What got you interested in classic gear?

[Mike Gammill]

<p>Maybe you've only recently been "bitten" by the classic bug or maybe the classics you are using now weren't classics when you bought 'em new all those years ago. Let's hear some stories.<br>

I'll start: My first experience was at age 11 when my dad let me borrow his Voigtlander Vitessa L to photograph a homecoming parade. Not understanding the RF yet he prefocused it for me and set the exposure for a sunny afternoon. I was hooked. Although I used Instamatics a bit longer, I stayed interested. I inherited this camera from my dad when he passed away so I still have it. I learned SLR photography a few years later with his Mamiya Sekor 1000 TL.<br>

As for buying new and said gear becoming a classic, I had that experience as well. I still have and use my original Konica Auto S2 that I bought new as well as my first Minolta SRT 201.</p>

[andylynn]

<p>I grew up on an SRT and my standard for a good lens was the 58/1.4 MC Rokkor. I got back into it later on when I realized I could get my own SRT and 58/1.4 for $20.</p>

[sasvata__shash__chatterjee]

<p>I honestly cannot explain why, even though I have thought about it a lot. I certainly am not afraid of technology, it is something I love and my profession is directly related to technology, yet I find the simpler cameras of the past to be immensely more satisfying. I don't think it is just simplicity itself that is the draw, but maybe it is also that it is a connection to simpler, more satisfying times.</p>

<p>I started when I was about 10 years old, with my dad's Nikon F. It was a revered make and model, but it certainly wasn't viewed as a classic that was a blast from the past. It was very much current at the time. I then moved on much later to AF Nikons, to Nikon DSLRs, and now back to many different types of classic cameras.</p>

[leicaglow]

<p>Mike, My story is similar to yours. My dad's Zeiss Ikon Contessa was a coveted item when I was using a Kodak Instamatic at age 7. When I got a brand new Mamiya Sekor 1000 DTL for Christmas one year (next to a Ruger 10/22, the neatest present I've ever gotten), I still wanted the Zeiss Ikon. It took much better images. I still love shooting with it today. I love the precision of these old cameras.</p>

[BrianS1664879711]

<p>My gear became "classic" over the years. I still shoot the first SLR I bought... back when it was state-of-the-art. Some of hte other classic gear I use is maore for fun than anything else.</p>

[chris_werner]

<p>I love technology, but it doesn't have the same beauty as a classically engineered device for me. A lot of it is amazement for the fine functions that were built in the pre-digital age - kind of a "how did they manage that back then?" wonderment. A triumph of human ingenuity over brute force computer algorithms. </p>

<p>Other than that, it's a contrary mood - taking a break from high tech to go low tech just for the experience and enjoyment of it all.</p>

[justin_stott]

<p>A few years ago I rediscovered my Dad's old Nikon EM, and a Durst enlarger that he had been given used and never tried. I had used the camera a little in high school and forgotten about it. Even with a broken aperture spring, those first few photos showing up in makeshift developing trays were just magic, I had been bitten.</p>

<p>I still have his lenses, I use them on an old FM now, although I don't shoot a terrible amount of 35mm since the CAD caused me to wind up with an old Hasselblad C/M (a '59 maybe?) with a couple of lenses, not to mention a couple of old folders who's bellows are still holding up ok.</p>

<p>I know there is no magic in these older fully manual cameras, however I do think they cause one to slow down and pay attention to what you're doing, not clicking that shutter unless there's a worthwile composition on the focusing screen, and thinking carefully about exposure. Each camera also has it's own 'flavor' it imparts to an image, whether because of aspect ratio or lens qualities. The Nikon and the Hassie also give the feeling that I'm holding a piece of engineering genius in my hand.(I'm sure even more goes into developing today's digitals, but these were done with little or no computer assistance.)</p>

<p>I am sure that my beginning with film also helps explain why I shoot about 1/4 to 1/3 the number of shots compared to many of my contemporaries, even with my fully up to date digital rig. A MF film scanner has also encouraged me to dust off one of my old Kodak folders, who's 8 shots to a roll of 120 will not fit in my 6 x 6 negative carrier. It would take a heck of a good job in photoshop to create that type of effect!</p>

[Troll]

<p>When I first started photographing, this stuff was all current design.</p>

[leighb]

<p>I first got involved in this danged (a)vocation almost 60 years ago, using a ?Kodak? folding camera shooting 620 film. Built a darkroom, including a rudimentary enlarger. Stuff was a heck of a lot cheaper then.</p>

<p>Haven't learned my lesson yet.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

 

[ralf_j.]

<p>My first real classic was an SRT201 with 55mm 1.7 rokkor mc sometime in 1999. Prior to that I was exclusively using a Maxxum 7000 and a 5000. While I was getting good result with the Maxxums, I discovered that I preferred to slow down, and be in control of every step of the process rather than rely on the automation of the Maxxums.</p>

<p>And it has been so ever since, 80% of my shooting is done with classic cameras(50% 35mm, 30% medium format), 10% is 4x5 on my Graflexes and abandoned formats(127, 126, 828, 16mm) and the rest is 35mm AF and digital.</p>

[craigd]

<p>Growing up, my ideal image of what a camera was supposed to look like was the 35mm film SLRs of the 1960s and '70s. I like to say that the "photographer" archetype in my subconscious is David Hemmings in Antonioni's film <em>Blow-Up</em> -- a good-looking, stylish young man with a mechanical SLR, a beautiful woman, and vague suggestions of a murder in the out of focus backgrounds of his shots. (Just kidding on the last part; if you've seen the movie, you know what I mean.)</p>

<p>By the time I was able to own my own camera, it was the early '90s and the era of half-melted black blob camera bodies had begun. The first SLR I bought was a Canon Elan (EOS 100) and it did very well for me (I still have it and it still works), but in my heart I still wanted a camera that looked like those of my childhood, a camera without a fat battery case/hand grip, that would need to have the film advanced by pulling a lever and that would have to be focused by hand with only a split prism in the viewfinder to help. In my head this is what cameras are supposed to be like.</p>

<p>As an adult I have spent over 20 years in developing software, some of it for controlling hardware such as industrial robots, and I like getting away from modern technology and its army of microchips in seemingly every device you can buy nowadays. I have also learned to admire the mechanical ingenuity that went into designing these old manual cameras that manage to do everything you really need a camera to do, with great precision, without any electronics at all, and without a complicated system of menus to adjust dozens of mostly unnecessary options.</p>

<p>I also dislike the way modern photography has become merely a way of providing the initial input to what is essentially a form of digital computer art. Much of modern photography, especially in the commercial domain, is much more about Photoshop than it is about actual photography. Going back to film is a bit of a rebellion against that, in addition to the other merits of film.</p>

<p>As to how I finally got back to classic cameras -- blame the often-maligned Ken Rockwell! One day I was reading some of his enthusiastic reviews of old Nikon manual-focus lenses and just for the hell of it I looked for one of them on eBay to see how much it would cost to get one. I found one that looked to be in good shape for a good price, so just for laughs I bought it and a Nikon to Canon EOS lens mount adapter. The lens and adapter arrived and I found that shooting with this old lens was fun. Before long I had half a dozen old Nikon lenses, and then the next logical step was to buy an old Nikon camera to go with them. Now I have two Nikons (F2 and FE), a Pentax SV, a Pentax 67 medium-format camera, a Konica III rangefinder, and an old Weltur folding 6x6 camera that with any luck will come back from being restored before long. And I keep looking at other cameras... Minolta SRT-101, Olympus OM-2, Leica M3... </p>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>I blame it all on you people, out there. I discovered this forum about four years and it was a little like coming out of the closet; there <strong>were</strong> people who shared my fascination with elderly photographic gear. As I already had quite a few items I'd sort of accumulated over the years, it seemed natural to have a look at the auctions to see what sort of prices were involved in acquiring a few more. And things were so cheap! Oops! All downhill from there...</p>

[Brad Cloven]

<p>I'm an economist, and my goal is the highest quality image for lowest possible price. </p>

<p>I've moved backwards from a Nikon FE ($278 1984 dollars) with Fuji Reala print film, through Nikon F3HP ($295 2004 dollars) and Velvia slides, to a 1952 Agfa Billy Record II ($190 2008 dollars) and finally a 1938 Rolleiflex Automat ($50 2010 dollars).</p>

<p>I'm happy to report that for $50, the Rollei offers the best image quality.</p>

[rod_larson]

<p>My first 35mm camera was a Minolta Hi-Matic 9 that was given to me by my brother-inlaw<br>

that he had gotten second hand as a teenager. He told me to use it only in automatic<br>

because it didn't work in manual. I was taking it on vacation in the western US and shot<br>

slides with it. Almost every slide was perfectly exposed. After a couple of years the shutter<br>

quit working so I stuck it in a box and forgot about it.</p>

<p>About 4 years ago I was going through some stuff and found the camera which totally<br>

suprised me because I thought I had gotten rid of it. With the help of the internet I came<br>

across repair manual and decided to try and fix it. I did and it worked great. About the same<br>

time my wife started going to garage and estate sales and I noticed there were a lot of old<br>

non-working cameras that were being sold very cheap. Having had an enjoyable time<br>

fixing the Minolta and having recently retired I started picking up these cameras and gettiing<br>

them working again. I didn't realize I was headed down a slippery slope and there is no<br>

cure.</p>

[laur1]

<p>Let me break into camera porn before anyone else does it:<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/9739605-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="452" /><br>

This was the first camera I used. I still have it and it still works. Digital cameras come and go, but cameras like this one will outlast me.</p>

[craigd]

<p>Laurentiu, I saw a camera exactly like that one just recently, with the same or a very similar lens. It was for sale for $100. Good deal, you think, assuming all is in good working order?</p>

[john_robison3]

<p>From the time I was a little kid, early and mid 1950's, I always had a fascination with lenses and optics in general. Playing with my grandma's five inch hand held magnafier at about six years old I noticed that besides burning leaves and twigs on a sunny day it also produced an image of the sky if clouds were present. Then, when mom got out the 116 Kodak box camera to take pictures, a fairly rare event at three or four times a summer, I always wanted to hold the camera just to look at the image projected on the little ground glass viewfinders. Going into town to pick up the yellow envelop with the eight deckel edged, glossy B&W prints at the drug store was a thrill also. Sometimes mom would let me lick the little black corners and place a picture or two in the family album.</p>

<p>So....I saved my allowance for weeks, connived an extra quarter or two if I could do extra chores, and sent off for a Brownie Bullet. I really don't remember how I could afford 127 film but somehow I wound up with some giant 3.5 X 3.5 inch prints. A couple of them I'd tried to shoot inside and of course only bright windows showed up on very very dark prints. I was about eight at this time and I knew that some cameras could take pictures indoors with out flash bulbs because I had seen such pictures in the National Geographic. From that age I would have to wait till I graduated HS, moved to Chicago, got a job before I could afford a camera like that.<br>

December 1969, Marshal Field &Co., myself at the camera counter and a salesman showing me a Minolta HiMatic 9, which I bought and used for about six months before I discovered I wanted something with interchangeable lenses. In 1970 I bought a used Miranda G with a 50mm f1.9 at Altmans for most of a week's paycheck. Shortly after I got a Soligor 135mm f2.8 preset 'T' mount lens, a waist level finder, and a plain matte focusing screen.( I still prefer plain matte screens in all my OM-1's)</p>

<p>A year or so later I bought a Olympus Pen VF camera and later the newly introduced OM-1. I still have the OM and have never been without one or two half frame Pens around the house. I had a Pen F, gave it up, and about 8 years ago bought a FT with a dead meter and later an original F, the FT is gone but the F is still clicking along and I love it's plain matte screen over the FT Matte with microprism center.</p>

<p>Just recently purchased my own retirement gift, a Leica M4-2 and a 21 f4 and 35 f2.5 Voigtlander lenses.</p>

<p>So my history goes back about 55 years. I just could never get into digital and although I have a DSLR, it gets little use. It's not the competency of this entry level camera its that it just has NO class whatsoever.</p>

[waite_watson]

<p>The first camera That I ever remember using was a Sears/Ricoh 126 camera. It belonged to my sister & the occasion was a school field trip to the Los Angeles Zoo in about 1974, I was in the 3rd or fourth grade. That hooked me on photography. Then I wanted a camera of my own & was given the 126. I knew it wasn't a really 'good' camera because all the pro's used 35mm. So,I desperately wanted a 35mm camera. I asked for one for my 12th or 13th birthday. In my mind I'm thinking SLR..even though at the time I had no clue how to use one. Instead,I got a brand new auto everything Minolta hi-matic AF. Not really what I wanted,but it took good pictures. It wasn't until I was an adult & bought it myself that I got that 'pro' in my mind 35mm SLR A Pentax k1000 from a camera repair shop. Someone had it repaired & never picked it up. I paid $100 for it with a 50mm F2 lens (that seemed like A LOT of money then). Back then it wasn't classic, it was just a decent entry level camera that happened to be cheaper than the other entry level cameras from other manufactures. From there the addiction just spiraled out of control.</p>

[steve_levine]

<p>I was born in 1954, So cameras made in the 50-70's aren't really "classic" or old to me. In fact most of my classic collection are simply shooting cameras that I've owned for decades.</p>

[tom_cheshire]

<p>It wasn't classic when I started. It was called "old" or "used". It was greedy young men like me in ShutterBug who got the "classic" idea started. </p>

<p>The whole camera thing started when I decided it would be fun to have a box camera instead of a modern camera (it was 1971?) for taking snapshots. Amazingly, I couldn't find the type I wanted and it started becoming a "collection". The obsession grew to the point of me learning more than needed. Now, I'm scaling back and dumping everything that has anything more "new fangled" than a light meter in it. </p>

[anirbanbanerjee]

<p>In 2005, my dad gave me his Yashica GSN of the early '80s. He could not find a mercury battery for it. I used it with a 4LR44 battery and a spring and tried out a roll of Kodak Gold. I was blown away by the results. That started my classic manual GAS.</p>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Like Steve, most of my classics were just shooting cameras I'd owned and used. Starting with a Pentax Spotmatic and Canonets and later moving to Canon FD and Nikon's. As a working professional one gets exposure to a lot of gear, so soon Mamiya TLR's and RB67 gear came along with various view cameras. Who knew this stuff would be considered classic. In the mid-1990's, my boss at the Getty passed away, and left me a 1947 Speed Graphic. That was the first camera I owned that I considered a classic. </p>

<p>Then about five years ago, a friend had a relative that passed away and left her three large boxes of cameras, about 65 in all, like the one shown below, filled with vintage SLR's, rangefinders, folders and TLR's. Not being interested in photography, she gave them to me. What a learning experience! There was some junk, some everyday type cameras and a few gems. Not being a hard core collector, I played with them and gave most away to friends and students. I kept a few gems like a mint Kalloflex, Aires 35-III and Ricoh Five-One-Nine. Oddly, for some reason, people then started giving me more cameras here and there. My camera repairman, and all around good guy, Clarence, has given me a bunch of cameras. All in all, figuring out how they worked and shooting with them has been interesting, frustrating, annoying.... and fun. </p>

<p>This got me hooked. I think I have all I can use now but these darn things are like potato chips and an unusual bargain will generally catch my eye.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[sadanand]

<p>When I started in photography these were current. That being the case could not afford the pricey stuff . I started off with a Yashica. The Nikons and Mamiyas were out of reach. Was content with collecting the brochures. I still remember the times when Nikon F3 was released. <br /><br />I am always happy to get those that I missed back then - true classics ! Also the manual film cameras has a sort of quality in it that I am always attracted to.<br /> <br /><br /> <br /></p>

[flatulent1]

<p>It sure wasn't classic gear when I bought it new...!</p>

[Tony Evans]

<p>Wen I got started with Classis Cameras, they weren't classic.<br>

127 Box somethinfg - 50/60's. (Gone)<br>

Braun Paxette - 50/60's (Gone)<br>

Mamiya 500 DTL - 60's. (Gone)<br>

Pentax K1000 - 70's (Gone)<br>

Canon AE-1 - 80's. (Gone)<br>

Pentax 67 - 80's (First attempt at MF. Gone)<br>

Fuji something digital - 90's (Gone)<br>

Pentax istDL digital - 90's (Gone)<br>

Pentax K20D - 90's (Keeping)<br>

In 2010 found this Forum and have been cursed forever. Now have,<br>

Pentax K1000SE<br>

Pentax KX<br>

Mamiya 500 DTL w M42 Tak lenses.<br>

Rolleicord VA<br>

Voigtlander Bessa I<br>

Agfa Isolette II<br>

Agfa Super Isolette II<br>

Zeiss Super Ikonta B<br>

There are recriminations. Every time my Bank Manager hears the word "camera" his face goes a sickly shade of green. My wife has threatened to move out "there's no room in this house for both me and all those cameras!". What the heck? I am having fun!</p>