raydm6
Yay! Cameras! 🙈🙉🙊┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘ [◉"]
I just remembered; my Dad bought me a new Polaroid 420 probably around 1973 or so. It's still at my parents house. I will have to dig it out.
I still have some of the photos I took around the house back in the 70's:
1970’s Polaroids by rdc154, on Flickr
I still have some of the photos I took around the house back in the 70's:
1970’s Polaroids by rdc154, on Flickr
dtcls100
Well-known
An Olympus OM-1md, bought by my dad for me in 1973. I still remember the day. I was in 6th grade and had a science teacher, Mr. Okun, who was a photo buff and who taught a me and a couple of students how to develop film. I was shooting a Kodak 126 Instamatic at the time and told my parents that I wanted a "real camera" just like Mr. Okun's Nikkormat. My parents mentioned this to Mr. Okun during a parent-teacher conference and my parents told me that Mr. Okun said that I was a good kid and student and added "Why don't you get him one?"
My dad (who also liked photography) was receptive to the idea. I had wanted a Minolta SRT (although I dreamed of a Canon F-1 based on the National Geographic ads, but it was really expensive) and my dad took me to Willoughby's in Manhattan to look into getting one. The salesman talked my dad into getting an Olympus OM-1md, which the salesman said was "all the rage" being smaller, lighter and able to use motor drives, etc. Of course the OM-1 was considerably more expensive, being around $300, which was alot of money in those days. I still remember my excitement when my dad bought the OM-1 for me -- I slept with it next to my bed for weeks. That led to a decades long love affair with the OM system through the end of elementary school, junior high school, high school, college, law school and into parenthood. I still have about 12 OM bodies -- all of the single digit series except for the OM-3 and OM-3Ti and about forty Zuiko lenses from 18mm to 300mm, which I still use today. I used them for the high school paper, used them in college and became the editor in chief of my university yearbook, which helped me get into law school. I made a couple of thousand dollars shooting parties, group photos and weddings on the side while in college. Looking back, that first OM-1 camera (which I still have and use today) had a large, positive effect on my life. In the 1990's, my apartment was burgled and most of my OM cameras and lenses were stolen. I was relieved that my first OM-1 was somehow left behind as this has alot of sentimental value to me. I was just shooting it last week and it still works great (with one overhaul by John Hermanson around 2012 to remove deteriorating prism foam).
I was just telling my dad (who is turning 93 next month) how grateful I am for his buying me this camera all those years ago. He smiled and laughed a little and remembered how I used to sleep with the camera next to my bed. It was a great moment.
My dad (who also liked photography) was receptive to the idea. I had wanted a Minolta SRT (although I dreamed of a Canon F-1 based on the National Geographic ads, but it was really expensive) and my dad took me to Willoughby's in Manhattan to look into getting one. The salesman talked my dad into getting an Olympus OM-1md, which the salesman said was "all the rage" being smaller, lighter and able to use motor drives, etc. Of course the OM-1 was considerably more expensive, being around $300, which was alot of money in those days. I still remember my excitement when my dad bought the OM-1 for me -- I slept with it next to my bed for weeks. That led to a decades long love affair with the OM system through the end of elementary school, junior high school, high school, college, law school and into parenthood. I still have about 12 OM bodies -- all of the single digit series except for the OM-3 and OM-3Ti and about forty Zuiko lenses from 18mm to 300mm, which I still use today. I used them for the high school paper, used them in college and became the editor in chief of my university yearbook, which helped me get into law school. I made a couple of thousand dollars shooting parties, group photos and weddings on the side while in college. Looking back, that first OM-1 camera (which I still have and use today) had a large, positive effect on my life. In the 1990's, my apartment was burgled and most of my OM cameras and lenses were stolen. I was relieved that my first OM-1 was somehow left behind as this has alot of sentimental value to me. I was just shooting it last week and it still works great (with one overhaul by John Hermanson around 2012 to remove deteriorating prism foam).
I was just telling my dad (who is turning 93 next month) how grateful I am for his buying me this camera all those years ago. He smiled and laughed a little and remembered how I used to sleep with the camera next to my bed. It was a great moment.
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
Sony A7R Mark IV 60 MP Full-Frame 10 FPS!!!
Naah.
My first 35mm SLR I bought new in November of 1971: a Pentax SP500 with 55mm f/2 Super Takumar. I used this camera and lens exclusively for the next 15 years. I still use this camera and I've made most of my best photos with it.
The 8mm Kodak ciné camera I bought new in 1964 for $19, which took me as a little kid six months to save for. I used it often and still have the Kodachrome II movies in good condition.
Naah.
My first 35mm SLR I bought new in November of 1971: a Pentax SP500 with 55mm f/2 Super Takumar. I used this camera and lens exclusively for the next 15 years. I still use this camera and I've made most of my best photos with it.
The 8mm Kodak ciné camera I bought new in 1964 for $19, which took me as a little kid six months to save for. I used it often and still have the Kodachrome II movies in good condition.
Attachments
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
Good photos. A time capsule. Mad Magazine cover is April 1974. Still have the guitars?
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
Great story.
Huss
Veteran
To be fair, I don't feel a day over 111.
Huss
Veteran
I just remembered; my Dad bought me a new Polaroid 420 probably around 1973 or so. It's still at my parents house. I will have to dig it out.
I still have some of the photos I took around the house back in the 70's:
1970’s Polaroids by rdc154, on Flickr
YEP YEP back in the '70s everyone took pics of their guitars when there were no other subjects.
Today it's cats.
Huss
Veteran
Dang that is a great story! Love it.
Bill Clark
Veteran
Nikkormat
Bought it and a bunch of lenses in 1972 while serving in the Navy.
Still works just fine. Replaced small sponge bumper strip located by the prism for the mirror to soften the stop when firing the shutter.
Bought it and a bunch of lenses in 1972 while serving in the Navy.
Still works just fine. Replaced small sponge bumper strip located by the prism for the mirror to soften the stop when firing the shutter.
Pfreddee
Well-known
Yashica MAT 124G, 1986. Still use it, not as much as I probably should.
With best regards.
Pfreddee(Stephen)
With best regards.
Pfreddee(Stephen)
besk
Well-known
I wanted a 35mm camera. So purchased a Kodak Pony IV in 1959 or 1960 from the local drug store. Still have it but don't use it.
Canyongazer
Canyongazer
C'mon besk...stuff some film in him/her...after so many years, let that Pony run!
DownUnder
Nikon Nomad
Our film cameras have a - what word can I use? - charm (for me) all their own, which digitals seem to lack, excepting the Nikon D700 which nowadays appears to be moving into a cult status-symbol icon.
I no longer have my first camera, a Yashica D TLR I bought new in 1961 from a mail-order house in Montreal. I recall I paid C$39 for it, tax included. I used it off and on until the mid-'90s and then gave it to a friend who says she last used it in 2013 in the Philippines. She still has it, but finds 120 roll film too expensive in Australia. Time passes, things change...
In 1965 I was offered a Rolleiflex 3.5 E2 which the local pharmacy had ordered in 1959 for a customer who paid a $50 deposit but died before paying off the camera. It sad on a back shelf in the shop until I bought it (the widow kindly let me have the $50 deposit which reduced the price an impecunious 18-year old had to pay for it) for, as I recall, C$195 which I paid off in several $15 instalments and my 1967 tax refund. I still have this Rollei and a box of accessories I accumulated over the years. Now and then I put a few rolls through it, mostly for nostalgia. The Planar taking lens has one area of separation but results are still spot-on. Images taken on color neg film with this TLR just sparkle, the lens has a unique look all its own.
As a newspaper feature writer in Sydney, Australia in the '70s I bought two Nikkormat ELs (for A$550 each ouch!) with the now-legendary 50mm f/2HC lenses, and a 35mm f/2 and 135mm f3.5 lenses, a typical 'press kit' at that time. I used them for ten years in my work and still do nowadays, for B&W images of architecture in the field. They both still work as new and the metering is spot-on accurate. As we all do, I've added many other Nikon lenses and filters. I now use a 55mm micro Nikkor for slide copying, so the two cameras continue to be useful in my ongoing project of restoring old architectural images I've taken since the 1970s.
In the '90s I bought a new Contax G1 and three lenses - I had money then and when when the g1 came out I decided yes! I want it, so I got it. More money than sense, after 25 years I now know I've never really bonded with this camera, it gives superb results but now rarely gets used. I should sell it, but I do love the Zeiss 45mm f/2 Planar (a magic word) and I try to take it out in the field at least once a year.
A pair of Nikon F65s added when this camera came out now reside largely in my camera cabinet. Not an exciting camera to use (I got it because the late Galen Rowell used them in his climbing expeditions). My partner uses them now and then with a 28mm D lens, so they are still producing images.
A lifetime is but a small blip in the universe and I'm happy to have kept those beloved cameras I bought new. They have served me well and I want to pass them on to people who will go on using them, tho in this digi-everything age our numbers seem to get fewer as the years pass.
I think many film camera owners/users will relate to this - I am rather relieved that this thread isn't about "how many old cameras do you own and use?" as my post would never end...
I no longer have my first camera, a Yashica D TLR I bought new in 1961 from a mail-order house in Montreal. I recall I paid C$39 for it, tax included. I used it off and on until the mid-'90s and then gave it to a friend who says she last used it in 2013 in the Philippines. She still has it, but finds 120 roll film too expensive in Australia. Time passes, things change...
In 1965 I was offered a Rolleiflex 3.5 E2 which the local pharmacy had ordered in 1959 for a customer who paid a $50 deposit but died before paying off the camera. It sad on a back shelf in the shop until I bought it (the widow kindly let me have the $50 deposit which reduced the price an impecunious 18-year old had to pay for it) for, as I recall, C$195 which I paid off in several $15 instalments and my 1967 tax refund. I still have this Rollei and a box of accessories I accumulated over the years. Now and then I put a few rolls through it, mostly for nostalgia. The Planar taking lens has one area of separation but results are still spot-on. Images taken on color neg film with this TLR just sparkle, the lens has a unique look all its own.
As a newspaper feature writer in Sydney, Australia in the '70s I bought two Nikkormat ELs (for A$550 each ouch!) with the now-legendary 50mm f/2HC lenses, and a 35mm f/2 and 135mm f3.5 lenses, a typical 'press kit' at that time. I used them for ten years in my work and still do nowadays, for B&W images of architecture in the field. They both still work as new and the metering is spot-on accurate. As we all do, I've added many other Nikon lenses and filters. I now use a 55mm micro Nikkor for slide copying, so the two cameras continue to be useful in my ongoing project of restoring old architectural images I've taken since the 1970s.
In the '90s I bought a new Contax G1 and three lenses - I had money then and when when the g1 came out I decided yes! I want it, so I got it. More money than sense, after 25 years I now know I've never really bonded with this camera, it gives superb results but now rarely gets used. I should sell it, but I do love the Zeiss 45mm f/2 Planar (a magic word) and I try to take it out in the field at least once a year.
A pair of Nikon F65s added when this camera came out now reside largely in my camera cabinet. Not an exciting camera to use (I got it because the late Galen Rowell used them in his climbing expeditions). My partner uses them now and then with a 28mm D lens, so they are still producing images.
A lifetime is but a small blip in the universe and I'm happy to have kept those beloved cameras I bought new. They have served me well and I want to pass them on to people who will go on using them, tho in this digi-everything age our numbers seem to get fewer as the years pass.
I think many film camera owners/users will relate to this - I am rather relieved that this thread isn't about "how many old cameras do you own and use?" as my post would never end...
ChrisPlatt
Thread Killer
New, what's that?
Seriously though, I no longer own any camera I bought brand new.
The last camera I purchased new was a Nikon FM2n when they first came out.
I sold that one years ago.
Sometime later I bought a shiny black Nikkormat FT3. It was used, but absolutely pristine.
I almost never used it; it was just too perfect. I was always afraid I'd mar it, so I sold it.
Chris
Seriously though, I no longer own any camera I bought brand new.
The last camera I purchased new was a Nikon FM2n when they first came out.
I sold that one years ago.
Sometime later I bought a shiny black Nikkormat FT3. It was used, but absolutely pristine.
I almost never used it; it was just too perfect. I was always afraid I'd mar it, so I sold it.
Chris
maigo
Well-known
Sony NEX-7, Sept 2012.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Archiver
Veteran
Oldest camera that was bought for me: it's either the Kodak Brownie 110 with yellow shutter button here:
https://www.brownie-camera.com/blog/the-anniversary-brownie-camera/
or the Keystone XR33 110 camera as seen here (image found on ebay):
Interesting note: about 2011 or so, I was going through some old boxes and came across the Keystone buried at the bottom. Amazingly, it still had a roll of 110 cassette film still inside it. This camera had not been used since 1984 or 1986, making the film at least 26 years old. I took it to my usual dev lab, who were able to pull a few images from the negatives. I was floored by what I found. Even though they were so blurry, grainy and faded, the images were of my best friend at the time, at his house and mine, and our back yard from when I was a kid. I couldn't believe it, but I did vaguely remember taking those pictures.
I have definitely told this story before, but not in this thread, I don't think, hahaha.
https://www.brownie-camera.com/blog/the-anniversary-brownie-camera/
or the Keystone XR33 110 camera as seen here (image found on ebay):
Interesting note: about 2011 or so, I was going through some old boxes and came across the Keystone buried at the bottom. Amazingly, it still had a roll of 110 cassette film still inside it. This camera had not been used since 1984 or 1986, making the film at least 26 years old. I took it to my usual dev lab, who were able to pull a few images from the negatives. I was floored by what I found. Even though they were so blurry, grainy and faded, the images were of my best friend at the time, at his house and mine, and our back yard from when I was a kid. I couldn't believe it, but I did vaguely remember taking those pictures.
I have definitely told this story before, but not in this thread, I don't think, hahaha.
Attachments
dourbalistar
Buy more film
Compared to my fellow forum denizens, I'm a relative newcomer to photography. My first serious camera that I still own is a Sony NEX-5T, purchased in December 2013. Shortly after, I fell into the deep, dark money pit known vintage analog cameras, starting with a Leica M5.
The Sony NEX-5T is now relegated to film digitizing duties.
nickthetasmaniac
Veteran
I'm probably far too young to play this game (all these are a decade older than me...), but I'm lucky enough to have been gifted a few bodies that were bought new by family members.
1976 Pentax Spotmatic F and SMC Takumar 50/f1.4 - this is an odd example with a split-prism focussing screen (never officially a Spotmatic option). Purchased new by my parents in Panama. At the time they were sailing from Melbourne to Southhampton on the S.S. Australis. This is the camera that shot most of my childhood, and Mum continued using it until switching to digital in the early-Naughties.
1977 Minolta SRT-101b and Rokkor PF 50/f1.7 - I don't have a lot of info on this body. Purchased new by my Pop and used enthusiastically until his death in the mid-80's, at which point it went into storage until being passed to me.
1975 Nikonos III and UW.Nikkor 28/f3.5 - this one has some stories to tell... Purchased new by my dad during his first job as a clearance and construction diver on the wreckage of the Tasman Bridge (which partially collapsed in early '76 after the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra collided with a pylon). He was a working class 19 year old at the time so I have no idea how he could afford it... He then took it with him to diver training school at Fort Bovisand in the UK, before using it to document a commercial diving career that went to the North Sea, Libya, India, Australia, China and others...
1976 Pentax Spotmatic F and SMC Takumar 50/f1.4 - this is an odd example with a split-prism focussing screen (never officially a Spotmatic option). Purchased new by my parents in Panama. At the time they were sailing from Melbourne to Southhampton on the S.S. Australis. This is the camera that shot most of my childhood, and Mum continued using it until switching to digital in the early-Naughties.
1977 Minolta SRT-101b and Rokkor PF 50/f1.7 - I don't have a lot of info on this body. Purchased new by my Pop and used enthusiastically until his death in the mid-80's, at which point it went into storage until being passed to me.
1975 Nikonos III and UW.Nikkor 28/f3.5 - this one has some stories to tell... Purchased new by my dad during his first job as a clearance and construction diver on the wreckage of the Tasman Bridge (which partially collapsed in early '76 after the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra collided with a pylon). He was a working class 19 year old at the time so I have no idea how he could afford it... He then took it with him to diver training school at Fort Bovisand in the UK, before using it to document a commercial diving career that went to the North Sea, Libya, India, Australia, China and others...
farlymac
PF McFarland
I've only bought five cameras brand new. The first was a Polaroid Swinger, which I eventually gave to one of my younger sisters. Then I got a Sears version of the Ricoh Singlex, which I traded for my first Nikkormat (used).
The next new camera is the Nikon N90s, so it's the oldest one which I still have. Got it about a year after they came out, and put it through its paces over the years. (The other two cameras are more recent vintage digital compacts, Panasonic TZ-3 and Nikon P7700).
PF
The next new camera is the Nikon N90s, so it's the oldest one which I still have. Got it about a year after they came out, and put it through its paces over the years. (The other two cameras are more recent vintage digital compacts, Panasonic TZ-3 and Nikon P7700).
PF
Dogman
Veteran
I still have the black plain prism Nikon F2 I bought new in 1974. I plan on keeping it forever.