Best 35mm camera design - or rather - which is your favorite?

[cliveh]

M2, gIII, or perhaps a Reid & Sigrist.

[msbarnes]

Rollei 35.

[Pioneer]

I do think that a lot of this has to do with what you are used to using. I prefer the K1000 and the LX, I think because I really started with the K1000 and moved up to the LX later on. Although I feel that they are both terrific cameras, I am not sure it is because of their design, which I am probably not qualified to judge anyway.

I have tried a number of other cameras, and I like them as well, but these two have been very reliable for me so I continue to return to them, especially when I feel I "need" to get some shots, such as birthdays, weddings, etc. Since they continue to bring home the goods I continue to prefer them, kind of a positive feedback loop. I am probably at the point now that, even if one or both were to break down, I would just ignore it and move on, having them repaired without a second thought.

However, I know that not everyone has this experience with the Pentax cameras. Some have similar experiences with Leica, Canon, Nikon, Minolta, etc., so those are the cameras they tend to prefer. Some have tried Pentax and had bad experiences, or at least have not found them to be "just like their" _________ (fill in the blank with another camera.)

[Magic2007]

Fm3a all the way AF bodies, EOS 1v.

[mesantacruz]

Canon f-1 New... i love this camera... it's sweet.

[Allan Swindles]

Best design - Olympus OM system, paticularly single digit models. My favourite - OM4Ti, but there is no real answer to the question, it's a personal thing, otherwise there would be only one manufacturer.

[Marvin]

Older Minolta X700
Newer Nikon F5

[wiltw]

I love my OM-1 for its very large viewfinder, while the OM-4 excells in its metering but suffers in viewfinder size due to all the information stuck into the viewfinder area (like almost all of today's cameras); and the small size and light weight are a traveller's dream.

I love my Topcon Super D (four bodies purchased in this past year) for its very solid feel and the large viewfinder, and the fact that I can remove the pentaprism and mount a waist level finder yet retain the TTL metering...you absolutely cannot criticize a body which can be fully functional and have accurate shutter speeds while being 50 years old without being given regular, periodic CLA, (and the metering is still accurate on two of them!).

I love my Bronica ETRSi for the independent ambient light metering while maintaining the TTL flash metering independence.

And I love my Horseman LS for its precision movements, such a solid fell even compared to a Sinar!

I don't keep cameras that I do not love!

[flatulent1]

There is only one other camera that felt perfect and didn't make me wish I was holding the F3 instead - Leicaflex SL - but its finder was so yellow that it was pretty much unusable. I would love to get my hands on another in good condition, but that would be costly as I have only two lenses for it (Angenieux 45-90/2.8 and Leitz Macro-Elmarit 60/2.8).

Is it possible to bleach the yellow out of the viewfinder by standing it in the sun for a few days? I see that recommended for yellowed lenses all the time.

[fotch]

Is it possible to bleach the yellow out of the viewfinder by standing it in the sun for a few days? I see that recommended for yellowed lenses all the time.

I don't think so. It probably is the plastic lens that turned yellow.