Confession is good for the soul

<p>It started quite innocently: someone was selling a Kodak Retina camera. This was the type of camera my father used to document our family life from the mid-50's to about 1974 when it suffered a fatal drop into salt water. I remember as a child being fascinated with the mechanisms and the dials, although it died before I was old enough to actually use it. In a haze of nostalgia, I bought the Retina and ran a roll of B&W film through it. There is just something different about B&W film and a classic lens; not better or worse, just different. There is also something sensual about the feel of these old mechanical cameras: the silky feel of the focus knob and the quiet "snick" of the shutter.</p><div></div>

<p>This got me thinking about the other cameras of my youth. A number of years back my father gave me his Minolta SRT-101 that replaced the Retina. I had frequently borrowed this camera in my teens until I bought my own. I removed the old Minolta from the shelf to see if I could shoot it again. Alas it needed some work as 30+ years in various Louisiana and Florida closets were not ideal storage conditions. So I learned how to clean fungus from lenses, replace foam seals that had turned to goo, and clean/adjust winding and shutter mechanisms. Now the Minolta got a couple of rolls of film run through it.<br>

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<p>The first nice camera I had bought with my own money was an Olympus 35RC. I still had it although it was no longer in working condition after fifteen years of hard use and another fifteen of neglect. Someone else was selling two other broken Olympus 35RC cameras. I bought them mixed and matched the parts until I actually had two fully working cameras and one that sorta worked.<br>

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<p>And so it continued. My brother had the Canon AE-1 Program I used in college. I bought another one from fleabay and traded him for my original. I then bought the type of Konica that I used on the high school yearbook. I bought copies of the Olympus bodies and lenses that had been stolen in 1981. I even bought another film Rebel that was the first camera that my wife liked to use. <br /><br />As bad as that was, it now gets worse: as more people switched to digital, film cameras became extremely inexpensive - about the cost of a couple of beers. Even cheaper if not in working condition, but I can deal with that. So why limit myself to just cameras I actually owned? Why not buy some of the cameras I lusted after when I was younger and poorer? Who knows, maybe Nikons were better than Canons. And ooh, that's a unique looking camera. Look at this toy camera - it takes wonderfully awful photos. Wow, remember Polaroids? Friends would say "Oh you collect cameras? I have this old thing in my closet..."<br /><br />So to make a long story short, I now have a lot of cameras. For a while there, my collecting rate was far outstripping my shooting rate. I'm better now; I've not bought a single camera in 2013. People still give me cameras but I also give cameras away. I'm slowly shooting my way through the backlog as my goal is to shoot at least one roll of film through every working camera. At the current rate I'll finish around 2020.</p>

<p>Ah, it's a familiar tale,<strong> Erik</strong>, and very close to my own experiences. It's comforting to know that others are gripped by the same condition, and derive pleasure from it. I had a similar goal regarding giving the cameras some use on a scheduled basis, but in the end it became a source of worry as I wasn't keeping up, and I was imbued with a sense of guilt. Now, when time allows and the urge takes me, I sort of close my eyes and fumble along the shelves, searching for an unfamiliar shape... Thanks for the confession; lovely Minolta, BTW, and the Retina...</p>

<p>Nice account. It helps to share these things. ;)<br>

I especially appreciate the "I haven't bought... since..." .</p>

<p>We should have buddies to call when we feel the overwhelming urge to buy another item of camera gear.</p>

<p>As I've said before, the documenting camera in my natal household was a great deal less fancy than that Retina - to wit, a Kodak Jiffy 620. </p>

<p>Thanks for the little jog down memory lane. It's one of the things I like about this place.</p>

 

<p>Fun read, thanks. I also buy the ones I lusted for in 1960's as a poor student. Latest,<br>

Minolta SR-T101, and Nikon S3 rangefinder.<br>

Best regards,<br>

/Clay</p>

<p>Guilty also...</p>

<p>Can I Plead "Help" I have had about a 7 month absence from buying anything till<br>

just getting a Exakta the other week, now looking at a lens for the Exakta : LOL</p>

<p>I just can't stop.</p>

<p>Too true, I just have way too many, often find something that I forgot was there! I am also trying to use all my cameras, but just don't have the time. Another post on the Makro-Kilar reminded me that I have one which was attached to a dead Contax...have to try that.</p>

<p>This forum should be called the Counseling Center!! As Sheldon says, I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested. But last night as my third Leica R4 arrived, I did have that feeling that things are getting out of control. The night before, it was a pristine Argus C4R. At least we can console ourselves with the thought that a Psychologist would cost more than the habit!!!</p>

I still have a Retina IIa that I bought used in 1960 and am planning to put one more roll of Elitechrome through it if I can get untangled from digital camera software and cell phone mania.

<p>Fortunately for my marriage, I stuck mostly to collecting craft beer (or pizza) price cameras. In addition my wife likes using one of the cameras I purchased fairly soon into the madness: a Certo Dolly Vest Pocket 127 folding camera. That one is "hers" if we go out with B&W film.</p>

<p>I also recently met a local student with some interest in older film cameras, so the collection may actually go down a few units.</p>

<p>FYI, anyone who want to see what's been done so far can check out the collection pages at <a href="http://www.pbase.com/maderik/cameras">http://www.pbase.com/maderik/cameras</a> or <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/maderik">http://www.flickr.com/photos/maderik</a>. One of the ways I have justified my hoarding is by documenting what I have. I chose pbase and flickr because they are frequently searched: pbase has a nice database at <a href="http://www.pbase.com/cameras">http://www.pbase.com/cameras</a> and flickr makes it easy to contribute to <a href="http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Main_Page">http://camera-wiki.org/</a></p><div></div>

<p>Nice cameras mentioned so far. Very nice cameras. I've handled a Minolta SRT-101 and it's one of the best built cameras i've ever holded, close to a Leicaflex SL in build quality. However the viewfinder could be brighter.<br>

There are many great film cameras; the ones i am enjoying right now are:<br>

- Agfa Karat IV, more or less a contender to the Kodak Retina pictured. Beautiful, quiet, small, and it has an incredible lens.<br>

- Yashica Electro 35GSN. A big machine but with a very nice lens and viewfinder. Quiet too.<br>

- Yashica Electro 35GL. A refinement of the above, with a wider lens, bigger viewfinder, and even better exposure meter.<br>

- Mamiya C330. "Jack of all trades, master of one" (portraits). <br>

I've left my trusty Canon A-1 aside for the moment, because when i want to use a SLR, i can pick my Canon 5D anytime. If it could only take Canon FD glass, though...</p>

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