I love old cameras...

[STRAKER]

...So much so, that I seem to be breeding 'em! The Praktica MTL5 I picked up from a junk stall works just perfect...ish...the self timer is a little temepremental. But I had my first roll of film took on it devloped and its a-ok. My chinon CE-5 works perfect. AND I am just about to aquire a Minolta Dynax 7000i or 7XI. Not sure which one until I get me hands on it. I have always had a soft spot for Minoltas; the company used to produce some beautiful SLR's, such as the X-300 / X-700 models. And I think the Minolta lenses were some of the best ever produced.

 

[Whiteymorange]

Watch out! Their larger cousins, the medium and large format varieties are just as addictive and take up a lot more room. Still, all that wood and brass...

 

[jasonhall]

I have a Minolta X-700 (and an XG-1) and I just love to use it. I am mostly shooting medium format these days, mostly with a RB67. However when I get the desire to shoot up some 135, I normally choose the X-700 over all the others, includeing two Canon EOS cameras with a selection of "L" lens. Its just a sweet little camera. I really like the window that allows you to see the aperture setting in the view finder. Wonderful simple little feature that makes a big difference.

Jason

 

[MaLo]

My personal favourite is the Konica Autoreflex T3(N). It might be big and heavy but the mechanics are so smove and with the weight it makes for a rock steady shot so try to get one of those.

Another nice camera to look out for is the Nikon FE for it also has god mechanics and isn't that sort after.

 

[Mike Wilde]

It is a dangerous game. My preference is old cameras given up for dead. Like old MF folders that have inoperative shutters, etc. A soak of the shutter in white gas, a gentle clean of the lens elements, any other tlc to bing it back to life like softening stiff bellows with leathr conditioner, etc.

Then shoot a roll of film in it. Sometimes this means slitting down 120 film, or re-rolling it on different/modified rolls. Process and print a contact sheet.

Pick the best picture and make the best print you can, and display it. Then someone who comeas along and admires the picture (usually a digifriend at a camera club). I show them the contact sheet, and then the camera. Oh its fun to then listen to the zillions that they need to spend to buy the latest d body, lens, etc. to get a shot like that.

 

[ronlamarsh]

Old Camera's

Old cameras are more addictive that any known drug. I cannot resist these old beauties, particularly the Zeiss/Ikon brand...all that gleaming metal and the reassuring heft of it in your hand. I love my Zeiss/Ikon contaflex it is the nearest I have experienced to my, now longed for, M3 doublestroke: which was nirvana in 35mm. Beware of Rolleiflex/Rolleicord: one touch and you are hooked.

 

[mjs]

I have "my" old SRT-101 sitting next to me at the moment -- I used it last night to try for some meteor shots. Heavy dew was a real problem but there's just something about that camera which feels right in one's hands...

 

[Prest_400]

I also like lots of classic cameras. Not much into folders, but I Do like some expensive ones:
Linhof technika V / Master Technika. Look at that anodized aluminium, amazing. Change the ugly tan of the V and put a Cameraleather or Aki asahi and there's a beautiful techinka V.
Rolleiflexes. I like any of the post 1950 ones. The F's, MX-evs, T. Look at the amazing Viewfinder of the F's and T. The reflection of those coatings... Rolleicords are a wonder too. The V, Va and specially Vb. Amazing.
Ron, that's completely right! Seeing them on photo was enough to get hooked.
Beware of Leicas and Linhofs too. The latter is one I would love to have.

 

[brian d]

You do ok until you get 20 or 30 then it starts getting out of hand...

 

[jfdupuis]

The worst when you are suffering of that addiction is that in this digital age, so many old nice camera are out there for cheap. Unfortunately, the wallet is not acting as the tranquilizer as it should do. Therefore, cameras are piling up around me. I'm not that much into 135, I prefer to look at a ground glass. I just got 2 roll out of my lastly acquired Minolta Autocord and I was more than pleased by the result.

 

[Shawn Rahman]

Great thread. I love my F3HP which apparently was manufactured around 1982. Does that qualify as old?

 

[MaLo]

Is it only me or is there generally problems with Pentax bodies for I have a bunch of Minoltas and they just work whilst my ME's and ME-F's are all in need of work?

 

[cknapp1961]

I LOVE my old Nikkormat FTn, which I inherited at the age of about 15 in 1976. Used it when I worked for a newspaper shooting at the Indy 500 with a press pass in the late 70s, a studio in the late 70s-early 80s (many weddings) and around the world during my 20 year career in the Army starting in 1989, all over Europe, to include combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq post 9-11. At the age of 48 it is the one item that connects me back to my youth, I am glad I never traded it in or sold it, it still feels great in my hand. Now the Bronica ETRS system is breaking my bank...though much more inexpensive recently than the first time I bought such a system in the early 80s (yes I sold my original ETRS system during a divorce to pay off an attorney). Getting my Father's Kodak Retina IIIC CLA'd and purchasing Franka Rolfix 6x9 cameras, Franka Solida IIIE, Super Frankarette's, and darkroom equipment is breaking my bank in a nice way.

 

[PentaxBlue]

I have a weakness for older slr cameras. My favorite is the Asahi Pentax K with 55mm f1.8 auto-tak 'Zebra' lens. My second favorite screwmount is a tie between a "late" SV and the Spot F.

Then again, I like the Mamiya C3 and Pentax 6x7 also.

 

[Ralph Javins]

You Are Not Alone

. . .

Now the Bronica ETRS system is breaking my bank...though much more inexpensive recently than the first time I bought such a system in the early 80s (yes I sold my original ETRS system during a divorce to pay off an attorney).

There are a few of us out here who do appreciate your plight.

Getting my Father's Kodak Retina IIIC CLA'd and purchasing Franka Rolfix 6x9 cameras, Franka Solida IIIE, Super Frankarette's, and darkroom equipment is breaking my bank in a nice way. [/ quote]

Thank you for the work you had done with your father's Kodak Retina IIIc. That tells me quite a bit about who you are.

 

[bsdunek]

Watch out! Their larger cousins, the medium and large format varieties are just as addictive and take up a lot more room. Still, all that wood and brass...

Yes, that wood and brass, and leather is beautiful! Those are cameras I like.

 

[Paul Jenkin]

I love my OM1 and OM2n but I'm on the lookout for an F3 or F3HP as I had one a few years ago and regret parting with it. Simple, solid and not too bulky - with a spectacular array of superb Nikkor glass, it's got to be one of the best 'old' cameras around. I've just got to find a good one that won't break the piggy bank....

 

[Pumal]

GAS is a serious syndrome. I have 200 and counting. All the Nikons, Canons, Olympus plus RB67 and 645. Lots of fun though.

 

[Sirius Glass]

GAS is a serious syndrome. I have 200 and counting. All the Nikons, Canons, Olympus plus RB67 and 645. Lots of fun though.

I now restrict my GAS to Hasselblad. Probably a bad choice moneywise but fun to use.

Steve

 

[Pumal]

I've had 2 Hassies for many years. I like the 6X6 Format, though sometimes I go for the 645 or the 6X7. Mostly I shoot MF unless the trip is long; in that case I defect to 35mm.

 

[andrewc]

GAS is a serious syndrome. I have 200 and counting. All the Nikons, Canons, Olympus plus RB67 and 645. Lots of fun though.

I'm down to just under 150 from about 225 or so. I'm trying to get rid of 'junk' cameras and keep only the ones that are either interesting or that I can use. The problem is that I like them all, so I find reasons to keep them. And, worse, I find reasons to acquire more.

 

[Terence]

Y'all are making me feel better about my +/- 90 cameras . . . .

 

[brian d]

Y'all are making me feel better about my +/- 90 cameras . . . .

me too

 

[Sirius Glass]

Ditto [a ton of Hasselbad equipment and two Nikon cameras and 3 Nikon zoom lenses]

Steve

 

[dougjgreen]

Y'all are making me feel better about my +/- 90 cameras . . . .

Heck, I've barely got more than 50!