What was your first camera and would it be a classic today?

[trw]

My first camera was a 110 format keychain camera. Focus? Who needs it? the film is so small that the depth of feild takes care of focus. Exposure? Choose your film wisely. Picture quality? Amazingly good for a $2 (1984) camera.

 

No, it isn't a classic, but it might be a collector's item someday.

[alexandre_goy]

Minolta SRT-303, which was already a <a href="http://www.rokkorfiles.com/SRT%20Series.htm#a102">classic</a> at the time (1987).

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My father had a <a href="http://www.butkus.org/chinon/ceii-metrotone/ceiii-memotron-splash.htm">Chinon CE-II Memotron<a>, and the SRT could take all his 42mm screw mount lenses with an adapter.

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I should have kept the SRT !

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[grahams]

My first camera was a reward for doing good in school - a Ricoh 500 RF. It had a rapid-advance lever on the bottom a la Leica MP, with a protrusion on either side of the focussing ring to make focussing possible with a fingertip of either hand. I loved that camera - there was also a black professional version with a tougher build - to compete directly with Leica and Contax, I guess. Wish I could find one now..

 

Heres a pic, with apologies to Ricoh.<div></div>

[grahams]

***<div></div>

[mfophotos]

Grahm:

 

There is a nice in box Ricoh 500 on evilbay ending very soon with NO bids:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/

eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15234&item=3873802742&rd=1&ssPageName=W

DVW

[grahams]

Mark:

 

Thank's for the heads up, but it was for sale within U.S. only. Pity, as I am in the U.K. and would have snapped it up!

[rob_l]

My first camera was a Konica Autoreflex with a Hexanon lens. My girlfriend at the time (1970) had her room mate skip town, leaving behind unpaid bills and this camera. So I had a shiny new SLR, an amazing camera to me at the time. I have used it through the years on everything from car shows to vacations and it still works just fine, never a problem. Classic...not really. Just a well made little camera that introduced me to a hobby that will last my lifetime. She couldn't have given me a better gift.

[Mike Gammill]

First actual camera: A Windsor (Diana clone) Paid 65 cents and three Popsicle coupons.

First good camera- Konica Auto S-2. My family had a camera shop then so I got it at cost. I still have the camera and use it from time to time.

[alan_rockwood]

My first camera was one I got for $1 and one or two cereal box tops. It seems to have been the same camera as the Herco Imperial 620 Snap Shot camera. I got this camera in about 1956 or 1957 and still have one or two of the pictures I took with it.

 

My first high quality camera was an Exakta VX iia with f/2 58mm auto biotar and a beautifil preset 90mm f/3.5 Tele Xenar. I got this in early 1969 at a camera shop in Daytona Beach Florida. I paid $90 for it, and it came with a nice leather camera bag and a Gossen Pilot selenium light meter. (I can't remember if I paid extra for the meter.)

 

I would say that both cameras are classics today in their own ways.