wj cody Loc: springfield illinois

hi, i currently use both a Nikon F6 slr and a Nikon S3 (2005) rangefinder. both are great cameras, but so si my leica m3, minolta kx (w/aes finder) and the Canon F1 bodies. all are great, pro level and will last forever!

Carl 383 Loc: Southampton UK

I liked my Canon T90, despite being kicked out of my hand by a horse it performed perfectly, living up to it's nickname of "Tank"
It was the best featured non-autofocus camera ever, I bought two in 1986 and have only just retired them, now using a Sony Alpha 77, the only camera to excite me since the T90.
A superb condition T90 can be picked up quite cheaply as can FD lenses.
It gave it's looks to todays digital SLR's and would not look out of date even against the most recent of releases. The fact that it takes 4 x AA batteries to power it's up to 5 frames per second shutter is another plus point, add multi spot metering and it is one of the most capable film format cameras to have ever made it into production.

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

Don't you mean Charles Lindberg? Lindy was the 1st to fly solo from N.Y. to Paris, I believe in 1924.

corryhully Loc: liverpool uk

There are so many viable cameras as mentioned and i am currently working my way through them all :)

aaronwolf

Here is a totally different approach from above. I collect and use cameras. Over the years I have owned about 40 cameras ranging from 35mm to 4x5 view and press cameras. 20 years ago you might have been scared off from medium format cameras as they were so expensive. Now they are a bargain and since you like to shoot landscape and macro these are ideal cameras giving a much larger, quality enlargement. I have one camera in mind and that is the Pentax 645 which is the non autofocus model or the 645N which has autofocus. The non autofocus is older and cheaper. With some patient watching on ebay you could probably put together a package of separately purchased items to include the body, film magazine (prefer 220 magazine as it can take 30 pictures versus 15 for 120), wide angle lens and macro lens for about
$400-$450. I own both models as well as a Pentax 6x7 which I used in the 1980's when the Pentax 645 cameras were not yet born. The Asahi Pentax 67 is a very heavy camera but looks identical to a modern SLR only much larger. I would not recommend it for several reasons. By the way I have a Pentax K1000 such as the one you lost and it is one of the best know classic manual cameras ever made. No other model of camera whether it be Nikon, Canon, Leica or Hasselblad was ever in a continual manufacture run longer than the K1000 which initially came out in the early 1970's when I bought mine and only ceased being produced about 1994. Its a super camera with great optics. Pentax is without a doubt the darkhorse make of camera among the majors but the value in the used market for Pentax is fantastic. Another classic professional workhorse which can be purchased cheaply which came out about 1982 is the Nikon F3 which is built like a tank. The rugged nature of it was taken advantage of by pros who worked in the most extreme conditions such as in rain forests or deserts. A completely manual camera with many accessories such as a variety of prisms, viewfinders and of course the Nikon line of lenses. Its quite reasonable on the used market. I buy mostly on ebay but have gotten some steals on KEH. I just received a lens today that I bought from KEH, a 150mm f3.5 portrait lens for the Pentax 645, got it for $86 plus $7 shipping in virtually brand new condition. Its non-autofocus. Last to mention if you wish to go with the larger 6x7 image size is the Mamiya RB or RZ67 medium format camera. I own an RZ67. It is a very large camera which has a rotating back just as a view camera (RB stands for rotating back) as well as a built in bellows which allows macrophotography with non-macro lenses. The RB67 is an older model and cheaper to buy, a full set-up without an eye level prism (those run about $125-175 alone), body, film back and 2 lenses (normal and wide) would run you about $475-$550. While the Mamiya RB67 camera was regarded as a studio camera (most NYC fashion photograpers used that camera) it is great for landscape and macro because of the negative size and for macro the bellows.

aaronwolf

Forgot to mention a bit about me. I sold cameras in the summers while in college in a store in downtown Chicago across the street from Marshall Fields dept. store. I started working in a darkroom at age 12 and was shooting 4x5 view and press cameras and 35mm by age 17. For the past 4 years I have mostly been digital with Sony DSLR's so I don't want to give the impression that I am an aging anachronism who shoots only film.

wallybeagle

Thanks for the edification. Agreed surrounding the solid K-1000.
I'll gravitate back to 35 mm and may move to a medium or large format at some point after some more practice and experience.