Stories Test

A section being tried out — two kinds of page that are not catalog entries. Buyer's guides pick an entry-level, a best-value and a collector's piece per system, with today's asking prices. Stories are longer pieces built from the catalog's own research, the ones that would not fit in a history section. Both are AI-written from the family pages and say so.

Three picks per system, each a page in this catalog: the entry level — the cheapest way in that is still the real thing; the collector level — the one the reference books are about; and the best value — the most lens or camera for the money. The prices are not mine: each card reads the median asking price from the listings I scan, dated and counted, so what you see is the market on the day the page was built. The reasons are mine, and every one links to the page that makes the case at length.

1. Where to start with the Nikon rangefinder — Nikon rangefinder

   A Nikkor that costs less than a roll of film did in 1950, the 10.5cm everyone should own, and the f/1.1 the books are about.

2. Where to start with the Nikon F system — Nikon F

   A fifty for the price of lunch, the 105 that made a magazine cover, and the last manual Nikon.

3. Where to start with the Contax rangefinder — Contax rangefinder

   Soviet Sonnars for the price of a filter, the Stuttgart Contax that just works, and the black Contax I that started it.

4. Where to start with the Hasselblad V system — Hasselblad V

   The 80mm everyone starts with, the 150mm that is the bargain of the set, and the 1600F that began it.

5. Where to start in the Leica M mount — Leica M

   A Minolta-made way into the mount, the Summicron that is still Leica's design, and the f/1.2 that was the first aspherical lens anyone sold.

6. Where to start with a screw-mount Leica — Leica screw mount

   The collapsible Elmar, the Summitar that became the Summicron, and a 1931 f/1.9 that few have seen.

7. Where to start with a 35mm compact — Point-and-shoot compacts

   The Trip 35 that sold ten million, the XA that is a real rangefinder in a pocket, and the T3 that ended the line.

8. Where to start with half-frame — Half-frame cameras

   The Pen EE that started the boom, the Pen F that is an SLR system for the price of a lens, and the Pen W that few have seen.

No seller pays to appear here and no pick is chosen for its commission; eBay links on the family pages are affiliate links, disclosed where they appear.