The most reliable one

[igord]

<p>The question is: what is the most reliable and durable manual 35 mm SLR body?<br>

A camera that will last for a long time,<br>

Excellent mechanics and shutter.... Meter built-in, bright screen etc. </p>

[henryp]

<p>You'll get a lot of opinions here but I'd have to vote for the F3 and FM2n from Nikon.</p>

<p>Henry Posner<br /><strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>

[a_tang1]

<p>Another vote for the FM2!</p>

[steve_mareno1]

<p>Leicaflex, Leicaflex SL, Nikkormat FT2, and many, many more</p>

[john_shriver]

<p>The Topcon Super D is quite indestructible. Also very useful as a weapon. However, your lens choice is limited, although most of the Topcors are excellent lenses. But the finder optics are quite dated compared to an Olympus OM-1, or Pentax LX or MX. (The Pentax LX does not count as durable, sadly.)<br>

But Nikon certainly got an enviable reputation by professionals using their cameras for reporting work under hostile conditions. The Photomic prisms for the Nikon F and F2 are unreliable and unrepairable, but the bodies (if you don't care about metering) are tough.<br>

Best way to make any camera reliable is a skilled clean/lube/adjust every 5 to 10 years.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Plain prism Nikon F still takes the cake. They are cheap to acquire with a <em>non</em>-functioning Photomic head.</p>

<p>Nikon F2 meter heads are more likely to work, and the bodies are just as rugged.</p>

<p>With any old camera, the most likely to fail component has to be the meter, otherwise there are dozens of good, mechanical to early electro-mechanical cameras from the 70s to the late 80s. <br /> e.g., Olympus OM series, even the Praktica L series for a somewhat rough, but durable camera.</p>

[igord]

<p>Thanks for answers, what about Pentax or Minolta? I have OM cameras, they don't seem to be that reliable. Also I remember my Practica L, 25 years ago, and lenses bought in DDR!</p>

[john_narsuitus]

<p>I got rid of my first 35mm SLR (Miranda Sensorex) because it was unreliable. I replaced it with a Nikon F. The Nikon F proved to be very reliable. Since then, I have used the F2, F3, and F4. All have been very reliable.</p>

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[frank_scheitrowsky1]

Another vote for the Nikon F2.

[maciek_stankiewicz]

<p>Probably Mechanical shutter cameras...<br>

Based on my experience, <strong>Minolta SRT 101b </strong>and<strong> 102</strong>... and <em>not</em> Konica Autoreflex T.<br>

...I wish I could test Nikon FM2n..</p>

[tony_lockerbie]

<p>Really hard to go past a Nikon F2, lots of parts and lenses available for it too. An original Nikon F is very rugged also, but the F2 is just that little bit nicer to use. The F3, although electronic, has also stood the test of time.</p>

[User_6502147]

<p>+1 for F2....urr, I mean F2A. Had it since 1980 and it still going strong....probably will outlive me. Ha ha, I'm shooting D700 too, and still in manual everything (by choice).<br>

<br />Les</p>

[carbon_dragon]

Leica M2 by a country mile. Every other camera I have has needed repairs once in a while -- Minolta XE-5, Contax RTS 1

and 3, etc. Well I don't think my old Minolta 600si's every broke. Those Leica M's (especially the mechanical ones) are

bulletproof. And they are a pleasure to use too. The Contax RTS I is about the most unreliable camera I own because of

the poor design of the electronics, but the camera was a pleasure to use. The Leica M's have both a great interface and

great reliability.

[jodys]

<p>No on the Nikon F series because of the faulty meters. Same for the Minolta SR-T series (meter linkages get gummed up). No on the Konica Autoreflex series because the lenses don't stop down when they get the slightest bit dirty. No on the Pentax Spotmatic because the meter is often faulty. What's left? Canon F- series, the F1 and FTb. I once had to re-tension a 2nd curtain spring on an FT, but that's the only issue I've ever had (that didn't involve a camera with water damage). I do have a dead meter on an earlier Canon, and I've had to clean and lube the F-1N. But none of my Fs and FTbs have ever had an issue. I haven't had enough Olympus SLRs to have an opinion, and I've had so many issues with my GDR cameras that I won't mention them. The only Leicaflex I've ever owned is dead, as is my Rolleiflex SLR.</p>

[frank_scheitrowsky1]

Meters? We don't need no stinkin' meters! I'm talking plain prism F2.

[dennis_w3]

<p>I'd have to agree on Topcon. Having used Nikon F, Canon F1, and Leicaflex SL2, I believe the Topcon has the most reliable metering system and linkage to aperture and shutter mechanism (again, my opinion). After all, it's chain driven, with a resistance to stretch of 35 pounds. The bodies are robust, as are the lenses. Just winding the early Super D is a motion of sublime pleasure, and carrying these beasts can be aerobic exercise. I do enjoy the Nikon F with the plain prism and have had one for years (never saw a functioning Photomic meter), and the Canon F1 is nice, too. I couldn't stand the SL2.</p>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Canon F-1n. Like old man river...it just keeps rolling along. </p>

[franklin_polk]

<p>I'd say the Topcon as well, but the lenses are really limited, there aren't a whole lot of lenses made after the 70s, and as a result, they can be hard to find. If a meter is a must, I'd second (third?) an F3, the meter seems to be more reliable than the meter heads on the F/F2. If you can deal w/o a meter, the F/F2 with a plain prisms are pretty darn indestructible.</p>

[SCL]

<p>I'd vote for the Leicaflex SL2 followed by the Nikon F3.</p>

[russ_britt3]

<p>Canon F1......the first one.</p>

 

[jason]

<p>Classic cameras show us the most UNRELIABLE part is the electronics..Look where we have gone!My Nikon-f without Photomic meter is extremely reliable. Rolleiflex TLR simply magnificent. Spotmatics are reliable. The meters can stop working. The camera is from the 60's!<br>

Presently a used Nikon-F3 and my Leica M6TTL have been totally reliable.</p>

[john_shriver]

<p>Leica's do require periodic maintenance. Shutter curtain tension is very low, no power to push through dirty lubrication. So it's reliable, but only with proper maintenance. Also breaking the rangefinder is astoundingly easy, just a major shock will knock it apart.<br>

Most of the classic film Pentax bodies used a rather old-fashioned cloth shutter, more spring tension than Leica, but still needing maintenance. They're well-built cameras, but without the massive castings of the Topcon and Nikon offerings. Pentax didn't shift to the indestructible vertical-travel Copal shutters until the electronic era, and their electronic era cameras (for instance Program Plus and Super Program) don't have a good reliability profile.<br>

The flex cables in electronic cameras are a failure waiting to happen. So are the electrolytic capacitors. But a battery-dependent camera just doesn't belong in this discussion.</p>

[vilk_inc]

<p>F2, with DP-12 or DP-3 if you want a meter, DE-1 if not; the DP-11 is great, too. All used daily here, not a trace of that ache in the bones that normally comes past thirty... or three for a digicam!</p>

[Glenn McCreery]

<p>I used a Canon F1 from when I purchased it new in 1973 until about ten years ago when it was stolen with absolutely no problems (hopefully, it quit working soon thereafter).</p>

[bebu_lamar]

<blockquote>

<p>Meters? We don't need no stinkin' meters! I'm talking plain prism F2.<br>

<br>

Neither do I but you didn't address the question from the OP. The OP wanted a meter too.</p>

</blockquote>