May 6th 2024
Dead Hands Cameras
- Five cameras I will Never Part With -
Depending on the groups, forums, communities, and people you know within the film photography sphere, great interactions and fun concepts can arise. In a film photography blogging group I’m a part of, the most recent instance of this was a comment on how much Theo Panagopoulos liked his Voigtländer Superb. He liked it so much that it was deemed a “pry from my dead hands camera…”. Thus a new collaboration article was born, Dead Hands Cameras. This is a list of five cameras that I quite like, to the point where you would need to pry them from my cold dead hands! In all honesty, the amount of cameras you would have to forcibly separate me from is many more than five. In my effort to pair this number down I tried to vary the list a bit, with a few cameras I’ve written about and others I have yet to mention here. All of which I adore tremendously.
The Minolta Maxxum 9000
I’ve used a fair amount of the cameras in the Maxxum series, from the early 5000 to the 700si, later 9xi, and last models 50 and 70. All are great and interesting in their own right, but there is something about the 9000. A perfect balance of manual and automatic control.
When it comes to Minolta Maxxum cameras, the higher the first number the more ‘professional’ it becomes. Model 3’s were basic cameras, 5 was amateur, 7 was advanced amateur, and 9 was professional; with a host of models in between. The Maxxum 9000 was the top of the line, and first professional autofocus SLR on the market.
Up to the end of the Maxxum cameras, the 9000 was only one of three in the professional 9 series and the most unique out of the whole Maxxum line. What sets it apart is the manual winding and rewinding. You did however have the option of a 5 frames per second motor drive with or without motorized rewind. That, in my opinion, makes this camera quite special.
When I first bought this camera, it had a lot of issues. The aperture electromagnet was sticking, winding felt odd, the shutter blades stuck sometimes, and the grips were crumbling off. It was one of the first cameras I ever worked on repairing, and one I’ve had for around 15 or so years now. This and my father’s XG-1(n) rekindled my love for film and started me on this analog journey once again. Since then I’ve used this camera mainly for photographing air shows and sports photography. Paired with some of the excellent Maxxum Zoom lenses and a fast 1/4000th of a second max shutter speed, this camera really delivers. After a couple more repairs a few years ago, I bought myself a motor drive for it and have been loving the on/off manual wind or motor drive control.
Other autofocus SLR cameras are faster and more advanced, but there is something about this Maxxum camera that feels great to me. The controls are exactly where I expect them, with all physical switches/dials, at a perfect weight and size. A few others come close, but my favorite autofocus SLR camera will always be the Maxxum 9000.
The Olympus Pen EES
In an effort to update and rewrite a few of the older articles on the site, I ended up getting one of if not my favorite half frame cameras by accident. The first article I wrote for the site was on the Olympus Pen EE; a camera that I was not the biggest fan of due to the focus, exposure, and ASA limitations. When looking for another example online, I mistakenly bought the ‘S’ version, the successor to the original Pen EE. This update brings a few shutter speed changes, depending on if you have an early or later EE, the same ASA limit of 200, with the addition of focusing.
I can admit that the focus is a bit fiddly with the small ring around the lens, a problem addressed with the EES-2, but it does not have the same feel as the earlier cameras. I have a few Olympus Pen cameras, but in my experience, the early ones like the Pen S and the EES have a different feel to them. Very solid and surprisingly heavy. Later cameras are still great to use and may be technically better, but the handling and feel of the EES is perfect to me.
After a full disassembly and clean of the shutter, the EES has been a faithful companion in every outing I ventured out with it. From doors open, to everyday walk arounds, and visiting family, it has yet to miss a frame or let me down. It rekindled my love for half frame cameras, and still finds its way into my camera bag frequently.
THE Pentax ES
This is a camera that took me ages to repair but taught me a whole lot about electronics and odd mechanical repairs, along with what I find enjoyable in a camera. Before using the Pentax ES, I was not a fan of stop down metering. I would forget a step, mess up the exposure, or miss the shot for being too slow. In the weeks upon weeks of testing the ES, it reminded me that you really need to consistently work with a camera before it clicks.
Taking any m42 lens and having the ability to use it in an aperture priority mode, and the addition of full open aperture metering with SMC lenses, makes for one of the best m42 cameras ever made. I really like the Pentax ES, especially paired with the Zeiss Tessar 50mm f/2.8 lens. The Pentax ES has never found its way to a shelf or box, as it has a permanent spot on my desk, ready to be taken out at a moment’s notice. It’s a truly incredible camera and one I love to use.
The Leica IIIc
A new addition from late last year, the Leica IIIc paired with a 50mm f/2 Summitar has been steadily growing on me. I have been carrying it around in my everyday bag, usually with another random camera I’m writing about, for around six or so months now. What I’ve been trying to do with the Leica is have it be a snapshot, off the cuff camera I always have around. This tends to take a lot longer to go through a roll in my experience, but when an interesting scene arises on a walk, ride to work, or in a store, I know I have a camera with me. No pressure to finish the roll, and a way to document my daily life and things I find interesting and beautiful.
Four rolls in and I’m still trying to figure the camera out. Some pictures are great while others need work, but that has been on me trying to meter difficult lighting by eye. I also really like the 90mm Elmar and 100mm Canon m39 lenses I have, but for the moment I want to get comfortable with the Summitar.
It’s not a Leica M series camera, but it’s my first Leica in general, and I’ve been really enjoying using it. Like any new piece of equipment, I feel that I need to spend more time with it before I really get the hang of shooting naturally. So far I’ve really enjoyed my time with this Leica IIIc and foresee myself carrying it around with me for many more years.
The Graflex Speed Graphic
For the last camera on this list, something a bit different. I don’t talk about 4x5 here at all really, but I learned how to shoot large format on a Calumet monorail about seven or so years ago, and have been shooting one or two sheets a month ever since. I’ve always enjoyed the setup, composing, and shooting process of large format, with the slow and methodical nature that comes with it.
After buying and shooting with my own Calumet monorail, I wanted a smaller field camera that would fit in a bag for hikes and whatnot. I found an older Speed Graphic with a decent lens for a reasonable price and have been very happy with it since. Swapping between a few lenses, making my own lens boards, and trying to adapt lenses has been a very fun part of 4x5, and I feel there is only more to look into and enjoy. I’m especially eager to give dry and wet plates a try. In my 4x5 career I’ve shot around 100 sheets, mixed in between outdoor landscapes, still lives, and studio work, while enjoying every second of it. There is a completely different photographic discipline that goes into large format and I think the Speed Graphic had a hand in showing me that.
That is all for my list, a thanks again to Theo and everyone else who threw in ideas for this collaboration article. Here are the other sites that also worked on this collaboration, be sure to check them out!
