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Author Topic: Your First Camera?  (Read 44435 times)

Josef Isayo

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Your First Camera?
« Reply #100 on: November 29, 2006, 10:55:11 pm »

My first cameras were two Canon T-90's followed by a Canon F-1N Lake Placid, Olympic Edition.
Switched to Nikon F4 for six months until I settled on an EOS 1.
Since then....

EOS 1-N x2
Pentax 645
Mamiya 6
Fuji 6x9
Leica M6 x 2
Hasselblad 553
Hasselblad 503
Canon EOS 1V HS x2
EOS 1-D
EOS 10D x2
EOS-20D x2
Nikon FM3
Hasselblad X-Pan
Mamiya 6MF
EOS-1 D MK II x2
EOS-1Ds II
EOS-5D x3
Littman 45 Single 4x5

I'm sure I've missed a few.

cricketer 1

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« Reply #101 on: December 08, 2006, 02:02:24 pm »

Quote from: pixman63,Jan 23 2005, 09:40 AM

This thread took me back a little, but it's fun to recap.  In the following order, a Kodak box camera I used in 1947 to take family pictures and the deer herd still roaming in Richmond Park, London UK, then a Pentax SLR purchased in Tokyo for 5000 Yen while on R&R leave during the Korean war in 1953/54, (when one English pound was  worth 1008 Yen, would you believe).  Later in 1976 a Nikon F series SLR, various Ricoh's, a pre-war Rolleiflex TLR Carl Zeiss Jena Tessarf4.5-75mm lens (still have), a Mamiya TLR and lenses I occasionally use, Nikon FM2 an-all time favourite I will not part with, F4, F80, and then embracing digital with the Sony 828, Nikon D70, Minolta A2 (a really flexible walk around digicam). Soon, if all is well on the home front , a Nikon D200 to go with all of my fast Nikkor prime lenses and a few third party zooms.
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X-Re

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Your First Camera?
« Reply #102 on: December 08, 2006, 02:13:36 pm »

My first was an el-cheapo 70s vintage Kodak P&S in 110 film size  Then I didn't own one for a long while. Since then, I've had a Canon Elan-IIe, an EOS-3, a 10D, and now a 30D.

I've also recently inherited a bunch of large and medium format film gear, and some 35mm stereo gear, as well. I'll be receiving that stuff right after Christmas... so, some new interesting possibilities in the future....
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dbell

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« Reply #103 on: December 08, 2006, 06:16:45 pm »

First camera ever: Kodak 110 camera of some type (sorry, I was 7, I don't recall anything specific).

First 35mm: Kodak K4 - fixed-focus and aperture point & squirt. About 1985.

First SLR: Minolta Maxxum 3000i. Basically, a point & shoot with good optics.

First manual camera: Konica Autoreflex T. Handed down from my dad, this is the camera that really got me going. Good controls, built like a tank, no fancy stuff, good optics. A terrific student camera. I'd still use it except that decent work-alikes for mercury batteries are not easy to come by. The lenses hold their own with a  lot of  expensive modern glass.

Nikon FM2:  Probably the best film camera I've ever used. My first Nikon, which I bought with what may be my all-time favorite lens: the (manual) Nikkor 50, f/1.4. This is the only film camera that I still use.

Nikon N80: plastic, auto-everything. Taught me how to use (and abuse) fully automated cameras.  Made some good shots with it, but don't think fondly of the experience of using it.

Olympus C3040: first digital. Gave me a tantalizing glimpse at the potential of the digital medium.  Surprisingly tough for such a comparitively cheap camera.

Fuji S1 Pro: first DSLR. Absolute workhorse of a camera. Possibly the most slippery camera body ever made . Huge, heavy and obsolete by today's standards, but so what?  I currently have several images showing in a gallery that were made with this camera and nobody seems to mind the pixel counts.

Nikon D70: The current every-day DSLR. Has done its job without complaint for the last two years or so. I wish it had better manual controls and a better viewfinder, but I can't have everything. I've done lots of work that I'm happy with using this camera, and I'm not in any hurry to replace it. Maybe if Nikon ever ships an "FM3-D," I'll go for  it .

Panasonic LC-1: Current every-day small camera. Great manual controls; I love using this camera. Only serious gripe: no optical viewfinder. If I could afford to, I'd replace it with an M8, but for the time being, its job is secure.

Honorable mention: Pentax Spotmatic that my coworker threw out. In good working order;  the stopped-down meter is something of a pain to use, but the camera is a piece of photographic history and still very capable of making a good photograph.

Needless to say, I have lots of  lenses of various descriptions  kicking around, but that's probably fodder for another thread.


--
Daniel Bell
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Phormula

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Your First Camera?
« Reply #104 on: February 11, 2008, 04:00:29 pm »

My first camera was actually my father's. A don't remember the name Kodak model bought in 1960. I was eight when I was first "exposed" to Kodachrome 64. I remember that the camera had no exposure meter, therefore I was pretty darn good in guessing the exposure with my eyes and the sunny/16 rule. I guess this has became part of my DNA. I am still good at anticipating the matrix system of my Nikons. My first SRL was a Fujica STX1, with a Metz flash and the classic combo: 28, 50 and 135 mm. Still alive and working after 25 years, my best friend goes on vacation with this set. I bought my Nikon in 1995 and it was a FM2. I am still using it with satisfaction. Meanwhile I have worn out a F90X while travelling around the world for business and vacation. I was using the camera also for work and to follow a volley team and I figured out that at the end it must had passed the 200 thousand shots. Recently I bought an F100. Could have not afforded it new, but here in Italy a good used F100 now sells for less than a cheap zoom. And I still love slide film. Maybe digital is better, faster, cheaper, one has a good excuse to upgrade photo gear every other year, ... who cares. My world is a loupe, a bunch of slides over a lighted box and a carefully designed max 100 slides projection for my friends with coffee mugs and a lot of talk. Since I was eight years old, and that was loooong time ago. As long as I can buy slide film and have it processed, why change?
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John.Murray

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Your First Camera?
« Reply #105 on: February 11, 2008, 04:42:56 pm »

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meyerweb

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Your First Camera?
« Reply #106 on: February 11, 2008, 09:36:51 pm »

My first camera was some sort of Kodak 127 roll film box camera. No flash, no controls. But I've still got a scrapbook with B&W photos taken with it. Not real sharp, but better than on might expect.

My first 35mm camera was a Yashica J rangefinder that my dad brought back from a trip to Japan. I still have it! No meter, but a flash shoe and PC socket with x sync, a self timer, and shutter speeds (IIRC) of 50 / 100 / 300. An f2.8 lens, I think. (I'm too lazy to go look.)

My first SLR was a Miranda Sensorex. In some ways, ahead of it's competition. It was priced roughly like a Canon TL (or TLb--I don't remember the exact timeframes), but with a wider range of shutter speeds, a removable prism with available waist level finder, and full aperture metering. It had one uncommon feature that I really liked, and might still like:  The shutter release was mounted on the front of the body, rather than the top. With thumb in back, and index finger in front, it was very easy to "squeeze" the shutter release, rather than push it. I could hand hold that body at lower speeds than any other mechanical release camera of the time.

After that, a variety of Nikons and Canons, a Leica M3 (I wish I still had that), a couple of Mamiya TLRs, and an old 4x5 press camera with lens movements that I used for an architectural project. Oh, on the opposite end of the spectrum, I had a Kodak Pocket Instamatic 60, a Rollei 35, an Olympus Stylus, and a Minolta underwater body. Oh, yeah, I still have my dad's Zeiss Ikon Contaflex IV, a leaf shutter 35mm SLR with some interesting features. Still one of the most precise feeling, solidly built cameras I've used.

I settled on Canon with the New F1, and Canon's USM lenses and all electronic mount kept me with Canon when I finally transitioned to AF.

The D300 & D3, and the new 12-24 lens, are the first offerings from Nikon that might make me choose Nikon over Canon, if I didn't already have a huge investment in equipment.
« Last Edit: February 11, 2008, 09:55:21 pm by meyerweb »
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meyerweb

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« Reply #107 on: February 11, 2008, 09:51:30 pm »

Quote
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asahi_Pentax

Pentax history
- first instant return mirror
- first pentaprism viewfinder
- first TTL metering
- first auto exposure

I think the Konica Autoreflex was the first Auto Exposure SLR camera, in 1965:

http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Konica_Autoreflex_A3

In fact, Konica had a whole series of Shutter Priority AE cameras before Pentax introduced the Aperture Priority Spotmatic in the mid 70s.
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djgarcia

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Your First Camera?
« Reply #108 on: February 12, 2008, 12:13:32 am »

Beginning in 1973 ...

Olympus Trip RC
Konica SLR with an 80-200 zoom
Olympus OM-1
Mamiya RB-67
Contax RTS
Bronica GS-1
Contax RTS II
Contax 167MT
Fuji GX-680
Contax RTS III
Linhof Technikardan 23S
Contax N
Canon 1Ds II
Canon 1Ds III

All gone but the 1Ds'es and a horde of Zeiss and couple of Leica glass.
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DonWeston

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Your First Camera?
« Reply #109 on: February 12, 2008, 09:59:35 am »

Beginning in the mid '60s, -

Ansco 620 - point and shoot of its day.
Instamatic 126 - some model middle road
Mamiya 500DTL - first "real" camera, carried me through high school, became serious doing own B&W for next 30+ yrs, two  lenses 50mm and 135mm
Nikkormat FTN - various lenses, college years,  some color processing
Nikons of various flavors, FM, FE, F3s etc grad school, many lenses
Leicas, Hassies - for next decade
Mixed 4x5, even tried 8x10 for brief time, mostly Linhof Tech IV and Mamyia 7 with Hassy through til 2000
Canon D30 began digital for me with a S10 as first dig. camera, what potential might be, then mix of Canon, Fuji S1-3, Rebel, 350D, 400D, Nikon D70, D200, D2x, D80, D300 and Leica M8 mostly now...for now....the beat goes on...
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Robert Roaldi

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« Reply #110 on: February 12, 2008, 10:20:56 am »

Bought a Pentax Spotmatic in 1968. Sold it in 2001 and was still working fine, was cleaned once. The little switch that turned on the meter broke off once.
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mahleu

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« Reply #111 on: February 12, 2008, 10:35:24 am »

Started with an olympus XA-2

Then:

*Eos 50e
*Olympus mju II
*Pentax Spotmatic SP
*Hasselblad 500cm
Nikon F2
*Consinon something or other
Eos 300D
Eos 350D
*Eos 40D

I still have all the ones marked with a *
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ecemfjm

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Your First Camera?
« Reply #112 on: February 14, 2008, 04:45:49 am »

I guess someone will make some statistics and draw conclusions on this thread...

My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic, in early 70's. After a while my father let me use his Yashica. I do not remember the model. Then I got a Konica C 35 and survived with that until late 70's when I succeeded in convincing my father to buy me a Canon A1 with a 50mm f1.4 and a 200mm f4 lens

That camera rendered excellent results for more that 25 years until I bought a Minolta Dynax 800Si with the 24-85mm zoom that was a bit disappointment compared with the fixed length ancient canon lens.

A few years ago after a review by MR, I got an 8MP Konica Minolta A1 which I still use with pleasure

Manuel
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JDClements

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« Reply #113 on: February 17, 2008, 09:57:18 pm »

Quote
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=174049\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Cool! That there would be the first camera I used (mom's).

Much later:

Olympus OM-1
w/Olympus 28mm and 75-150mm lenses.
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russell a

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« Reply #114 on: February 18, 2008, 02:38:01 pm »

Ah, down memory lane.  My first camera was given to me about when I was in junior high, late '40s.  I think it was an Argus 21.  50mm f3.5 viewfinder.  I remember 'dressing' it up with a big lens hood to make it look more impressive and shooting basketball games using natural light.  I processed those shots in some souped up developer I ordered from an ad in the back of a magazine.  Got some good shots, albeit with tapioca-sized grain.
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Jack Varney

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« Reply #115 on: February 18, 2008, 02:48:57 pm »

Boy, this one takes me back!

1952 - Beacon  120 roll film camera
1954 - Kodak Pony 135
1957 - Rolleocord
1960 - Rolleiflex
1961 - Crown Graphic
1969 - Besler Topcon Super D
1972 - Hasslebald 500C
1992 - Canon A1
1992 - Mamiya 645 1000s
2004 - Mamiya 645 Pro
2006 - Mamiya 645 AFD and Phase One P45
2007 - Phase One P45+
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Wayne Fox

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Your First Camera?
« Reply #116 on: February 18, 2008, 06:53:26 pm »

First camera (other than cheap 110 instamatic) was a Mamiya-Sekor in 1972.

http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCam....html~mainFrame

Wish I would have kept it for sentimental reasons.  I still have my first Canon F-1 body I bought in 1974.
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Richowens

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« Reply #117 on: February 18, 2008, 07:50:15 pm »

My first was a Pentax H3-v, then a Mamiya Sekor 1000DTL, also purchased in '72.

 I still have both of them.
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Josh-H

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« Reply #118 on: February 18, 2008, 07:54:18 pm »

Your going to laugh... but

My first camera was the Kodak 'Disc' - which took a round cardboard insert with approx 20 tiny negatives around it. The negatives were smaller than a thumbnail.

Quality was abhorent.

Kodak's disc camera was needless to say a complete flop.

I think I only ever took a couple of 'rolls' with it before discarding it!
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oldcsar

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« Reply #119 on: February 19, 2008, 12:05:57 am »

My first camera was a Canon Powershot A20, a 2.1 megapixel camera. Before that, I wasn't really interested in photography for artistic purposes... before the A20, it was snap shots with disposables and maybe about 3 rolls of APS film developed (Kodak APS compact) before going to digital.
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