Dream camera

I think I was about 15 or 16 and the EOS 5 was my dream camera of the time. Later, the EOS 3 came out and I wanted that as well. Being a high school student with a job mowing lawns on the weekends, these were way out of my reach.
I bought the EOS 5 a few years back for about AUD$50 delivered and then an EOS 3 delivered for about AUD$250 or something. I don't even know if that was a good price, I just wanted it cos I could I also have a 1N now, just cos I thought that would be cool too. I don't use any of them a great deal. I find my 35mm Pentax KM suits me for that format but when I put some Acros 100 in one of the EOS bodies and use a nice lens like the 70-200 2.8 IS II, man, that looks good.

I also dreamed of making HUGE prints with a 645 or something similar. Well, I bought an RZ67 a couple of years ago and sure enough, you can indeed make some nice prints with a 6x7 negative.

So, I have all the cameras I ever dreamed of years ago. I suppose now I have new aspirations and to be honest, I should really focus on mastering (or trying to master) the stuff I have. The weak link is not the gear! haha!

Amen...!!
But just to be clear, I know I will take the same photos with a Canon AT-1 as I would with a Nikon F4. I buy gear because I like it, not because i think it will make me a better player.
I am sure that is the case for most all.....

CMoore said:

Amen...!!
But just to be clear, I know I will take the same photos with a Canon AT-1 as I would with a Nikon F4. I buy gear because I like it, not because i think it will make me a better player.
I am sure that is the case for most all.....

Click to expand...

Yes, now, that is true for me as well. Plus, when you can get a $3500 when new Nikon F5 for $185 in nice condition, it's almost a no-brainer, provided you have the funds for it.

-J

Yes...Good Point.
Another Great Thing about digital photography.!

I would say the Nikon F4 too,great

Cameras like the F5 excel where speed matters and that will aid in getting the shot where others cameras simply don't have the speed to match the situation. I love motorcycle racing and it's helped me a great deal with that. They're still not great however better than I was getting.

When I was gifted my first AE-1 I lusted for the A-1 and the F-1. Whe I got married, the photographer we used shot our wedding on a Hassy.

In the last couple of years, I've bought the A-1, the F-1n, and F-1N. Also bought a RZ67 with the 65mm and 110mm.

Been thinking about a Leica but given that I already have the R3M, I'm thinking its just another GAS attack. Of course good lenses is another story.....

I cut my photographic teeth on Canon FD cameras and, once I began to learn a bit about photography, to me, the ultimate Canon camera was the original F-1. Well, this was back in the early 1980s and the original F-1 had been out of production for a few years by that time, but I perservered and found a really beat up copy for cheap at a camera swap meet and bought it. I proceeded to use that camera for the next several years and it never once ever let me down. Despite looking like it had been used as a hockey puck for a few spirited session out on the ice.

Since those days, I've had the opportunity to own and use many cameras of all formats and makes. Some of them were and are brilliant cameras and I'll admit to having a few favorites that I've acquired as a result of these experiences. But when it comes to my favorite 35mm camera of all time, I keep coming back to the original Canon F-1, well actually the F-1n (second version of the original) to be specific. I now own two close-to-pristine examples that I'm almost afraid to take out of the case because I don't want to put any wear on them.

Some runners up include most all of the F-series Nikons: F2, F3, F4, F5, and probably the F6 too. The Pentax LX. The Minolta XD-11 (XD-7 and XD are the same). Contax RTS III. Leica M6.

Medium Format favorites: Pentax 6x7 (all versions). Zeiss Super Ikonta B (late model with the Synchro Compur shutter and coated lens). Bronica ETRSi. Hassy 501C/M. Rolleiflex SL66.

Large Format: too many to mention. If I had to choose one, it would probably be a Deardorff 5x7 field camera.

Leica M4-P, CLA'd by Canada's best Leica technician, with 21/4 CV Color Skopar, 35/2 Summicron and 90/2.8 Tele-Elmarit.

I already have some of my dream cameras (Fuji GW670, Fuji GA645, Nikon F4, Nikon FM, Konica Hexar AF), but there are still some I'm lusting for :

medium format : - Mamiya 7ii - Rollei SL66 - Rolleiflex 2.8F - Bronica S2a
35mm : - Nikon S3 Y2k - Nikon FA
I'm relatively modest ...

Back in December of 1983 I bought a brand new Contax 139. It was my dream 35mm camera but my real dream camera was a Hasselblad 500 CM. I had to borrow money to get the Contax so the Blad was way out of reach. After digital came out, I was buying and selling film cameras and took a Hasselblad 500 CM with 80mm Planar in on trade. It was a great camera but I sold it after owning it for a little over a year. I wasn't shooting much medium format film since I got into large format and additional lenses were on the expensive side. I did recently buy a Mamiya C220 F but the camera and additional lenses are a whole lot less expensive than the Hasselblad and Zeiss lenses.

I have pretty much all of my dream cameras (thank you digital) but my dreamiest is a Plaubel Makina W67. Bought on APUG.