Hi all
I'm a camera enthusiast who has been fascinated by cameras since an early age. I bought my first Lubitel 2 when I was 16 and bought my first 35mm SLR, a Fujica ST801 when I has 20.
I studied an American Consumers Guide from 1976, looking at their rated best buys and what they thought was good and not so. Over the intervening years I have owned practically every camera in that magazine and still own most of the major systems from Nikon, Olympus, Canon, Fujica, Leica and Minolta. I tried digital with the first Sony Mavica, but really only switched over with The Nikon D1, which I still own. It was revelation compared to using film and allowed me a great deal more freedom. Since then, having always been keen on Nikon, I've owned the D300, D600, D3200, D3300 and a P610 superzoom.
I also have some regrets. I remember trading a Leica M3 with Summicron and a Leica IIc with a Summitar as part payment on a new Nikon F90x. Certainly one of the dumbest decisions I've made, though the Nikon was an excellent camera it now has almost no value.
I've also dallied with Hasselbad but since sold off the two bodies and lenses I owned. I've also gone down the TLR route and only a few years ago, realized just how advanced the Rolleiflex Automat K4 of 1951 was. On the way to that I used various TLR's from Minolta, Ricoh, Walzflex, Mamiya and Yashica, with few oddballs thrown in.
I still use film and have a Leica M4-2 that I love, plus a Canon F1 and Nikon F and F2, all of which have films loaded, though my enthusiasm for home processing has dimmed with the soaring costs of film and chemicals. I confess that I just love the mechanisms of mechanical cameras, which still hold a great attraction for me. I've only recently added a number of Canon rangefinders, plus a few other Leica copies like the Leotax and Minolta 35 Model II.
They say its a fine line between hobby and mental illness, and I fear I may be on the point of crossing it. I probably own at least 60 film cameras of all types, but using them is my happy place.
Cheers
Graeme
I'm a camera enthusiast who has been fascinated by cameras since an early age. I bought my first Lubitel 2 when I was 16 and bought my first 35mm SLR, a Fujica ST801 when I has 20.
I studied an American Consumers Guide from 1976, looking at their rated best buys and what they thought was good and not so. Over the intervening years I have owned practically every camera in that magazine and still own most of the major systems from Nikon, Olympus, Canon, Fujica, Leica and Minolta. I tried digital with the first Sony Mavica, but really only switched over with The Nikon D1, which I still own. It was revelation compared to using film and allowed me a great deal more freedom. Since then, having always been keen on Nikon, I've owned the D300, D600, D3200, D3300 and a P610 superzoom.
I also have some regrets. I remember trading a Leica M3 with Summicron and a Leica IIc with a Summitar as part payment on a new Nikon F90x. Certainly one of the dumbest decisions I've made, though the Nikon was an excellent camera it now has almost no value.
I've also dallied with Hasselbad but since sold off the two bodies and lenses I owned. I've also gone down the TLR route and only a few years ago, realized just how advanced the Rolleiflex Automat K4 of 1951 was. On the way to that I used various TLR's from Minolta, Ricoh, Walzflex, Mamiya and Yashica, with few oddballs thrown in.
I still use film and have a Leica M4-2 that I love, plus a Canon F1 and Nikon F and F2, all of which have films loaded, though my enthusiasm for home processing has dimmed with the soaring costs of film and chemicals. I confess that I just love the mechanisms of mechanical cameras, which still hold a great attraction for me. I've only recently added a number of Canon rangefinders, plus a few other Leica copies like the Leotax and Minolta 35 Model II.
They say its a fine line between hobby and mental illness, and I fear I may be on the point of crossing it. I probably own at least 60 film cameras of all types, but using them is my happy place.
Cheers
Graeme
