NickTrop
Veteran
Do you have a "camera timeline" or "eras" in your photographic hobby pursuits?
early-mid 80's Ricoh AF 45
Gift from a girlfriend in college. She knew I wanted a camera, didn't want her to spend the money. She insisted. I requested a used Pentax K1000 but not to get it if it cost too much. She got me this, talked into it by the sales guy at the camera store. Not what I wanted but used it for a few years anyway. Not a bad little 80's AF camera. Sitting next to me right now (believe it or not), now disintegrated. But I really wanted an SLR and it nagged at me, so...
Circa late-80's/1990-2004 Cosina-made Vivitar V3800. All manual Pentax K-mount. Birthday gift from my father, a $100 blue-light special at K-Mart. Came with 50/1.8 Vivitar lens that wasn't terrible. Love this camera, still have it, still use it. It's still available new for around $155, one of the last of the Mohican film cameras still being produced and marketed as a "student camera". My only camera from 1990-ish until 2004 when it jammed. Took tons of pics with it, learned everything about photography from this camera - had to, due to all manual operation. However, it didn't think it was worth fixing and, 'sides, film is "dead" - time to "go digital".
2004-2006 Panasonic Lumix FZ-1v2.
Researched "what camera" obsessively (as always...) Intrigued by the "superzoom with IS" capabilities, I bought the Panny. It was strictly a P&S but there was a hack out on the Net that gave it A-priority and S-priority hence the "v2", which was only available in Japan. Had a ball with this camera, snapping and zooming all over, hand-held. Still gives remarkable results for paultry 2 megapixels imo. Started looking at old albums and realized that my old Vivitar did people shots much better. Missed selective focus, missed film. Wanted to get more "into" photography. Learn to develop my own, use larger formats. Still use this camera, mostly on the beach to get shots of kids in the ocean, etc. or whenever I need a big zoom. Also use it with a deep red filter for ir. Got back into film when I read online that sometimes a jammed camera can be fixed with a good "thwack" on its back with your hand. Worked a charm it did with the Vivitar. Gotta love the Internets.
2005-2009 The "GAS" Era
Started lurking on RFF, got "gas". Bought a bunch of fixed lens RFs along with various MF folders and other cameras. Shot mostly RFs in the pattern of "GAS", purchase, use a while, get "GAS" again, purchase... etc. Started rolling my own 35mm cartridges and developing my own black and white in 35 and 120 and printing in a make shift darkroom... Learned tons, had a blast...
2009-present Return to Digital
Decided "GAS" was silly. Decided that the vices of DSLRS that kept me from purchasing one were largely negated and price drops, size reductions and IQ improvements and battery life improvements over the years had made digital practical. Wanted to shoot more pics of "near-35mm" quality without the constraint imposed by film: the cost contraints of film as a consumable, the backlog of film to develop of have developed, etc. Felt digital had "arrived". Also intreagued by motion capture capabilities. Now I can walk around "wherever" like HCB and snap away at will. Still loyal to film I kept my favorite RF, always loaded, which is a Fujica Compact Deluxe - a gift from a RF member, the Vivitar my dad gave me as a gift (I'll never part with...), the Panny (essentially my digital "beater" and "zoom lens"), and the DSLR kit I recently decided on - the Nikon D5000 with a 35mm/1.8 prime lens that I shoot aperture priority, mostly, like the Yashica Electros I had a fondness for.
early-mid 80's Ricoh AF 45
Gift from a girlfriend in college. She knew I wanted a camera, didn't want her to spend the money. She insisted. I requested a used Pentax K1000 but not to get it if it cost too much. She got me this, talked into it by the sales guy at the camera store. Not what I wanted but used it for a few years anyway. Not a bad little 80's AF camera. Sitting next to me right now (believe it or not), now disintegrated. But I really wanted an SLR and it nagged at me, so...
Circa late-80's/1990-2004 Cosina-made Vivitar V3800. All manual Pentax K-mount. Birthday gift from my father, a $100 blue-light special at K-Mart. Came with 50/1.8 Vivitar lens that wasn't terrible. Love this camera, still have it, still use it. It's still available new for around $155, one of the last of the Mohican film cameras still being produced and marketed as a "student camera". My only camera from 1990-ish until 2004 when it jammed. Took tons of pics with it, learned everything about photography from this camera - had to, due to all manual operation. However, it didn't think it was worth fixing and, 'sides, film is "dead" - time to "go digital".
2004-2006 Panasonic Lumix FZ-1v2.
Researched "what camera" obsessively (as always...) Intrigued by the "superzoom with IS" capabilities, I bought the Panny. It was strictly a P&S but there was a hack out on the Net that gave it A-priority and S-priority hence the "v2", which was only available in Japan. Had a ball with this camera, snapping and zooming all over, hand-held. Still gives remarkable results for paultry 2 megapixels imo. Started looking at old albums and realized that my old Vivitar did people shots much better. Missed selective focus, missed film. Wanted to get more "into" photography. Learn to develop my own, use larger formats. Still use this camera, mostly on the beach to get shots of kids in the ocean, etc. or whenever I need a big zoom. Also use it with a deep red filter for ir. Got back into film when I read online that sometimes a jammed camera can be fixed with a good "thwack" on its back with your hand. Worked a charm it did with the Vivitar. Gotta love the Internets.
2005-2009 The "GAS" Era
Started lurking on RFF, got "gas". Bought a bunch of fixed lens RFs along with various MF folders and other cameras. Shot mostly RFs in the pattern of "GAS", purchase, use a while, get "GAS" again, purchase... etc. Started rolling my own 35mm cartridges and developing my own black and white in 35 and 120 and printing in a make shift darkroom... Learned tons, had a blast...
2009-present Return to Digital
Decided "GAS" was silly. Decided that the vices of DSLRS that kept me from purchasing one were largely negated and price drops, size reductions and IQ improvements and battery life improvements over the years had made digital practical. Wanted to shoot more pics of "near-35mm" quality without the constraint imposed by film: the cost contraints of film as a consumable, the backlog of film to develop of have developed, etc. Felt digital had "arrived". Also intreagued by motion capture capabilities. Now I can walk around "wherever" like HCB and snap away at will. Still loyal to film I kept my favorite RF, always loaded, which is a Fujica Compact Deluxe - a gift from a RF member, the Vivitar my dad gave me as a gift (I'll never part with...), the Panny (essentially my digital "beater" and "zoom lens"), and the DSLR kit I recently decided on - the Nikon D5000 with a 35mm/1.8 prime lens that I shoot aperture priority, mostly, like the Yashica Electros I had a fondness for.
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