ole_tjugen Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Friends, I give up. I have always insisted that I don't collect old cameras, they just seem to - accumulate? But yesterday I went to the post office to pick up a nice old Voigtlander Avus 9x12, which I had bought despite already owning a 6.5x9 VAG and a 9x12 Bergheil. I admit I wanted it precisely because I already had the others... So today I took myself off to IKEA to buy a display cabinet for my cameras. And with that it has become a "collection", not a haphazard "accumulation"! That doesn't mean I'll necessarily be buying more cameras, but if anyone tips me off about a nice horizontal-format Voigtlander plate camera, or a 6.5x9 Bergheil, I might have to reconsider ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_elek Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Ole, get two Ikea cabinets -- the kind with the glass doors. They're perfect, though I think they could use another two shelves. I'd really like to add a second cabinet for myself. And then I'll stop buying cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marco_vera1 Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 I walked into a train model store a few weeks ago and discovered that the cabinets made to display model trains work quite well for cameras too..at least 35mm ones and smaller 120's.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Dear Kindred Spirit. If you actually use them to take pictures, (even once), they will loose their "collector" status and you can honsetly tell yourself that they are just "accumulated." Otherwise you may have to start attending those meetings which begin: "My name is Ole, and I collect cameras...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_fromm2 Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Ole, don't give up. Be strong. Resist the impulse to buy. Resist the impulse to show off your prizes. Hide them in closets. Mind you, in some ways I'm nearly as bad as you and should take my own advice. My secret vice is lenses, though, not cameras. Just found a pair of Apo-Nikkors, 305/9 and 480/9, at a good price and couldn't resist. They're not old enough to discuss here, but the principle is the same and anyway I plan to use them on old cameras. One lens, two cameras at once. Cheers, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_a._bridges Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Right now I have only fourteen. How many more can i get before I have to start going to those meetings Bill mentioned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miha_steinb_cher Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Ole,Don't worry, I've seen worse. There's a person wondering about buying another camera bag to complement his Lowepro Commercial AW (as it is becoming too small) when taking a hike with his photo gear. He actually thinks that another bag may be great for balance, one on each shoulder... BTW, I meet the guy every morning in my bathroom mirror. Have fun, Miha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn_thoreson Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Forget meetings! I have taken all 14 of those 12 steps and it doesn't work. Cameras - gotta have more - just one little camera, PLEASE? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesmck Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 <i>Right now I have only fourteen. How many more can i get before I have to start going to those meetings</i><p> Frank - If you know how many you have, you're OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_davey2 Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 I'm in the preocess of building a cabinet to hold mine. I have this idea to make it where the left middle spot is featured somehow. I then will make a frame from the same wood and post a picture in this frame from the featured camera. Why I'm doing this I don't know since I live alone and mostly will be the only one to see it. Oh well. at least it somehow justifies my woodworking tool purchases and my old camera purchases :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochen_S Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 James you put me ashamed! I didn't like counting my cameras. They are not really many. I'm rather close to having a nice set of usable gear and a few toys too. I'll go on hamstering some more. I'd never talk about collecting; I only buy what might be nice to have or is irresistable cheap... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgeorge911 Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 So hilarious! The moment that I had to admit to myself (and my less than pleased spouse) that I am a collector was when I purchased the same Ikea cabinet! I'm limiting myself to one cabinet (and of course a closet full of stuff not ready for the cabinet) Signed, A fellow addict Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesmck Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Can someone give the name (or other ID) of the Ikea cabinet being referred to? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_elek Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 It's the BILLY storage system. It weighs quite a bit, but it's really nice for cameras. I think if it had another two shelves, it would be ideal. I should buy two more shelves. I like the dark wood better than the light wood.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan_stark Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 You don't have enough cameras, Mike....... I can still see some bare wood in there!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_m Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Once you lose track of how many you have, you are a collector ... or at least a hoarder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_elek Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 I try to keep only one camera for each model (with a few exceptions). Otherwise, that's just being greedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ole_tjugen Posted March 31, 2005 Author Share Posted March 31, 2005 Lenses? I forgot to mention lenses? I have... 14 LF lenses in shutter, most of which were made before 1970 (all the way back to the 1928 150/3.5 Xenar Type D). At least that's what I had last time I counted. And then there's the "classics" - like a 1904 (?) Busch ROJA Weitwinkel-Aplanat #3, and a few other nice brass tings... 3 "real" LF cameras - a Linhof Color 4x5", a Gandolfi Traditional 5x7", and a nameless "Reisekamera" in 18x24cm - all classics. Several TF and MF folders - I've lost count. And the 4 plate folders; 3 Voigtlanders and a Rodenstock. And my cabinet is a "Markör". If the spelling gets screwed up, the question mark is an "o" with dots over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonsignore_ezio Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 We are talking about cabinets ansd shelves, and we call ourselves "collectors"!? Now SERIOUS collectors are completely different animals! The guy who infected me with the classic camera virus lives in a small, two-bedroom rented flat, because the large, four-bedroom flat he actually owns is completely reserved to house its 1,000+ cameras (I'm not joking). It is not simply a matter of space; the "collection flat" must be kept in constant dim light, stable low humidity conditions that are now compatible with people living there (again, I'm not joking). Further, cameras must not be touched (not to mention manipulated!) unless this is strictly necessary. He owns a gold-and-blue, "Swedish anniversary" Hassie mint in box that he has seen two or three time maximum ever since buying it more than ten years ago, because, as he says, "if you keep opening and closing the box it will no longer be mint". So don't worry - we have not yet crossed to the far side (at least this is what I like to think when looking at my cabinet....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandeha Lynch Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 That is seriously funny. Has he considered therapy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahams Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 Shame... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan_stark Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 That's quite sad. Cameras are meant to be used. Used gently and respectfully, but still used. I can proudly say that I don't have a single original box among my whole collection of 31 cameras, nor is there a single camera lacking wear and usage marks (some even put there by me!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonsignore_ezio Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 No teraphy - he is perfectly happy the way he is, and I wouldn't suggest this myself because under every other aspect he is a wonderful human being. Incidentally, the above comments clearly originate from "normal" people and thus miss the point. The comment, "it would no longer be mint" did not refer to the camera, which obviously enough shall NEVER be touched. Rather, it was the box. He was afraid of damaging the box. But there is worse. There is a Leica collector in our region that HE (I mean, my friend) regards as nuts. Apparently that guy has converted his cellar into an armoured, air-conditioned repository for some 200+ mint Leicas. The (exceedingly rare) visitors are requested to wear special dust-proof suits and wear facial masks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan_stark Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 And MY Leica collector fantasy is a funky, mellow black Leica II from the first year (1932) with nickel hardware and heavy brassing. I've got a nicely worn 1931 90mm Elmar I'd like to mate it with..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john falkenstine Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 Ok Mike, why are the cameras on the 2nd shelf from the top r/h side arranged so neatly and what are they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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