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What cameras have you 'grown' through?

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Beth

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Beth wrote:

Someone's comment to me last night made me think this might be a very interesting thread.

Let me start it off. First of all, I think that my photography 'bug' started with a Dad who had his own darkroom (in an old pantry off the kitchen), used a Nikon SLR, a Hasselblad with all the lenses and backs, and others I'm not thinking of. So, photography was a subject of discussion at our kitchen table. That laid the foundation.

I played with an old Brownie box camera as a kid...first without film, then WITH film. I still have many of the photographs.

I went through the usual instimatics as a teenager, but it was as a young adult after meeting my husband who also had a photography interest that I could afford to buy something more ambitious. I started with an Rollei 35mm. I can't remember the model, but it was at the time, the smallest 35mm camera made. It had no rangefinder, but DID have a light meter and a very good lense. (I still have it.)

My husband and I came across a used Leica (M5) at a camera store we frequented that was for sale. We paid $600.00 for a body, three lenses and a leather case. (Still have it.) :-) Somehow we recognized that it was worth sacrificing to buy. $600.00 was a LOT for two educators to sink into a CAMERA in the early 70's. That was before kids.

I also bought one of Olympus's early 35mm SLR's. Again, can't remember the model #. I loved it! It was sleek and elegant...small and not 'mucked up' with lots of dials and buttons. Gave that one to a professional photographer step-daughter (see it truly DOES run in the family!)

In the past few years, since the kids have grown and left home and there's some disposable income once again, I've purchased digital...Olympus all! I started with the D300-something (fixed lense/point 'n shoot), then got the a D400Z. The latest was a C3000Z which just died. Now I'm back to 35mm equivalent, I think with the E-10. (I have a brother with a D30 which has caused me to drool. I've licked my chops, swallowed my fear and the E-10 arrived yesterday.)

Whew! It's been quite a journey, but WHAT FUN! --Olympus E-10 (A thrilled new owner 8/18/01)
Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/galleries/cokids
 
I've licked my chops, swallowed my fear and the E-10 arrived
Member said:
yesterday.)

Whew! It's been quite a journey, but WHAT FUN!
Click to expand...
Sure has.

And a word to the wise - the E10 is really a mini D1x -- I said at launch time that the E10 was more like Nikon than Nikon themselves - There may be more truth in that than we'll even know officially.

Good luck.
 
Wow! You have posed quite a question. I will attempt the a choronology of my photography growth. It started a long, long time ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth .... well, maybe not that long ago. I have always been interested in taking pictures. I started with my parents Kodak Bantam 828 and an old Kodak 127 (I think) with fold out bellows. The next I remember using was a 127 twin lens reflex, can't remember the name. When in high school I finally stepped up into the 35 mm with an Argus C3 which I kept for many years. When stationed at Camp Pendleton, I bought a Yashica, my first interchangeable lens 35 mm. Over the years I aquired filters, lenses and assorted other accessories. Later, when money was available and I began to get the "real" photo bug I got a Nikon FM. That was a real camera! All manual so you had to learn how to take photos. I became enthralled with B&W and built a darkroom so I could control the development and printing. I bought a second Nikon FM. This was may most prolific period to date. Even had a photo studio for a short time but found that as a part time business the fun was gone and it became just another job. I was fortunate enough to be travelling for a living in Asia so began collecting accessories for the Nikons. Had a motor drive, bellows, 400 mm catadioptic lens plus assorted filters and other lenses. I kept the darkroom from the mid 70's until the early 80's. Travelling made me look for a smaller more easily packable camera. I got an Olympus S10 (I think) and later a another compact P&S with telephoto capabilities (another Olympus I think). By now, work and other things kept my photography to a minimum. Wanting the benefits of an SLR plus the convenience of a P&S I bought a Nikon AF 2020 auto everything. Never did really like that camera. Photography waned until the digital revolution rekindled my interest. I got a Sony Mavic FD83 and I was hooked. The Mavic lacked the control I had had with my SLRs so I began looking for a digital SLR. Until the E-10 came along a true digital SLR was just out of my price range. But now! The E-10 is what i have been searching for.

I still have the Bantam 828 and the Nikons, all the rest are gone. Thanks for the allowing me this trip back into my photographic past. I look forward to seeing you posts here.

Elrond
 
Aaah too many too many (and I'll miss some out too!)
Main cameras have been:

My father is a great amateur photographer, but, unlike Beth, being a boy I avoided it like the plague until I was about 25, then you couldn't stop me!

Voigtlander with a bellows lense (from Dad not much used)
Minolta SLR (G300?)
Contax 139 (wonderful - several years)
Contax RTSII (wonderful - more years (and lenses))

Minolta 9xi (good - but I never should have sold the Contax - who needs autofocus!)
Minolta S1 (an attempt at APS - nice camera nice lenses - no definition)
Contax RX (back to manual focus - lasted some time)
Nikon F100 (lovely - seduced away by digital)
Olympus E10 (nicest ever - lovely)

but there were many 'second cameras' on the way:
Leica M3 (given by father in law and never used ) - still got it
Rollei tiny 35mm something or other (still got it - lovely but meter dicky)
Canon sureshot (nice)
Canon something else (big and not so nice)
Olympus IS1000 (awful - waiting for the focusing - dreadful)
Contax t (lovely - stolen)

Contax G1 (great but autofocus slow - I discovered they could fix it . . after I sold it!)
Contax TVS (great - still got it - don't use it anymore)
Olympus 3030 (turned me on to digital - I still use it for concerts and spare)

I'm sure I've missed some, but it's interesting trying to remember them all - rather like trying to remember old lovers!

kind regards
jono slack
http://www.slack.co.uk
Beth said:
Beth wrote:

Someone's comment to me last night made me think this might be a
very interesting thread.

Let me start it off. First of all, I think that my photography
'bug' started with a Dad who had his own darkroom (in an old pantry
off the kitchen), used a Nikon SLR, a Hasselblad with all the
lenses and backs, and others I'm not thinking of. So, photography
was a subject of discussion at our kitchen table. That laid the
foundation.

snip
Click to expand...
 
Beth said:
Someone's comment to me last night made me think this might be a
very interesting thread.
Click to expand...
Beth, like you were reading my mind! This morning I was thinking about posting "your photo background" thread.

I have start with digital photography four years ago. I have to mention that I didn't have any experience with film ;-) when I started with photography. Here is my sequence of digicams:

1. Kodak DC40. Mathematical Institute of Belgrade brought it and I did have opportunity to work with it. That is my first camera and despite the fact it is point & shot and 0.7 MP I have learned a lot form it.

2. Kodak DC265. My first digital camera! This was a big step forward after DC40.

3. Kodak DC290. I didn't wanted to miss DC265 upgrade so I have brought DC290. I still posses this camera as backup and I really like it.

4. Olympus C-3000Z. This camera was prize for winning "photo of the month" at http://www.digitalphotocontest.com It is nice camera but I did have some complains about its color rendering and the quality of optics. Because of that I hesitated to by E-10.

5. Olympus E-10. After seeing it at the shop and testing it I fell in love with E-10. Since I had experience with point & shot cameras I hooked immediately to the SLR feel and functionality of E-10. My fears about photo quality was gone after seeing first test photos I did. I'm really happy with it as most of you probably are!
Member said:
the E-10 arrived
yesterday.)
Click to expand...
Have a fun with your new toy!

Saluti

Stevan
 
Ooo, good thread, Beth!

Let's see . . . first, I claim only to be a dabbler in this, but Dad was really into portrait photography with a pair of Yashica LM's, a full B&W film processing setup in a very nicely built dark room in the basement. Dad even handled color tinting of portraits, producing a kind of washed out colorized pastellish look. All the rage long before Ted Turner began 'colorizing' old B&W classic movies.

My progression went as follows:

1- Kodak Brownie

2- Polaroid Land Camera- Highlander model 80 . . . a bit of a detour into 'instant gratification' B&W photography. I still have the camera in its original box. Intersting that it weighs much more than the E-10- all metal construct and bellows lens box!

3- Pentax #1 film SLR- can't remember the model, higher end than k-1000, though.

4- Pentax #2 film SLR- again, I don't remember the model. Funny, most of the photos in my albums came from these two cameras! Uh-oh, they say memory is the first to go . . .

5- Olympus E-10 . . . and a visit to the Church of the Holy Oly. I BUH-LEE-VUH!!!

I must say the E-10, and digital photography in general, have changed the way I think of this medium. All the anxiety over choosing the right film, getting photos back from the developer with those annoying little stickers attached laughing at my foibles, is in the past. I can actually feel OK about making a mistake! Ah, all is better, now!

Best Wishes,
  • David
 
I'm sure I'm leaving some out, but here goes...

Ansco box camera
Some old Kodak 35mm
Argus 35mm RF of some sort
Konica FP
Nikon F
Minolta Autocord
Calumet 4x5
Leica M2
Arca Swiss 4x5
Nikon F2
Graflex 2x3
Rolleicord
Hasselblad 500 C/M
Leica M4
Nikon 6006
Nikon 8008S
Deardorff 8x10
Mamaya RB 67
Pentax 6x7
Canon EOS 3
Canon EOS 1v
Canon Elan 7
Olympus E-10
Pentax 645
Leica M3

This is a 40 year chronology. And many of these cameras I've owned more than once.

The last 4 on the list are my current lineup.
 
Hi, Beth. Great subject here. I've had an on/off interest in photography for a very long time. Really the only times it was "off" was when I was too busy with the kids when they were younger and just didn't have much time to pursue it. But as a kid I had an uncle who was a professional photographer. He had these beautiful black & white 8x10s of people...some were famous (at the time) models and movie stars, but he also took pics of the family. We still have some of these. I didn't have a serious interest until I was pregnant with my first child (a fair while ago ) and bought a Minolta XD-11, which progressed to a Minolta X-700 and then a Nikon N90S. I took a college course in darkroom work and set up a full-fledged darkroom (with all the equipment) in our last house. I used to stay up till 3 or 4a.m. developing & printing. I loved the control this gave you.

My first digital camera was an Olympus D300 (?)....didn't use a memory card and the quality, looking back, was pretty poor, but it was cool. Then went to Olympus D620L where I became fascinated with image editing software and how you could do the same things you used to do in a darkroom, without the chemicals and smell! Then came the E-10, which is also supplemented by the E-100 for sports shooting and speed. These two cameras have definitely rekindled my interest (as evidenced by the fact that I visit this forum daily) llike no others have. I also have a little Canon S300 that I take with me everywhere I go for the occasional snapshot. I also use that for real estate pictures (our business) for our website and emails to customers. I'm having a lot of fun with all this and imagine you will, too. I also confess to being a gadget freak which amazes the rest of my female friends, but I've always been "different" that way. I'm really glad to see another woman here who shares this interest....we are definitely in the minority! K.
 
What an interesting camera history to participate in.

My mom had a "Box Brownie" from Kodak that I begged and begged to be allowed to take a picture with as a child of 3 years age. She relented and let me take a shot of her which I still have in my collection, she was a beautifull young woman then who passed on at the age of 96 two years ago.

Then my Dad purchased a Kodak "Senior" Six-20 that I still have in my collection. I've a few shots taken with it and wish that I could find some film for it. The bellows is still intact.

In high school I had a tiny camera that shot small rolls of 16 mm film. I've an photo or two from it as well.

In the Army during the Korea police action I purchased and had fun shooting a Kodak Brownie 8mm Movie camera. Those rolls were lost in a garage fire many years ago.

Then in the late 50's I stepped into the world of medium format with a Mamiya C2 Twin Lens Reflex. At the same time I made home movies of my family and our activities with a Yashica Twin lens Turret 8mm movie camera.

After the garage fire which destroyed my dark room and equipment I played around with the instamatics that came onto the market for several years before venturing into the world of insurance investigation with a Minolta XE-7 35mm and its multiple lens sets that I recently gave to my 2nd youngest girl who's working in Hollywood as a CA, looking for the opertunity to attach the coveted "ASC" after her name.

My first digital was an Olympus D600L four years ago, followed by the C2500L, and now by the E10 since last November.

I shoot a Sony D8 Camcorder that I acquired two years ago also. Doing some commercial work with it for an Industrial Client, a Steel Mill.
 
HI Karen
but I know people who would say we are all a bunch of old women around here

:-)

kind regards
jono slack

p.s. but it's great to have Beth around here - I think her stuff is a real breath of fresh air.
 
Well I started off with a big chunk of a camera which was heavy, hard to focus and gave unpredictable results....

....and today I still have my E10 :-)
  • seb
 
I believe the feminine of Jono is, in fact, Juno.

And since you were speaking from the point of view of the wiser and gentler gender......then I think Allison got it right.

Spot on, as we say....

LOL

Davida
Jono Slack said:
not Juno

:-)

kind regards
JONO Slack
http://www.slack.co.uk
Allison Abernethy said:
Allison
Jono Slack said:
HI Karen
but I know people who would say we are all a bunch of old women
around here

:-)

kind regards
jono slack

p.s. but it's great to have Beth around here - I think her stuff is
a real breath of fresh air.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
You say you still have it....good! Hold onto it, they're worth about $450 to $500 now, especially if it's the one made in Germany instead of Singapore. I have one too, and I love it for the way it's built and being way ahead of its time. K.
koo22 said:
Hi, Beth. Great subject here. I've had an on/off interest in
photography for a very long time. Really the only times it was
"off" was when I was too busy with the kids when they were younger
and just didn't have much time to pursue it. But as a kid I had an
uncle who was a professional photographer. He had these beautiful
black & white 8x10s of people...some were famous (at the time)
models and movie stars, but he also took pics of the family. We
still have some of these. I didn't have a serious interest until I
was pregnant with my first child (a fair while ago ) and bought
a Minolta XD-11, which progressed to a Minolta X-700 and then a
Nikon N90S. I took a college course in darkroom work and set up a
full-fledged darkroom (with all the equipment) in our last house.
I used to stay up till 3 or 4a.m. developing & printing. I loved
the control this gave you.
My first digital camera was an Olympus D300 (?)....didn't use a
memory card and the quality, looking back, was pretty poor, but it
was cool. Then went to Olympus D620L where I became fascinated
with image editing software and how you could do the same things
you used to do in a darkroom, without the chemicals and smell!
Then came the E-10, which is also supplemented by the E-100 for
sports shooting and speed. These two cameras have definitely
rekindled my interest (as evidenced by the fact that I visit this
forum daily) llike no others have. I also have a little Canon S300
that I take with me everywhere I go for the occasional snapshot. I
also use that for real estate pictures (our business) for our
website and emails to customers. I'm having a lot of fun with all
this and imagine you will, too. I also confess to being a gadget
freak which amazes the rest of my female friends, but I've always
been "different" that way. I'm really glad to see another woman
here who shares this interest....we are definitely in the minority!
K.
Click to expand...
 
Is this like "what goes around comes around"? LOL. K.
Seb (UK) said:
Well I started off with a big chunk of a camera which was heavy,
hard to focus and gave unpredictable results....

....and today I still have my E10 :-)
  • seb
Click to expand...
 
Beth wrote:

Oh, koo22 you have it just right! I too am a gadget freak. Tell me about your gadgets! Here are mine: HP 660LX (old now) handheld, P-400 printer, laptop, desktops (PC & Mac), lazer printer, CD burner, Zip, DVD....and probably others I 'm not thinking of right now.

BIG SMILE! Yes, my female friends (and husband) think I am a bit strange, but since my husband can barely screw in a lightbulb, we make a good pair. It's a compensatory relationship...what can I say?
koo22 said:
Hi, Beth. Great subject here. I've had an on/off interest in
photography for a very long time. Really the only times it was
"off" was when I was too busy with the kids when they were younger
and just didn't have much time to pursue it. But as a kid I had an
uncle who was a professional photographer. He had these beautiful
black & white 8x10s of people...some were famous (at the time)
models and movie stars, but he also took pics of the family. We
still have some of these. I didn't have a serious interest until I
was pregnant with my first child (a fair while ago ) and bought
a Minolta XD-11, which progressed to a Minolta X-700 and then a
Nikon N90S. I took a college course in darkroom work and set up a
full-fledged darkroom (with all the equipment) in our last house.
I used to stay up till 3 or 4a.m. developing & printing. I loved
the control this gave you.
My first digital camera was an Olympus D300 (?)....didn't use a
memory card and the quality, looking back, was pretty poor, but it
was cool. Then went to Olympus D620L where I became fascinated
with image editing software and how you could do the same things
you used to do in a darkroom, without the chemicals and smell!
Then came the E-10, which is also supplemented by the E-100 for
sports shooting and speed. These two cameras have definitely
rekindled my interest (as evidenced by the fact that I visit this
forum daily) llike no others have. I also have a little Canon S300
that I take with me everywhere I go for the occasional snapshot. I
also use that for real estate pictures (our business) for our
website and emails to customers. I'm having a lot of fun with all
this and imagine you will, too. I also confess to being a gadget
freak which amazes the rest of my female friends, but I've always
been "different" that way. I'm really glad to see another woman
here who shares this interest....we are definitely in the minority!
K.
Click to expand...
 
Oh Jono! I knew I was going to like it here! Thanks!
Jono Slack said:
HI Karen
but I know people who would say we are all a bunch of old women
around here

:-)

kind regards
jono slack

p.s. but it's great to have Beth around here - I think her stuff is
a real breath of fresh air.
Click to expand...
 
Beth wrote:

Yes, I still have it and if I'm not mistaken, it's the German version. I don't use it, but maybe I should dust it off and give it a whirl just to be sure the shutter's still working. Maybe someday after I've gotten this E10 under my belt.
koo22 said:
koo22 said:
Hi, Beth. Great subject here. I've had an on/off interest in
photography for a very long time. Really the only times it was
"off" was when I was too busy with the kids when they were younger
and just didn't have much time to pursue it. But as a kid I had an
uncle who was a professional photographer. He had these beautiful
black & white 8x10s of people...some were famous (at the time)
models and movie stars, but he also took pics of the family. We
still have some of these. I didn't have a serious interest until I
was pregnant with my first child (a fair while ago ) and bought
a Minolta XD-11, which progressed to a Minolta X-700 and then a
Nikon N90S. I took a college course in darkroom work and set up a
full-fledged darkroom (with all the equipment) in our last house.
I used to stay up till 3 or 4a.m. developing & printing. I loved
the control this gave you.
My first digital camera was an Olympus D300 (?)....didn't use a
memory card and the quality, looking back, was pretty poor, but it
was cool. Then went to Olympus D620L where I became fascinated
with image editing software and how you could do the same things
you used to do in a darkroom, without the chemicals and smell!
Then came the E-10, which is also supplemented by the E-100 for
sports shooting and speed. These two cameras have definitely
rekindled my interest (as evidenced by the fact that I visit this
forum daily) llike no others have. I also have a little Canon S300
that I take with me everywhere I go for the occasional snapshot. I
also use that for real estate pictures (our business) for our
website and emails to customers. I'm having a lot of fun with all
this and imagine you will, too. I also confess to being a gadget
freak which amazes the rest of my female friends, but I've always
been "different" that way. I'm really glad to see another woman
here who shares this interest....we are definitely in the minority!
K.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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