manual-ness of this camera and how this camera stands out from the crowd. The looks of it is also very alluring to me. However, these Leicas cost an arm and a leg, but, they’re cameras that hold their value very very well.

5. Mamiya 6 – The Mamiya 6 is a medium format rangefinder camera that takes 6×6 square images, similar to the Hassy above. Some of you would ask, why not the Mamiya 7/7II? They’re very very competent cameras as well, but like I said in the top of my post, this list is about cameras that I like and cameras that I feel have charisma, and I’m strangely drawn to cameras that can take square images. (The 7/7II take slightly rectangular images) The camera is pretty big in the hands but nothing as big as the Hassy, and the images from it are simply awesome. The pictures taken from the 50mm lens is really really sharp. It’s a rangefinder, so not everyone will like it. They don’t make them anymore, they’re also harder to find on the second hand market than the 7/7II.

6. Konica RF – The Konica RF is often associated with the Leica M7. It’s got automatic film advance and rewind, built-in metering. Leica owners prior to the M6 and M7 had to live with external light meters. The RF is actually very well built, with Titanium top and base plates. The camera, in my opinion, is one of the best rangefinders out there. It failed because of bad marketing. I’m quite sure if Leica built something like this, they would be selling like hotcakes. These go relatively cheap (compared to Leica) on the 2nd hand markets but prices seem to be increasing. Perhaps because more and more people are starting to realise the practical plus points of the camera over a Leica. Paint doesn’t stick to Titanium very well, so many 2nd hand copies have their top and base plate’s paint chipped off, it’s very normal. So don’t judge the camera based on it’s looks. It’s hardier than you think.

7. Nikon FM2 – The FM2 were often professional photographers’ backup cameras, because they were fully manual cameras. However, they were so good, that often, these cameras became the main cameras too. They’re built like rocks and they never die. Small, compact, simple to use, rugged, trustworthy. These are some of the adjectives associated with the camera. If you want to learn SLR photography, I’d suggest you get one of these. There’s plenty on the 2nd hand market and they’re indestructible, so getting one wouldn’t be that difficult.

8. Nikon F4 – The F4 was the camera that most professionals went for. It was well made, had good functions, was easy to use and very very very reliable. Often complementing the F4 was the FM2. The duo was a must-have for any professional photographer of that time. It’s still possible to get these on the 2nd hand market but they’re harder to come by of late.

9. Canon 5D Mark I – This is the 2nd digital camera on my list. It offered full 35mm frame sized sensor in an era when APS-C was the faze. It quickly took centre stage as not many other camera companies made full-frame cameras. Sensor size aside, this camera was picked by me simply because of the way the sensor rendered colours. There is no other camera (in my opinion) that renders colours like the 5D Mark I. Images out of the 5D were the most pleasing and natural to me. Pity that the camera’s colour profiles were not carried over to it’s newer brother, the Mark II.

10. Minolta CLE – I’ve had a love-hate relationship with this camera. It’s a magnificent little camera that was so modern in its day. The CLE is 3/4 the size of a Leica M, hence, a very nice coat-pocket friendly camera. The CLE had a very advance touch sensitive shutter, (it detects your finger touching the shutter release and will automatically show you the metering results and recommended shutter speeds) The camera is a joy to use because of its simplicity and size, but it was also a pain because the metering only worked in Aperture priority mode and in manual mode, the meter doesn’t activate. Pity it was branded Minolta, although, it was actually the newer iteration of the Leica/Minolta CL. I’ve read reports that Leica didn’t want to endorse the CLE under it’s name because the CL proved to be very popular and Leica wanted to remain a niche and exclusive camera brand. None-the-less, Minolta carried on to develop the CLE and they did a very good job of it. The camera is rarely seen on the 2nd hand market, if you do see one, be sure to check on the metering, because the metering was known to be quite fragile and many CLE’s have problematic meters.

DT

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