Classic Camera Reviews

A score of digital and analog cameras that set standards for their era and pointed to the future.

I’m a fanatic when it comes to classic 35mm rangefinder cameras. And based on 50+ years of hands-on experience, I’m confident that the very best analog rangefinder cameras do embody something special that’s mostly lacking in today’s digital marvels.

Back in 2005, before Sony launched their Alpha line of interchangeable-lens digital cameras, they introduced the very unusual DSC-R1 “bridge” camera, which offered a highly regarded zoom lens, a wide ISO range of 160-3200, and an APS-C 10.3 MP CMOS sensor. The camera even featured a two-inch swiveling and rotating LCD, which was a pretty big deal in 2005.

Today’s digital cameras have become so adept at almost any shooting situation that, paradoxically, they can inhibit creativity by always delivering a technically perfect result. With little effort, a photographer can produce a sharp, clear, well-exposed image, color balanced and, well, a bit too perfect.

Here are some tips I discovered when researching this month’s column. One was from my wife who uses this technique all the time—smile! And you know what, people smile back, making you appear friendly and non-threatening. The other was from Michael Archambault, who suggests you “acknowledge that street photography is not perfect.” Or as my grandfather once told me, “If you spend your whole life looking for happiness, it’ll make you miserable.”

I’ve been collecting cameras for (ahem) well over half a century. But unlike many of my fellow film camera fanatics, I actually use these things to make pictures, which is a lot more fun. That’s why all the cameras on my 10 Favorites list below are prime, high-performance user-collectibles capable of outstanding image quality that can give those digital upstarts a run for the money. Yes, shooting film is a lot less convenient, and more expensive than shooting digital, but if you enjoy being a contrarian, iconoclast or outlier, being a Film Dinosaur is a great way to go.

What's it like to use a strange plastic camera lens from 1950 on a modern mirrorless camera? That's the subject of this latest "Weird Lens Challenge" video from photographer Mathieu Stern.