John Smullen

Sekonic L-38 Auto Leader is a compact match needle design that still works well. Booster cell gives three levels of sensitivity.

My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic 104 that I got in 1966 not long after getting married and starting college. It documented plenty of family events, trips and good times together. Those flash cubes sure seemed expensive. Sometime I either figured out or was told that leaving an expended flash cube in would slow the shutter speed enough to improve exposure on back-lit pictures. I suspect that was what triggered an interest in photography that carried forward. My second camera was a Pentax KX acquired in Japan during a visit with my brother-in-law in 1976. I so enjoyed the pictures and slides he created with a Pentax K2 that I took a step up from that Instamatic.

<p>A Retina II model 142 would be a fine addition to your rangefinder collection. It came with 2.0, 2.8 or 3.5 lenses. A hood should be used to control flare from that vintage lens.</p>

<p>What a great idea for a thread. My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic 304 that captured a lot of memories as a newly married college student. During a business trip to London in the early 1970's I learned that the exposure meter could be manipulated by just leaving a used flash cube in the turret. The result was some decent late afternoon shots of Big Ben.<br> That 126 cartridge camera is long gone. However it got me started on a long love of amateur photography with a Pentax KX and other cameras.</p>