How Many Cameras Is More Than Enough!?...What Is Your Camerqa Inventory?

Current inventory? Too many, I'm sure. I have no intention of counting them all. Some Canons, some Leicas, some Nikons, some Olympus XA's, a Mamiya TLR, a Rollei P&S, a broken Yashica SLR. I even found an old 620 Kodak Duaflex IV TLR recently I didn't even know I owned or where it came from. My most recently purchased were a couple of Holgas, a Zero Image pinhole and a Polaroid. And I really do take pictures most of this stuff.

Oef! Painful question. One camera is more than enough. Yet, over the years they seem to accumulate. Until a few years ago I used to sell superfluous cameras, but at current second hand prices I'd rather keep the stuff.

 

I don't need more than one, but I have ten:

Leica M6ttl + 35 + 50 + 90 + 135 (use intensively)

Leica M4-2 beater (first Leica, used to be main camera, now backup only)

Leica Visoflex + 200 + 280 that will also fit Leica R

Leica R-E + 35 + 50 (use seldom)

Leica R3 (use seldom)

Konica Hexar (use intensively)

Konica Big mini (backup only)

Yashica MAT (first MF, lens dusty, not in use anymore)

Hasselblad 500C + 80 (beater, use heavily)

Rolleiflex SL66E + 50 + 80 + 150 + 250 (recently acquired, started using, will replace Hasselblad)

Kodak CS3800 digital 2mpix (toy camera, use sometimes on outings with friends)

Not to mention a whole bunch of accesoiry rubbish.

 

In other words, a completely rediculous amount of stuff. What's worse, it will slow you down because you will either bring too much gear or spend too much time selcting the gear you're going to take.

I feel much better. If I have to explain to my wife why there are 6 SLRs and 14 lenses on my shelf, I can just point to this thread. In fact, I have plenty of head room - which is good since an M4 body just arrived today. Two more lenses should do it. Uh, huh.

I stopped counting when it hit the mid-70s. Actually, I didn't stop counting, but this year has been an absolute horror, and camera collecting has taken a back seat.<P>

 

In any case, I'm looking forward to 2004, buying a few final pieces, including some Leica glass and perhaps a few more cameras.<P>

 

Here's the list, though I have duplicates of several cameras plus a few others that haven't been completely restored, so I guess I'm bearing down on the century mark.<P>

 

<a href=http://host.fptoday.com/melek/pages/cameras.html><B>MY CAMERAS ... most of them</B></a><P>

Don't tell, they are rather large, with even larger teeth;). I'll have to give Harvey the job, he can leg it faster than me. He's also poor, and needs the cash.

Well, I spend too much time at this forum so I don't have time to use the cameras I have or buy more...

 

But to answer your original question Todd - yes, you are obsessive. Then again, it seems to be the one common things among posters here.

Um, Mike, you're not there yet. You need some Regents. Kodak/Nagel and Ansco/Agfa.

 

Happy accumulating,

 

Dan

Um, Todd, I just scoured the house. Lotsa cameras, no camerqas at all.

 

So when are you going to ask the next question? You know the one. How many lenses is enough? And after that, how many shelf miles of books?

M6, Minilux, C-1, C-3, Z2X, FM2a, Rollei 35SE, Olympus Stylus LT 105, Stylus Epic, C

-5050Z, C-3000, Rolleiflex T, Yashicamat 124, Cambo 4X5

Hey guys (and gals), I just lurk here every now and then. But I want to ask, for those of you with so many cameras, how much film do you actually shoot? Put another way, is it 'gearophilia' or do you actually use these things and shoot lotsa film? BTW, I have three Nikon bodies, five lenses (2x28's, 35, 50, 85), four flash heads, and a Baby Brownie Special --yeah, I know, no Leica. However, I use all of these things and shoot about 1000 rolls of film each year (e.g., http://viewport.comm.uiuc.edu/cuin7plus/).

1000 rolls? wow. any keepers?

I know some of you actually take pictures, how many of these camera's actually get used, or are they sitting in the dry box?

 

Camera's should be used, and unless one has a sentimental attachment to the piece sell it! However some of you appear to be trying to improve the GDP of Germany on your own.

 

I can't imagine storing some of this gear, I don't have enough shelves.

 

Gerry

I have owned several Leicas in the past, up to four at one time, but now I'm down to just one - an M7 - and that suits me fine. To be honest, when I had several bodies I didn't know what to do with them all: I had my favorite (an M6TTL .72 black) and found that I just didn't want to use the others.

So....is the idea to combine these lists with Josh Root's home-address map?

 

8^)

 

M4-2, M6, M6HM .85x, Hexar RF, 15mm, 21mm, 35mm, 90mm, 135mm, Hassy SWC + 2 backs, and (for the time being) SL body/60 macro.

The last time I sold a piece of camera equipment (Canon 75-150/4.5 zoom) I bitterly regretted it. Never again.

 

My collection is not small but I tend to use all the cameras at some time. These days I use the following most M6s classic and TTL, CLE, Bessa R2-C, Bessa T., Nikon Fs with waist-level finders.

17 35mm cameras, Leica, Contax, Zeiss Ikon, Minox, Rollei,Canon, Nikon; 15 Minox 8x11 cameras, 5 16mm cameras, 1 6x6, 2 6x9.

4 vintage (pre-1950s), 6 rangefinders/compacts (XA, QL17, EL; Yash GTN), 4 MF SLRs; 2 AF SLRs; 3 Digital; 1 TLR; 1 Motormarine; 1 Pentax 110.... there's no hope for me....

Oh look, it's one of Peter's friendly dogs. Looks like he's cleaning his teeth before a nice 'harvey rump steak'. Fresh on the hoof, so as to speak.<div></div>

For me the key was having a "decent" amount of equipment when I got married, so that I could purchase after I got married, and the wife wouldnt have a clue...."I havent seen that camera...is it new?.....No, I've had it a while...." I got married when I was almost 31, so I had 7-8 years of working and the bachelor lifestyle to accumulate photographic and other equipment....the key is keep the wife working, and separate bank accounts....as long as the kids are eating, like someone else said

 

Plus it was better when B&H would ship to the work address, lately is harder to get stuff clandestine when boxes arrive to the house and the wife signs for them...

 

Can't say how much stuff I have, but when I was doing a day hike with a buddy when i lived in Alaska, he started calling me "two ton" for all the crap I had along........

 

:) WT in the People's Republic of Seattle

Man my list of equipment seems rather meager compared to some Ive seen in here. Let me see- my first camera when I was 8 was a Kodak 126 instamatic. I got my dads Polaroid Land camera after he passed on, and it still works. Funny you can still buy film for this. Then I got a T 70 which I sold later after I got my T 90. I recently got rid of that due to repair problems. I also have a Holga, Elan 7, Pentax 6x7, a AE-1 (needs repair), an Elmo Super 8 cam, and a Fuji Finepix Digi camera. I used to have a DV cam corder as well. Lenses for FD is: store brand 28-200 (toast), Canon 28mm and 35mm, and both 50mm 1.4 and 1.8. For Eos I have a 50 1.8, 100-300L, and 28-105. 6x7 I only have a 105 and 200. As an aside I have a FL bellows with 50mm 1.8 FL lens, and slide duplicator. Really I have more cameras then I have need for them, but some are old timers. I would like to get a rangefinder 6x9 or 645, but I am not looking.

My equipment list: 1 M6 (needs fixing) plus 50/2 (with broken focusing tab), both eventually for sale when fixed; and 1 minolta Xi 3MP digital camera which is what I use all the time.

Better add 3 more to my list: Graflex Speed Graphic, Franka Rolfix 6x9, Elmo 1000S Super 8 camera, and 4th could be a Vivitar low rez digicam- but thats more a toy then a camera. I guess Im at the collection stage now as I really have more cameras then I need. I wish this was the case last October when I did a shoot and my AE-1 broke- which has now been fixed. But I try to use all of these once in a while for fun. So I guess I'm at 12 at this point. I still may get another mini dv camera in the future as well.