I like cameras. I like them a lot. I’m sure that most people here have one or more. So what do you have? What do you use it for? Do you have a 35mm SLR? 35mm rangefinder? Digital camera? How many pixels? 110 pocket camera? Or do you just buy disposables? Video camera? What kind? Super-8? Regular 8? Do you just take holiday snaps? Or are you a professional photographer? Why did you choose the camera(s) you did?
Got quite a lot, actually. I use an M-3 every now and then, but am thinking of seling it on eBay since Leica prices keep going up. From previous posts, you can tell I sometimes a Nikon FE and FM-2, but I fell in love withthe feel of the Monolta XD-11 with its winder attatched. I guess I could sell all the stuff I now have and get the Leica r-4 or maybe 5 since it would satisfy all my odd cravings, but as I said, Leica stuff, even the little obscure accessories just gets higher and higher priced. At least with pre AF Minolta and Nikon I can find the occassional super bargain.
I collect all sorts of stuff, from working Minox to ancient Speed Graphic and the more interesting Kodaks. (NO! Kodaks are not worth anything, regardless of how old ((except for about 3 incredibly rare models which no one has)), trust me).
I still have a couple of JVC VHS-C camcorders, one of them being a separate camera and recording deck. I have in my boxes somewhere a Canon 1014 Super 8.
Quite a few Rollieflex TLRs and some Yashica and Minolta TLRs, too. Some work, some I got just for the cool looks.
No more view cameras, but I still have a couple of Schneider lenses just sittin around waitin.
I have worked as a pro several times in my life. Weddings, industrial, portrait, and freelance. I also ran a custom B&W printing business out of my house for over a year. While I love photography, I found the cut throat competittion to be wearisome.
I got my first camera from my dad at age 6, a Rollie 2 1/4 TLR. I had been using his stuff prior to this.
I had a digital but it got stolen when my car was broken into and I have yet to replace it. Still shopping.
Photography. It’s not just a hobby. It’s an adventure.
Long time hobbyist photographer. Many cameras, some obsolete.
My first “real” camera (which I still have) was probably this. A half-frame, wind-up 35mm rangefinder. Although I probably had an old Brownie 120mm Brownie fixed focus camera before that.
I’ve got a small windup 8mm movie camera with a rotating turret on it to choose lenses. Haven’t used it in almost 30 years.
I’ve got two Olympus 35mm SLRs, an OM2 and an OM4. The OM2 is broken and the OM4 hasn’t been used since the last time I got talked into taking wedding pictures. Lots of lenses for these cameras including a 500 mm cat and a 90 mm flat focus macro lens.
Current cameras are Sony F-717 5 megapixel digital camera and a Sony P-150 7MP shirt pocket camera. May move up to either a digital SLR or the successor to the Sony 828 if they ever come out with it. (I’m not eager to get back into interchangeable lens and the packing of tons of gear.)
Do mostly landscape photography and the occasional candid. Rarely am I satisfied with any picture that I take. I don’t even have any hanging in the house right now, although that’s mostly laziness.
I’m a long time hobbyist, with a nice bunch of “stuff”.
35mm: Canon FTb and Canon AE-1 SLR’s, with a bunch of FD lenses and attachments.
120 film: Yahsica 12 TLR, and 3 Agfa/Anso folding cameras
4x5 view: Calumet CC-400 monorail
5x7 view: Eastman 2D field camera
8x10 view: Seneca Improved field camera
And various lenses - Commercial Ektar, Schneider Symmar, Wollensak Raptar, Rodenstock Ysaron, etc.
I was going to wait to see what other people have, but…
This is my 14,000th post!!!
… and I figured I may as well use it in my own thread.
My first camera was an ancient plastic box Brownie that I got from my grandmother. I took some photos with it when I was a kid, but I don’t remember any of them. I don’t know what happened to that camera.
My second camera was a Minolta 450E Autopak. I had gobs of fun with that camera! I took it to high school with me and snapped lots of photos with it. I still have it. IIRC, there’s an issue with the winding mechanism. It would be cool if I could get it fixed, just for the nostalgia value.
My next camera was a Canon AE-1 Program. I took that one to Europe with me on the traditional Post-High-School-Hey-Let’s-Backpack-Through-Europe thing. I shot on Fujichrome slide film and got some excellent images. I took four of them to a shop and had them blown up to 11x17 prints (processed by Fuji, printed on Fuji paper). One was a shot of a tall ship in Stockholm. I gave that photo away. Another is inside of the Munich train station. That’s my second-favourite. One is a shot of a fence post and barbed wire at Dachau. My favourite is an overhead shot of some train tracks and an inlet in Stockholm. That one is beautiful! I sold the Canon yonks ago, but I’ve since acquired another one. It’s a nice SLR that you can just focus and shoot.
I bought my Olympus OM-1 used. The rewind crank was missing its knob, so I used some epoxy to glue in a bit of rod. It worked fine, but I’ve since found a proper rewind crank and have installed it. Before buying the OM-1 I had am OM-4. The OM-4 was a very nice camera, but it had to problems: Without an ‘off’ switch, the batteries were always running down. (Yes, I left the lens cap on when not in use.) The other problem was that I found I was using the automatic exposure mode too much. I sold it and bought the OM-1 because the OM-1 forces me to use manual exposure. The OM-1 uses the now-banned 1.3v mercury cell. Classic Cameras make an adapter that changes the modern 1.5v cells to 1.3v. I’ve got one for my OM-1, and one is coming for my Sekonic underwater light meter.
I’ve always liked the Pentax K-1000 because it’s so basic. I remember them at Gemco selling for $100. I totally dig the no-frills gadget. A friend of mine sent me one, new-in-the-box, for a very good price.
There’s the Nikon FM-3A. Nice camera, and I have a motor drive and a zoom lens for it.
Argus C4. This is an old rangefinder camera. Funky to use, but it takes good pics. Got it cheap on eBay.
I have two underwater cameras: A Nikonos IV and a Nikonos V. I haven’t had a chance to use them underwater yet; but I’ve used them in the kayak and the boats, where it’s certain the camera will end up in salt water. Unlike the Argus, the focus and rangefinder are not linked. Instead of having a double image that you can join into one, thus setting the focus, you need to estimate the actual distance to the subject. Both of these cameras take excellent pictures. Their lenses are 35mm, which is sort-of wide-angle on land, but approximate a 50mm lens underwater.
My digital camera is an Olympus D-510. It only has 2.1 megapixels, but that was impressive at the time I got it. I use that one for snapshots when I don’t want to carry a bulky SLR. It’s also dead useful for taking eBay pics, and pics of things I may want to share online. (My scanner went tits-up.)
I’ve also used a number of disposable cameras. Before I bought the Nikonos(es), I liked the Fuji underwater disposable cameras. Too bad those sharks were such scaredy-fish. Or are my legs really so ugly they even scare sharks away? In any case, they never got close enough to get good photos of them in the murky water. Nex time I’ll bring a tin of cat food.
Whew! And that’s just the still cameras!
Besides the cameras I still have on shelves, in boxes, and ready for use, there are two other catagogories for me.
Cat II - I used to own:
Canon F-1 system, not the New F-1, the old one. Didn’t use it much as I sold it to buy an OM-1 system. Later upgraded to OM-1n and OM-2s and an OM-G for knock around.
I got into the Contax for a while but then Leica and Nikon drew me in.
Mamiya 645. Not the Super, the old one. That’s what I used for most weddings.
Nikonos II. Took it to South Padre and was disappointed. Lent it to a friend going to US Virgin Islands who LOST IT!!! We traded up some flash equipment and meters, I seem to recall. Sunpak 522 (?? the potato masher, whichever model that is) and a Luna Pro (non SBC). I still have my Minolta Auto meter III and IV-f and a sekonic or two, plus a tiny little Gossen selenium. Got rid of the MR for the M-3 as I didn’t like its look. Prefered the Minolta III with the narrow angle attatchment.
Tripods? How many you want? I really liked the Culmann (sp?) Travel Set.
Cat III - Cameras I’ve used:
I used to be able to rent Hassys for very cheap. 500C/M all the way, baby. Used for really important weddings and corporate portraits. Could never quite bring myself to own any, tho…
Used a Panasonic something video camera recording on a 3/4" (or was it 1"?) video deck to make in house commercials and training sessions for a camera store I was at for a while, when I was thinking of not being in construction anymore. They previously had used a Arriflex 16mm and still had the Belliue (sp?) projector, so I let them let me take it and use it all over the Houston/Galveston/Corpus Christi area. I got film and processing at cost, so that was cool. During that time is when I met up with the former Philipino LOW BUDGET director who wanted to jumpstart his carreer again. Damn, he had some cool stuff, including 35mm movie cameras. We almost got the backing we needed to start my pet project, a beach bum version of Romeo and Juliet when almost all of his Phillipine assests were seized by the government (Marcos at the time, iirc), thus removing about 1/3 of our finances and scaring off the other backers.
BTW, taking a large movie camera outfit into the south Texas barrios while being of blonde hair and silk shirts and Naconas always seemed to bring notice, but never in a bad way. Hell, I was more afraid of the cops at that time! My friends were always warning me, tho. Seems to me you’re either safe or not, period, had nothing to do with ethnicity or income class. Or maybe I was just lucky and naive.
I’ll talk about the cameras that I currently use (a decent number that are still around, but no longer in use)
35mm SLR: Canon EOS 650 (first gen. EOS - autofocus). Great camera. Been lots of places. I use it mostly for wildlife and scenery. Sad to say that I am using it less and less now that I’ve got a digital.
35mm point and shoot: Olympus Stylus 110 (?). Pretty nice P&S. I’ve been really impressed with some of the shots I’ve taken. Before I got the digital, this was my backpacking camera. Now I bring it along mostly for backup. Haven’t actually used it in a couple years.
digital: Canon Powershot S30 (3.2 megapixel). My first digital camera. I specifically chose this one for the features (controllability) and because Canon made an underwater housing for it. This has become my first underwater camera. So far I’ve taken it on (killer) dive trips to Fiji, Grand Cayman, and the Galapagos. My shots aren’t as good as the digital SLRs, but for a relatively inexpensive first time rig, I’ve been really pleased with the results. Along with underwater shots, I’ve been very happy with all the land-based shots as well.
Video: (old) Sony Hi-8 TRV-something. I bought this on e-bay (used) simply because I wanted a video camera to take rock climbing and not worry if I thrashed it. It’s not a digital, but I’m pretty happy with the video quality. It doesn’t have many of the bells and whistles of most camcorders, but has suited my purposes well.
What’s next: likely a digital SLR. Still waiting for the prices to go down. And I know that if I get one, I’ll also incur the huge expenses required for a matching underwater rig. So I’m waiting until I can get the whole setup. I’ll likely go with a Canon as I can use all my EOS lenses.
I own that neat little Sony… I believe it’s a DSC-T1 or something. The little bity 5.0 megapixel one with Steven Tyler in the commercial. It’s great for what I use it for, but a little expensive. In retrospect, I wish I’d shopped around a bit.
Before that, I owned an Olympus that I bought in 1996 or 1997 for $700. It was a .8 megapixel and it takes better looking pictures than the Sony, just a lower resolution.
I also have my trusty camera phone that takes .3 megapixel photos that look like ass, but it’s still nice since I’m not always carrying my Sony.
I also have a mini DV camcorder on semi-permanent loan to my sister since she has kids and I don’t. It’s a JVC, but I don’t know the model number.
Why were you disappointed? When I first started diving, the Nikonos IV was the ‘latest and greatest’, so I know nothing about earlier models except what I’ve read on the web. I’ve thought about picking up one each of the older models just for looking at.
I have a Minolta IV-F and a Sekonic L-398.
Somewhere, I have my old tripod that I picked up at K-Mart in 1980. I have a Bogen 3192 with a 3066 head on it, a Bogen 3186 with a 3066 head, a Bogen 3021 with a 3063 head, a Bogen 3033 tripod, a Bogen 3063 head, and a Bolex Paillard tripod.
Gotta log off to make a phone call!
Being as I have too many hobbies, my camera collection is rather unimpressive.
35mm Canon AE1
Bolex 16mm
The Bolex I am very proud of, and it still works like a champ, although film is hard to source, and expensive.
I’m getting deeper into photography, so I see myself picking up a couple medium/large format camers in the nearish future.
But I do have my own darkroom in my garage. So nyah nyah nyah!
Wasn’t disappointed with the camera, but with the water. So when buddy was going to the clear clear waters, he wanted the Nikonos. If he had brought it back, I surely would’ve used it in Ixtapa and Cancun. I also had a CO River ride planned in my mind, that I never did, but might have if I still had it at the time. Yes, I really was that fickle back then.
BTW, I got the II from a deceased relative, the III was the current one offered at the time.
Most of the pods I’ve owned or currently own are Bogens. I like the bigger legs, but not the giant ones. I’ll have to look at what’s in the closet. The 16mm outfit had a Gitzo, but I can’t remember the model. Geared head, I remember that much. Twenty years ago, you know?
Got a small job to finish, be back this evening. Great idea for a fun thread! We’re all addicted to something, aren’t we?
Another long-time amateur here. My first camera was a Brownie Hawkeye, which was a viewfinder camera that took 120 film. Man, I shot a lot of film through that thing. I still have it.
My first 35mm was my mother’s Argus C-3, which was a parallax view. The thing was a brick and was hard to wind, but it got me through my high school photography class.
Then my dad bought me a Petri 7, which had a built-in light meter. Wow! I was in camera heaven. I was also using his Zeiss Contaflex off and on, but that was a complex piece of gear.
After getting out on my own, I bought my first SLR, which was a Minolta SR1-s. It was a bit clunky because the meter was externally mounted and mechanically linked to the shutter speed dial. But the thing had great optics and I used it for over 20 years.
Next was a Canon SLR that was forgettable. I hated the focusing system and after about a year traded up to a Nikon N70. This was a terrific camera that I took all over the world, on safari, into the desert, you name it, and it performed flawlessly using third-part lenses. I ended up donating them to a trade school when I moved full time to digital. There is just no market for 35mm these days.
My first digital, which I still have, was an Olympus Camedia C-700; 2.1 mpx, 10x optical zoom. It’s a pretty good beginner’s camera, but is slow to react. If you need to snap a shot quickly, you’re going to miss the moment.
I’m now shooting with a Nikon D100 SLR, which takes all of my 3rd party lenses. It’s lightning fast, rated at 6.1mpx, and is versatile as hell. It takes some experimenting, but I am very happy with the results. I find that I’ve had to start over in the sense that I’m shooting a LOT of frames in order to refine the results that I want.
Finagle: I like that Mercury. Funky!
NoClueBoy: I love Bogens. They’re a great value for the money.
My first video camera was an RCA VHS that attached by a cable to the portable recording deck. I shot a commercial with it, a few concerts, and a couple of shorts. My second video camera was a Sony Hi-8 Pro. I used that one to shoot ‘content’ for a friend’s website, and for making a nostalgia tape for my ex-fiancée. I’ve recently sold both of those.
I still have my first super-8 camera, an Elmo 1000.S. I also have an Elmo 614XL-S that I used on someone’s music video recently, a Beaulieu 5008.S, a wind-up Quartz Russian super-8, and my dad’s old wind-up Canon 8mm that he bought in the '50s.
16mm. Lots of that. I have an Éclair NPR. It’s a silent camera, so it can be used to shoot with sound. Multispeed crystal motor with HMI-safe speeds, Zeiss 10-100mm T3 lens, 25mm C-mount prime, two mags, and an enormous case.
I have four Bolex H16s. One of them is am M5 with a Som-Berthiot reflex zoom and a Tobin crystal motor, two 400’ mags, etc. Another is a Rex-1 reflex. I have a Tobin crystal motor for it, but I got it used and the drive shaft is chewed. I need to send some Arri torque motors to Tobin for a 12v conversion anyway, so I’ll send the motor at the same time. The Rex has a 25mm and 50mm lens on it, but I’m going to get a Pan-Cinor 17-85mm zoom for it. Another H16 is an older model. It has a 75mm lens and two 25mm lenses. I have a Bolex motor and speed control that will work with it. I had to fabricate a drive shaft to couple the motor to the older camera. There is no provision for attaching the speed control. I have a fibreglas plate that I made that holds everything together, but I don’t know where it is. I guess I’ll make a new one. The thing is, that the motor needs 30v to run at 24 fps. I got one of those little lunch coolers, and it holds six 6v batteries perfectly. I’ve wired them together so that I have 36v. Plenty to run the camera! 
I’m going to sell that one on eBay. Finally, I have a Bolex-Paillard cast aluminum underwater housing. It came with an H16 and 10mm lens. The camera is newer than the one I just mentioned. I wonder if the crystal motor and 12v will fit in the housing?
I have an Arri 16St with a Tobin crystal motor, 12-120mm Angenieux zoom, and three 400’ mags. The normal Arri motor runs on 8.4v, and that’s what the torque motors run on. Since the Tobin motor runs on 12v, I need to send the torque motors to Tobin in order to use the magazines.
I have two Kraznogorsk-3 cameras, one well-used and the other nearly new. These wind-up 16mm cameras are built like tanks! About as noisy as one, too.
What I really want is an Aaton XTR. Newer and lighter than the Éclair.
That was the camera my grandmother gave me!
I have a Cannon T-90 and I have a few lens for it.
Cannon 85, 100 fixed lens.
vivatar series 1 35-70 zoom
I have the Cannon flash that was made for the T-90.
I came very close to selling the camera just before a trip to Paris. I was going to get a digital. But after putting the batteries to check that it worked I decided to take it to Paris. I fell in love with photography again.
I just bought a film scanner that works great. It’s by minolta/konica the Dimage something. It does 35(negs or positives) and Advantix cartridges if you get an adaptor. I used to use one of those and it took nice pictures but the switch for the different formats broke.
I’m trying to put all my photos of The Gates together and put them on line for you guys to see but I am a little lazy.
I also have my older sisters camera right here in front of me.
A Brownie Starmite II. She used this about 35 years ago.
I am not a camera person. Mostly I despise taking pictures. My boyfriend has this camera that his brother gave him that’s probably worth more than my current car (my current car is probably worth less than $300).
However, I have always been completely charmed and enchanted by a Polaroid. The only reason I even mention it is somehow the polaroid got through my hatred of cameras and seduced me into loving it, now I own a Polaroid Spectra and it’s a lot of fun.
The film is expensive, though.
:smack: I forgot the Polaroids! I bought a Polaroid OneStep Express when I did continuity on a friend’s film. I also have dad’s old 1950s Polaroid. This is one where you fold out the front and extend a bellows. I wish I could get a Polaroid back for it (since they no longer make the film) so I could use it, but it’s the wrong model.
And, what do you know? In the box with the OneStep, I found my Minolta 450E Autopak! 
The winding slider moves, but it’s not cocking the shutter. IIRC, you had to work the slider one and a half times, and it would stop. Now it’s sliding in without stopping. Maybe I’ll take it apart and see what I can see?
My only camera is a 40-year-old Honeywell-Pentax H-3. I had it with me in Paris about four months ago, at sunrise at the Arc de Triomphe, and for about 90 seconds there was the most incredible, warm light I’ve ever seen. I got one picture of the Arc and two looking up the Champs Elysees. I’ll have one of those enlarged and framed to hang in my apartment. I take mostly color slides, and I’ll start shopping for a scanner in a little while. At my mom’s house, there was a long room and large wall where I could project my pictures about six-by-eight feet.
My mother may also still have the regular-8 camera and projector that my family had when I was a kid.
I have 2 older 35mm SLR’s - a Minolta srT-101 and a Pentax K-1000.
The Minolta was a gift from an uncle who was a semi-professional photographer. He took it to a dealer to have it cleaned before giving it to me and the dealer did it gratis - “I’ll probably never get to work on on of these again”, he said. That was 20+ years ago. I still like it for it’s simplicity and smoothness - the all metal construction adds so much to the feel (and life) of the camera. I haven’t used it in a while, I’ll have to get it out and shoot a roll or two.
The Pentax belonged to my wife before we got married. She has a couple of nice lenses for it but, IMHO, it can’t hold a candle to the Minolta.
My digital is an Olympus C-700, one of the Camedia series cameras. Only 2.1 megapixels but, man, I love that camera. It has the look and feel of a standard 35mm and can go from point-and-shoot to full manual. It gets pretty much all the use these days. I love film, but digital is just so much easier.