Topic: If you could only have one....

[chris667]

I am thinking my equipment hoarding is getting a bit too much.

I love my Spotmatic, and find nothing else getting used. I might get rid of everything and just have it with a standard lens and maybe a wideangle. The rest could go.

If you could only have one camera, what would it be?

[UK Roger]

Decisions . . . decisions . . . Nikon F6 . . .  or . . . Olympus OM1 . . . hmmm . . . I'll go with the OM1, not batteries required   

[Francois]

That's one heck of a good question...
My usual go to camera is my Nikon F-90x. It's not a love affair but it's the reasonable choice. 35mm film is cheap, the camera is the best I own, it runs on AAs so batteries are not really a problem unless you live on a desert island...

But if I wanted to go the unreasonable, I'd go for my YashicaMat. The lens is simply fantastic. The format is not too big. It's not too heavy...

[Sandeha Lynch]

Definitely not 35mm, definitely not large format.  It would have to be a TLR.

[Indofunk]

The first camera I bought after my return to analogue photography was a Canonet, and it has become my definition of a "perfect" camera. Priority mode and manual mode, easy focusing, and exposure lock. I still haven't figured out if I prefer a 40mm lens or a 50mm lens, so let's say this is *one* of my favorite focal lengths. My only problem with it is that it doesn't meter up to 1600 (yeah, yeah, I know, 800 plus exposure lock [or manual mode] will get me there, but that hasn't really worked for me well in practice.)

The only other camera in the running would be my Pentax ME Super. Meters to 1600, focusing isn't quite as easy as the Canonet's rangefinder, and I don't necessarily have to choose between 40mm and 50mm (though I usually use a 50mm). However, my vanity dictates that I'd rather be seen with a Canonet than an SLR, so advantage Canonet 

[EarlJam]

My first choice would be the Rolleiflex, under the assumption that rollfilm is easier to manufacture than 35mm and may be more available in the long term. Second choice is the Leica M4-P, while 35mm is relatively easy to come by. No batteries, generally available parts and service, and I find pleasure in using both.

[Bryan]

I've already proven beyond a reasonable doubt that I can't have just one.  The hardest decision would be what format.  I'm just getting into 4x5 contact printing so I wouldn't want to give that up, nothing beats a good print.  For image quality I prefer medium format and for portability I prefer 35mm.  I could easily pick which one for each format, so here is my list for each format that I shoot:

Large format - Crown Graphic
Medium format - Rolleiflex TLR
35mm - Leica IIIc
110 - Minolta 110 Zoom SLR (I could give up this format if I had to)
Instant - Polaroid 250 land camera (going to be forced to switch to SX-70 soon)

Movie cameras
8mm - Bolex D8L
Super 8 - Bolex 160

[John Robison]

Cruel question.
Go away.

[Miles]

TLR - Prob Yashica 635 (not that I use the 135 gubbins).

If it had to be 135 then a Zenit EM.

However ... :-)

[Pete_R]

Contax 139

Of course, I'm assuming you mean 'film' camera. If you mean 'any' camera, then a Sony A7II 

[Aksel]

This made me feel kind of bad, I have more stuff than I need! The the Mju II would be my choice, the Rolleiflex on a strong 2nd place. Tomorrow I would probably keep the M4 + 35 Cron, Speed Graphic or Gr1v - they all do the same thing but with very different personalities, it´s a mood thing. Today is Mju II day.

[zapsnaps]

First choice R8 with the 80-200 lens
Second choice - Petri Racer
The Blad would not be my first choice. Too large, too heavy and too restrictive for a one body, one lens forever gig. But then the R8 + 80-200 isnt exactly light or compact, either.

So... the winner is... a small pocket-sized point and shoot. Leica Mini Zoom with B&W film. But it hasn't been used in 10 years. It might just have to be my carry camera this weekend. Thanks for posting this - I'm sure it will encourage others to think about what they have lurking in their gear store, too.

[charles binns]

You're all wrong.

You only need one camera and that's a holga.

[Sandeha Lynch]

You're all wrong.

You only need one camera and that's a holga.

Yeah, sure.  Only a valid choice if you remove that clear plastic thingie and replace it with a proper pinhole.

(Retires to bunker.)

[Kai-san]

Something wrong with my eyesight this morning.......... did he say ONE camera? What's wrong with twenty???

[Nigel]

Nikon F3 - a prince among thieves

If I get a second choice I'd add my Hassy.

[cs1]

Only being allowed to have one camera is close to an apocalyptic scenario. In this extreme case my choice would be my Canon F-1 with its lenses. It's a workhorse, works without batteries and supposedly Canon designed it to work even in the most extreme environments (it is said to have been testet at temperatures between -30 to +160 (!) °C) and it supposedly was designed to live for at least 100k shutter releases. So it should do in this hopefully very unlikely apocalyptic scenario of "you may only own a single camera".

Joking aside, I still believe that it's good to concentrate on a few cameras. I found it very satisfying to only take a single camera e. g. on holidays. Sometimes not having a choice can be very freeing. And it helps controlling G.A.S..

[Faintandfuzzy]

Tough one.  I have so many.  It has to be a camera I connect with.  Years ago, after my father's stroke, he gave me his old Konica T3n Autoreflex 35mm body.  I love the way it feels when operating it...like a fine tuned machine.  As well, I took my son to tokyo for his graduation a couple years back.  I bought another Nikon F5 with him in a used store...and used a lot of b&w and color film there in the camera with him...that is special to me as well.  So, I'm gonna say both of those as my one choice. 😁

[Jeff Warden]

That's hard.  But of the cameras I currently own, only one would be replaced immediately if it disappeared, and that's the Plaubel Makina W67.  Just a wonderful lens in a tidy, easy to carry package.

I guess it wasn't so hard. 

 

[kentish cob]

I'd have to pick my Nikon F4.
It does everything I need it to supremely well, has never let me down, and fits my hand like it was made to measure.
Readily available AA batteries, countless high quality compatible lenses and solid enough to make a fearsome defensive weapon if swung around on the end of a tripod... (well, this is a post apocalyptic scenario isn't it..? )

[Adam Doe]

Uggghhh. I'd have a hard time selecting just one for each film format.

[astrobeck]

K1000 Pentax

then my F2

tough love!

[AJShepherd]

Tricky.
If you'd asked me a few years ago the answer would have been simple, my Voigtlander Bessa R3A.

Now, more complicated. The Bessa would have to fight it out with the OM1 and the Spotmatic F. That said, I do really like the Spotmatic F, it just seems laid out so right that it's completely intuitive to use.

For medium format it'd be a fight between the Bronica ETRS and the Yashicamat 124G.