How Many Cameras do you Own?

John_Nikon_F · Apr 9, 2017

Six film Nikon bodies. A Pentax Spotmatic II, and the Argus C3.

Nikon:

F Photomic FTn
F2AS
F3P
FM2n
Nikkormat/Nikomat FT2 (two, one chrome, one black).

-J

Thorsten · Jul 20, 2017

1. Canon AE1 from 1977 (my Dad's camera. Don't like shooting it, terrible shutter priority only, but it was used to shoot my and my brother's entire childhood so it has sentimental value.)
2. Nikon F with plain prism from 1961
3. Nikon F2SB chrome from 1976
3. Nikon F2AS black (my most important one, looked for this camera for months, had to have the right serial number, because this one camera was build in October or November 1977. As I was born at the beginning of November 77 it means it is +-30 days as old as I am, making it my special camera).
4. Nikon F3HP, bought it before the F2s, never touched it after. Keep it to keep the collection of the first three pro SLRs.
5. Nikon FM2n black - soon to be sold because I do not use it and have no relation to it.
6. Nikon FM3a black - soon to be sold because I do not use it and have no relation to it.
7. Olympus OM-1 MD black My favorite 35mm next to the F2AS. Sometimes I like shooting it more for it is so much smaller and lighter
8. Olympus OM-2n chrome - also great little thing.
9. Hasselblad 501CM. My favorite camera if I find the time to grab a tripod and start to walk or cycle to promising areas.
10. Rolleiflex 3.5E TLR. My favorite MF camera if the Hasselblad is too heavy but the demand for image quality higher than what F2 or OM-1 cab deliver
11. Shen Hao PTB45 - 4x5 inch large format. Bought it because I thought it was a great idea. It was not. I just do not use it often enough. I print in the dark room but usually not larger than 12x16, so the Hasselblad offers enough quality.
12. Shen Hao PTB617 panoramic camera. Most recent purchase, have not used it much so far, will take it with me on my next job.

And as it is the smallest I should have put it at the beginning but I am too lazy to change the numbers now so:
13. Rollei 35 TE. Nice little thing.

And maybe - just for completeness - I should mention:
14. Sony A7II - my only digital camera next to my mobile phone, bought it, because I can use my MF Nikon and Olympus lenses on it in the same way I would use them on a film body and the camera also has the size of a film body. It probably is the one camera that offers the ridiculously small size of a Olympus OM combined with the style of shooting but offers a high quality modern digital sensor.

Cheers, Thorsten

sportster44 · Jul 20, 2017

sportster44 said:
10 film cameras, 3 digital.....
Canon AE-1 x 2, F1n, F1N, Elan 7e, Rollei35se, Leica M4-P, Bessa R3M, RZ67, and Fuji GW680 III.

Digital: Sony A7rii, Sony a7, Canon 1D Mkiii

The only camera that isnt getting used is the 1D. Everything else gets regular use.

Well, in the last month....l more like last few weeks, I sold the R3M and im regretting it...... bought another F-1N, a A-1, and a EF. Also picked up the Fd 15mm fisheye. Bad week for the cash reserves.

benjiboy · Jul 21, 2017

After more than fifty years of photography, I have a total of six cameras, I have no desire for any more.
2 Canon F1N-AE
2 Canon F1n's
1 Canon EF
1 Canon T90
.

Ces1um · Jul 21, 2017

I'm actively cutting back my collection to get to the point where I use every camera that I own. Currently I still have:

1) Pentax k1000
2) Voigtlander Bessa R3M
3) Lomo lca-120
4) Lomo lc-a+
5) Lubitel 166u
6) Pentax auto 110
7) Fuji instax neo 90

The instax is going next. Probably gift it to my niece. Thought I'd like the allure of instant film but the image is just far too small. I'm going to replace it with a second k1000 body though so I can have a black and white and a colour SLR camera ready to go at any point. After that though I think I'll keep the rest. The k1000 is by far my favorite of the bunch followed closely by the bessa. The Lomo cameras have proven invaluable when travelling and taking quick shots of my very fast moving children. The lubitel is mostly decoration due to a focusing issue but I have taken a few very nice photos with it. The auto 110 I have a love/hate relationship with. It's fantastic to take when hiking and I love that it's a manual focus camera but the film for it these days always has pinhole light leaks through the backing paper, it suffers from a lot of lens flare and I can't get 80 or 400 iso 110 film new so the exposure is always off by some amount. I can't bring myself to sell it though.

Kawaiithulhu · Jul 21, 2017

M3 inherited, big sentimental value
F3P my dream camera when the F3 came out
F2 meter doesn't work, but it makes fun noise
Hassy 500-something it gets people talking and the negatives are great
Century Graphic because everyone needs at least one red bellows setup
Crown Graphic Pacemaker mid 1950's
Graphic 45 because everyone needs at least one lost cause
Montgomery Ward 4x5 dry plate which is a very compact little box when closed up
Agfa-Ansco 5x7 with 4x5 reducing back, my first restoration to functional
Conley BW 8x10 my current restoration in progress
And a motley crew of sad and lonely lenses ranging from an older RR, to velostigmat series ii convertible, to a modern-ish tele-optar

I stopped buying after that, having a user's spread of historical times and most film formats was my goal and this covers from late 1890s to 1980s.
Now working on the darkroom side.

macfred · Jul 21, 2017

Not as much as most others here ... currently I got :

35mm
- Nikon FM (my first SLR - bought it new in 1981 for a 3 months trip to Norway - still in use)
- Nikon F2 (I have two - one with DP-1, another with DP-2 finder - I prefer the DP-1)
- Konica III rangefinder with Hexanon 48mm f/2 (really love this little gem - unfortunately the back is deformed subtle after a bump - doesn't close plain and causes lightleaks sometimes. I will get another one soon)
- Olympus XA with A11 flash (almost in mint condition but not in use so often - too small for my paws)

120
- Bronica ETRSi (with WLF, AEiii metered prism, speed grip, PE 50mm f/2.8, PE 75mm f/2.8, PE 150mm f/2.8 - still lusting for the 105mm f/4.5 macro 1:1)
- FUJI GA645 (Fujinon 60mm f/4)
- FUJI GA645Wi (Fujinon 45mm f/4)
- FUJI GAZi 645 (Fujinon 55-90mm f/4.5-6.9 - unfortunately with a -partly- defective LCD screen)
- FUJI GW670iii (Fujinon 90mm f/3.5)
- FUJI GW690ii (Fujinon 90mm f/3.5 - I'm going to trade this for a GSW690 with the 65mm f/5.6)
- Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta iii 531/16 with Novar Anastigmat f/3.5 75mm (it's my 2nd one - first one was stolen on a campsite at Rondane National Park 35 years ago)
- KMZ Moskva 5 (Russian Super Ikonta - working but with defective bellows - fixed dilettante by me ...)

Marcelo Paniagua · Jul 21, 2017

It depends. My wife answers would be "More than enough, get ride of some of them already!!". My answer will be "not that many, and certainly not enough of them"

Regards

Marcelo

TomNY · Jul 23, 2017

I've got pretty bad GAS. I have 89 film cameras. A substantial number of them were hand me downs from relatives and friends who abandoned film and I've some toy cameras and ones I bought mostly for display. For 35mm I usually use a Canon 1V, for MF I use a Mamiya 645AF, a couple of Texas Leicas and a Fuji 645Zi, for instant I use a Polaroid 250 and Instax 500AF. I always have one of my oddball cameras loaded just for fun. My Yashica-44 is my best 127 and it gives really nice results.

Earlier this week I finally made the decision there will be no further purchases. Then this morning my wife (if you can believe it) called to tell me she had stopped into an estate sale and saw they had some nice looking old cameras. I said thanks but I think I have enough cameras. We laughed, I hung up. I was on my way to the estate sale about 5 minutes later. There was a Kodak Vigilant Jr. 620, mint & in the box. There was another 60s era Brownie 620 that was almost mint also in the original box. $20.00 for both. Number 88 & 89 in the collection. I explained this to my wife by reminding her that I don't smoke (and I haven't in over 30 years). A smoker can easily spend $20.00 a day on cigarettes so by not smoking and only buying $20.00 in equipment this week I actually saved us $160.00 for the week. Besides, she told me about the estate sale so it's really her fault.

Sirius Glass · Jul 23, 2017

TomNY said:
I've got pretty bad GAS. I have 89 film cameras. A substantial number of them were hand me downs from relatives and friends who abandoned film and I've some toy cameras and ones I bought mostly for display. For 35mm I usually use a Canon 1V, for MF I use a Mamiya 645AF, a couple of Texas Leicas and a Fuji 645Zi, for instant I use a Polaroid 250 and Instax 500AF. I always have one of my oddball cameras loaded just for fun. My Yashica-44 is my best 127 and it gives really nice results.

Earlier this week I finally made the decision there will be no further purchases. Then this morning my wife (if you can believe it) called to tell me she had stopped into an estate sale and saw they had some nice looking old cameras. I said thanks but I think I have enough cameras. We laughed, I hung up. I was on my way to the estate sale about 5 minutes later. There was a Kodak Vigilant Jr. 620, mint & in the box. There was another 60s era Brownie 620 that was almost mint also in the original box. $20.00 for both. Number 88 & 89 in the collection. I explained this to my wife by reminding her that I don't smoke (and I haven't in over 30 years). A smoker can easily spend $20.00 a day on cigarettes so by not smoking and only buying $20.00 in equipment this week I actually saved us $160.00 for the week. Besides, she told me about the estate sale so it's really her fault.

Tom, you have a good start. Thank you for your service in keeping the economy moving. Do not stop now.

benjiboy · Sep 15, 2017

Enough.

jim10219 · Sep 15, 2017

I buy cameras for one of two reasons. Either:

A.) I actually plan on shooting a fair amount with it
B.) It's cheap and looks cool on my mantle.

I always make sure to repair and maintain all of my cameras so they're actually fully functioning and not just display pieces. I refuse to buy a camera that I won't ever be able to use. But I do buy some primarily just to look at. Those are my cheap cameras though. Stuff like a Minolta 110 SLR, a miniature Hit camera, a David White Stereo Realist, Kodak 35 Rangefinder, Argus C3, etc. Most of them were under $20 and needed some cleaning and repair to get back to working status. But I enjoy doing my own CLA's as it gives me a chance to see how they work. I don't really have to room to store cameras I don't intend to use or can't find a place to display.

Soeren · Sep 15, 2017

benjiboy said:
Enough.

-1, and it will probably stay that way untill I reach S-1

John_Nikon_F · Sep 16, 2017

Down to three total.

F eyelevel
F2AS
and the D-word D2xs.

Happy.

-J

macfred · Sep 16, 2017

John_Nikon_F said:
Down to three total.

F eyelevel
F2AS
and the D-word D2xs.

Happy.

-J

It won't last long ...

E. von Hoegh · Sep 16, 2017

TomNY said:
I've got pretty bad GAS. I have 89 film cameras. A substantial number of them were hand me downs from relatives and friends who abandoned film and I've some toy cameras and ones I bought mostly for display. For 35mm I usually use a Canon 1V, for MF I use a Mamiya 645AF, a couple of Texas Leicas and a Fuji 645Zi, for instant I use a Polaroid 250 and Instax 500AF. I always have one of my oddball cameras loaded just for fun. My Yashica-44 is my best 127 and it gives really nice results.

Earlier this week I finally made the decision there will be no further purchases. Then this morning my wife (if you can believe it) called to tell me she had stopped into an estate sale and saw they had some nice looking old cameras. I said thanks but I think I have enough cameras. We laughed, I hung up. I was on my way to the estate sale about 5 minutes later. There was a Kodak Vigilant Jr. 620, mint & in the box. There was another 60s era Brownie 620 that was almost mint also in the original box. $20.00 for both. Number 88 & 89 in the collection. I explained this to my wife by reminding her that I don't smoke (and I haven't in over 30 years). A smoker can easily spend $20.00 a day on cigarettes so by not smoking and only buying $20.00 in equipment this week I actually saved us $160.00 for the week. Besides, she told me about the estate sale so it's really her fault.

I quit smoking on Hiroshima day 1986, and started a second savings account with the money I wasn't spending. This by 1989 purchased my Deardorff V8, a 300mm Schneider Symmar, and some film. There was some cash left over.

BTW, I have 43 cameras, between free items at yardsales, and gifts, I can't resist.

BrianVS · Sep 16, 2017

Around 200 or so. I've had cameras sent to me in large flat-rate boxes for some repair work done for people. Have fun fixing them, have given a number away to people expressing an interest in film.

Sirius Glass · Sep 16, 2017

benjiboy said:
Enough.

And maybe I should sell some.

Theo Sulphate · Sep 16, 2017

A lot. Really a lot. What I have in quantity and condition would put any camera shop west of the Hudson to shame. Well, if those shops still sold film cameras made from 1930 to 2003.

Yet, I really do use them all -- with at least a week's worth of time making photos with each. I've made photos with 16 cameras so far this year. Some of the photos have been good enough to make it into rotation among my displayed photos.

These days my interest is in cameras that are totally mechanical, without even a meter. Those make up about a third of what I have.

guangong · Sep 17, 2017

Not just enough but more than enough. From subminiature to 4x5. All are quality cameras and all are used. Own one D***** camera, an Olympus Pen that I infrequently use on some non photographic projects. Sometimes acquiring cameras is not difficult, the difficulty is acquiring the accessories such as odd ball filters made for only one lens, lens shades, caps, etc.

Laurent · Sep 17, 2017

I think I have just enough:

1 Leica M4 (plain M4, the best LEica for me) with 5 lenses : 20mm, 35mm f/1.4, 35mm f/2.8, 50mm f/2 and 90mm f/2.8
1 Rolleiflex (3.5B) with almost all the accessories I need: filters, 3 Rolleinar, Yashica télé converter

I still have my first SLR: Canon AE1-P, but it does not see much use.

There's a Sure Shot WP-1 somewhere in the house, but I never use it.

Ces1um · Sep 26, 2017

Wow. I currently have 7 cameras and thought that I had far too many. Then I read the posts on this thread and hear of people with 100 cameras. I guess I shouldn't feel so badly...

Laurent · Sep 26, 2017

Ces1um said:
Wow. I currently have 7 cameras and thought that I had far too many. Then I read the posts on this thread and hear of people with 100 cameras. I guess I shouldn't feel so badly...

The issue is not how you feel, but how the wife feels about it... at least in my case!

Anyway, she was right (hope she NEVER reads this) when shewas telling me I had too many (I've had, at the same time, two view cameras, two TLR (Rolleiflex and Yashica mat), two SLR (HAssy and EOS 3) + many lenses for all).

Less cameras = less decisions = more images (at least for me)

Ces1um · Sep 26, 2017

Laurent said:
Less cameras = less decisions = more images (at least for me)

Do I ever agree with that statement. I find even with my "modest" amount of cameras that I have a hard time selecting which one to use. It does seem to get in the way. I've thought about downsizing even more than I have. Maybe an instant camera and a 35mm and a selection of 4 lenses. Can I bring myself to cut back though- no.

tessar · Sep 26, 2017

I have 12 cameras in various formats because different cameras have different features for different kinds of work. I also appreciate old high-quality mechanisms and like the image quality of old lenses.

How Many Cameras do you Own?

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