What is the Best-Looking Camera Ever Made?

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Photographic art and style are both subjective topics about which many of us get passionate. The camera is a tool to make photographic art, but we all know that, as a tool—a machine—it can be a beautiful object unto itself. I talk about some of today’s stylistic photographic tools in my Recommended Stylish Cameras article, but let’s pass the microphone around the Internet to see what people think is the best-looking camera ever made.

To find the answer, or just get a bunch of opinions, I polled my fellow B&H employees, as well as our B&H Creative partners and affiliates to come up with this list of beautiful picture-taking machines. 

Allan Weitz, B&H — @allanweitz 

“The Hasselblad 500C/M with a Zeiss 50mm f/4 Distagon T* Lens. 

“When it comes to well executed design—industrial design in particular, the Hasselblad 500C/M has always been one of the most gorgeous cameras I’ve had the occasion to work with and own.  

“People always praise Hasselblad for their construction and image quality. For me, the balanced look of the camera was what drew me to the system in the first place. The design is so elegantly simple it’s easy to overlook how integral the design is to the functionality of the camera. 

“What pleases my eye the most is the way Victor Hasselblad’s team designed a camera system around a well-disciplined arrangement of circles, squares, rectangles, and, in the case of the earlier 50mm and 60mm Zeiss Distagon wide-angle lenses, cone shapes.  

“The fact the camera sits comfortably and intuitively in the user’s hand is ice cream on the cake. I’ve used many cameras that have earned my respect, but the Hasselblad 500C/M will always get the nod when it comes to good looks.” 

The Hasselblad 500C/M. Photographs © Allan Weitz. 

Ange Fitzgerald, B&H — @angelinashoots 

“The Kine Exakta was the first 35mm single-lens reflex still camera in regular production. It's a beauty, albeit quirky with some known issues, like the finder hood blocking the shutter release when fully collapsed, among others.” 

Chuck Capriola, B&H — @chuckxpics 

“My vote for the best-looking camera is a tie between the two remaining cameras on my bucket list (I’ve never owned them); a 35mm Widelux F7 and the Brooks Veriwide 100. 

“The Widelux is such a cool-looking camera, pushing 1960’s materials and manufacturing to a futuristic-looking design. It reminds me of the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair (which I attended with my parents) with its cars and machines of tomorrow. The Widelux has a mechanical swing-lens design where in place of a shutter, the camera has a moving slit that exposes the film as the lens pivots on a horizontal arc. This pivot has 3 speeds: 1/15, 1/125, and 1/250, and can create some distortion similar to those of extreme wide-angle lenses that bend straight lines. The camera has a rich history, including being onboard the Gemini V mission with astronaut Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr. orbiting the Earth 120 times and spending over a week in space, where it was said to have performed flawlessly.” 

The Widelux
The Widelux

“My other bucket camera is the Brooks Veriwide 100. Many know the Brooks Veriwide as the camera of choice for photographing ghosts in the hit movie Ghostbusters, but my eye is on the earlier 100 model. This camera is as simple as it gets, utilizing a fixed 47mm f/8 Schneider Super Angulon lens, yielding seven 56 x 92mm images on a roll of common 120 film. It gives about the same angle of view as an 18mm lens on a 35mm/full-frame camera. You estimate your subject’s distance and then set it on a scale calibrated from 2.3 feet to infinity, just like the Hasselblad SWC. There is no rangefinder or ground glass. Composition was done with a special viewfinder made by Leitz marked "Veriwide 100." This finder provides the correct 1.64: 1 aspect ratio of the camera. There also is a folding wire frame for composition built onto the body.” 

The Brooks Veriwide
The Brooks Veriwide 100

Chris Goldin, B&H 

“The James Webb Space Telescope.” 

An artist’s illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope, courtesy of NASA 

David Brommer, B&H — @suspectphotography 

“The Nikon SP is certainly the best film rangefinder ever made and might just be the best camera ever. Why? It represented the best of Leica and Contax melded into a fine Japanese-designed mechanical camera with a complete system. The SP would be the stepping stone Nikon made to the legendary F system. This particular camera is the 2005 Anniversary reissue, limited to 2,500 cameras based upon the 1957 SP, but updated with higher tolerances and materials. Please don’t drool on the Nikon camera, thank you.” 

The Nikon SP.

David Wilder, B&H Creative — @davidwilderphoto 

“I’ve always loved cameras and their design. I have a small collection of vintage 35mm and medium format cameras of my own. There is one camera in particular that I have always wanted to add to my collection, the Hasselblad 500C/M. I love the top-down viewfinder of medium format, but this camera also has such a beautiful black-and-silver combination. The mechanics of medium format is something I love, as well; the sounds they make when you press the shutter and advance the film. Music to my ears! I am such a fan of this camera that I even have one tattooed on my arm. The other camera I am a huge fan of is the large format style. I once saw this beautiful brass and black one in an article somewhere. It was stunning! I would love to own one someday, like how some people have fancy telescopes in the corner of a room. I envision it on some large brass legs in the corner of a study; I would need the study first, though!” 

The Hasselblad 500C/M
The Hasselblad 500C/M

Dennis Livesey, B&H — @liveseyimages 

“I have a list! The Panavison Panaflex, Bolex 16, Kodak Medalist, Kodak Bantam Special (both the Bantam and the Medialist were designed by Walter Dorwin Teague), Nikon F, Leica M3, Hasselblad 500C, Rolleiflex, and Polaroid SX-70.” 

The Nikon F
The Nikon F

Ido Jacoby, B&H - @idojacoby 

“I have two… 

“The Alfa. This space-aged, metal constructed machine comes from Poland. 

"As manual as it gets, with beautiful knobs. It came out in multiple colors, with a cream-colored finish. This camera is perfect for a stylish adventure. 

The Alfa
The Alfa

“And, the Lomography La SardinaBelle Starr Edition. I believe that no one will go to such lengths to create such a camera today. The look and the craftsmanship are on the highest grade. The flash is super flashy, I don’t see an A-lister who would refuse a shot from this beautifully engraved machine.” 

The Lomography La Sardina Belle Starr
The Lomography La Sardina Belle Starr

Jill Waterman, B&H — @nightpix 

“With a nod to the famous design principal "Form Follows Function," my vote for the best-looking camera ever made stretches back thousands of years to embrace the fundamental beauty of the camera obscura. While this choice lacks the bells and whistles of automatic controls, the tactile appeal of ergonomic handling, or the allure of a sleek silhouette, nothing can beat the pure elegance of a physical object or scene being inverted and reversed inside the magic box, as illustrated in diagrams of its functioning.  

The Camera Obscura
The Camera Obscura

“Employed through the ages by such famous artists as Leonardo Da Vinci and Johannes Vermeer, the camera obscura remains a powerful creative tool in the hands of contemporary photographers such as Abelardo Morell, profiled here. Ever adaptable, these vestiges of the past can be found in all shapes and sizes today, from room-sized devices to the diminutive pinhole cameras available at B&H.” 

Ilford Obscura Pinhole Camera 
Ilford Obscura Pinhole Camera 

John Faison, B&H - @jphazon 

“I will have to say the Contax G2 with the 28mm 2.8 and mounted Tla200 flash is the best-looking camera of all time. It is sleek, minimal, and the perfect everyday carry camera. The rangefinder is like no other and the form and ergonomics make it feel as good as it is beautiful. With two choices of silver or black, you have the option to flex your personal minimal style how you see fit.” 

The Contax G2. Photograph © Allan Weitz 
The Contax G2.Allan Weitz

Levi Tenenbaum, B&H — @ibelevi 

“Suspect Photography’s Hasselblad 503C! 

David Brommer’s Hasselblad 503c

“Plus, the FUJIFILM X-Pro Line—great and nostalgic look. Very reminiscent and fashionable systems, speaks to shooters and fashionistas alike. And the new Hasselblad 907x Anniversary edition—this is where Hasselblad should have started and ended the medium format design. Beautiful, speaks to the history and nostalgia of the Hasselblad of old!” 

The Hasselblad 907X Anniversary Edition Medium Format Camera Kit 
The Hasselblad 907X Anniversary Edition Medium Format Camera Kit 

Matthew Emond, B&H —  @emondphoto 

“It’s hard to give just one choice, so I’ll give four! 

“For ones we can easily use the photos of, you don’t have to look further than our own site to find two of the most beautiful cameras on the market today, a Wista Rosewood Field Camera and the classic Polaroid SX-70. The aesthetics and design are impeccable on both, despite being made to take photos at opposite ends of the quality spectrum. They are two of the most compact cameras within their respective formats, as well, so taking them to show off to your friends couldn’t be easier. 

“If you’re talking of all time, and want to emphasize ‘cool,’ there’s nothing more awesome than these vintage military/law enforcement designs, which are incredibly rare and unique, like the Konica Rohuoh-Sha Type 89 and DORYU 2-16.” 

The Wista Rosewood Field Camera
The Wista Rosewood Field Camera

Michael Hollender, B&H — @mrhollender 

“All cameras have their own charm and beauty, but it’s the variations between them all that allow for one or two to stick out from the bunch. I, too, am a camera collector with a shelf of retired and vintage gear collecting dust, but one recent addition sits in front of the rest and usually tags along on my adventures: the Nikon 28Ti. I grew up with SLR film-camera hand-me-downs and, as fun as they are to tinker with, I rarely packed them for a trip when seeking a lightweight pack. So, when I started researching used film point-and-shoot cameras, I quickly fell in love with the Nikon 28Ti for its wide(r) than most focal length, tough build quality, and unique design features.  

“Anyone else think there is a connection between people obsessed with cameras and watches? Phew, I’m not the only one. The Nikon 28Ti features an insanely beautiful top analog readout that was designed by Seiko, the watch brand. It displays the focus distance, exposure compensation, f-stop, and has a little light to light up the display just like a watch face! C'mon, how cool is that?” 

Nikon 28Ti

Nicholas McGuire - @driftwoodnick 

“I narrowed it down to three, including two Polaroids! 

“The 95a is just a cool-looking vintage camera. I have one sitting on top of my console table under my TV. I don’t feel bad about this because the film for it is long gone. The SX-70 is the Polaroid I wish I had bought before it had a resurgence. I mean, it folds and looks good doing it! Finally, I mean it’s more awesome than beautiful… the FUJIFILM GX617.” 

Polaroid Originals SX-70
Polaroid Originals SX-70

Thomas Simms – B&H 

“I have two picks… 

“The streamlined art-deco design of the Kodak Bantam Special makes this camera my pick. Produced from 1936 to 1948, a time when the country was recovering from the Great Depression and then engaged in World War II, this camera still embodied a stylized, Roaring Twenties aesthetic of optimism through its artistic design. Models can be dated by their Compur shutter until 1940 or a Supermatic shutter thereafter. B&H sells several films spooled as 828 for use in these beautiful cameras from the era of our ‘Greatest Generation.’ 

The Kodak Bantam Special and a photo taken by the camera; © Thomas Simms

“And the Minox DD 1. Minox, well known for its Cold War spy cameras, created this unique, pendant-like, digital camera in 2003, complete with eight synthetic diamonds but minus a screen. With just an optical viewfinder, a shutter button, and an LCD frame counter, the DD 1 is one of the most minimalist-in-function yet maximalist-in-design cameras ever. With built-in memory equivalent to a roll of film, it runs on a single CR2 battery and takes decidedly low-fi images, but makes a hi-fi statement. Pay attention, 007, the chrome bezel around the lens works as a mirror for framing selfies! 

The Minox DD 1 and a photo taken with the camera; © Thomas Simms

“When are we doing “ugliest” camera? I vote for the Linhof Technika Press 2x3 Large Format camera!” 

Todd Vorenkamp, B&H— @trvphoto 

“There is not a debate, in my mind, on what is the best-looking camera ever made: it is the Nikon F4. I wax poetic about the F4 here. And, I talk about its Italian design heritage here—designed in the same Italdesign shop that did the BMW M1, time-travel-capable DeLorean DMC-12, and amphibious Lotus Esprit S1. It isn’t dramatically sleek. It isn’t overly chunky. It has perfect curves. A perfect shape. To me, it just looks like the ideal photographic melding of form and function. It is a tool, but it is oh so nice to look at on my bookshelf…and take out shooting.” 

The Nikon F4
The Nikon F4

Share Your Thoughts 

Now it’s your turn! What do you think is the best-looking camera ever made? Please let us know in the Comments section, below! 

For more information on the B&H Creative Partnerships Team, subscribe to the B&H Creators Newsletter here or email us at creators@bhphoto.com

178 Comments

David Brommer mentioned the Nikon SP.  My first good camera in 1957 was the Nikon S3 that preceded the SP.  With the very sharp 50mm 1.4 Nikor lens, it was the perfect camera.  It could be focused easily with the wheel right in front of the shutter button, the lever that forwarded the film was easy to use and fast and the camera was durable, surviving a trip over the players bench while photographing a foot ball game. Sadly I decided to trade it for a SLR that never reached the capabilities of my Nikon S-3.  I wish I had it today.

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for sharing your experience with the beautiful Nikon S3—indeed, a gorgeous camera!

Maybe it is time to find one on the used market and take it out to the pitch?

Thanks for reading!

Best,

Todd

My favorite is the Leica IIIG. I have one that I bought used in 1976 for $125 with a 50mm Elmarit collapsible f3.5 lens. Beautiful and functional, albeit completely manual everything (it was made in 1948, I believe). It is compact and solidly built and a joy to pull out and handle. I have had a lot of other cameras, but none with the heritage, feeling and … soul of the Leica. 

Hi Paul,

Another vote for a gorgeous camera. Thank you!

Crazy that you got it for that price...even way back then!

Thank you for reading!

Best,

Todd

My favorite is the classic Nikon F2AS. It's as formidable as it was beautiful, and handling it was a pleasure--rugged, precise, and cool.

Hi Donald,

Has there ever been a Nikon F camera that was unpleasant to look at? I don't think so!

Great selection here. Thanks for your vote!

Best,

Todd

Thomas Simms is the only one who got it: Kodak Bantam Special, designed by the great Walter Dorwin Teague. If only Kodak had made it a 35mm, not 828, camera.

Hi Christopher,

I will send your affirmation to Thomas! :)

Thank you for reading!

Best,

Todd

Pentax has made some beautiful cameras. My MX was a thing of beauty. I used to just hold it and admire it. Always wanted the LX, which might be the most beautiful. 

Hi Tim,

I have always been a big fan of Pentax's design. They really do a great job with their cameras—even their modern digital ones. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Best,

Todd

I can only comment on cameras that I owned and am familiar with. The cutest camera I ever owned was a Leica CL with the 40mm  and 90mm lenses. Small, unobtrusive, pocketable. The Leica M3s were quirky, but mechanicaly beautiful to my mind. I had a whole range of Nikons—Nikkormat, F, F2, but when the F3 came out, the way the motor drive had that slight angle towards the front of the camera, to me that was a beautiful camera. And, I agree that the Hasselblad 500C was an industrial beauty—and that sound. Wow! Like all the motorcycles I've owned and sold, I wish I still had all my old cameras.

Hi Chuck,

Great stuff! Many of us will be envious of those legendary cameras that you have first-hand experience with!

Maybe we should do an article about "The Best Sounding Camera Ever Made." :)

Thank you for reading!

Best,

Todd

My vote goes for the black-body Nikon F3HP body (no motor winder) with Nikkor Ai-S 50 mm f/1.4 lens. With decent spot, averaging and pattern metering, this was a do it all camera. The camera looked sleek and was the pinacle of the manual focus SLR era. Construction put essentially all later products to shame. With the high eye point viewfinder, even eyeglass wearers got a 100% view of the frame. Battery was only for metering and controlling exposure so it just kept on ticking like the bunny in the commercials. With its interchangeable focusing screens, we got focus accuracy that is only now, with our better mirror-less cameras, being exceeded. The camera was a work horse that remained in production for 20 years, production continuing after the introduction of the F4 with auto-focus and after the introduction of the D1 and early follow-on DSLRs. I owned two of these bodies at one point; I'm only sorry that I sold them. I did hold on to that 50mm f/1.4 Ai-S lens, tho.

Hi Frank,

Great choice! One of my childhood photo idols was an F3 shooter and I wanted one for as long as I can remember. I do now have an FM3a and an F4...so that is scratching the F3 itch. :)

Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts!

Best,

Todd

My vote goes to the Rolleiflex with pentaprism viewer. It was the finest working camera I ever owned, pistol grip and all. We shot many bridal couples as well as many news photos with it. The 6x6 cm format was big enough for huge enlargements. She's gone to camera heaven, but still in my memory. 

Hi Alfred,

I hope she is still capturing great frames in the Great Beyond! :)

Thank you for reading and sharing your vote!

Best,

Todd

I agree great handeling and great photographs. Unfortunately mine was stolen, but I fondly remember it well. 

Thanks for reading, Rudolph!

Best,

Todd

I'd put my little Olympus PEN-F in a beauty contest vs several of those clunkers! 

I agree - the digital Olympus Pen F is a beautiful camera.  Looks so much like the analog Leica IIIf.

Hi Eric,

Your voice has been heard and your vote has been counted!

Thanks for reading!

Best,

Todd

Surprised by the absence of the Plaubel Makina. The Makina 670 is perhaps the peak of functional minimalist design, and it would be my pick along with the original Nikon FM with the metal dials. Perhaps we should do "Ugliest Camera Ever Made" next.

Hey Jorge,

The Makina actually makes several appearances in the Comments...not sure if that helps!

The FM is a looker, too!

Thanks for reading and sharing your vote...and article pitch!

Best,

Todd

Why would you use as a header a picture of a Canon Canonet GIII QL with no mention of this camera in the article?  I have two Canonets one was my father's and one was mine.  I recently load film in both of these camera's, different times and shot some film.  These are fun to use with a very good lens. 

Hey Harvey,

That is a completely fair question to ask. And, the answer is:

I grabbed a stock photo of a good looking (devoid of markings) rangefinder camera from a stock agency instead of personally favoring an item mentioned in the article.

In hindsight, I could have put my personal favorite, the Nikon F4, up on the top shot—writer's privilege?—but I was trying to avoid controversy! :)

The Canonet is a good looking machine and I appreciate you bringing our attention to it in writing!

Thanks for reading!

Best,

Todd

Hey Peter,

Nice choice! Is that a vertical "grip" on the right side of the body?

Thanks for reading!

Best,

Todd

A very nice read. Thank you. What about Miranda? I still have the model F and G, and they work beautifully. Looking good too. And the Spotmatic of course. Lovely camera.

Hey Per,

Thank you for the kind words!

Yes, the Miranda is a looker...as is the Spotmatic!

Thanks for reading and sharing your votes!

Best,

Todd

Very entertaining article, and super cool cameras. I could never limit myself to a single choice. I am partial to the Contax G, and anything with an old-style Nikon logo (no italics, please)....

Hey Brian,

Thanks for the kind words!

I do love the old Nikon logo and wish they had kept it for the FM3a! It was cool to see it on the special edition of the F5, however!

Thanks for reading!

Best,

Todd

Probably not as well known as the others mentioned, but the Pentax LX with the A 50/f1.2 lens is a fine looking camera.

Hello A.E.H.,

That is, indeed, a beautiful camera. No one does beautiful prism housings quite like Pentax does—even today!

Thank you for reading!

Best,

Todd

There are 3 cameras in my collection I consider to be my favourites; two are 35mm and the other medium format. The two 35mm cameras are the NikonF2 that is such a delight to use with interchangeable lenses etc. and the other is the Olympus Trip35. The Trip35 has style aplenty, a 40mm fixed lens comparable to a similar Leica lens (that's saying something!), is lightweight and compact, and has automatic exposure without the need for batteries by utilising a mechanical system based on settings from the selenium cell built around the lens barrel. My favourite medium format camera is the Mamiya RB67 ProS. That wonderful clunk when firing the shutter, changing film backs, the rotating turret to quickly change from landscape to portrait mode, and the wealth of interchangeable lenses, and beautiful solid design make this my favourite camera. Other favourite medium format cameras are my Rolleiflex 6006 and my first medium format camera, the Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta, but my preference for best looking (I still use them all) is the Mamiya.

Todd, I should also mention this was a great topic you put forward. It's obvious from the comments that the cameras considered best looking varies considerably, but every one is such a favourite for each person commenting. Thanks for the opportunity to be a part of such an interesting topic! Ray from Adelaide (Aust).

Hi Ray,

Thank you for the kind words! I am glad you enjoyed the article!

Your three selections are also worthy of mention on this esteemed list. Nice choices! I like how you weaved function, feel, and even sound into the sense of beauty that you see in these machines!

Thanks for reading!

G'day,

Todd

When I saw the title of this article, I suspected Todd would be the author and pleased he is. So many and each with a sense of respect and passion. When I asked our Photographers Mate on Diego Garcia some 50 years ago what to buy, he immediately said a  Pentax Spotmatic II. Still working and beautiful in a simple way although the Pentax MX has become the current small lightweight jewel on the front of the vintage shelf.

Hi Louis,

Thank you, so much, for the kind words of support!

I second the nod to the Pentax designers of that era. They certainly knew how to make, dare I say, "perfect looking" cameras that have gone on to serve as a huge number of vector graphics and silhouettes representing the most pure visual form of...a camera.

Thank you for reading!

Best,

Todd

Not only the finest machine I've ever held in my hand, but equally beautiful is the Leica M3. I see it was mentioned but not shown, a slight from which I will eventually recover.

Hi Dean,

I don't disagree with you there! The camera is so beautiful it is on a UK postage stamp with her majesty holding it proudly! A lesser camera might not have made the stamp!

I sincerely apologize for the slight against the M3 in the above article. Please let us know if there is something we can do to help you recover.

Thanks for reading!

Best,

Todd

I think the Mercury II model CX is a unique looking camera. Not only does it look cool, I like how you can get about twice as many pictures on a roll of film.

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your vote! Very cool camera!

And, thanks for reading!

Best,

Todd

Did we all forget about the Porsche designed Contax RTS ? I still love this camera with my Zeiss 50mm 1.4 that I bought new and still looks new and works great. No other camera comes close in my book for looks. Yes I know there are better cameras but the question here is looks. This camera was way ahead of time in many ways when it first came out. But truth be told it is all subjective ,a matter of personal taste . Cheers 

Hi Keith,

I certainly needed to be reminded about the RTS. Thanks for letting us enjoy the subject of your vote!

Thanks for reading!

Best,

Todd

Surprised no one gave a nod to the Kodak Retina IIIc, which was the post-war culmination of the pre-war Retina series,  that brought pro-level performance with its Schneider Kreuznach lens, together with its flawless exposure setting  by coupling shutter/aperture values based on a numerical scale determined by the built-in meter reading.  A gem of a camera!

Hi Raymond,

Thank you for your vote for the Retina! Nice choice!

Thanks for reading!

Best,

Todd

Koni Omegaflex rapid TLR, I loved the heft of it, it was well balanced with an awesome eye level ground glass viewfinder, selection of 4 lenses. Used 120 / 220 roll film .

Hi Marc,

Nice choice! Do you still have it?

Thanks for reading!

Best,

Todd

As a design professionaI think that almost all camera's are works of art from the basic Kodak Brownie to the most complex DSLR's but five models that I have used in my many years of photography really stand out.  An extravagant purchase I made years ago was a Canon F-1 with a 250 exposure back and AE-FN auto Finder.  A harbinger of things to come. This monster was a very heavy carry but beautiful in its function and design. 

A Deardorff 11 x 14 at the first studio I worked at was an exercise in patience.  This beautiful mahogany and brass was a thing to behold. I recall shooting jewellery for a prestigious client with over ten feet of extension tubes  insttalled and a huge full wall of power packs for our strobes. It took half the day to load and unload the sheet film backs. 

A Minox BL was the exact opposite, a tiny spy camera that shot half frame and advanced the film each time you slid the camera closed.  A marvel of miniaturization. 

The first professional digital camera I demo'd for Fuji/Crossfield - a monster of a unit weighing  over 10 pounds with a capture scan of an incredible 1.2 megabits.

Likely my favourite was an exquisite Leica M4 with a 35 mm f2 Summicron.  This German duo with their superior machining and glass have no equals. A crown jewel of cameras.

 

 

Hi Garry,

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing the experiences you had with the Deardorff and your other creative partners!

Thank you for reading and taking the time to share your tales!

Best,

Todd

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