Greatly Exceeded your expectations or Fell Far Short

[daniel_iggers]

Here's the deal:

 

Tell about a camera or lens that Greatly Exceeded ("Rose Above")

your modest expectations, or that Fell Far Short of high ones.

Forget about slight disappointments and modestly pleasant surprises.

Describe one or two, using the format: "Rose: ... Fell: ..."

 

Have you ever formed a prejudice against a particular camera or

lens, based on rumor, gossip, off-hand reports and word on the

street, to the extent that it influenced your assessment of the

results?

 

Have you ever found that a bias concerning a particular item of

equipment ("Oh! This was shot with a Leica M4 and a Such-and-such-

itar!" or "A Sears SLR, huh?") influenced your response to photos

that you believed were taken with that equipment?

 

Me? Aw. Can't think of anything, off the top. I just want to be the

MC on this one.

[bj_bignell]

Rising above expectations: My Agfa Ventura 66 & 69 folders (zone focus, Agnar lenses). The first time I used a tripod and really took care in making photographs with those cameras, I was very, very impressed. I realised that they could be more than just clunky "guess-and-shoot" cameras.

[mark_wilson4]

Fell Far Short (Hugely Disappointed)

Anything with the celebrated Color Skopar Lens...Bessa 1, Bessamatic, Vito 'B'. (No matter what I try!!!)

 

Rose Above

Arette P with 3-speed Vario and an Isco lens. (Amongst the best photos of all - consistently) This has become a "cheat camera"...it makes beautiful photos so easily that I feel I'm cheating.

 

M.

[mark_wilson4]

Colleague: [in front of my co-workers] "What kinda camera you got there?"

 

Me: It's a Yashica "C" Twin Lens Reflex with Yashikor lenses. Probably made about 1959.

 

Colleague: "Don't ya think it's about time you got a new one?"

[connealy]

Any of the early Kodak folders will produce images of astounding sharpness and rich tonality. Some of them actually had Tessar lenses, but the simple two and three-element lenses also produce amazing sharpness. You have to put up with the tiny reflex viewfinders and find a way to keep the camera steady at the slow available speeds, but it is worth the effort. And, buying one on eBay is not likely to set you back more than ten bucks. Here is a tiny section of the 6x9 negative from a No. 1 Pocket Kodak. I cranked the bellows completely out past the end of the bed and stopped down to f/45.<div></div>

[sionnac]

Rose far above: Ansco Shur Flash and Falcon Miniature Deluxe. The negatives look good almost every time. Love the big negatives (6x9) from the Ansco, and the edge-softened images from the Falcon. Fell: Zeiss Ikon Box Tengor. Still working on finding the focus range, doesn't seem to correspond to the camera markings. And my Polaroid land Camera 350: sometimes the flash fires, sometimes she doesn't, grr.

[Andrew in Austin]

Maybe my expectations also greatly exceeded the realities of the Color Skopar.

 

On the Perkeo and Bessa One, although the Voigtlanders may have a better build quality, they definitely didn't surpass my Agfa Solinars in 6x6 or 6x9. Besides the Isolette III and Record III come with a built in range finder.

 

Far exceeding expectations was a little Olympus 35RC, which I thought looked like a toy camera when I acquired it for 28 bucks. The Olympus 35RD cost me nearly $100 and has fallen moderately short of expectations due to service issues.

[lesged]

Rose like a rocket--the Olympus 35 EC. $15 got me a four zone near mint 35mm camera with 2.8 E. Zuiko lens that matches in quality anything in my artillery battery of cameras.<div></div>

[santiago_montenegro]

Rose: Canonet 28. When I din't know certain things couldn't be made with this little bugger (my first 35mm ever) I actually performed them. Was a far better photog at age twelve with the Canonet (and Agfachrome 50S) than I am now with anything in my cabinet. Still have it, but results somehow aren't the same (No more 50S, though).

Fell: Leica IIIc kit (35, 50, 135). Never found the "magic", specially since I had used my late dad's Contax since I could hold it. Still have it, also... been to lazy to sell it.

[lesged]

Additional info: Film was Agfa APX100, shot against the sun, no hood, no sharpening in PhotoShop.

[billy_sprague]

Far above... A Canon TX that I bought of some auction site for like $35. It appeared as if it had never had a roll of film through it. Replaced the light seals and did a CLA on it. Gave it to my kid for Xmas so he would take and send me pictures of my grand daughter. Dunno why those sell so cheap because they are pretty decent cameras, subject to their limitations, of course.

[charles_stobbs3]

Exceded - Agfa Solinette. I expected to like it but after using I realized it took me back to basic photography and is fun to use.

Failed - Canonet QL1.7GIII, Oly 35 RC. After replacing the light seals the Cannonet worked OK but after reading all the issues on the clasic camera repair forum I felt I was carrying a ticking time bomb and was glad to peddle it. The 35 RC was too small and fiddly egonomically. Also I don't like carrying a camera that may be smarter than I am. They both have the option of going automatic or manual and I don't want to be constantly deciding whether to go with the camera or trusting my own judgement. Just paranoia.

[paulh]

Exceeded expectations?

 

Well two significantly exceeded expectations, one classic, one not yet.

 

The classic that most exceeded my expectations is the Iskra. I had read the reports, good and bad, but it really is a wonderful camera to use, and capable of great results. The best folder viewfinder I have looked through.

 

The non classic that far exceeded my limited expectations is my Minox 35GT. In fact I liked it so much the SLR ended up stuck on the shelf. Outstanding lens, so small and light to boot. A 6x6 version in the same style would have been wonderful!

 

Paul

[kin_lau]

Rose: Neat... someone else mentioned the same camera, Kodak No 1 Autographic. My 1st Medium Format camera and it's a 6x9. Learning how to focus the thing was a challenge :)

 

Rose: Contaflex IV. My wife even commented on how nice the shots looked. Alas, the shutter is flakey right now.

[connealy]

I'm not surprised that Olympus cameras have received multiple votes of confidence. I could have added one, but I'd be lying to say I didn't already have high expectations for the E Zuiko.<br>     The little Olympus 35 RC is my favorite travel camera, but it has been plagued with a persistent light leak. In a moment of weakness I used Buy it Now to pick up a Canon GIII QL17. The light meter seemed like it was a bit off, though that may have just been mostly a product of the 1.5v battery. I couldn't get the 675 hearing aid battery to fit in good enough, even with an "o" ring. Although it is well built and compact, the GIII it quite a bit bulkier than the 35 RC. After a day of playing with the thing, I wrapped it up and sent it back.

[jorn ake]

Rose above: Rollei 35s. Against all mythology to the contrary, I doubted that this camera could be easy to use and take good photos. My experience surprised me in that I find the camera extremely easy to use and the photos are just great. In fact, because the camera is so much fun to use, I often take better photos with it than with my other more "serious" cameras.

 

But then, I am generally never disappointed in a camera, even one that doesn't work at all.

[mark_wilson4]

I found myself agreeing vehemently with Santiago Montenegro ...

first experiences are hard to match.

 

Also the sentiments from people who liked early Kodak

folders. I borrowed one with a leaky bellows that took

absolutely stunning pictures. Too bad about the leak.

The lens was something else again.

 

M.

 

Postscript: D.I., you really got us on a roll.

[Sandeha Lynch]

I had no particular expectations of the late twenties 6x9 Voigtlander Vag with a Skopar - I just thought it looked cute. But I am more than impressed.

[frank granovski]

The Yashica ELECTROfying GSN greatly cxceeded my expectations. So did my Olympus 35RC.

 

The one camera that fell far short was my new Nikon FM years ago. The viewfinder was far from accurate and its light meter was buggered. Otherwise it was a beautiful, simple camera brick. Oh, and that really old Nikkor 200mm F4 (QC, or something like that) was the worst lens I ever owned. A complete dog.

[donnie_strickland]

Rose above? Olympus 35 ECR. Not a lot of control due to the auto-exposure, but a great E. Zuiko lens and the foolproof "flash-matic" system. What a nice, handy little camera.

[frank_a._bridges]

Above my expectations: 40mm Tessar on the Rollei 35,

 

 

Most disappointing (Tie) : 105mm Color Skopar on Bessa I and

75mm Tessar on Super Ikonta

 

( I have had bad luck with folders)

[silent1]

Greatly Exceeded Expectations: Ansco Speedex Jr. Basically a box camera with bellows, instead of a single meniscus lens, it has a symmetrical double meniscus. Result: sharp right to the corners, and exquisite with color, despite having no color correcting multi-glass elements. Fixed focus, T (and it's a true T, stays open until you press the release again) or I (about 1/25) shutter, and lens openings from f/11 to f/32; at EI 200, you can shoot from beach/snow conditions (2 stops overexposed at f/32, still works with negative film) to "stormy" (5 stops off "Sunny 16", use f/11) light, and get good shots in all. Nice big 6x6 negatives and it folds to fit in a coat pocket. Of two examples, both have been good, including the bellows; first one had perfect bellows, second only two tiny pinholes, easily patched (oddly, these cheap ones seem to have leather while the more expensive Speedex/Isolette models had synthetic that cracks when it gets close to 50 years old).

 

Fell far short: Ansco Speedex 4.5 (85 mm f/4.5 Agnar). Bellows leaks aside, this one has consistently had a problem with alignment in some manner, with one side of the frame in focus and the other seriously out -- despite repeated attempts to ensure the lens was correctly seated in the standard. I've just repaired the bellows with liquid electrical tape and once again reseated the shutter in the front standard; if the same problem recurs, it's going to get converted to a pinhole.

[sammm]

Rose: Yashica 44. 127 film, compact design, rollei filters and rolleinars, and a camera with all the fixings included for less than $100.

 

Fell: Kowa 66. Except when it's functioning. Then, it's a really great camera.

[conrad_poulin]

Ricoh Diacord G TLR 1957 model, far exceeded my

expectations. Very sharp lens. Bright focusing screen. Sturdy &

dependable. Handy focus lever. Very under appreciated by most

who have not used one.

[david_m]

The Argus C3 brick. For years I swore I'd never buy such an ugly camera. Finally I found a nice condition one (but still ugly) really cheap. I was very surprised at the sharpness of the lens on such a humble camera. I still dont use it much but if you want a cheap camera capable of taking sharp photos, its unsurpassed. Useful for beating off muggers too.