My first good camera.

[coleviolin]

I was just curious to see what sort of comments I'd get for posting this picture of the first camera I ever spent some considerable money on. It still works, but the battery door retainer clip broke when a lady (!#$@&) in a local camera shop opened it with a coin and said nothing about it. The zoom is a little slower than it used to be when retracting the lense. I haven't used it in a few years, but I've always had a good feeling about it.



I'd be interested in seeing some other examples of first cameras...
--
'Be your own boss'
Lipo

 

[JensR]

Hi Lipo!

Well, I started right into the digital age!
Olympus 2020, now I even have two of them!

'Be your own boss'

I was smart enough to fire myself!

Cheers
Jens

--
Member of LBA (Lens Buyers Anonymous), M42 section
http://www.jr-worldwi.de/photo/index.html - Photography, Tech and Geek stuff :}
'Why is everyone answering rhetorical questions?'

 

[richardday]

My first camera was a Kodak Brownie 127, which I had as a present from my parents in 1949 when I was 5 years old! I still have photos taken with it!



My first SLR was a Praktica IV, where I cut my photographic teeth at the age of 14! I shot my first colour slides with this camera and processed them myself, in Ferrania Color, I later moved on to Ektachrome and Kodachrome.



My next SLR was an Edixa Prismat (and I still have it!)





After that it was Olympus OM1* & OM2n system, a Bronica ETR system, Olympus IS1000*, Pentax MZ-50, Pentax MZ-5*, Pentax MZ-6, Pentax MZ-S*, Pentax istD*.

• indicates still in my ownership or in the family.

That's it!
--
Richard Day - 'Carpe Diem!'
Gloucester UK

 

[richardday]

I dallied with a Nikon Coolpix 770 for a while and I still have a Fuji 602 at work for the odd shot by the staff, but I haven't seen it lately, Hmm? I must rescue it from them!

My wife has a Yashica T5 and now an Optio 30 as well, she still likes her T5, 'cos it's quick to shoot with and she likes the expectancy of waiting to see how the shots turned out! She's a tad technophobic (i.e. sensible!), but she uses the Optio more these days, maybe I'll win yet!

Cheers
--
Richard Day - 'Carpe Diem!'
Gloucester UK

 

[Terry1100]

Voigtlander Vito BL - it had been my dads (in fact he's got it back now).

Mid '70s when I started taking pictures seriously.

--
Terry
London

 

[RoscoT]

I don't have a picture of it, but my first was a Voightlander Bessa 2 folding 6x7 camera circa 193_something. It was my dads. He gave it to me in the mid sixties, and I used it until I got my SV. I still have it and it still works. ( Or at least the bellows is still light tight, the aperture works, and the shutter releases.I don't think accurately though).
--
Rosco
Terminal Stage LBA
http://www.pbase.com/roscot

 

[janneman02]

I am not sure.

I think the first camera I ever used was a Canon Canonet QL19. We still have it but the light sealing is all weathered away.

Then I got my own, a Konica. That broke down or soimething so I used my fathers canonet for a while (worked great in Burkina Faso). Then got a Minolta P&S thingy.
About that time I went for SLR, the ME.

The Minolta broke down at a party, was not beer proof, so I swapped over to the Oly stylus II.
I think the Oly stulys II was, is my best 35m P&S ever.

I even think the quality of the plastic 35 mm stylus exceeds that of the metal digital stylus models. Also the image quality is better.
I took pics with that stylus and Kodak Portra film.... Wow...
--
janneman
http://www.pbase.com/jl2
Lance B. supporter #2.

 

[steephill]

first good ones I used were a Nikon Nikkormat FT2 and a Pentax S1a used with a Weston EuroMaster meter (Why do I remember this stuff??)

The first one I bought for myself was my K1000.

--
Steve

http://www.pbase.com/steephill

 

[SelrahCharleS]

I think the first good camera I used was my dads Pentax K1000... first camera of my own was a Concord EyeQ duo2000(not recommeneded) then I got a Sony 717, and recently bought myself a K1000
--

Whats more important to you? Taking photographs that have great image quality, or taking photographs that are quality images?
'Do or do not, there is no try' - Master Yoda



http://www.geocities.com/wild_tiger_1

 

[alexander L]

first camera: Kodak 127 (somewhere around 1954)
next: Yashica 44
Plaubel Makina III and Rolleicord (from an uncle who died..)
Fuji ST701
Minox 35
Minox 35
Yashica T4
Pentax MZ5
Sony DSC S70
Sony DSC S85
Pentax *ist DS

 

[dickg]

Started out with a Kodak Bantam 828 folding camera I got from my dad - got the bug and rapidly progressed thru the following oldies but Goodies??

Kodak Tourist (folding)
Ansco (something or other)
Argus C3
Bolsey B2
Kowa (fixed lens SLR?) yes! I'm dead serious
Minolta SRT101
Retina IIIC
Canon P7
Nikkormat
Nikon FTN
Pentacon w/80mm & 180mm
Mamiya C330 (w/all lenses)
got burned out on photography
came back years later to try again
Minolta 3XR (i think)
went digital in 2001
Olympus 510
CanonG2
istDS
Canon SD200

in case you haven't guessed, I'm well past 65

 

[philzucker]

Hey, that's a nice pic of you, Jens! ;-)

Sadly I own only one of these fine 2020s - but I own a 5050 just to supplement it ....

--
Phil

GMT +1

 

[philzucker]

Lipo,

I can't furnish pics right now, but started photography with Retinas of my father, a Contax fixed lens SLR and finally a Pentax Spotmatic.

Later I got a Minox 35 GT as a leightweight companion and some Ricoh bodies to go with some Pentax K-mount lenses - I shot a lot with those. Should make a pic of those for your thread - still have them all!

--
Phil

GMT +1

 

[TBLF]

Well, my first good camera was given to me by my buddy Ed who was a camera repair guy when I was a teenager.

It was a Minolta SRT101 with a 50mm lens that weighed a ton, Eddy said it was an old style Minolta brass barrel lens he retrofitted to work on the SRT101. He told me I could have it if I promised not to buy any lenses for it until he said I was ready. (might be great advice for some of our LBA challenged folks!)

I used to take pics and show them to him, and he critique my photo's and explaine how to improve them. Tought me a fair bit of dark room B&W tricks too. I still keep in touch with Eddy, though he's retired out of the state now. Good camera, and a great guy.

Thanks for reminding me, and giving me a chance to share.
--
EricV

 

[JensR]

Hi Phil!

Hey, that's a nice pic of you, Jens! ;-)

Thanks! It does not quite reach the standards you have set, but hey!
I have to do a stereo version of that one

Sadly I own only one of these fine 2020s - but I own a 5050 just to
supplement it ....

Nice camera for sure. If you ever want to get rid of it...

Cheers
Jens

--
Member of LBA (Lens Buyers Anonymous), M42 section
http://www.jr-worldwi.de/photo/index.html - Photography, Tech and Geek stuff :}
'Why is everyone answering rhetorical questions?'

 

[wayne58604]

Started using my Dad's Argus twin lens reflex 620 film camera and was given my first camera (a Kodak Brownie Starlite 127) in the early 60's. My Mom gave me a Minolta SRT-101 in the late 60's (which I still have) and was followed with a Minolta XE-7 (the first one I bought and still have). Got a Leica M5 with several lenses (still have this one) from a co-worker in the 70's, bought several other film cameras (35mm, 120) and sold all but the Rollei SL35 (nice German lenses), Canon F1n, and a Canon EOS RT.

Started in digital with some early Kodak/Canon/Sony cameras, got a Nikon for product shots, and ended up with the istDS (have kept a used E-20 I bought awhile back for those times I do not want to subject the sensor to dust but still want an SLR, and the FZ30 for family vacations).

Buying the camera (or computer for that matter) is cheap - it is the accessories that drive you to the poor house.

 

[steephill]

also had a play with the Mamiyas 220 & 330 and Bronica (SQA?) Really enjoyed MF but hand development was a bit of a bugger - 220 film is big and very flexible and it was never easy getting that stuff onto Paterson tank spirals. Get it creased and it always ruined the best shot on the film, happy days!

--
Steve

http://www.pbase.com/steephill

 

[TresOkies]

Bought in 1981. Still have it and it still works. The accompanying M50/2.0 gets more work these days than the camera does. I'm ashamed to admit that the roll of Tri-X that's in it has been in there almost a year.

My blog entry on both cameras...

http://ericcloninger.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=6&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

 

[Jim King]

I wish I still had my first camera - it was a used Rolleiflex TLR with an f3.5 Schneider Xenar lens which i bought for $150. I sold it to buy my first Pentax, an H3v, so I could use interchangeable lenses. That old Rollei is worth several times what I paid for it today!
--
Jim King - Colormonger (now retired) - Suburban Detroit, Michigan, USA - GMT -5h



* * * * *
Belief without doubt is just opinion.

• unknown

 

[Jim King]

Hey the C-2020z was my first digital - and a mighty nice one for its time. I still have it somewhere in my photo closet. I took some great shots with it in Japan and Hawaii - loved the built-in pano feature - but the slow focus/exposure acquisition eventually drove me to buy the Oly E-10. I ended up with the full kit of supplementary lenses and accessories for it, but it turned into a dead end! Oly screwed everyone who bought into that system by never offering a decent upgrade (the E-20 did have 20% more pixels but the same slow electronics and small buffer). Oly could have made a great prosumer camera out of it with a 6-8MP sensor and faster electronics, but they dropped further development of that line. I finally sold it for a huge loss after I got my D, and will never buy Oly again.
--
Jim King - Colormonger (now retired) - Suburban Detroit, Michigan, USA - GMT -5h



* * * * *
Belief without doubt is just opinion.

• unknown