I'm a user, not a collector. I have very little interest in having bunch of cameras that just sit around doing nothing. But the more I repair and use old cameras, the more I end up collecting stuff. Where does it end?
It only ends when one's executors pass on the vast collection. However do not despair, the affliction is even there at the start of a professionals career - body for black and white, body for colour neg and body for colour reversal etc etc. At lea
Glenn, It sure is addictive. After having gone plastic EOS Rebel AF, I began to reminisce of my old vintage equipment. I started off by reaquiring a Canon FTB and F-1 setup I had bought new in the 70's. Then I bought a couple junkers for spares. The
Will,
My Canon chapter very similar to yours. Whilst I still had my first slr (Canon FTb) and the F-1 / A-1 kit from my working days, I seem to have added three T90 bodies and a number of zoom lenses - I do not really like zooms! The real problem i
I will have to get treatment, as this departure is definitely not good for my storage space or pocket!
I hear that! lol.
I am on a visit to family, and packed the car for two weeks. I brought two Nikon F's, an Olympus XA, A Konica T3 and a Contaflex. My Rollei 35 developed a mechanical problem, so I left it home, and the kit seems somehow incomplete. Do you th
Hello All,
I started SLR photography with a Minolta SRT 101b and soon moved on to a Canon A1. Since then I have bought some more Canon SLR bargains and enjoy just looking at these fine pieces of technology sitting on the shelf. I currently USE a Cano
I am just a Camera junkie
http://www.flickr.com/groups/camerajunkie/ (http://www.flickr.com/groups/camerajunkie/%20target=_blank)
My story is a little different - and it goes like this:
Lady has inherited and used her late father's Rolleiflex (or whatever) for a number of years but suddenly the shutter won't work.
Typically she takes it to a camera store and is greeted
Confession time, eh? well, here goes.....
Back when I was a youngster at university, I was a keen photographer, and the Photographic Society had a fine darkroom....But then came work, marriage, no darkroom, and years of colour snapshots.
This is excellent news, Stuart. At last I have found someone I can point to as worse than me, and get my wife off my back. I only have forty-five cameras, and it's hard to argue with her when she asks how I can possibly feed them all. A considerab
I find that if you're shooting a WW II re-enactment you should fit in with proper gear, hence the Contax, Rolleiflex, and Medalist kits I've put together.
FWIW, I drove across the US last summer from Maine to Yellowstone and packed just two
I'm not a collector either, so how did I accumulate so many cameras? My perspective on this seeming paradox is... I started this tinkering hobby to have fun. Acquiring a new toy to tinker on is definitely fun. Tearing into them is fun. Figuring ou
I am seller!! oh yeah i also fix and repair them ...and sometimes if i can't fix i tkae to my local camarea repair shop
Since the time I first stumbled across this forum more than two years ago I have always been attracted and fascinated by sentences like Henry's This is about as hard as it gets in Copal shuttered rangefinders. Are we still having fun? in his Y minister
I feel dwarfed. I have a modest family of about 20 cameras (I just picked up four in the past week). With the cameras that I have (and all in working condition), I've managed to fill a large cardboard box with photographs taken over the past two yea
Because you are a fool for lovely old things, Robert? I know I am - I try to use them all, but I am about six purchases and a gift behind the rate at the moment! Most of them are old tat too - Box Brownies, a Palmat Automatik, an Agfa Silette with
It all started with that mint condition Electro 35 in the pawn shop. It was priced way to high, but was so beautiful. It only needed some new light seals and a battery. Getting that camera back to where it could take pictures was such fun that before I
Strangely enough, an Electro 35 set me off on my retro passion, an odd choice maybe as it's an all-electric camera with a default of 1/500 on a dead battery. But boy, is it capable of fine pictures, and the fixed lens is a useful constraint to r
I would have to say, I too have become a Collector/user in the last 2 years. My first was a Zeiss Ikon Contessa 35 given to me by my Dad.
I wanted to start taking pictures ASAP but had no user manual. So I targeted the Nikon SLRs & MF lense
10 reasons cameras are better than women...
1. You don't have to buy a camera drinks.
2. Cameras don't get jealous if you touch another one.
3. You can play with two at the same time, and neither one minds.
4. You can put one dow
Well, not quite up to some of you guys in here,but agree that once the bug bites theres no going back. i use minolta 600 and 700 si's, but theres nothing like picking up metal bodied oldies.
Started by picking up a microcord and zeiss ikon ica
I started an eBay search to fix a negligible problem on my ME Super. After 1 year I ended up with a complete M series collection. Not to mention the brand new NIkon D200, the top cover for my aging Super A, a mint SMC 50 1,4, a top cover for my Ni
Just found a camera in a case on a tat stall on the local market - looked a cut above the normal stuff I find there (mostly Ilford Sportsmen - what I'd give to find an Advocate or a Witness! - and worn-out Agfa Silettes). I don't think the chap had w
Hmmm... a lot of people seem to have re-acquired their first camera kit. Mine was a Praktina which I have now repaired to working condition with the GREAT help of Rick Oleson (insert applause here). I have about 40 working heavy-metal SLRs and assorted
Hi, I'm a new kid on the block. My name is Mark and I collect cameras. Sounds a bit like a confession for AA, but there's more to the similarity than meets the eye. In response to the first posting on this thread, I too am a user but I have beco
Hi, I'm Curt and I collect cameras. But I can stop any time I want, LOL. I used to pick up old box Kodaks, the odd folder or if I was lucky a rangefinder at yard sales/auctions/thrift stores. Then a few years back I was sidelined for a few months
Sorry, got a bit ahead of myself. Should be 230 + SLR's and 230 + Rangefinders. Thanks.
Curt. What's an odd 20 or so when you get to that level.
I'm also trying to cut down, I've promised myself I'll stop at 50 cameras, this is fast approaching and I'm already suffering withdrawal symptoms. I've only had 4 this week and a
Hi Mark,
Whoa, a 500mm mirror for $10.00. I paid quite a bit more than that for my 500mm Tamron mirror lens. Cool lens and you'll either love or hate the ring shapes in the out of focus background. Personally I like them.
Well I might as well join in, I didn't start to collect cameras, I repaired and refurbished them for a local camera shop, I appreciate good sound engineering and a camera made with durable materials, my first was a brownie, then argus c3,we
xx
Well, I might not a collector, but it seems that I am going to be. I purchase classic cameras due to I am deeply interested with its mechanism and optics. I like to study the camera's body design. My first classic camera is Rolleiflex old standard w
Oh no... I just did it again. My godfather gave me his old Ricoh SLR. It really isn't anything special, but it was special to him. He said it had shutter problems and, indeed it did. The light selas were goo-ey and pieces went into the metal shu
The one that I enjoyed most is Retina IIIc.
Me too!
Yet another - an old Ricoh SLR. After the shutter was repaired it is a decent user!
My turn...
About a year ago I decided to drag my old FTb out of storage. Shot a roll of film with it and noticed everything was washed out. LIGHT LEAK! Went on line and found a kit to replace the seals. Ordered it BUT,... also noticed that the pr
Any suggestions?
The view camera sounds like a good goal. You'll like view cameras. It's obviously a gap in your collection. You need view cameras. View cameras. You will find serenity and wholeness if you say this mantra enough times.
Thanks for the suggestion Matthew! After reading your post, I repeated those words three times and, suddenly, there I was looking at an old Burke and James 4 X 5, Gundlach lens and 7 filmpacks, on my favorite auction site. It's in my watch l
view camera, View Camera, VIEW CAMERA!
Hey, the mantra is starting to work... just what I need, another view camera!
It's fascinating reading all the entries on this thread and hearing all your stories.
Perhaps someday, a modern digital camera user will stumble upon this thread and discover it in the same vein, that most of us have discovered the quinessent
Now it's accessories. I can easily say that I need no new cameras but parts and accessories... well, that's a different story.
i,m collector at present not that every camera i have could use little tlc of some kind. i just except them as they are for now. i want to get back to using 35mm camera,s again. nothing like holding nice heavy piece of fine machinery in your hand vers
It?s a beautiful thread.
I am a user. But I know I am getting into this collecting thing. Just two days back I bought Olympus Pen D. I didn?t go to the camera shops for that, I went to buy Zuiko 28mm lens for my OM-2. I saw that in shelf, befor
...
I took up photography 2 years ago. I bought my first ever camera (Nikon D80) with my first pay. Back those days, my family couldnt afford cameras. So back in my mind, I always wanted one to document our life. WHen I was shooting with D80, I chanced
I believe I visited this topic once in this forum
a while back,however its always fun to read about others catching the BUG...I have been collecting and shooting since 1970 and am still
active in the collecting arena, only now I can find a lot o
Well there must be a medical term for this affliction. Last year about this time I simply wanted to get a sixties rangefinder. Well I did and now I have 20 of them but no one I know understands or is interested. Last weekend I found a perfect (mintox) Oly
It does easily get out of control I have pretty large collection of next to worthless Topcon UV cameras which I finally stopped buying realizing there aren't any in good working condition unless I make one in good working condition.
Now a days I'm
I do have one suggestion that is to set up a list of cameras you really want and how much you will pay for each. I have let many eBay auctions go by waiting for the right price. Guess I have not been blessed or cursed depending on perspective; with findi
I try to use as many of my collection as I can - but I haven't been able to work out film sourcing and developing for some of my cameras. I don't have a darkroom yet, which makes the half frames, stereos and 120s display items at this point. All
I use everything in my collection except those which I can't find film for. I may only use them once a year or so, but I've got about 20 users, everything from a Zeiss Nettar 6x9 to an Olympus Pen-EE. No large format stuff, but I did have a Spee
I've had good luck with thrift stores - but I know what you mean about overpriced stuff. Kodak brownies and Instamatics galore. Takes a lot of looking, and a lot of patience, but it can pay off. The Rollei 35 was $14. The Asahi Pentax S was $39.
You're telling me! I've been through some of the worst rubbish, some that were pretty as anything but shelf queen material. If I find it interesting and I can talk the seller down, I will. Doesn't always work, but I've done alright. My best
I've learned to shoot film without a darkroom, as I have a really small home (my collection sits in boxes, rotating to the shelves as I get tired of looking at what's currently on display). I develop film in my tiny light-tight bathroom or changin
Forgot to add two Koni-Omegas to my list, a Rapid 100 and a Rapid 200 M. It's pretty bad when you can't even remember what you have......
I've bought nothing new for almost a year. Yeah!
well fellas..still have the virus..every since
a few wins on e-bay,,I have been a regular sunday
sniper..I guess the down turn in the economy has
sellers pulling off their reserves..good to get
a chance on things that I had to pass on bef
I used to make a point of running a roll of film through any camera in my collection that had a chance of working. Now though, since I mainly stick with pre-1920 cameras, film has just become too hard to come by. I guess I've become less of a user
Try (Freestyle Film) on your search google they have 120 135 etc or (Blue moon) has the 126 and 110 films. Also film processing by Dwayne. Not a problem especially if you do your own developing.
I did it again. Wish me luck on converting another old camera into a user.
i picked up rollei 110A while back. but my find of canon ft and canon tl camera with lenses and other accessories for 7.00 was almost criminal. i asked lady for a price on camera bag. she came back with 7 dollars. rest is history. both camera,s are QL w
I tend to think of myself as a user as well. I don't really want to keep cameras that don't work, since I like to use them.
..but now I'm getting a little worried. I'm expecting THREE Olympus 35 RCs to show up in my mailbox this coming w
Since I mainly collect stuff that's at least 90 years old, I've pretty much come to think of myself as a collector, even though I love photography. Yes, I could get 120 and 116 online, but the larger films are getting to be REALLY hard to com
Waagh, things are getting out of hand.. ;)
So, I should have two more Olympus 35 RCs within the next week or so, giving a total of four 35 RCs. As for Petris, I have that pink 7S that's on eBay, then a Petri 7S II that I got working,
Ah...the third Olympus 35 RC came and this thing will be my Pimp my Oly -Olympus.
All in all, everything seems to work nicely. Just a touch of surface cleanup and it'll be great. The leatherette is coming off in a few spots, which gives me pe
Geez... now its medium format folders... you know, the kind from the 1930 and 1940's. Had to buy two to get one working camera. But, yes, it works and I've proven that by using it a couple of times. Am I still a 'user' or am I slipping in
So Brian, you aren't a collector? Take another look in your closet and tell me.... how many cameras do have in there now?
We all got started the same way... users! Amazing how fast it builds up, hugh, 45 years later,hahahahahahaaaaaa. (
OK... I'll look into the closet.
Three 4x5's, all working and in use.
Two antique Sanderson view cameras with Thornton Pickard Shutters and matching T-P tripod.
Two MF - one of which, the Rollei TLR, has been retired.
Two 35mm SL
ummmm... sounds like the begings of a collection to me. It's amazing how fast they start piling up on ya.
It's only a collection if you spend more time admiring them than using them!
I've decided only to get what I find in op shops and stay away from the bay. Trouble is I see nothing for weeks then all of a sudden i come home with ten or fifteen. Last week a Yashica Lynx 14 ($10), Yashica Electro 35 GSN ($10), Canonet GIIIQL17 (
A friend just gave me his Dad's camera -- a Nikon FE. And a 135 mm lens to go with it. What a great friend, eh? A real nice user it is... indeed, a real nice user!
Well in all honestly I'm not a collector of all cameras. I'm a complete Pentax snob, laugh, and not in the least ashamed to admit it. Even though my SP1's light meter isn't working it's still my favorite camera though I have 3 old SLR's no
Hello Brainshaw:
You have a Nikon gem. My Nikon FE looks like a dog's breakfast, but it works accurately. Smooth.
And it has a little trick up its sleeve. If you engage the self-timer, no matter what shutter speed, and press the shu
Hi Edward,
I've shot a F3 since buying it new in 1981. Had I known what a gem the FE is, I probably would have saved myself a lot of money and bought one of them way back then.
I didn't know about that self-timer/mirror trick. I'
My pleasure, Brian.
Yes, it's an elegant feature of the FE.
A word of warning about the F3. There is a circuit board under the rewind knob that is vulnerable to knocks. It's the camera's weak point. Protect. Be wary of attaching a
It all started a couple of years ago with a growing interest in building pinhole cameras from scratch. Working with film got me interested in digging out my old Pentax K-1000. From there I went to a local camera show and bought a Yashica-Mat, and by the
I'm still using,
and that's not confusing.
No time or interest,
for just collecting.
I don't collect I use.
It only took 30 or so different Vest Pocket Kodaks to find just the right one in useable very good condition in original box with pristine instructions. The negs and prints came out very interesting.
Just heard abou
Spares are OK.
Back-up cameras are OK.
Parts cameras are OK.
virginal cameras that might get used someday are OK... just keep repeating the mantra, I'll use that camera some day.
I'm not like you guys! I could never afford a good SLR until the 70's, when I bought a K-1000 at Wards.
When I was a young boy and a young man I always lusted for a fine SLR of any brand. Never had the money for one until I got the K-1000. I stil
For the photographer, collecting cameras holds lesser importance than discovering the new perspectives that a different optic and vintage tool can bring. Nonetheless, a closet collector, whose shelves are indistinguishable from one ;)
(
hello
what do you tink about Cheap Nikon D90 (http://nikond90info.com/Cheap-Nikon-D90.aspx) ?
What do I tink?
I'll tell you what I tink.
not much is what I tink... especially about spam!
Oh my GOD. Am I in trouble if reading all of the posts are true.
I was a plasticky digital user (still have one) then found my old Canon AV-1, bought some 35mm and started to get a hankering for rangefinders. Fixed a Trip 35, I've got 2 Konica s2
You came to the wrong place for that kind of HELP. Next is getting into the TLR's. Good luck, have fun and you can always look for a part time job if necessary
(https://kyp.hauslendale.com/classics/forum/clipart/happy.gif)
Also
Everybody should have a TLR!
... to use, of course!!
..some people have a vocation to rescue discarded, unloved,unwanted,and abused cats, dogs, or donkeys: we feel just the same about poor orphaned Cameras.
BRAVO!
Keep up the good works!!
Let no poor orphaned cameras live a lonely existiance!!!
Once I saw a thread here about painting a first surface mirror using chrome spray paint. I of course new here asked but why not just get a new mirror?
I got blasted by the masses here telling me to basically bud out n mind my own business. The exp
Brian now that you've been a user so long, how many of your cameras don't get used anymore? I'll bet you are becoming a collector by now?
Intereesting question. It depends on the definition of collector and user, doesn't it.
I
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I'm more of a user than before... just converted on of my collection into a very useful user!
Yippee!
I have always bought cameras for their usability, not their collectibility. So I am definitely a user, and not a collector. I collect other things. Like fountain pens and jade.
Yes, there is a difference. Let's keep using, and using, and using!
I intend to use every camera I own ? for something. They all have a place ... a specific duty I have in mind for them. My wife just thinks I am a boy playing with his toys. But just the other day I showed her some on-the-fly portraits of some of her best
Being a collector does NOT mean the collection needs to be big. Being a user does NOT mean that only one camera is sufficient!
Hi I am new here , and am most decidedly a collector .
I just love to play with my cameras , tending to use digital virtually exclusively .
Mild , but disruptive autism means that it's like being lost , bewildered all the time , so camer
Hi Dee. Collector or user it is nice to have you participating here. I'm almost the opposite of you: a nearly pure user and too sociable... to the point of missing many good shots because I'm chatting rather than shooting. Maybe I'm not as much
I do not collect old cameras. I rescue them.
I do not collect cameras. I rehabilitate them and help them become productive once again!
I do not collect cameras either. Only use them to fill up the empty space on my attic ;-)