Cameras that do not leave the house?

[BradS]

Egad! have I become a sappy, senitmental collector? :confused:


I hate to admit it...I have a few 35mm bodies and lenses that seldom leave the house anymore.

There's a well used Pentax KX that I bought brand new in 1977...and an old spotmatic that I have had for a long time too.

Both get admired more than used. It didn't used to be this way.

 

[frank]

If that bothers you, then change the situation under your control. If it doesn't bother you, then just enjoy it, like I do. Don't worry what others think about your harmless pleasures.

 

[Ap507b]

Am in the same boat with too many bodies & lenses with too little time but they all work & they will all leave the house again at some point. Just having them is pleasure enough.

 

[BradS]

no it doesn't bother me at all. I think it might bother my wife if she knew but....I don't ask her about her shoes/handbags and she doesn't ask about my cameras

 

[frank]

no it doesn't bother me at all. I think it might bother my wife if she knew but....I don't ask her about her shoes/handbags and she doesn't ask about my cameras

No problem then.

 

[removed account4]

my grandparent's 3a ( 122 roll/ postcard ) folder
century 8A ( hard to cart a semi centennial stand around )

 

[frank]

You want camera names and models that don't leave the house? Gosh, I've got too many.

 

[BradS]

Out with it man!

Start with your favorites or something...

 

[benjiboy]

I try to use all my cameras as often as I can, although I admit I use some much more than others. Since I'm retired I get a lot more time to use them than people with a job and get out with them from beneath my wife's feet almost every day. I'm not a collector and in 61 years of my interest in photography I've only owned around 15 cameras in total 8 of which I still have and use, and have only bought 2 in the last 25 years.
At the risk of stating the obvious the secret of not having a house full of cameras that you don't use is don't buy them, and if you have sell them.

 

[frank]

I rescue cameras from thrift shops and garage sales. (Okay, from prudent ebay buying too, in the past.) I get them cheaply, but then unless its a Leica, 35mm film cameras have little monetary value anymore. Not really worth the hassle of selling.

 

[John Bragg]

I like to liberate orphan cameras from thrift stores too. Trouble is that they are getting harder to come by. Had some real bargains on ebay though, especially kit that would have been beyond my means a few years ago ! It all comes out of the house once in a while, but has to take its turn. Last month it was the turn of my Nikon F90X and it was a joy to use ! Matrix metering in a light and durable body ! This month has been a Leica month, with low light hand held stuff.

 

[trythis]

Univex Mercury half frame
Kodak Medalist
Some old kodak's that I was given.
Agfa Isolette 1.
Vintage Diana...not my thing.
All Canon Fd stuff. Its not aging well except my EF body. Lenses are great though but when my dads A1 died it took the steam out on FD.

Just fixed the A1! Dunno of I will take it out again, but I guess I should.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

All of the cameras below are getting used. Maybe some not that often, but they'll all get their day in the sun.

 

[mgb74]

no it doesn't bother me at all. I think it might bother my wife if she knew but....I don't ask her about her shoes/handbags and she doesn't ask about my cameras

Careful with these comparisons. I bet her shoes and handbags do leave the house.

 

[Truzi]

I have a box of cameras that don't leave the box, let alone the house... they are for spare parts if I need them.

Otherwise, if it works and I can get film for it, I will take it out, though a couple get more use.

A few weeks ago I went to a thrift store with my mother and my best friend, and they had some old cameras. There are only a few specific cameras I'd want, and they didn't have them, so I was merely admiring an Autographic that was a bit rough mechanically, but aesthetically nice. The sales woman said it was a nice display piece, and I said I would only buy a camera I intend to use.

 

[BradleyK]

Only two of my cameras have been retired from active duty: A 1979 F2AS/MD2-MB1 (last used to shoot a roll of PKM Christmas Day 2010) and a 1980 F2A/MD2-MB1 (last used to shoot a roll of PKR October 2010). Their 10 remaining F2 brethren see regular usage (three were recently Soverized and are now "doing duty" shooting E100g/VS).

 

[blockend]

A bunch of Nikkormats I like in every way except actually carrying them around. A camera has to be light or have novelty value to be used nowadays. The Nikkormats are well built photographic machines, and that alone does not make up for their gravity attracting traits.

 

[Wade D]

Some of my cameras are retired and don't leave the house. All are displayed in a nice glass cabinet.
Exakta V, shutter locked up.
2 Exakta VX's, scrathes on the film, even an expert repair person could't fix them.
Maxxum 7000, autofocus too slow.
SRT 101, mirror return failure.
2 X-700's, the dreaded capacitor failure, been meaning to fix these myself.
Yachica D, slow shutter, need to send to Mark Hama.
Petri Flex V, not in the house but at the bottom of the Merced river. Does that count?

The ones I use don't get out of the house as often as they should.
SRT 101
XD-11
X-700
Maxxum 8000i
Certo Certix 6x9
Crown Graphic 4x5

 

[Curt]

no it doesn't bother me at all. I think it might bother my wife if she knew but....I don't ask her about her shoes/handbags and she doesn't ask about my cameras

Yea, learned that early, "what you don't know", "out of sight out of mind", a cameras in the hand is worth… what the heck am I talking about????

I'll give you one piece of advice: you better recognize her shoes and compliment her on her great taste! Else you might wonder what the crunching sound is under the tires of your car as you back out of the garage / driveway!

 

[moltogordo]

Like a lot of you, I have a modest collection. I have three cameras that don't leave the house.

A pristine and beautiful Konica Auto-Reflex, the original one with the half-frame switch. Not quite mint but awfully close:

And a beautiful Exakta VXIIa Embossed, again not quite mint but very close:

I have also an original Olympus Pen F, and that, too stays on the shelf. No picture yet.


I have another copy of the Konica that's a bit rough but is a great user, two user Pen FTs, and most of the Exaktas and all of the Exas, so I'm not hurtin' there for users.

 

[Steve Smith]

I have about seventy, half of which I inherited from my father so I will not get rid of them.

Obviously, I can't take them all out all the time but I do try to use most of them occasionally.

I am happy with this situation.

I also tend to attract gift cameras from friends and colleagues but I try to give these away.


Steve.

 

[John_Nikon_F]

Only two of my cameras have been retired from active duty: A 1979 F2AS/MD2-MB1 (last used to shoot a roll of PKM Christmas Day 2010) and a 1980 F2A/MD2-MB1 (last used to shoot a roll of PKR October 2010). Their 10 remaining F2 brethren see regular usage (three were recently Soverized and are now "doing duty" shooting E100g/VS).

Well, actually, the F2A was used recently, right? I seem to remember that you ran a roll of Ektar 100 through it last winter, then sent it to Sover for servicing. Probably time to take the other "shelf-queen" out.

To the OP, might as well throw them into the working arsenal, even if it's to do photography indoors around the house.

 

[zanxion72]

Just a couple of my cameras stay at home. One old fed with inconsistent shutter speeds and the little Oly XA2 because it does not offer me the control I need over exposure.
All others (quite many) go out in a way like what will I be wearing today. And of course there are a few I like a lot more than others.

 

[BradleyK]

Oh, all Right, splitting hairs (lol): the F2A has had one 36 exposure roll of film fed into it its last outing at Cathedral Grove in October 2010 (a roll of Ektar 100 ((at the suggestion of one John L)) which disclosed that the SQ either has a case of shutter bounce or else the attached MD2-MB1 is suffering from a case of the dreaded quacks (i.e. the plastic drive gear is about ready to give up the ghost). Currently, said SQ is packed in a box, along with its MD and a 1977 F2 body...ready to make the trip across the pond to Sover (said box has been ready to go since late June...work has kept me too busy (and too lazy?) to make the trek over to the post office to send the parcel to Saint Sover...

Insofar as my original F2, and first ever Nikon (1979 F2AS black body) goes, I am undecided. Cosmetically, the poor beast looks awful. Yet its shutter and meter were still accurate enough to correctly expose my last roll of PKM almost four years ago. I am sure with Soverization the body could be returned to active duty...but with a host of other Nikons to shoot, I am hesitant...

 

[darinwc]

I have a very nice Zeiss super ikonta iii in like new condition. Is really like to shoot it but it's just too nice. Someday I'd like to pick up a nice user . but as of late, all my Valera's have stayed at home and I haven't done much of any thing. I even have some exposed rolls of fp4 sitting around for months.