Worlds best film advance?

[tony_lockerbie]

<p>Camera porn indeed, lock your doors....I'm coming to get them! Leica SL2 and a chrome R3, mmmmm.<br>

I was kinda thinking most smooth, but it is interesting to see what everyone's idea of a nice action is. Motor drives I never considered, but I guess that still fits the criteria. The Contax RTS was mentioned, a camera I have never used, maybe I will have to track one down.</p>

[sumo_kun]

<p>From the cameras I have owned and handled I like my Leica M2 the best. Its soooo smoooth :) Nice length of stroke too. Second place will have to be Pentax LX. Again smooth and short! I tried a new F1 and found the click at the end annoying and the stroke was way too long. Nikon F2 was nice and smooth but again, the stroke was a bit too long. Nikon FM2n feels ratchety. Don't like it too much. Minolta CLE is smooth too but it lacks a bit of weight. I generally don't like cameras with a click at the end of their stroke (except Leica ;)) and long stroke cameras. Makes them harder to wind with one hand and fast.</p>

[anirbanbanerjee]

<p>I haven't used Minolta, Nikon or Leica, but my Pentax MX has a very buttery smooth wind on action, even though the mirror slap is slightly harsher than the competition (Olympus OM*).</p>

[Troll]

<p>Another wonderful advancer which hasn't been mentioned is the Leicavit, and its RF Canon derivitives.<br>

And the ultimate MF advance must be the Omega 6x7, which literally moves the pressure plate out of the way while the advance is being used. (Also, is the world's uglyest camera). Come to think of it, the Rolleiflex crank ain't bad either.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>I've been thinking about this since it was first posted, and I still can't come up with a decent answer. I know some that I'd rather not use-the sort that cut the hand and such.</p>

<p>I guess in a perverse sort of way, I actually like the almost randomness of some of the middle period East German cameras like the Pentacon 6 medium format, where the combination of bad film loading and a "sensitive" film advance could result in wild and massive variation in how much the film actually advanced or not. The camera was very good if you loaded it just right, usually, ... well often.</p>

[james_zhao]

<p>Hi Gus, nice camera porn photo! About the original question, 'the nicest wind on action', to me (with not so much feelings), is not neccessarily 'the smoothest wind on action.' It seems you have put too much feeling into 'smooth' to make it the only criteria, IMHO. Talking about smooth, have I ever mentioned the Minolta Hi Matic E? That might be very smooth but not so nice.</p>

[mwmcbroom]

<p>Back in the late 80s and early 90s, I used to buy and sell photo equipment at camera shows. So I owned a lot of different cameras during that time. No Leica SLRs, however. But thinking back about those cameras that I did own, I would rank those whose film advance smoothness I recall, in descending order, as: Contax 139, Nikon F3, Minolta XD-11, Minolta X-700, Canon EF. I've owned a fair number of Canon F-1s (including those in my personal inventory), of all versions, and like the Nikon F2, I've never really regarded the film advance as "smooth". Solid, yes, but not smooth.</p>

[John Smullen]

<p>Pentax KS and Kodak Retina IIa</p>

[dennis_w3]

<p>Another vote for the Topcon Super D and RE Super. Silk and butter describe this advance. I agree, the later Super DM sacrificed that smoothness to gain the shorter throw, which was a shame. </p>

[andrew_c2]

<p>F3HP, bar none. And I've owned Ms in the past.</p>

[User_4136860]

<p>Of the cameras I've owned , a Nikon F2, Canon EF, Canon F1-N in that order,</p>

[LMar]

<p>Leica M2, M3 and Nikon F2.</p>

[awahlster]

<p>So we have a clear winner LOL</p>

<p>My fav is my 1951 Canon Model III with the factory Rapid Winder including the knurled grip. Like a machine gun she will go!</p>

[awahlster]

<p>So we have a clear winner LOL</p>

<p>My fav is my 1951 Canon Model III with the factory Rapid Winder including the knurled grip. Like a machine gun she will go!</p>

[jim_leicafan]

<p>I think the Nikon F3, Minota XD and XE are in a class by themslves for smoothness. I like the general ergonomics of the Pentax series, but on just about everyone I own, it feels like there is sand in the gears.<br>

Interesting comments on the Topcon Super D. I had never owned a 35mm camera until I was sent to Vietnam in 1966. One of the guys in my unit was planning on becoming a professional photographer, and had purchased a Topcon Super D and a Canon Pellix. He would go on and on about the superiority of the construction of the Topcon. I have never owned one but I have about a dozen Canon Fds (but not a Pellix) and find them to more than satisfactory.<br>

P.S. Because of $$$, I bought a Konica Auto S2 for $35, great camera, and just before I came home, a Canon FT-QL for $65, another great camera, both of which are still operable.</p>

[Farside]

<p>My Pentacon Six makes contented little chuckling noises when I wind it on, as if it's looking forward to being used for the next shot. "Little German gears", is right.<br>

Of course, those little German gears could be getting ready to escape to freedom - it was made in 1972, after all.</p>

[dhbebb]

<p>Easiest wind - one of my Canon EOS5s. Nicest mechanical feel - Nikon F3 just ahead of Leica R3. Most humorous - Voigtländer Vitessa - just love that giant plunger!</p>

[j_sevigny]

<p>Best or smoothest? The FM2n's advance is silky but it's not the most durable out there. The K-1000 will go and go and go but it's pretty clunky. For a combination of smoothness and durability, the F3 gets my vote.</p>

[Gus Lazzari]

<p><strong>Just for fun: </strong>This image is for those who mentioned those particular Nikon cameras. I threw in the little Minolta RF (mounted on a Minox mini-pod) for James Z. and the Leicavit "style" advance for Bill M.</p>

<p>Even though I don't own one yet, I still think the Topcon mentioned before is the best. I probably got outbid by one of you on a nice one just the other day. Enjoy it, whoever got it... Good going big mouth. (Me)</p><div></div>

[Gus Lazzari]

<p>Okay, here's the update on getting one of these "buttery smooth" transport kings...</p>

<p>I just won <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370272125244&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_617wt_927"><strong>the auction</strong></a> on a very <em>mysterious</em> Topcon Super RE. Images posted not very good; seems to be a 46 version though, and the capped lens definetly looks like a 50mm f/1.4 !</p>

<p>After a proper & comprehensive <strong><a href="http://inrenewal.com/">CLA</a></strong>, this sholud be a beauty again. Thanks for posting Tony L., this was quite the eye opener & a great reminder of what was missing from my collection.</p>

[patrick j dempsey]

<p>My various OM-1's have been smoother, but a couple of them have developed a winding issue where they continue to wind after the end of the roll, which is rather sad. It's one of the few cameras I have that I can advance against my face without much trouble. Of the entire OM line, it easily has the smoothest advance. The OM4 is just terrible due to heavier cocking springs for the 1/2000th shutter. The Oly 35RC has a nice advance, it looks similar to the Pen F advance, but is much smoother I think.</p>

[Andy Collins]

<p>Nice Nikons, Gus. I've been a longtime Canon user but I feel a very serious Nikon 'itch' coming on, especially after falling in love with a couple of FE2s. While the FE2 is a wonderful camera to operate, it's not as smooth as my XE-7, but it's still a favorite.</p>

[kl122007]

<p>I prefer Leica IIIf, it just keep rolling without any paint for RFs. For SLR, Canon F-1n sounds nice, but I will put Nikon F2 as the first .</p>

 

[alan_rockwood]

<p>Hmmm, the question itself doesn't limit it to classic cameras, although it is in the classic camera forum. This brings up a dilemma. Should I limit my response to classic cameras, or should I include my actual favorite, which is on a modern camera.</p>

<p>OK, I can't stand it. I'm going to give my actual favorite... Canon Rebel. Why? because it advances the film backwards, and counts down from the full roll toward an empty roll. That way you always know now many shots you have left on the roll. That's far more useful than knowing how many shots you have already taken. In addition, if you accidentally open the camera in mid roll the accidental exposure won't destroy the shots you have already taken.</p>

<p>Winding effort also negligible, since it is motorized, and it is quite fast compared to manual winding.</p>

<p>Sorry for cheating like that and talking about a modern camera.</p>

<p>Among classic cameras, my favorite is Exakta VX iia. It's not fast, and the wind lever motion is a long throw, and it is left handed, but at least it has a good feel to it... good old fashioned German engineering. I should mention that I haven't tried the elite cameras like Nikon or Leica.</p>

[evan_bedford2]

I'll put in another vote for the F3.

But how about the worst? I've probably had the pleasure of using less than a dozen manual film slrs, but of those, I'd say the Leica R4 is the worst. I just ordered an R8 to hopefully remedy the situation.