The perks of liking classic camera

[Mike Gammill]

<p>As mentioned in earlier posts, my oldest son (age 20) has really taken a liking to classic cameras, and like me, carries one with him to class every day at university. Recently, one of his professors noticed the Minolta SRT 201 he was carrying and asked him if he took a lot of film photos. In response to his affirmative answer, he gave him a Pentax Spotmatic outfit which included: a Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic, Takumar 50mm f1.4, Takumar 35mm f3.5, a Takumar 85-210 f4.5 zoom, and a Sunpak Auto 622 flash with C-cell battery pack, all neatly packaged in a foam-lined aluminum case. When he finishes his Differential Equations class at the beginning of August he plans to test it thoroughly.<br>

Next time he is home I will try to photograph this outfit and post it.<br>

Anyone else have something classic offered to them because they were carrying a classic camera?</p>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>Not quite...But a kind gentleman watched me taking some street scenes with the Finetta I've just featured, then came across and suggested that I dispose of "That old thing" and buy his rather tired-looking Canon Powershot, as he wanted to up-grade...Lucky son you have there, <strong>Mike</strong>!</p>

[Mike Howard]

<p>Diffy-Q was may favorite class in college. Tell him good luck, and can't wait to see pics.</p>

[harris_goldstein2]

<p>I could have gotten 2 camera outfits as, IIRC, I took that class twice. :)<br>

<br />Although then, an SRT-101 would have been current. But I do recall, over the years, being offered (to buy, not a gift) various pieces of photo and darkroom gear "from the attic"). A Miranda was one; a Canon IV another (why did I ever sell that!).</p>

[johnw63]

<p>I never heard it called Diffy-Q. I had a real good instructor for it, but I haven't been close to needing to use it since.</p>

<p> </p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Only rarely outside, in what is known as the real world, but people here on P.net offer up the most amazing gifts, bless them.<br>

</p>

[SCL]

<p>In the late 1990s, in a garage sale I bought an old 50mm Leica lens in rough shape, and the seller tossed in for free his Leica R3 body, saying he rarely used it and was switching to Nikons. I assumed it probably didn't work and after a number of months put in batteries and a roll of film, and was thoroughly and delightfully surprised. For an old body which urban legend said wasn't very good and had poor a record of elecronics, it never failed me. Your son is one lucky man!</p>

[sadanand]

<p>Your son sure is lucky. A gentleman watched me shooting with my F3 and was of the opinion that digital is the way to go.</p>

 

[User_4525289]

<p>Yesterday I was confronted 3 times while shooting in downtown Hagerstown MD with Fuji GA645. Well it is not CMC, so next time I should take Ikoflex. See the reaction of locals. Nobody offered me nothing so far.</p>

[Rob_the_waste]

<p>Also, another "not quite." Not so long ago, while out on my deliveries, I started talking photography with one of my customers (it started off with the weather). He mentioned that he was a school photographer and that they used "Baby Nikons." It turned out to be an FT in mint condition. As I already had a couple of the lenses that he had, I didn't take the whole kit, however, I did buy a couple of the lenses, a Soligor Teleconverter and a locking release cable. He just wanted to make sure the camera continues to get used. I suggested the high school students at the local high school as they have a photography course. He liked the idea. Your son however, pulled a magnificent score.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>A cousin of mine mailed me three early folders from his attic when he learned I was interested in cameras. That was essentially the beginning of my camera collecting affliction.</p>

[Rick_van_Nooij]

<p>A guy over at the Dutch Analog forum was GIVEN a camera collection from a photographer who passed away. This included:</p>

<ul>

<li>Rolleiflex 2.8F + accessory set</li>

<li>Leica IIf + Summitar lens</li>

<li>Leica R4 + motordrive, lens set and accesories</li>

<li>Olympus GM-2 + lens set</li>

<li>Mamiya 645J + lenses and accessories</li>

</ul>

<p>Pretty much all of them with boxes, cases and paperwork <br>

Let's just say I was green with envy. I only seem to get 1960s compacts :(</p>

 

[JDMvW]

<p>I too have a box of 1960s and later P&S cameras.... :(</p>

[tony_lockerbie]

<p>Yes, I get plenty of advice telling me that film is dead and it's time to move on. It's not and I do!</p>

[dan_b.4]

<p>Yes, a colleague of mine about five years ago gave me his late father's Olympus OM-2N with several lenses. He said a pawn shop had offered to buy the whole kit for $5, so he asked around the newsroom for anyone who liked Olympus gear. I was the only prospective taker.</p>

[brett_rogers]

<p>"It's not and I do".<br /><br />I like that, Tony. Felt the same way myself once or twice, although after seeing my Rolleiflex 2.8C at a market Sunday a lovely older lady asked me if she could still use her Brownie. I told her there were one or two places that still sold 620 so she's going to check them out.<br>

A couple of weeks ago a friend who trades some second hand goods gave me a working SRT101b, another with a possibly dead meter, a few lenses, filters, genuine Minolta carry case (brown vinyl, gold coloured Minolta badge on front, gold flick clasp) as well as an Instamatic, some flashes, the original manuals for everything, a couple of flashes, a couple of cable releases and some odds and ends. One of the cables, the SRT with crook meter, a few lenses and cases have just been re-gifted to a 16yo friend who has an interest in photography. He loves the Minolta so if I can't bring the meter back to life I'll find him a good SRT off ebay and he can keep the other as a back up. <br /><br />Best score was a fully working Polaroid SX-70 Sonar in original case for free via a friend at local recycling centre. Someone had dumped it! I don't really do Polaroid so a friend adopted that from me; win/win.</p>

[Andy Collins]

<p>My buddy who works at the camera shop knows how much I love classic cameras, so whenever a 'new' classic comes in, he holds it until I get a chance to look at it first and see if I want it. At present he's holding a very clean F3HP with Nikkor 35-105 and dedicated flash for me to take a look at.</p>

[Argenticien]

<p>Aside from random gifts, another perk of liking classics is that classics don't throw error messages! (Yes, I know modern film cameras can.) Today I was in the local camera store to drop off films for processing, and this made the <em>second</em> consecutive visit where I heard the staff talking about error codes (last time with a customer, this time brainstorming among themselves what could be wrong with a camera recently brought in). "It's an E338 error on the D700, but if it were a D40, it would've been E313..." (I've made up error codes here as I can't remember the numbers they said, but the discussion was something like that.) Hearing that while dropping off transparency film that I'd just shot in 55- to 75-year-old German folders, I just had to have a laugh with the chap behind the counter (who shoots an M6) as it was worlds away from my experience.</p>

[kaliuzhkin]

<p>I was a math major. As I remember from undergraduate days, "Diff. Eq." was pronounced "Diff E Q" = "diffy Q."<br>

Dan</p>

 

[carl_neilson]

<p>My Mamiya TLRs, Hasselblad 500C/M and Stereo Realist classics are regular conversation starters with perfect strangers. I'm always happy to chat about the cameras, especially with others like myself who are into them, and with old-timers telling me about how they had one back in the day.</p>

<p>I have been gifted some great items in the past from friends and aquaintances who know of my love for the old mechanical classics. I've been given a Mamiya C330f kit by the widow of an aquaintance who wanted to see it go to someone who would use it, and a Mamiya C33 kit by a total stranger who took it into my local camera shop to see if they knew of anyone who would appreciate it. Both kits were in great condition with multiple lenses and I am eternally grateful to receive them. I've lived up to my end of the bargain and give them plenty of use.</p>

<p>One of the great things about using old manual classics is that you can pick up top line pro gear from decades past for the cost of an entry level digital SLR. Just because my old cheap Hasselblad is a relic from the 70s it doesn't mean it can't take photos anymore of equal quality to the 70's professional photographers. Now talent behind the lens, that may be another matter...</p>