Toys

[Bill Pierce]

I suspect most of us have more than one camera body - perhaps back up bodies, perhaps special purpose bodies, perhaps just lots of toys. I also suspect most of us just love our toys. I certainly do.

Before news photography became digital I traveled with small cameras, mostly Leica’s - usually 3 with different focal length lenses hanging around my neck and shoulders. If I was out of the country or on the road for a long period of time there were back up bodies in the hotel safe, and, of course, there were a few bodies with Norm Goldberg getting cleaned, lubricated and adjusted. That’s a lot of toys. But it didn’t stop there.

I found an ancient 8x10 Deardorf with a Wollensak lens in a shop that sold used everything. It was $40. Over the years it got upgraded with Sinar and Toyo view cameras, even a Speed Graphic fitted with lenses that were never intended for use on a “news camera.” That’s it. There were the little cameras that were often on the road and the big cameras that rarely left home, actually rarely left the room in my home that had become my studio.

When news switched to digital, the same pattern evolved. Small cameras doing most of the work. And most of those small cameras are Fujis with the option of a bright line finder. (I confess, the real reason I had liked rangefinders in the film world wasn’t the rangefinder; it was bright frame finder that let me see what was outside the frame.)

And as it was in the film days, there are the big cameras that are for fun. It’s just that they are big in megapixels rather than physical size. A sixty megapixel camera that’s small enough that I can now carry it out of the studio and prove to the world that i am an absolute incompetent when it comes to landscape photography.

Those are my digital toys. Just as they were in the film days they fall into two categories, little and big. Maybe the real difference is the little cameras are used to work quickly, capture a lot of images easily in situations I can not control and hope that at least one frame captures both the right moment and the right composition. The big cameras, like their film counterparts, are used in situations where more control of the image is possible and the right moment may be nothing more than a smile in a studio portrait.

Looking at the gear of friends, most of whom are working stiffs or retired working stiffs that can’t stop taking pictures, the big vs. little, the slow vs. the fast is a pretty common description of their equipment selection. I know one photographer who uses only high end “big” cameras and uses them well in relatively fast breaking situations. I have a friend who uses several very different cameras on the same subject to get variety into those shots of a single subject. At the opposite end, we all have friends who Cartier-Bresson their way using single camera and a single focal length lens whenever possible. I have one friend who does that and his work is brilliant.

We all love our toy collections. I like my toys even when I’m not playing with them. But, have you ever thought about the why, why you collect the specific toys that you do? That fascinates me. I would like to hear your thoughts.

 

[jsrockit]

Ergonomics, small bodies and small lenses. I like cameras shaped like bricks, vf on the side, with small lenses. So, Fuji, Ricoh, and even my gfx is the 50r with 50mm pancake. Small for medium format. Next is a digital M to complete my toy collection.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

HCB had three cameras. And 35, 50, 90 lenses. Two with BW and third one with color if it was in assignment terms.

To be honest I never collected, but accumulated. Some things are easier to sell, give away than others.
But normally people collect something they are into.

We have seven or more bicycles and I forgot how many disappeared, sold and given away. Today one of the daughters went with dog trailer she has purchased...

I still have dozen of cameras. Some are emotional connection. Some are tools, some are Leica and Ricoh, which is toys on one side, but giving nice results from my eyes perspective.

And in the garage, basement I still have all kinds of fishing gear... Including my winter gear from Russia/Finland. But here is no real winter in South Ontario anymore. I gave spinning rod I brought to Moscow from Helsinki and spinning reel to our first daughter this summer.

I only started longboarding for first time this summer and already have three longboards and three boxes of components. 😀 Way cheaper than up to date digital photography even with premium brands and might be healthier, but wheel bites keeps on sending me on the ground. Need to find right complete. 🙂

 

[Out to Lunch]

Small, box-like, full-frame, L-mount, and contrarian and so it doesn't sell well: the Sigma fp. I'm waiting for the price to come down even further. Cheers, OtL

 

[zuiko85]

Film cameras can be toys. Digital cameras are appliances. I might be satisfied with my blender, but it stirs no feelings within me at all. On the other hand it is a joy just to hold a jewel like MMM (Metal-Mechanical-Manual) camera.

 

[JeffS7444]

Aside from some time spent shooting with film, 2022 has been mostly about shooting with the same overkill camera body and lens, and I've been okay with that. Give me a Nikon Zfc + kit zoom and I'll bet I'd find a bunch of things to like about it, but aside from providing me with a bit of novelty, I dunno what void it would fill in my life, especially when I don't already have an investment in Z-mount. I think no matter what I buy or how much money I spend, there's always going to those restless feelings that something is lacking; feelings which the author Douglas Adams referred to as "The Long, Dark, Tea-Time of the Soul". The closest thing that I've discovered to an antidote is awareness that I've tried to spend my way out of these funks many times before!

Nevertheless I got a lot of cameras. But most of mine are film cameras which were once someone else's junk and priced accordingly. Why not? Film cameras represent long-ago carbon, they can't be composted, and they're tough to recycle. But they can make swell collectables. For something like my $40 Ricoh Auto Half-E, it may be enough that it looks neat, and can be used as a camera once in awhile if the urge strikes.

 

[Yokosuka Mike]

... Digital cameras are appliances...

I love my appliances! My digital photography appliances brings me infinite joy. I have several appliances. They all provide me with images that I enjoy and share with other appliance owners. Life is good!

I like film cameras too! I like classic cars as well. It's all good, I see no negatives.

All the best,
Mike

Edit: adding some smile face things so that nobody gets hostile or weird or misunderstands. 🙂😱😉😛😎

 

[raydm6]

I get enjoyment from usage but also from admiring the industrial design and construction of vintage cameras and lenses.

There's an ASMR vibe going on from holding the camera (perhaps evoking ASMR Triggers): playing with the dials, buttons, levers, advancing the film; hearing the clicks, snarks, clacks, or whatever other sounds emanate from the device - everything working mechanically in-concert.

And, also knowing that the skills, talents, tools and people who worked on these older cameras are mostly long gone evokes a sense of nostalgia and gratitude for the work they did from a time long gone by. These cameras put food on the table for many families.

 

[Exploring RF]

I get enjoyment from usage but also from admiring the industrial design and construction of vintage cameras and lenses.

There's an ASMR vibe going on from holding the camera (perhaps evoking ASMR Triggers): playing with the dials, buttons, levers, advancing the film; hearing the clicks, snarks, clacks, or whatever other sounds emanate from the device - everything working mechanically in-concert.

And, also knowing that the skills, talents, tools and people who worked on these older cameras are mostly long gone evokes a sense of nostalgia and gratitude for the work they did from a time long gone by. These cameras put food on the table for many families.

OK, that was a trip. Here I thought I was enjoying old manual film cameras because of all the reasons everyone else has mentioned. Never heard of ASMR. Thanks for the new rabbit hole!!

 

[raydm6]

OK, that was a trip. Here I thought I was enjoying old manual film cameras because of all the reasons everyone else has mentioned. Never heard of ASMR. Thanks for the new rabbit hole!!

Lol... ...I guess the RFF forums is an ASMR trigger of sorts: anticipating/waiting for the latest camera/lens/accessories porn goodie pic to get posted; or, admiring other people's images; or thoughts/ideas in various threads, or anticipating a new thread - although it can get bit contentious at times - but, it's all good.

I find coming here to the forums relaxing primarily.

 

[raydm6]

.... I might be satisfied with my blender, but it stirs no feelings within me at all. ...

This gave me a chuckle 😛

Maybe a good lyric for an'old country song...

 

[Dogman]

I'm obviously obsessive/compulsive. When I really get into something, I really get into it and overdo it. So I have a lot of stuff...toys. A lot of cameras. Lots of film cameras I no longer use and an awful lot of digital cameras I've bought second-hand just because they were available so cheap. Some of them don't work, some of them work with some problems but most of them are fine shooters and I try to put them to use at various times. Just because they're old by digital terms doesn't mean they're not useful. I especially love the old pro Nikon bodies--solid, heavy, great ergonomics. I also have a ton of lenses of various focal lengths, brands and formats. Yet I mostly use a normal and a wide angle for everyday shooting purposes.

When I was working as a newspaper shooter, unless I was doing the dreaded "soc-shot" (ask an old news guy if you don't know what that is), I usually carried two or three Nikon SLRs, at least one motorized. Heavy stuff. Today we have highly capable toys/tools that aren't near as heavy--a Good Thing. A motorized F2 was the ultimate in those times but today you get tiny cameras with a higher frame rate that focus for you and produces images you don't have to soup and print in chemicals. Another Good Thing. But, of course, we want more, more, more.

Yeah, I walked 10 miles to school uphill both directions when I was a kid. Now I'm all grown up and still playing with my toys.

...about that "all grown up" part....

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I like my toys, both digital and film. I like mechanical film because I'm a gearhead who likes mechanical stuff be it cameras or cars or model trains. I am amazed at some of the pictures I'm able to capture with my digital cameras, all done on AUTO as I freely admit I could never out think the design engineers. I've adapted a lot of my mechanical lenses to my digital cameras just to see how good they really are, from a picture taking standpoint. Yes it takes me longer to get the shot when I'm involved with the process but, I can get it, when I set my feeble mind to it. Half the fun for me has been figuring out how to get that 1935 lens to work on my 2020 camera. The part I'm really trying hard to figure out is how to get the shot I want straight out of the camera without the need to post process. That has taken more time and effort than I thought it would, but I'm still trying.

 

[Bill Pierce]

Ergonomics, small bodies and small lenses. I like cameras shaped like bricks, vf on the side, with small lenses. So, Fuji, Ricoh, and even my gfx is the 50r with 50mm pancake. Small for medium format. Next is a digital M to complete my toy collection.

I’m in absolute agreement with your choice most of the time - but not all of the time. Here’s one example - if you look at the portrait work from photographers as different as Karsh, Halsman and Avedon, their common denominator was a large camera on a tripod. The larger camera has some obvious advantages. Probably the most obvious one was to have both sharpness (look at those eyes) and shallow depth of field. To an extent the larger digital formats help to provide that when combined with a high speed lens. But, there is another common denominator to their work. The cameras were tripod mounted and when the sheet film holder was in the camera, there was no viewfinder. The photographer stood by the camera and looked directly at the subject. I don’t know how Karsh and Halsman worked, but Richard Avedon didn’t even change the film holders. He had an assistant do that. With his eyes close to the lens, he looked directly at the subjects and engaged him in conversation. This is one area of photography where that direct relation is pay dirt.

I know you can do that with your Ricoh. But somehow it makes more sense to me with the GFX and maybe a longer lens. I know with today’s digitals everybody looks through the viewfinder. But for me one of the things that has carried over from the film only days was using a camera on a tripod and looking directly at the subject, be it a group of people or a single person. And since the camera is on a tripod, why not take advantage of a bigger camera that can sometimes be a bit of a pain when it’s used hand held.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I'll probably write a couple of semi-technical articles on Sonnar evolution when I retire "for real", in a couple of years. Just too busy with work to sit down and write an article that could do it justice.

SO- I'm collecting data. From a 5cm F1.5 Sonnar from the First batch made, the 68th in the batch, through to a pre-production Bertele Sonnar. With about Sixty 50mm Sonnar formula lenses in between.

 

[JeffS7444]

Bill, I'm a little bit confused by the use of the words Big and Small, because in the context of this thread, they seem to have more to do with seriousness of intent, rather than physical size of the cameras. Because even the largest of today's commonly used image sensors are "only" around 6x4.5 cm in size.

Off and on, I've followed the postings of a photographer named Kishimoto whose passion for vintage optics has led him to photograph strangers with a 19th century camera and exposure times as long as 16-1/2 seconds:

http://www.ksmt.com/

 

[Bill Pierce]

Bill, I'm a little bit confused by the use of the words Big and Small, because in the context of this thread, they seem to have more to do with seriousness of intent, rather than physical size of the cameras. Because even the largest of today's commonly used image sensors are "only" around 6x4.5 cm in size.

Off and on, I've followed the postings of a photographer named Kishimoto whose passion for vintage optics has led him to photograph strangers with a 19th century camera and exposure times as long as 16-1/2 seconds:

http://www.ksmt.com/

My apologies for casing confusion. For me, big and small have different meanings in the film world and the digital world. In the film world, it was physical size. My Leica was small and my 8x10 was large. With digital, it gets a little confusing. As you say, the difference in physical size over the broad range of cameras is much less. The difference between the physical size of a fixed lens APS-c Ricoh and Fuji medium format isn’t that much compared to the difference between a Leica M3 and a Toyo 8x10. The significant digital difference is number of pixels and the size of the pixels, not so much the size of the camera. Maybe the important difference is that Kishimoto probably works a lot more carefully than than those of us even with “big” digitals.

 

[sjones]

My Leica M2-R and 50mm DR Summicron is the only ‘toy’ I need and want, as it possesses all of the alluring requirements from the utilitarian to the cosmetic to the ergonomic. My backup Leica iiif and 50mm Summar comes in a strong second. But my collecting days ended decades ago; leaving me with six variants of Never Mind the Bollocks, which I’ve since learned is a paltry number in contrast to some of the more hardcore accumulators on social media. To be sure, some older Leicas would be interesting to have, but they are often far too expensive. If anything, though, I would just like to get some a few more M2s and DR Summicrons for backup purposes.

 

[Archiver]

I like gadgets. Pens, watches, flashlights, and cameras. High quality, well made objects thrill me, especially if they can be used for practical purposes, and feel good in the hand. Like a few others here, I have a tendency for obsessive interest, so when I'm into something, I'll spend hours/days/months reading and researching and thinking about my objects of desire. Knowing this pattern helps me get past any extra obsessive desires because I know they will pass at some stage. But one interest that has lasted has been photography and cameras.

For the first half or so of my photographic life, I collected compact cameras as they were less expensive than a DSLR, and much easier to carry around. If a new compact was announced from about 2004 to 2012, I gave it serious thought, and probably bought it. My dealer at the time, the now retired Steve Mills of Teds Cameras, once asked me what I did with all these 'exotic compacts', as he called them. It never occurred to me that I was doing anything unusual, I was just buying one or two compacts every year or so. And their prices made that fairly easy. I ended up with a Fuji F30 because of its widely touted high ISO performance, a Sigma DP1 and DP2 because of the unique and wonderful colours in a tiny body, a Ricoh GRD III for everyday carry, and more.

For a few years, I carried Canon DSLR's and took some very nice images, then went to the Leica M9 and carted around a few lenses. I also moved to large sensor specialty cameras like the Ricoh GXR and Fuji X100, which I much preferred to the chunky and heavy Canon bodies for everyday carry.

Over time, I've moved back to smaller and smaller cameras again, with the Panasonic GM1, LX10 compact, and Sony RX0. At the moment, I'm likely to carry a small cameras like the LX10 and a larger one like the M9 or Panasonic S5. I'm very fortunate in that I've been able to accumulate a reasonable number of cameras that allows me to match the camera to a shooting situation or mood. This weekend, I'll be out for a friend's birthday, so the S5 with a couple of Minolta primes will come with me.

 

[leicapixie]

I wonder if a photographer mentioned using basic SLR cameras such a Pentax Spotmatic would carry weight in pro equipment toys! Mine worked without fancy expensive repairs, services, adjustments! I knew a PJ who once used Canon A1e and such.. Ah! Leica the badge of the true beliver! Yes I have those but truly love my Phone!