GOTTA LOVE A GOOD ‘MUST DO’ LIST,
While the typical ‘try before you die’ lists are generally mostly light-hearted, we’ve added a small element of seriousness here by avoiding the unobtainable. There’s little point in making these recommendations if you can’t actually find the camera in the first place because it’s either too rare or only affordable if you’re what’s termed these days as a “high wealth individual”!
So, for example, we’ve omitted the NASA Apollo program Hasselblads (you’d have to travel to the Moon to get one), the O series Leicas (one recently sold for €2.4 million at auction) and anything that’s a gold-plated limited edition. In fact, we’ve steered clear of all limited editions even if a few of them are undoubtedly pretty tasty – it’s still gilding the lily as far as any of the serial production cameras featured here are concerned. That said, a few of those featured are still reasonably expensive (although we’ve managed to stay under $10,000 even for a mint-and-boxed example) and a couple will require a bit of hunting down if you’re serious. But otherwise verything on these pages is within reach, one way or another.
Each has one or more elements that makes them just a bit special and, consequently, all would be a delight to own… well, we’d actually like to own them all! All but one are film cameras and the one digital entry looks more like a classic film camera than anything else which is exactly why, incidentally, it’s been such a hit. The digital era hasn’t produced very many cult cameras… at least not yet. So it’s not just about the technologies or even necessarily the designs, but also about engagement, emotion, charm and even aspirations. The camera is always a means to an end, but how it achieves that end is important too, and not just in its efficiency and efficacy either. Surely enjoyment and the experience come into it too? Both seem to be playing less of a role in today’s clinically capable digital cameras, which is perhaps why there’s now so much nostalgia surrounding the classics, design quirks and all.
All 20 of these cameras deliver something more which, in many cases, assured their places in the history of photography, but also the affections of a great many photographers. Whether you’re recording precious memories, creating masterpieces or even simply in the pursuit of a living, the camera should always be something more than merely a tool. At best, it almost becomes part of you; a willing and able ally in your endeavours that’s ready to turn your visions into realities. In no other area is the relationship between man – or woman – and machine quite so intense or, indeed, intimate. The truly great cameras encourage and nurture this special relationship and presented here, in our humble opinion, are 20 of the very best.
LEICA M3 /// 1954
YOU’RE NOT SURPRISED are you? Arguably the most significant camera of the 20th century, the Leica M3 not only changed everything in design terms, but also in the way that photographs were taken. Leica’s original 35mm camera combined compactness with exceptional quality, but its biggest asset was that it enabled spontaneity for the first time in a ‘serious’ camera. The M3 took everything further, bringing unsurpassed speed and convenience to 35mm photography, and Leica M cameras kept the rangefinder flag flying well into the reflex era, capturing many historic and memorable pictures in both war and peace.
Yet, it’s not so much its historical significance that sees the M3 included here, but rather that, nearly 65 years later, it is still such a brilliantly capable camera to use… compact, quick and uncomplicated. You need to know what you’re doing, which is the way it should be, but the sheer purity of purpose is both refreshing and inspiring. OK, so a built-in exposure meter might be nice, which is why we’re also rating the later M6 (introduced in 1984) equally highly, and the M4 models are fine too (even the Canadian-built ones), but nothing quite eclipses the original.
In one hit Leica introduced a combined viewfinder/rangefinder with projected brightline frames, a bayonet lens mount, a single dial for setting all shutter speeds (the previous generation cameras had separate controls for the fast and slow setting), and film advance via a rapid-wind lever (initially double-stroke and later clutchless for single-stroke). While the film was still loaded through the base – as it is on today’s M Series film cameras – it was made significantly more convenient by the provision of an opening back plate.
Everything about the M3 was an improvement on the previous-generation Leica III, and the same configuration is still used in
