Which camera is your favorite and the one you pick up as your default?

[steve_kirby1]

<p>For me, it is still my Nikon D90, but since foraying into film, I find myself picking up my FM3 more and more.</p>

<p>I have found that shooting film forces me to slow down and be more methodical in my approach, because I don't have essentially limitless (depending on the size of the card) chances to get it right. A member here on PN recommended I get a hand held incident meter, which has helped me as well.</p>

<p>As a show of hands, how many people here still shoot film and print it in a darkroom? When I see the cameras used to take most images, it seems that about 98% of them are digital.</p>

[david_carroll4]

<p>I've gone back to 35mm and I'm in the process of building my first "real" (ie - not occupying some dual-use space) darkroom for B/W - double doors, proper ventilation to the outside, 8 ft sink, water temp regulator etc). I used Olympus OMs for a couple of decades before I convinced myself to try digital (D70S), but I could never get as excited about tweaking images on the computer as I did messing about in the darkroom. Now, I really only use the D70 to take pics of the kids to send to the grandparents or for shooting things for ebay. My favorite camera for everything else is an F3HP with a few primes. I have a F4S*, but I'm only slowly warming to it - the F3HP is still the business.<br>

*Galloping Nikon Acquisition Syndrome</p>

[jim_gardner4]

<p>The camera I seem to pick up most at the moment is a mamiya C330f tlr. Its easy to use hand held, quiet, sharp lenses and "cheap" enough to leave in the car and I love the 6x6 negs. Yes I have "better" cameras but seem to use those for specific purposes. I also have a D70s and its great for recording things but I don’t get nearly as much enjoyment from using it as I do a film camera. </p>

[gt1]

<p>Ricoh FF*90</p>

[dave_s]

<p>Canon T70 with a 50/1.4 FDn. Foolproof, and I'm speaking as an accomplished fool.</p>

[scott_murphy_photography]

<p>My default is still old faithful, my 500C/M and A-16 backs. I am finding I am using my F2's less and less, unless I do not have a Hasselblad lens to do what I need to do. I have 4 Blad lenses that range from 40mm to 150mm and for that most part that is usually enough for me. If I need to go long, I use my 300mm and 500mm Nikkors and if need be, a TC-14B. For all my personal work, it is film 100% of the time and hand printed in the darkroom. Or course, it has to be scanned to show here.</p>

<p>I do have a D700 and am very impressed with it. I do not shoot a whole lot of weddings, but I have to admit, it sure does make things go a whole lot smoother and I can get proofs to the couple a lot quicker, usually within 48 hours, something I could never do with film. Nearly 600 RAW photos on an 8 GB card sure beats dragging around 3 F2's and a ton of film. Although the bride's portrait is still always shot with the Blad. Whenever I shoot portraiture, I always give the client the option of film or digital and I actually wind up shooting film about 70% of the time. I think people still have the perception that film is still better. With same day processing at a local lab and the ability to scan it, I really do not lose much time over digital and I still think Ektar 100 in medium format beats digital hands down.</p><div></div>

[david_henderson]

<p>I tend not to think like that; I'm not particularly attached to cameras and I think about photographs first and foremost. In general when I leave for a trip, or leave my hotel for a day's photography , I have certain types of photographs in mind, and depending on the nature of those photographs and their purpose there tend to be a formats and therefore cameras tagged along with them. I don't own multiple cameras of the same format with the exception of spare bodies. </p>

[peter_a._york]

<p>Meridian 4x5, an all-metal contraption with a back like a Linhof. I'm sold on the slow, methodical, deliberate aspect of large format. When this is not possible, I bring a Mamiya 645 w/80mm lens.</p>

[samn]

<p>For personal work I returned to film after shooting digital for 5 years. Minolta Maxxum 7 is the camera of choice, sometimes Mamiya C220. Process B&W at home but don't print. Still shoot digital for work.</p>

[bethe_fisher]

<p>If I'm doing something along the lines of street shooting, then it's the Pentax H1a. If I'm going to be more deliberate or I'm heading for the woods, then the Pentax 645N. If I'm in no hurry at all, then the 4x5 monorail. I have others of 35mm and 120, but those two are the ones I gravitate towards. </p>

[rossb]

<p>F100</p>

[djcphoto]

<p>In the space of the last two years I've gone from 100% digital to 90% film. Like my namesake, I'm in the process of setting up my first real darkroom in over twenty years, and I'm really excited about it!<br>

<br /> What camera? My Hasselblad 500C/M rides with me everywhere I go, but I've just picked up a 4x5 Speed Graphic, and I feel that it will rapidly become one of my favourites!</p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>My Canon 50D is my go-to camera these days, for both studio and landscape.</p>

<p>I just learned how to use LiveView in the studio and I love it. Don't know how I ever got along without remote focusing.</p>

<p><Chas><br /></p>

[charlessalomons]

40D w 10-22, 17-85, 70-200 when out and about. Leica CL when I feel like doing something artistic.

Canon P&S to carry with me all the time

[joseph_wisniewski]

<p>D3. Best low light and high speed ability of anything I own, best AF, best controls, and best fit to my hand. But that's not the real issue here.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I have found that shooting film forces me to slow down and be more methodical in my approach</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I've grown way past that. I can spend half a day hunting for the perfect shoot, methodically, with a DSLR, a 35mm SLR, or my old 4x5. I can spend days setting up a studio still life just to shoot one or two shots with any camera. Anyone who believes they "need" a less efficient camera to "force" them to "slow down and be more methodical" has other issues to address, beyond the deliberate use of inefficient equipment as a "bit and bridle". Consider:</p>

<ul>

<li>decaf</li>

<li>yoga</li>

<li>taking a painting or drawing class</li>

<li>decaf</li>

<li>doing some "seeing" expeditions without a camera</li>

<li>decaf</li>

</ul>

[alvinyap]

<p>Steve, for me that would be either my D200 (general purpose) or D300 (wildlife, low light events, special event shooting etc). i've used both of them enough to figure out how the meter and controls work, so I can ignore the technical aspects and focus more on getting the shot.</p>

<p>I think the forcing you to slow down concept really depends on your subject. For example, motorsports, wildlife. You can't exactly control things as they happen, or move to a more ideal location to re-shoot the crash. Only pre-planning and hoping for the best.</p>

<p>I agree with Joseph as well. When I'm shooting events/wildlife, fillind up multiple cards in a day is the norm. When I'm just exploring new areas of town, sometimes I come home after a days walk with maybe a dozen shots, if any at all.</p>

<p>Regards,<br>

Alvin</p>

[will_daniel1]

<p>I gravitate to the Nikon D60 because of its size and weight. Over a six-month period I worked on a project in which I shot about 3,000 images mixed approximately 50/50 between the D60 and my D200. Both cameras have the same sensor. I defy anyone to look at all the images and say my D200 shots are any better. They're not.</p>

<p>Will</p>

[ted_raper1]

<p>I have several cameras - Nikon SLRS (dig and film), a couple Fujis, and a Canon. One is a bridge camera, one a P & S. Switching back and forth between them constantly was driving me nuts (trying to pick a specific camera for a specific application) because I'd have to remember things like "does this Fuji E900 need exposure comp" or "is this Nikon D80 better in matrix or center weighted?" They are ALL my favorites or I would have sold them by now.</p>

<p>What I do these days is try to use one camera for extended periods so the settings, etc. are second nature. My current favorite is my D200, but I usually keep the E900 with me most of the time, too.</p>

[carbon_dragon]

<p>I have a Canon 5D, a Sony A350, and as I age, even though the 5D takes better images and has a much better viewfinder, I often find myself taking the A350 more simply due to weight.</p>

[KenPapai]

<p>Whatever the newest DSLR I own is the one I use nearly always. Right now it's the EOS 40D, a superb low light performer. (as emergency back-ups I also have an EOS 10D and 10S) I carry a P&S cam always when my SLR is not on me.</p>

<p>Still shooting some rare film too through my EOS 3. I gave up the darkroom more than 25 years ago. I don't see the chemical and time-consuming point.</p>

<p>Hoppy Holidaze to all!</p>

[SCL]

<p>I only have 1 DSLR, so no options when I need a DSLR. My favorite RF is my Leica M4, which I've had since 1968 and know better than anything else. On the SLR side things get more complex....I love my Canon T90 and My Leicaflex SL (which has the best viewfinder I've ever seen on anything...ancient or modern). Everything else is really a second choice. Typically I have several cameras loaded with B&W and color film at any given time....sort of snatch and grab as needed.</p>

[dbcooper]

<p>Always with me when I leave the house - a pocket Canon SD880IS. For 'serious' photography - a Nikon D700. I'm all digital now. I'd love to have a wet darkroom again, but it's impractical as I travel with my work. I sadly traded off my last film camera this past June - a very nice wooden field 4x5. I hated doing that, but it was the right thing to do. If I hit the Powerball, I'll get another one, or maybe an 8x10 monorail since I'd retire and my footman would carry it. :)</p>

[aplumpton]

<p>Leica M8, not because it is my real favourite, but because for both color and B&W and its sufficiently (for me) wide lens range it is the more universal one for most jobs. The default camera is film based, either a Mamiya 6, which is my favourite, or a Fuji GSW690III for highest quality B&W that I can afford and succeed (a LF camera would be best, but I like to walk or trek a lot and would have trouble with the weight (and heavier tripods). I like PS work on digital files, but the default cameras allow me the very great pleasure of darkroom craftwork.</p>

[chris_waller]

<p>It depends what I'm doing, but it's usually the Canon F1.</p>

[pictureted]

<p>My D90 is my go to. Loved film for years - F3HP and Contax G2, both with primes, until I couldn't afford it. Film eventually slowed my pace so much due to the cost that I virtually stopped. Now I shoot frequently, experiment much more and have no nostalgia for the cost and chemicals.</p>

<p>I could still cook over a fire, but my stove is a better solution most of the time.</p>