What defines a user-collector digital camera? It’s a camera worthy of cherishing as a beautiful object and an exquisite example of technology, but is also great for taking pictures. Since digital cameras are technologically advancing at such breakneck speed, can any any of them really qualify as collectibles? The answer is emphatically yes, but not in the same way as film cameras, which can remain useable for well over a century. None of the collectible digital cameras listed below is likely to become functionally obsolete anytime soon. And when they do the most likely cause will not be the performance of their their sensors or a lack of suitable memory cards, but the fact that their specialized batteries will go out of production.
If you think you might qualify as a member of the intrepid new breed of digital user-collectors, here are five outstanding models that should be on your short list. And if you’re a Nervous Nellie, check out models like the classic Canon PowerShot a640, a neat camera that’s powered by AA cells, which should be readily available for eons.
Leica M9
Produced from September 2009 to July 2012, the Leica M9 is and always will be the first full-frame digital Leica M. And though this 18.5-MP classic has since been surpassed by the subsequent Leica M type 240 and the latest M10, it’s still a great user-collectible, Its superb 0.68x range-viewfinder automatically displays 6 parallax-compensating frame-lines in pairs depending on which lens you attach, 35 and 135 mm, 28 and 90 mm, or 50 and 75 mm. Any of the paired bright-line frames can be displayed via the frame-selector lever. It provides metered manual exposure, and aperture-priority TTL auto-exposure with center-weighted or averaging pattern, has ISO settings 80-2500, a 2.5-inch, 230,000-pixel LCD, and a vertical travel metal focal plane shutter with speeds on 32-1/4000 sec. The M9 is readily available in excellent condition.
Price range: $2,800-$3,200 in chrome, body only; Leica M9-P (basically an M9 without the red Leica dot), $3,300-$4,400 in black, body only.
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II
This seriously upgraded flagship of the mirrorless Olympus Micro FourThirds range has a timeless semi-retro downsized DSLR look that makes it a collectible classic. But user-collectors will appreciate its outstanding performance, made possible with an upgraded 20.4MP High-Speed Live MOS Micro Four Thirds image sensor coupled to a new TruPic VIII Dual Quad Core Processor. This combo provides 15 fps full-res burst rate along with increased responsiveness, and enhanced image quality and performance at high sensitivity settings up to ISO 25600. It also has a large, wide-view, high magnification, 2.36m-dot eye-level electronic viewfinder (EVF) providing a 100% view, a 3.0-inch, hi-res 1.04m-dot, a tilting touch-screen OLED monitor, and an advanced 5-Axis sensor-shift image-stabilization (IS) system that delivers shake-free images when shooting stills or DCI 4K/24p or UHD 4K/30p video handheld. Its Dual F.A.S.T 121-point AF system delivers pro-caliber performance, built-in wireless connectivity links it to iOS and Android, and it offers an enhanced customizable multi-function control array similar to that in high-end pro DSLRs. All this is built into rugged dustproof, weatherproof magnesium alloy body.
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Nikon Df
Its gorgeous retro-style body incorporates a hi-res full-frame sensor, modern high-end features, and traditional controls. The result? It may be the only true DSLR that qualifies as a timeless classic. Its simple, intuitive mechanical design embodies the traditional approach, using dedicated shutter speed, exposure compensation, ISO, and release mode dials rather than scrolling through menus. This beautifully made, magnesium bodied, still-image-only camera provides outstanding imaging performance with a 16.2MP FX-format sensor coupled to an advanced EXPEED 3 image processor that delivers excellent high-ISO performance and a full-res burst rate of up to 5.5 fps. The Df has a large 3.2-inch 921 k-dot LCD, and a Multi-CAM 4800 AF system with 39 points that adds 9 cross-type points when shooting in challenging light. And it offers enhanced exposure accuracy using an Intelligent Scene Recognition System with 3D Color Matrix Metering II that uses a 2,015-pixel RGB sensor to evaluate each scene. Other features: Picture Control modes, Active D-Lighting to handle high-contrast scenes, built-in HDR. The Df comes with an AF-S Nikkor f/1.8G Special Edition lens.
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Canon Powershot G1 X Mark II
It has a big 1.5-inch, 12.8MP sensor, a wide-aperture 4.2X zoom lens with IS image stabilization, the ability to capture great images at high ISOs, and a high-end features set. This is all built into a ruggedly handsome, crisply styled body, making the latest iteration in Canon’s classic pro/enthusiast G-series a keeper. Its 1.5-inch (measured diagonally) CMOS sensor is nearly the same size as APS-C format and it delivers outstanding performance.
In addition to a hi-res 1,040k-dot 3.0-inch Tilting Touchscreen LCD, the Mark II also provides RAW and JPEG capture, a hybrid image stabilizer, and a fast, high-performance 4.2X 24-120 mm-equivalent f/2.0-3.9 zoom lens. Other key features: HDR Scene Mode, Full HD 1080p video at 30 fps, built-in Wi-Fi with NFC, High Speed AF, a maximum full-res burst rate of 5.2 fps, an electronic level, a wide range of manual and automatic shooting modes, and a slew of built-in creative effects.
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Ricoh GXR
Ricoh announced this brilliantly unique, aesthetically pleasing compact digital camera in 2009 and phased it out in 2014. Unlike conventional cameras with interchangeable lenses and a fixed sensor, the GXR takes interchangeable units, each housing a lens, sensor and image-processing engine. This allows each unit to have these features optimized for specific applications. The sealed units also prevent dust from reaching the sensor when changing lenses, but have the disadvantage having to buy a whole new sensor with each new lens. The body has a built-in pop-up flash, a 3.0-inch LCD, and a top-mounted hot shoe that also accepts the Ricoh VF-2 external electronic viewfinder with 920,000-pixel resolution and 100% field of view.
Both the body and lens unit use magnesium alloy housings, and since each lens/sensor unit has its own unique specifications each one alters the features, behavior and performance of the camera. Lens/sensor units: 28mm f/2.5 and 50mm f/2.5 Macro, 12.3 MP CMOS APS-C; 24-85mm f/3.5-5.6, 16.2 MP CMOS, APS-C; 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6, 10 MP CMOS 1/2.3-inch; 24-72mm f/2.5-4.4 VC CCD 1/1.7 inch, GXR Mount for Leica M lenses, 12.3 MP CMOS APS-C.
Price range: $300-800 depending on lens/sensor module(s).
