Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

We all had a favorite, didn't we? ... You may even still have it, right? ... How does your current best DSLR tally up, against it?

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

My favorite SLRs were a pair of Pentax Spotmatics. Upon purchasing a pair of Olympus E-M5MarkII over 50 years latter I felt I was comming home. They just felt solid, and good. The Spotmatics have long gone.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

You bought your EM5 IIs as a pair, Richard?

I say!!!

r.grossner Loc: Rockford IL & Sarasota FL

Nikon FM right behind a Nikkormat FT3 behind an F body with an optional meter head and about 6 focus screens. Now a D750 and I still use a lot of my old glass. I like the high ISO I get with my D750.

r.grossner Loc: Rockford IL & Sarasota FL

Learned a lot shooting Kodachrome 25.

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Saves changing lenses in the dark during classical music concerts. Also means you have a backup camera if need be.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Well, there's no comparison between the ISOs of today's DSLRs with what we had to contend with, with film ASAs, now, is there?

But you've brought up something better on the old film cameras ... interchangeable focus screens. With dig cams - we have - what - 2 options?

Isn't the current method better, though? ... It's quicker! ... Less fiddling ... just limited is all ....

Leicaflex Loc: Cymru

I endorse r.grosner's sentiments, shooting Kodachrome 25, a great film.

As for an SLR, as to be the Pentax S1a well build and I am still using it
alongside my Leica's.

As for a favourite DSLR, specification wise it has to be the Olympus OMD EM1 Mark II.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Pentax LX and my old buddy the Rollei 3000 SL, I really liked the interchangeable fimbacks, I also enjoy my Pentax 645n II,as well as the Canon EOS 1v. Love my MF Fuji! Of course I enjoy my digital cameras too! How do they compare?, they don't, some shoot film, the "digis" don't!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Nikon F Photomic. Great camera. Big, heavy, and mechanical. I sold it on ebay, and it went to Dublin, Ireland. Now, the D750 is my favorite.

jeryh Loc: Oxfordshire UK

Minolta Dynax 9 ! Big solid and utterly dependable; I still have it, together with the Dynax 7; both superb cameras. Today ? Well quite a variation-
Fuji X-Pro 2 with an 18mm F2; Nikon D3 with a 300mm F4 AF-S. And for BIF , Canon 1D 2 and 400MM F5.6L. Two completely different systems, horses for courses.

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

Favorite SLR was my Minolta SRT-101 only because it was my 1st. Also had a Canon F-1 & AE-1 Program before switching to autofocus with a Maxxum 7000i. Currently shooting an Alpha 850 mainly because the Maxxum & Alpha have the same lens mount.

wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

While I owned my original Nikon F Photomic the longest, and probably used an F3 the most, I have to say the last one, an F100, was clearly the best and easiest picture taker of all my film Nikons - if I had to go back to film, that's the camera I'd want. I was using it to photograph my daughter at horse shows when I rented a digital outfit one weekend (a Canon - it's what my local store had), you know, just to try it out, and see what all the noise was about digital cameras. I came back from that horse show, turned in the rental, ordered a Nikon D100 (to keep using my stable of lenses) and never took another frame of film.

My DSLRs have only gotten better from that first one. My current best is a D600, which is the favorite for maximum image quality and post processing opportunities. But it's SO big that I'm exploring a Micro 4/3 system, where my current favorite is an Olympus OMD E-M1MkI. Except when I want something REALLY easy to carry, in which case my favorite is a Panasonic GX85. Happily, the same lenses and flashes work on both.

Blaster34 Loc: Florida Treasure Coast

Asahi Pentax Spotmatic in 'Nam then a Canon A1....Great cameras

pacman Loc: Toowoomba, Qld, Australia.

I started off in 1975 with a TOPCON IC-1 auto, and HI TOPCOR 50mm 1:2.8 and UV TOPCOR 135mm 1:4.0 lenses. Absolutely brilliant optics! Topcon subsequently withdrew from the camera industry to concentrate on medical and surveying optical equipment, and no doubt other specialized areas.

In the early 1980's I purchased a Canon AE-1, but I forget the lenses details. I can vaguely recall a long Tokina telephoto and an extension tube. Nice camera, but not really in the same optical class as the Topcon. At least, not in my opinion, but perhaps I did not give any Canon lens a good test.

The thing I miss from both these cameras was the split prism viewfinders. No auto focus in those days, but with the split prism VFs, manual focus was a doddle. You knew you had nailed it when the split images snapped into one!

Now I have a Nikon D600 with two primes (Nikon and Sigma) and two telephotos (both Nikon). So easy compared with yesteryear, with instant results, and no horrendous film processing costs (they were horrendous in Australia - a huge country and small population).

Swap the viewfinder and I would be in heaven!