What's your "camera roadmap"

[MelanieC]

The first camera I ever used was my father's M3 when I was very small. I also played with, but did not use, his Rolleiflex 2.8F. Mostly I used the viewing screen to navigate, periscope-style, around the house. I did not know these cameras were anything special. When my dad died the cameras went into a drawer and did not get used again for about 20 years.

In the meantime:

(1) 1980-something: Kodak disc camera (piece of crap -- first camera of my own -- broke)
(2) Early 1990s: Some sort of plastic Nikon P&S thing (stolen from hotel room -- beginning of my preference for Nikon over Canon -- took great photos)
(3) 1996 or 1997: Olympus Stylus Epic zoom (bought after long camera-less period because my boyfriend at the time, who used to be into photography, liked to take pictures and I felt left out)
(4) 1999: Nikon Coolpix 950 (2 MP -- whee, digital is fun! -- bought for research photos)
(5) 2005: Nikon D70s dSLR (bought using equipment budget with the intention of finally learning how to take photos)

About a year ago (January 2006) I decided to retrieve my father's cameras and learn to use them.

(6) Leica M3 and Summicron 50/2
(7) Rolleiflex 2.8F

This made me become interested in older rangefinders.

(8) Canonet GIII QL-17
(9) black Olympus 35 SP

My mother moved into a condo and I had to rescue some old cameras that were lying under beds and in closets in our old house so they didn't end up going to Goodwill.

(10) Polaroid Land Camera 230 (was my mom's, have no idea if it works)
(11) Polaroid Sun 600 LMS (instamatic fun!)
(12) Capital MX-II plastic toy camera (molded to look like a tiny SLR; the pictures it takes are too good to be any fun)

This fall I discovered the Olympus OM system.

(13) OM-1 chrome (practically free, shutter stuck)
(14) OM-G (OM-20, practically free, works great)
(15) OM-1n black (gift)

With these I have an assortment of 50mm lenses (silvernose 1.8, multicoated 1.8, multicoated 1.4), a 28/2.8 MC, and a Vivitar 28-200mm zoom.

Finally, I have some sort of huge camera with a Polaroid back and a trigger grip for a shutter release that is intended for taking photos of gels in the lab. I rescued this from a lab at work that was shutting down. I have never tried to use it.

It's been an interesting year!

 

[ERV]

In 1993 my wife gave me a Leica CL for a trip to Prague. (that I eventually sold.)

Fast forward to 1997:
It all began again with a Fed 2 (sold).
which begat a Fed 3a (sold)
Kiev 4am
Contax IIa
another Contax IIa (second chance ebay offer, sold, eventually)
Zeiss Contina

When I discovered that she wasn't using her M6 and 35 and 50 crons and they were languishing in her studio, I liberated the lenses and made a big jump to a-

Leica M6 Wetzler (that I eventually sold, dumb RF move #1)
Leica M6 Classic (the daily standard)
Zeiss Super Ikonta 533/16 (aka the refridgerator, sold)
Leica M5 black (my baby)
Xpan (recently sold)
another Leica CL (recently sold)
Leica M5 chrome (my precious)
Leica M2 (made the year I was born)
and now,
I just bought another M6 Wetzler, to make up for dumb RF move #1.

So, where does that leave me?
Contax IIa
Zeiss Contina
2 M5's
2 M6's
1 M2
Expression on my face as I look at my photo cabinet, Priceless. 🙂

 

[reagan]

In the last couple of years there have been several, uh, se-e-e-veral assorted Minoltas, Kodaks, a Praktica, etc. that I acquired and sold pretty quickly. But below is the path over the last 40+ years that has brought me to my current GASastrophic demise. :angel: Back in the day, a ton of film got crunched through that Yashica and the Canons. Good days.

Argus Argoflex.Seventy-five
Dad's Kodak Retinette.1A
Dad's Anscoset
Yashica.Mat-124
Canon.EX.EE
Canon.EOS
Brother's Canon.AE1
Bessa.L
Zorki.4
Zorki.3M
Zorki.1
Zorki.3
Leica.III (F)

.

 

[BillBingham2]

Cameras Owned by B2

Kodak Pony 135 (long gone)
Konica IIIm (still own)
Nikkormat FTn (still own)
Nikkormat FT2 (sold)
Nikon FTn (sold)
Nikon F (about to sell)
Nikon FM (sold)
Nikon FE (sold)
Leica M4-P (still have)
Leica M6 (still have)
Leica IIIa, Crown Graphic, Speed Graphlex, Kodak 4x5 view (still have)
Ricoh R1 (broken, still have)
Olympus OM-1 (still have)
Bessa T (still have)
Bessa L (still have)
Fed 2 (about to sell)
Another Bessa T and L (about to sell)
Kiev 4A (Traded for Bessa L)
Nikon S2 (still have)
Bessa R (on loan to oldest son)
Nikon F2AS (still have)
Nikon F2A (still have)

I’ve left off about seven or eight different digital cameras. Only one I really like is my old 1mp Olympus D-100, she’s still clicking while others have died. Used lots of other cameras off and on over the years, but they were loaners and rentals.

B2 (;->

 

[amateriat]

Oh, chronology! From the bitter beginning:

Diana, 1967 (still have some snaps from that summer)

Kodak Instamatic 124, 1969-71 (several; I broke them with regularlity)

Polaroid Swinger, 1971

Yashica 5000E Lynx, 1972-73 (it broke...a lot)

Yashica Electro 35 GT, 1973-75 (broke less)

Polaroid Big Swinger, 1974 (just another "instant" phase)

Canon F-1, 1975-81 (had two)

Canon EF, 1975-79

Canon A-1, 1979-80 (I gave up my EF for this?)

Pentax LX, 1981 (had two; major breakdown issues forced me to bail)

Nikon F3, 1982-87 (pair; blissfully uneventful ownership)

Nikon F2 Titan, 1983-86

Minolta 9000AF, 1987 ("Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you really wanted")

Rollei 2000F, June-August 1988 (See: Minolta 9000AF)

Olympus OM-1, 1988-90

Olympus OM-4, 1989-91

Olymous OM-3, 1989-91

Hiatus: 1991-93 (as in: gave up photographing to get my "archive", and head, together)

Minolta 9xi, 1993-2001 (pair; AF that Really Worked this time; best SLR experience to date)

Konica Hexar AF: 1995-2001 (the beginning of my SLR end)

Konica FF-35, spring, 2000 (very brief flirtation with half-frame; traded away for...)

Ricoh GR1: summer, 2000-present (pulling further away from SLRs)

Konica Hexar RF, Feb. 2002-present (pair; and the SLRs are sent packing)

Konica Auto S2, 2003-2005 (interesting, but heavier than my Hexars)

Olympus OM-2n, 2004-present (I help a friend choose Canon Elan 7; she gives me this one)

Konica Auto S3, 2005-present (got lucky on eBay; very happy)

Olympus C8080, 2005 (borrowed; on my tiny digital shortlist)

Konica Lexio 70, 2006 (ditto, but slightly underwhelming)

Olympus D-510Z, 2006 (it's digital...a client gave it to me; comes in handy)


If I can remember this much, even now at 50 (51 in January), there must be something wrong with me.


- Barrett

 

[Jester_rm]

Racking a very bad memory here...

First camera I recall vaguely was some sort of 126...all I remember is that it was boxy, metal and I think took a magicube flash

The first I remember really using was a Vivitar 110 with a built in flash

After that was, if I'm remembering rightly, a Pentax 35mm point and shoot. I don't recall the model number, only that it was a medium blue plastic and had "sport" somewhere on the body in white graphic lettering.

I got rid of that eventually and gave it to my sister (who promptly broke it) in favor of another point and shoot, but I'll be darned if I can remember what it was. I do remember missing the Pentax greatly.

There was quite a gap til my next camera, I was in school and working a great deal and didn't do much in the way of photography at all. I used a couple of company owned cameras from time to time, but that was all.

Ended up buying my first SLR when work finally slowed down a bit...we were using photos much more in our reports and I used that as an excuse to buy a Minolta Vectis S-1 APS SLR. Quite a nifty little camera, very small and light and "splash resistant". Still have that one with the stock lens (not that they made many different lenses), and I still use it occasionally...although it's gotten much harder to find APS film around here. Never was extremely happy with the APS film results...it's extremely easy to use in full auto mode, but the menus are a pain to make manual adjustments...the stock lens doesn't even have a manual focus option.

After that bought my first digital P&S, an Olympus somethingorother 2mp. Still have it, it's fine for quick snapshots and holds something like 130 shots on the card and the battery lasts forever. We use it as a backup on vacations and for quick email photos now.

Received another digital P&S on our wedding, a Sony Cybershot 3.1mp. Much nicer than the Olympus, takes much better snapshots.

Then, when my father passed away a few years ago, I got his Yashica YF, which started me back on the film again, although I'm still using digital for work. It had sat untouched in a closet for...well for a very long time, but works almost perfectly as far as I can tell. Still learning how to use this one since it's really my first manual everything camera (not even a meter on it, no batteries, nothing), which lead me here for info and insight.

In the future is a pro-model digital SLR mainly for the office (hoping to manage a K10D, depends on funds), and I have a TLR in the mail for christmas...although I don't know what it is, it's an old family camera that I haven't glanced at for 10 years or so but apparently still works.

 

[qwes]

Bieretta VSN (still have it from my schooldays)
Zenit (sold it long ago)
Minox 35 GT (lost it)
Canon Rebel X (still have it)
Canon t90 (still have it)
Yashica Mat124G (still have it)
Olympus OM1 (still have it)
Zorki C (still have it)
Canon Demi (still have it)
Welta Weltax (gave it to my father as new year present)
Pentacon Penti (still have it)
Praktica TL2 (my wifes camera)
Lubitel 2 (my wifes camera)
Nikon CoolPix 4300 (still have it)

 

[canonetc]

Leica M6 (w/35 and 90mm lens)
Contax G2 (w/ 28, 40 and 90)
Mamiya 6 (broken, grrrrrr!)
Zeiss Super Ikonta III
Canonet QL1 (own two)
Canon T-90
Canon AE-1 Program
Yashica TLR
Rolleiflex TLR
Mamiya C330 (sold)
Ansco Viking 6x9 (1 works, other ist kaput)
Ansco 6x6 from 1928, model # unknown
Speed Graphic 4x5
Canon 20D

Chris
canonetc

 

[Hexacron]

Savoy 620 in 1958, my first.
Instamatic RF
Agfa Iso Rapid
Kodak 35 RF
Contarex Super B
Polaroid 100
Minox 35
2 or 3 Kodak 110's
Pentax ME F 2 of them
Stereo Realist
Realist 45
Wirgin Edixa stereo
Kodak stereo
Kindar stereo
Graphlex stereo
TDC Colorist II stereo
Revere Stereo
Wollensak Stereo
Rollop TLR
Agfa Ambi Silette
Voightlander 6 x 9
Kodak Retina II
Nikon FM2n 2 of them
Leica M5
Hasselblad 500C/M
Pentax 645
Leica M6 Wetzlar
Konica Hexar RF
After owning these and others that I have forgotton over the years, The cameras that I enjoyed the most were the Wollensak, Pentax 645 and the Hexar RF.
I have had 1 digicam a Canon S10, but will probably not get another digital until
I can't do slides any longer.

 

[Andrew3511]

Someone else started the same way as me!

Diana 1967-1972
Leica II (from my Dad) 1973-1990 (sold when broke)
Canon AE-1P 1982-1992 (lost presumed stolen)
Olympus OM2SP 1992-2005 (traded for Summilux 35mm)
Olympus 35SP 1997-2004 (traded for some Leica stuff or other)
Olympus OM1 2003 on
Olympus OM4Ti 2004 on
Olympus OM2-n 2005 (bought for the 55mm f1.2 lens but not kept long)
Contax II 1994-2005 (traded for Tele-Elmarit 90mm)
Zeiss Nettar 6x9 1981 on (again from my Dad)
Leica M2 2004 on (the rot starts)
Leica M4-P 2005 on (and gets worse)

and don't start me on the lenses, flashguns, tripods, accessories...

Ah well, it's better than watching soap operas on the telly.

 

[ICU]

some Canon P &S
some Minolta P & S
Nikon CoolPix 4300
Olympus Stylus 6
Now my current cameras:
2 Nikon FGs
Canon 20 D
Canon SD450 Elph
Pentax K1000
Minolta Autocord
Kiev 4
FED 2
And of course a few extra "goodies" to go with them.

 

[Robert]

The list of cameras from I started the hobby nearly 40 years ago.

Practica L (sold)
Practica LTL (sold)
Yashica 124G (sold)
Rollei XF35 (still have)
Minox ML35 (still have)
Pentax MX (still have)
Mamiya C330f (still have)
Nikon APS (still Have)
Contax G (use)
Olympus C50 (use)
Leica M6ttl (use)
Olympus E1 (use)

The Minox is a favourite but the shutter has started sticking. The repair the last time this happened was about £80 so I will retire it.

 

[Richard Black]

Kodak Starflash - late 50's
Yashica TL - 1969
Fujica ST 701 - (my favorite) 1971 stolen 1980's
Pentax K1000 - 1988 also stolen
Minolta X370 - 1988 to present
Minolta X700 - 2006 to present
Zorkii 4 - 2004-2005
Mir 2005 to present
Leica IIIc - 2005-2006
Vivitar 35ES - 2006 to present
Bessa R - 2006 to present
Salyut S - 2001-2005
Pentacon Six tl - 2004 to present
Fuji GS 645 - 2006 to present
Moskva 5 - 2006 to present
Agfa Isollette 2002 to present

Can't descide which way to go!

Oops! I forgot the cameras I inherited.
Mamiya Sekor C330f
Canon AE-1
Both of these are nice!

 

[HAnkg]

1970's:
Leica M4 35/50*/90 (sold)
1980's -no camera 🙁
1990-92:
Leica M6 35/50/75/90, Leica R6 60/2.8* Macro (sold)
1992-94 switched to medium format:
Arca F 6x9 Rodenstock 55 - Rodenstock 150/5.6 Sironar-S*, Rollei 3.5 TLR (sold)
1995-2003:
Hasselblad 6x6 60/120 Makro/150 2.8FE*, ALPA 6x9 Rodenstock 55, Plaubel 670 (Nikkor 80/2.8)* 6x7 (sold)
2003 went digital:
Canon 1Ds 35/1.4 - 50/1.4 - 90 TSE - 135/2*

*The lenses that in use I became most attached to because of their unique signature.

I find the look of the lens I gravitate to: Sironar-S, Zeiss150 2.8FE, Plaubel Nikkor 80/2.8, Canon 135/2 are similar. Smooth transition from sharp to soft smooth OOF areas. I think the current Zeiss ZM line comes closest to that look among M lenses.

 

[Xmas]

little dots ... conceal a lot

little dots ... conceal a lot

What happens when one post spills over a 'page'...

Kodak Brownie '57, Mum gave away
Periflex Gold star '60 sold '64
black Nikon F Photom '64 sold '75, big mistake serial number loooow
...
Ru suitcase enlarger '75 still have, (it does have a name)
...
Bessa 6x9 folders, four speed shutter '80 still have
Bessa 6x9 folder, two speed shutter '80 still have
Rolli 35T '80 still have
...
G1 +28mm +16mm '05 still have
8x J12 '05 still have
Kiev IIIIa '05 still have
...
Kneb III '06 still have
Zorki 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 2, 5, '06 still have

I use labels on base plates like Zorkikat

Noel

 

[robert blu]

Ferrania 6 x 6 and Zeiss Ikon 6x6 (I do not know the name), present from my father when I was 8-10.
Rolleiflex (3,5) borrowed from daddy ( 1965-70), still have and using it.
Konica c-35, my own first camera, to take pictures from my first holiday without parents (1972), still have it, still working.
Minolta SRT 101, my first SRL camera, bought with my second salary (paid more or less one month of my salary) because David Hamilton was using it, only I had different models ! Recently checked and still working!
Rollei 35, to take photo during my first (working) visit to USA (still have and working) if I correct remember around 1980.
minolta X-700, beside SRT 101.
Many years later Nikon F-90, bought from a friend to verify autofocus (1995?)
Minolta weathermatic to take pictures when sailing my dinghy (1980 ?)
Nikon F-100 to substitute the F-90 (2000) because I wanted a real MY Nikon (Nikon was the camera I could not afford when I was 20, always in my dreams)
NIKON FM2, beside the F100, just in case batteries do not...
Bessa L with 15 mm lens, later changed with a Bessa R with 12 mm, with subsequent addition of VC35/1,7 and VC 75/2,5
Holga, not very interesting for me after some play, but usefull to teach my wife the basic of photography; my wife got later a Nikon F-65
Meantime Polaroid SX and 340, from a friend the first and heritage from my father the 340. + of course a Polaroid 600 I bought myself, just to play...

Not to forget a Polaroid pinhole camera, just to make something different...

So we arrived at 2007, what next ? Not sure, but Me and My beloved promised myself a ... german one for when I'll retire...

The satisfation is that most of these cameras still work !
ciao, robert

 

[Brian Legge]

I came cross this thread tonight while searching for something entirely unrelated. It seemed like an appropriate place to reflect.

A '*' indicates cameras with which I've parted ways, a '+' for cameras I'm currently selling.

Blue Kodak Fisher-Price 110* <- first photo was of a yak at the zoo
Canon A1* <- parents camera I borrowed for a while
Canon AE1*
Nikon D70s <- return to photography after 7 years away
Nikon F4s <- reentry into film, Dec 24th of last year
Canonet 17 GIII <- discovered rangefinders, got back into film developing, decided to spend the year exploring film cameras I had missed in my previous focus on 35mm SLRs.
Lynx 14
Rolleicord IV* <- Discovered medium format, TLR love, adopted by my wife
Olympus 35DC <- Discovered I enjoyed camera repair
Bronica SQ-A <- Discovered how much I value portability
Wirgin Auta* <- Discovered folders
Olympus XA
Cosina CX-2*
Nikon FG+ <- Realized that I prefer quieter, smaller cameras
Olympus 35RC
Moskva 5
Zenobia <- Got comfortable with scale focus
Leica IIIc <- Realized how well LTM cameras work for me
Autocord
Ricoh 500*
Retina IIIc <- internalized how sharp older cameras can be
XA4 <- realized I prefer wide angles to speed
Canter Beauty+
Minolta 7sII
Olympus 35RD
FED 2+
Kiev 4a
Tachihara 4x5 <- Realized again how lucky I am to have an incredibly supportive wife.

Of the recent purchases - and excluding the F4s, Bronica, Leica IIIc and Tachihara - the rest of the cameras I picked up were mostly inexpensive, opportunistic purchases. i still have 2/3s of these but have been trimming it back steadily.

The Tachihara arrived yesterday. I hadn't planned on trying 4x5 for a while but I found a deal that I couldn't pass up. I'm curious how this will fit me since I've been so focused on rangefinders and street photography this year. Some balance will be good.

I think next year will be about continued filtering down, setting up a darkroom and getting back into making prints.

 

[Steve_F]

What an interesting thread, made me sit down and think also:
Nikon F50
Nikon F90X - wonderful, wish I still had it. Sold to fund F5
Mamiya RZ67 sell to fund :
Nikon F5 (not used enough, sold to fund Leica M6TTL - solid engineering, should have kept to caress 🙂 )
RZ67
Nikon FM3A
Fuji S2 Pro
Nikon D200
Nikon D3
Leica M6TTL

 

[Neare]

This thread was pulled out from the grave for sure, though it is a good one.

Some toy 110 camera (My first camera when I was 7 or so, it was lost some years later. I still have all the prints though)
Olympus E-620 (Sold after realizing I didn't care much for digital)
Fujica Auto-M
Mamiya C3 (Sold beacuse Norita turned out to be my love child)
Zeiss Ikon ZM (Sold beacuse I thought I'd just shoot the Norita forever, though I started to miss 35mm)
Norita 66
Nikkormat - Gift from an Uncle but I don't really use it
Contax RX (Sold. I bought it to see what it was like, great camera. Then I sold it on the local trading site for more $ than what I bought it for 😀 )
Rolleiflex SL66SE (Sent back to the seller after it was found to be severely leaking light, got my money back. Though it was a bloody awesome system)
Coca-Cola P&S
Leica M6 - In titanium purely for Sexy points
Contax T3 - Just got this on RFF, 2 days old and loving it.


Though thankfully my want list is somewhat small now, albeit expensive. One day I will probably sell the M6 for a Nikon SP 2005 if I ever have the chance.
I also want something 6x7, maybe Makina 67 I think. Also kinda craving a Rollei TLR.

 

[Richard G]

Zeiss Ikon Contina II given to my mother 1958, first used by me 1972
Leica M2 and 50 Summilux gift from my father 1977
Leica M4 bought 1985
Stolen 1986, with the Summilux
Leica M4-2 and 50 Summicron bought in Florence 1986
Traded the M4-2 for an M6 classic 1996
Olympus mju bought for my wife 1993
Nikon Coolpix 4500 2004, still in occasional use
Leica C Lux 2 2008
Given my father's OM2n and OM4 and assorted lenses; serviced and used the OM2n
Leica M5 2010
Given a Spotmatic S 2010
Still have
Summicron 50, 35
90 Elmar, Elmarit-M
Tele Elmar 135
ZM 25, 50 C Sonnar
VC 25