Are we all old?

<p>Not wanting to be offensive, but I was wondering about the age of regular classic camera users. Ralf's shot of his daughter prompted this. I was hoping that there may be a lot of young 'uns out there that are taking up the baton.<br>

Oh, I'm 61 this year.</p>

<p>I'm 35, started to use classic camera's at age 25. So not that old.</p>

<p>69 & my younger family members wouldn't touch film cameras even if you were handing out Leicas with Sumicrons on them for free. Sad commentary.</p>

<p>I'll take it, Stephen!</p>

<p>I'm not.</p>

<p>In years, yes. At heart, not yet. Coupla years ago my doctor gave me a stern lecture to that effect.</p>

<p>Anyone who attends camera fairs knows that the age profile of classic camera enthusiasts is to say the least, mature (the same applies to camera clubs). And I guess many photo.net Classic Manual Cameras contributors are of a certain age. However I think in the wider population there is a great deal of interest in old cameras and lenses - remembering that for younger people, virtually anything pre-digital is an "old camera".</p>

<p>There's certainly a cult for using old lenses on digital cameras, and the Lomography movement still has a great deal of momentum amongst students etc. You only have to look at auction site prices of certain items to understand this, also there are loads of people on Flickr and similar sites posting pictures from classic cameras.<br>

By the way I'm 64.</p>

<p>i AM 77 and NOT real confident with a camera that is too too auto,<br>

maybe when I am gone there will be no younger generation<br>

Now with Bluegrass music the young people are well represented.<br>

the computer group we attended is all gray heads with younger people only in the gamers section.</p>

<p>Two dozen of my 36 years on this planet were spent handling some sort of film camera or another. I still get that feeling of a twelve-year-old when I hit the streets with brasss, glass, and chrome (even if it's just a classic lens on a new-fangled DSLR).<br>

Without the magic of a darkroom, I'm afraid it'll be hard to entice my kids to shoot film these days. They see old cameras as something that clutters up the living room or angers the wife when a new shipment arrives in the mail. </p>

<p>Most of us are well into our vintage years, <strong>Tony</strong>; I've been unkindly described by my children as being "sixty-six-going-on-fourteen"... However, I see many signs of a resurgence of interest in film, particularly in the 50-60 age group, and in the younger Lomographers. An evening spent on the Internet following the links from forum to forum can easily persuade one that there's a wide range of people of all ages very enthusiastic about old cameras and film.</p>

<p>My age is seventy five, and I still love film. I do have an "old Nikon D40 dslr", that gets very little use these days.<br>

Yes, it has its place, but like many of you "youngsters, I grew up with film. <br>

My very first camera was a Kodak Brownie Hawk eye that I still have. I also have a Kodak box camera that belonged to or late father. I used it a very long time ago, and was surprised by the pictures it took.<br>

I hope film will be around as long as I am alive.<br>

It seems strange to call my D40 an old camera compared to many of the cameras still being used by members of this forum that are 50 to 80 years old.<br>

By the way, a very Happy New Year to all of you on the Classic Manual Camera Forum, my favorite forum on Photo net. And thank you for the help you have given to me while a member of Photo net</p>

 

<p>I am 75 and I feel 25, especially when I repair a Praktica or Exakta. Anyone who appreciates and repairs Dresden and Soviet cameras cannot be young, except in the mind. Cheers sp.</p>

<p>I am 61 and still use film (bw and color and slide) since 1971,and i love my canon cameras and lens.</p>

<p>Good question. The last photos I took a week ago were taken with a Kodak Duo 620 which was made in my birth year (± a year or two-- I haven't checked out the serial number) of 1938. It's still going strong and I'm tagging along pretty well.</p>

59

<p>I am 50. I use film because I can. I use digital because I can. Neither is superior. If film dies out, well, that's the way the cookie crumbles. As a general rule every generation believes the current generation is much, much worse than their own. Previously, all them other generations turned out to be not that bad after all. I think we're living in the first age where that won't happen, and film use or non-use is largely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. You can't teach kids to value something as slow as film when everything they hear see and do is instant gratification. That's why so many young people today have trouble entering the workforce.</p>

<p>"What, I have to work forty HOURS before I see my paycheck?" </p>

<p>52. And most of the gear I own and use was constructed during my lifetime, although some is cutting it close, such as the auto-compensating version of the Micro Nikkor 55 mm f/3.5. I think my first Photokina was around 1980, it's fun now to look at the old catalogues I collected then and get some of those items from eBay to play with...<br>

Christoph</p>

<p>52. And most of the gear I own and use was constructed during my lifetime, although some is cutting it close, such as the auto-compensating version of the Micro Nikkor 55 mm f/3.5. I think my first Photokina was around 1980, it's fun now to look at the old catalogues I collected then and get some of those items from eBay to play with...<br>

Christoph</p>

<p> Thanks for the replies, and great to see some younger users out there. I don't want to turn it into a film versus digital debate, just seeing who is actually using classic cameras....and as a consequence, film.<br>

I often get comments on my old gear, mostly positive, from young people, but they would not consider actually using them...far too committed to their i phones. I actually love the way that my kids are always sharing their photos by facebook etc. but they don't ever print them out.<br>

Probably is a generational thing, just what you grew up with. I know that I collect a lot of gear that I used to really covet as a youngster but could never afford.</p>

<p>I am still 37 for another two months and a bit. I have been into classic cameras and photography itself since 2006.</p>

<p>Glad to see some younger film shooters out there so that when I get really old there will still be someone but me shooting film and maybe still someplace to develop it. I'm 65, which means I came of age at the beginning of the Nikon F era.</p>

<p>54 so far. I started up my old camera obsession with a box camera during the '70s. I thought it would be fun to have/use a box camera while everyone else were using modern cameras. I believe that may be how the younger classic film camera users are thinking today.</p>

<p>I was out today using up a roll in a Kodak Brownie Fiesta and an Imperial Satellite camera. I can't explain it but it was fun. I liked the loud clack the shutters made especially in the Kodak. It was nostalgic looking for the numbers in the little red windows. I've shot the same photos using my point and shoot digital but it wasn't fun. It seemed more like a job that had to be done. Shooting roll film, it brought back a feeling of childhood days so, maybe, that has something to do with it.</p>

55 and mostly use film. Digital is for those times you need to post a quick photo of your classic film gear.

<p>68 for a few months more. I won't quit film as long as I can get some. I still enjoy my Nikkormat FT3 and Minolta srt101. </p>

<p>68 for a few months more. I won't quit film as long as I can get some. I still enjoy my Nikkormat FT3 and Minolta srt101. </p>