young people who use classic cameras

<p>Chris, I'm not in my 20's or 30's. But, here's another old song. "It's Howdy Doody time!" While I have newer film cameras. I've been buying ones before I was born. Including those that use obsolete film. 130-124 and 116. Also, glass plate. I guess we all like to see what it was like before we were born.</p>

<p>hey David, you sound a lot like me! I actually didn't even know what 120 film was! I had probably heard of it, and I knew there have been many different formats and kinds of film over the years. But I personally was only familiar with 110 and 35mm (and vaguely familiar with 126 catridges from when I was a little kid). I started working with 120 film after I learned how to develop prints, and my mom wanted me to develop pictures from some old B&W negatives she had. It turned out that they fit perfectly on my 6x6 negative carrier. I really liked working with those bigger negatives and I was really amazed at how sharp they were.</p>

<p>So that was what got me interested in 120 film. So I started asking questions here about what would be some good 120 cameras that I could try. This was about a year ago...actually, I think it was exactly 1 year ago. I've been interested in vintage cameras for the last 2 or 3 years, and by then I already had a few 35mm cameras. But now I wanted to try 120. So I looked on eBay and in camera shops. I had never even seen a TLR before. In fact, the first time I saw them in a used camera shop, I thought they <em>were</em> old movie cameras! I had never seen such a big, boxy camera before, so I thought it was some kind of old 8mm or 16mm movie camera. I never thought it would be a camera for still photos. I ended up getting a Yashica A on eBay. After I shot a roll of film with it, I was so amazed at how detailed and incredibly sharp the pictures were that I got hooked on 120 film. I still use 35mm, but lately I've been using a lot more medium format. I ended up buying a couple more TLR's, and even a couple of folding Zeiss Ikon Nettar cameras.</p>

<p>This is all new to me. Until very recently, I had never even heard of things like "medium format" before.</p>

<p>And Jack, you're right...it is partly just a curiosity about things from a different time period and to see what it was like before we were born. My dad thinks my fascination with old vacuum tube radios is funny. He says that for me it's a novelty, but he grew up with them and he hated them! LOL<br /><br />I have a collection of old vacuum tube radios now. I remember the first time I bought one. I think it was the little bakelite Westinghouse radio I have, from about the 1940's. I bought it on eBay when I was around 21 or 22. (I think it was the first thing I bought on eBay, although the site had already been around for a while.) When I got it in the mail, my dad looked at it and saw me playing around with it...and he asked "are you sure that's what you want? What are you going to do with that old thing?" He was so surprised that I had bought an old tube radio!</p>

<p>I'm 35, and remember my pictures being taken by a Seagull TLR when I was around 5. I didn't start collecting classic cameras until this millennium, though. The oldest cameras I own are probably a Pentacon F and a couple of Praktica FX's. Just recently I started to buy TLRs, but haven't decided if I'll get a Seagull yet. I did visit the Seagull factory store in Shanghai a few years ago.</p>

<p>People talk about medium format as if it's so much beyond 35. Which it is. But, for us who grew up in the 50's and 60's. It was the format, 120 and 620, that the average person used. And, Chris, my oldest tube radio is an Atwater Kent model 33 "coffin"style .From 1927. It only has one tube so far. It takes a 01-A? It's a big tube that cost $20-40.00 apiece. And, I need about 4-5 more.</p>

<p>I've also just turned 29, but have been using vintage/film cameras for about a decade.. I started with a Walzflex TLR (cost me something like $50), but got some experience shooting a Bronica SQ-A and a bunch of $$$ 16mm gear in film school. I keep purchasing more cameras, and now have a very clean and useable Busch Pressman D, a Bronica EC (focal plane with some big Nikkors), and my main box, a Rollei 2.8D. There are about 15 more cameras which never get used.. maybe this summer I'll make it a point to shoot everything at least once.<br>

I think it's definitely the contrast between the plastic-throw-away 80s and 90s experience which draws many of us towards an older and more concrete way of doing things. The first 120 neg I saw blew my mind and I had to make more and more.. It's really a post-modern backlash against all the consumer garbage that's thrown at us. I wore a bowler hat for no reason in the early 2000s. I still wear old wingtips and bellbottoms if I can find/make them. They all go great with a vintage camera.</p>

<p>I am only 14 and I love vintage cameras. My favorite film is Kodachrome. Many people have asked how I have gotten into film. Believe it or not, there is no photographer in my family taht has gotten me into film. It all started when my great grandmother was moving and I came across the slide projector. Since 10 years old, I have been shooting Elite Chrome with an AE-1. I have moved on up to manually setting my exposure and having full control....I enjoy many vintage things. Not only photographic things. I listen to all my music on Vinyl, I write with a fountain pen, my room is filled with tons of vintage and antique uniques. I also love sending people real mail..I like email for things that I need to be intstant or are really short...I don't know...It's just me. It's almost like I have been reborn again. An old mind in a new body. Classic cameras arn't for only for older crowds!</p>

<p>I'm a '90s kid; I'm in my early 20s now.</p>

<p>Started around 15 years ago on film, got serious about photography12 years ago this month. Back then, digital was just starting to break into the consumer market; schools were starting to buy digital cameras (which were one megapixel or less back then). I started by using my parents' AE-1, which I used for a few years before getting a newer camera. Since then, I've used various cameras and lenses, including digital. Back when I first got serious in 1997, I swore that digital would never replace film for the majority of photographers. Looking back, I think it was more that I didn't want digital to replace film. But film will always have a place in my work. I will always use film, even as I get more into digital.</p>

<p>Val J. Albert</p>

<p><strong>Patrick Mont wrote:</strong></p>

<blockquote>

<p>I am only 14 and I love vintage cameras. My favorite film is Kodachrome. Many people have asked how I have gotten into film. Believe it or not, there is no photographer in my family taht has gotten me into film. It all started when my great grandmother was moving and I came across the slide projector. Since 10 years old, I have been shooting Elite Chrome with an AE-1. I have moved on up to manually setting my exposure and having full control....I enjoy many vintage things.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Wow...doesn't that pretty much say it all? A <em>14 year old</em> kid who likes to shoot with classic cameras...and with Kodachrome, no less! The ironic thing is that one time I was in a camera shop and I was asking about Kodachrome. There was another customer there, an older guy (I'm guessing in his early 60's). He overheard me talking to the clerk, and he was asking what Kodachrome was! He hadn't even heard of it! I had to tell him what Kodachrome was, and even told him "You know, like the Paul Simon song!" I felt really weird doing that. Later on, even the clerk thought that was kind of strange that someone my age would know more about film (and especially Kodachrome) than the other guy.</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for commenting, Patrick. I originally started this topic to hear from people around my age...but it was definitely interesting to hear what you had to say! :)</p>

<p>and Val, I think your experiences were a little different than mine. I don't think I ever even saw a digital camera until maybe around 1999 or 2000 at the very earliest. But yeah, keep shooting film and have fun!</p>

<p>Jeremy, I think you're right too. It is kind of a rebellion against all the plastic junk that was thrown at us when we were kids in the 80's and 90's (especially the 90's...gawd, that's when they started making disposable cameras!). We want something more, something more substantial. Something different.</p>

<p>This is off the topic, but here's a funny little story that involves one of those plasticky point and shoot cameras of the 90's. I graduated from high school in 1996. I remember when we were walking out to the field, and people were taking pictures of us walking out. You know, friends and family taking pictures of us graduating. Well, there was an old lady who was taking pictures with the camera turned <strong>backward</strong>! Not upside down, but I mean actually <em>backwards,</em> with the lens facing toward her! I don't even know how she couldn't have noticed that. We stood there for a few minutes, laughing. (Hey, we were 17 or 18 years old at the time. As a kid, you live for things like this). We kept walking, but one of my friends finally went back and told her. <br>

<br />I can just imagine when they got the film developed and saw <em>those</em> pictures. Probably have the roll was super close ups of her face.</p>

<p>FWIW, I'll turn 39 in a couple of months and the three cameras I use the most are, in order:</p>

<ol>

<li>Mamiya RB67 Pro S ("The Beast", made when I was 3 or 4 years old) </li>

<li>Yashica D (made when my mother was a pre-teen)</li>

<li>Yashica Electro-35 GSN (made when I was 3)</li>

<li>Nikon F-100 (OK, not vintage)</li>

</ol>

<p>I love all of these, and they each have their uses.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Very nice collection there, Tom! I'm jealous! :)</p>

<p>I might be getting up there, but I had a step daughter that was born in the early '80's and my daughter was born in '89. I know all about those damned Smurfs... and worse, Barney that stupid $%^*(%#@% dinosaur!!! I know tv got better technically with time, but the subject (fecal) matter? There's a reason I don't watch tv anymore. Ewwwww.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I know all about those damned Smurfs... and worse, Barney that stupid $%^*(%#@% dinosaur!!! I know tv got better technically with time, but the subject (fecal) matter? There's a reason I don't watch tv anymore. Ewwwww.</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>???????????</p>

<p>LOL...hey, Rob I watched the Smurfs for a while when I was <em>really</em> little...like maybe around 7 years old. I was never really that much into them.</p>

<p>hey, here's something...does anyone remember the tv show "Fraggle Rock"? I only vaguely remember it, but I do know I watched it every day when I was little, before and after school.</p>

<p>And yeah, Patrick most of this stuff is probably a mystery to you! Look up "Zack the Lego maniac" on Google and YouTube to see what toy commercials were like when I was a kid. We were talking about that earlier.</p>

<p><em>Zack, Zack...he's a Lego maniac</em>!</p>

<p>(I found a couple videos of the commercials on YouTube, but I can't seem to go on it right now for some reason. YouTube is acting really screwy).</p>

<p><a href="

/>TMNT is the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" which was a cartoon in the late 1980's and early 1990's. They made a few movies of it, but I really only liked the first one. "Turtle Power" and "Heroes in a Half-Shell" was their slogan. I also had the action figures...I had a couple of the turtles, and one of my friends had Shredder :)</p>

<p>and Barney...UGH...thank God I missed out on that one! I think by the time Barney came out, I was already in middle school. Stupid annoying purple dinosaur! "I love you, you love me..." Give me a break.</p>

<p>What I really miss though is the "Animaniacs" cartoon show that used to come on in the afternoons in the 90's. I think it came on Channel 5 and maybe it was on Fox 11 later. Does anyone else remember the Animaniacs? It was actually a whole bunch of different mini-cartoons. It was great. Especially the "Goodfeathers" which was obviously a parody of the Goodfellas, and it was a cartoon about Mafia pigeons.</p>

<p>Oh yeah, and we can't forget the Tiny Toons. And "Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers." :)</p>

<p>okay, one more...<strong>Duck Tales! </strong>That was my favorite cartoon ever when I was a kid. <br /><strong></strong><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuckTales">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuckTales</a></p>

<p>Here's a link to the theme song. The video quality is horrible, but still good enough to watch:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=2321">http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=2321</a></p>

<p><em>Duck Tales...woo hoo! </em></p>

<p>Okay, I know we're getting waaaay off the topic now...but that was fun! :)</p>

<p>Chris, when you were young you watched the Smurfs, etc. I watched Captain Kangaroo, Howdy Doody, and cartoons like Beanie and Cecil, Quick Draw Mcgraw, and Augie Doggy and Augie Daddy!</p>

<p>hey Jack, I've actually seen Quick Draw McGraw! I used to watch the "Cartoon Network" on USA (is that channel even still around anymore). They showed all kinds of cartoons, new ones and old ones. So sometimes I saw old cartoons like Quick Draw McGraw, Speed Racer. Oh, and of course Yogi Bear! Yogi was awesome.</p>

<p>I'm not sure "classic" cameras belong to any generation. A lot of the "classic" stuff is very good, the wise of any generation will figure that out.<br>

Ah yes, well since we are on the subject: Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Bambi and Peter Pan....so there! (I think I'm older than all you whipper snappers.)</p>

 

<p>I used a classic camera (Nikon FM2n) because it was my dads and he used to lend it to me, then I got it as a gift, and nothing beats free for getting into a hobby! I had it repaired and used it quite a bit till I moved on to better things. I considered buying a more modern 35mm automated SLR but decided against it since I wanted to save money and found the FM2n perfectly fine for my needs. I ultimately sold it because I got so frusterated by photo labs in Jamaica (where I am from) screwing up my film.<br>

I played around with black and white for a while and enjoyed it, but chemicals were expensive and often in short supply. I ultimately sold the camera and moved on to digital, a move I regret sometimes.</p>

<p>I just wanted to say this has been one of the funnest and most interesting topics I've started here (it's right up there with my infamous "OMG" Kodachrome post in the "Film and Processing" forum).</p>

<p>If anyone else wants to comment, please feel free to do so and keep things going. But otherwise, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who responded here. I went back and read through all the replies...it was great to hear from everyone. </p>

<p>And oh yeah, I just can't resist...here's the <em>Zack the Lego Maniac</em> commercial: <br /><br /> <a href="

<p>Yeah, the commercial might look kind of lame now. But come on, admit it...you remember it! And it <strong>is </strong>catchy. I'm pretty sure this probably got me to buy a few more Lego sets when I was a kid.<br>

<em>Zack, Zack...he's the Lego maniac!</em></p>

<p>Okay, I'm going out to shoot some more photos with my Minolta :) </p>

<p><a href="

<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGnBiTG5BzY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGnBiTG5BzY</a><br>

Here's a Beanie and Cecil and a Crusader Rabbit. I had the 2 dogs wrong. It was Auggie Doggie and Doggie daddy.</p>

<p>I guess I'm older than I thought. I'm getting into my second childhood already. Damn, I miss Gumby...</p>

<p>Im 44 and classica cameras just Rock! I have several oldies, 3 Rolleiflex's, 1956,1939,1932. Speed Graphic and several old 35s that belonged to my dad, he is the one that kept me in film. oh by the way... Lincoln Logs anyone?</p>

<p>I have also just got into 127. So much fun! :)</p>

<p>I don't think I had any Lincoln Logs, Josh. Although you never know...I think I pretty much had every toy when I was a kid. But hey, nothing beats Legos! Well, except Nintendo and Sega Genesis. Did anyone else get addicted to playing "Sonic the Hedgehog" ? :) </p>

<p>Patrick, what kind of cameras are you using that take 127 film? And where do your get your film? Is 127 roll film about the same size as 120? I have an old Brownie box camera (Brownie 2A, Model B) and it's supposed to take 116 film. But if you put spacers on the ends of the spool, it works fine with 120. I also have an Argus Argoflex TLR that takes 620 film. I didn't feel like re-spooling 120 myself, so I ordered a roll of it from B&H Photo Supply. It cost $9! I like some of these old cameras that take oddball film sizes...except that the film is sometimes expensive!</p>

<p>I'm 29. I use manual and mechanical cameras. I love my Rolleiflexes, Leicas and the Linhof. I just love the handling, I started early and I love the feeling of having don my image. For me the image is done in the camera, not as an afterthought "what Photosop filter can I apply?". I like the feel of metal and the manual focus.<br>

Digital gives me no satisfaction, it is only convenient.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, I find so few people that think like me and are of my age. And, even more depressing, is the number of more or less serious photographers and amateurs who sold off fine medium format gear or Nikon gear just to "go digital", like it was something which makes you more hip.</p>

<p>"serious photographers and amateurs who sold off fine medium format gear or Nikon gear just to "go digital", like it was something which makes you more hip."<br>

The pros got rid of their MF cameras, because buying a digital back for a Hasselblad, etc was far more costly than buying a DSLR.Even though the results from a DSLR wasn't a good as from a 35.It took several years for the DSLRs to catch up to 35.</p>