The oddest/quirkiest/most unusual camera you have ever used...

Sony Nex-7
The IQ was quite good but the menus made me tear out what was left of my hair. Missed many photo ops while attempting to make the camera bend to my puny human will.
Eventually sold it lest I hurl it against a wall in frustration.
 
Although this Japanese rangefinder series is one of my all time favorites, the Teraoka Seikosho Auto Terra brand had a quirky model which has a wind up spring motor, but you have to engage a selector lever to fire each advance of film. Kind of negates the “ motor drive”capability of the camera. Also with the Model IIB, the name spelling changed to one R instead of two which is on all the other models. Auto Tera for the IIB and Auto Terra for all the rest. Love these cameras, especially the Zunow equipped 45mm/ F1.8 models and might be considered the “Japanese Robot”, although with a fixed lens and not quite as dense.
 

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Canyongazer said:
Sony Nex-7
The IQ was quite good but the menus made me tear out what was left of my hair. Missed many photo ops while attempting to make the camera bend to my puny human will.
Eventually sold it lest I hurl it against a wall in frustration.
Click to expand...
I got a Nex-7 as my entry into digitals that would accept my manual lenses. I loved being able to use my old lenses rather than have them collecting dust in the cabinet. It eventually led to my wanting to see what the old lenses could do at their native focal length so I had to get a full frame camera.
I went down the rabbit hole and now have four of them.
 
Another sign I spend too much time here: I was scrolling through this resurrected thread just now, with a number of nominations of Exaktas and Rollei 35s, and right about at the point I was thinking "How come no one has mentioned the Vitessa?" there was my own posting from two years ago saying that very thing.
 
An old camera from the 1950s. Very small. The lens collapses into the body which is convenient, but the aperture control is this little flange next to the front element that you operate with your finger nail, hopefully without putting a fingerprint on the lens. The camera has nicely finished controls, but to focus it you use a separate viewfinder window, which in turn needs its own focus, depending on the distance of the subject. The true viewfinder is really small and not much good, so they offer an accessory viewfinder, but you have to change that for different focal length lenses. The shutter speed dial is not a dial but two separate dials. Below 1/25s you dial up the speed on a new rotating dial plastered to the front of the camera. Loading this camera is a complete pain. You have to trim the leader so it's shallow across the film gate and you can't see the film going into place as there is only this opening at the bottom of the camera. The baseplate on the model I have has a flat post for guiding the film into the right level when you close up the camera. The daftest element of this camera is the baseplate tripod bush, way up one end. Some foreign brand, Leica. I presume it never caught on.
 
Canyongazer said:
Sony Nex-7
The IQ was quite good but the menus made me tear out what was left of my hair. Missed many photo ops while attempting to make the camera bend to my puny human will.
Eventually sold it lest I hurl it against a wall in frustration.
Click to expand...
I still use a Nex 6 always on auto. It might have something to do with my hatred of digital cameras.
 
Someone mentioned the Corfield Periflex a few pages back?
Got one loaded up with film today.

Periflex05.jpg
 
It would have to be my Soviet FT-2. The controls and methodology are strange, as is the almost useless viewfinder. But it is still a load of fun to shoot and I have quite a few panoramas from it that I really like. The inset shows the way the paired chrome levers are set for shutter speeds. And there is a "secret" 1/60 speed that can be set. It uses special cassettes and has a swing lens. I usually shoot it hand-held which adds to the excitement. Getting a level, well-framed shot is a matter of practice and luck.

KMZ FT-2 Panorama Camera by Neal Wellons, on Flickr
 
Pál_K said:
That’s quite an interesting avatar you have there - not just one, but two of those ciné cameras.
Click to expand...

They are early Nizo Allmats. They used to form part of my collection of 8mm cine cameras that peaked at over 150 and is now on a downward slide as I downsize and concentrate only on those made in France. I used to collect still cameras but for sheer madness some cine cameras are hard to beat!
 
Has to be my Sigma SD9 - their first DSLR which came with the Foveon F7 sensor.

P1040563.jpg


It shoots 3.4MP raw only and has a quite primitive AF - a single non-crosspoint detector.

The "Sports" viewfinder is inherited from the SA-9 35mm film camera and has the outside frame frosted leaving the 1.7 crop portion clear.

It also inherited the two batteries in the grip and gained four AA's in the base.

Max ISO is 400 and, at that, is virtually useless. ISO goes in 1/2-steps not the "modern" 1/3.

I love it for it's limitations and treat it like I used to treat my old manual Praktica ...
 
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Richard G said:
An old camera from the 1950s. Very small. The lens collapses into the body which is convenient, but the aperture control is this little flange next to the front element that you operate with your finger nail, hopefully without putting a fingerprint on the lens. The camera has nicely finished controls, but to focus it you use a separate viewfinder window, which in turn needs its own focus, depending on the distance of the subject. The true viewfinder is really small and not much good, so they offer an accessory viewfinder, but you have to change that for different focal length lenses. The shutter speed dial is not a dial but two separate dials. Below 1/25s you dial up the speed on a new rotating dial plastered to the front of the camera. Loading this camera is a complete pain. You have to trim the leader so it's shallow across the film gate and you can't see the film going into place as there is only this opening at the bottom of the camera. The baseplate on the model I have has a flat post for guiding the film into the right level when you close up the camera. The daftest element of this camera is the baseplate tripod bush, way up one end. Some foreign brand, Leica. I presume it never caught on.
Click to expand...
Did these things sell at all? Sounds like it'd only appeal to real masochists. :)
 
mnutzer said:
Minox-B 8x11mm miniature "spy" camera in front of its associated Bakelite film developing can.
With kindest compliments to Miss Moneypenny.:cool:​
View attachment 4820898
Click to expand...

Very nice. Do you have the enlarger as well? I have various 8x11 Minoxes and accessories, but neither the developing tank nor enlarger. I have to send my film out for development and printing.
 
Mr_Flibble said:
Someone mentioned the Corfield Periflex a few pages back?
Got one loaded up with film today.

Periflex05.jpg
Click to expand...
I’m pretty sure that Leica would’ve had an inverted periscope in their first cameras, but were prevented by the Treaty of Versailles.
 
I've always wanted a Periflex. I think they're neat and even a little attractive.
I have an Exakta and I've used it. Super odd. But, the camera that I tried to use many times but found so awkward -- the Contact/Kiev II,III,IV group. I've wasted too much film with those things. I finally gave up trying to do the "Contact hold". Still have most of them but never use. The lenses are nice 🙂
 
Pál_K said:
Very nice. Do you have the enlarger as well? I have various 8x11 Minoxes and accessories, but neither the developing tank nor enlarger. I have to send my film out for development and printing.
Click to expand...
A few years ago I saw one of these special Minox 8x11mm film enlargers behind the window of a local photo shop.
But since I don't have a darkroom, I only develop black and white films.
The negatives are then scanned, and I still have to learn how to produce reasonably viewable images for my screen from the tiny 8x11mm format.
 
rfaspen said:
I've always wanted a Periflex. I think they're neat and even a little attractive.
I have an Exakta and I've used it. Super odd. But, the camera that I tried to use many times but found so awkward -- the Contact/Kiev II,III,IV group. I've wasted too much film with those things. I finally gave up trying to do the "Contact hold". Still have most of them but never use. The lenses are nice 🙂
Click to expand...

The thing of the Periflex that annoys me the most is the fact that you have a separate wind an cocking mechanism (though they're linked to prevent double exposures).

I'm a Leicaphile at heart, but my Contaxes II/III IIa/IIIa have grown on me. It's the infinity lock that gets me though! ;)
 
Mr_Flibble said:
…

I'm a Leicaphile at heart, but my Contaxes II/III IIa/IIIa have grown on me. It's the infinity lock that gets me though! ;)
Click to expand...
It’s annoying at first. The technique which works for me is the habit, when beginning to focus, of putting a finger on the serrated dial, pushing down on the lock, always moving in the direction that unlocks it, and never lifting up. This works for my IIIa and Nikon S2.
 
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