Not liking being a camera curator

[Eagle Blue]

sorry if I created a dumb thread. I don't know what I'll do. Basically I'm pretty much spoiled with the Nikkormat FTn I've had for ages. They're lighter, and strong as an anvil, and handier to use overall. Plus with the Nikkormat, I can shoot people without flashing the Nikon nameplate in their faces. It doesn't "impress" anybody, so I can shoot groups of people without one of them trapping me into a side conversation about photography. I'll just let it be a second body for B&W. And flip my new F2 for a hundred easy bucks profit. I don't want to be a collector. 2 is plenty. This F shoots so much smoother and quieter than my F2, it's astounding.

 

[BrianShaw]

I think its the very existence of a camera, not the nameplate, that incites folks to want to talk about photography. I've been "flashing the Nikon nameplate" in people's faces for my entire adult life (which is a long time now) and never once recall anyone asking about Nikon in particular. Lately all they want to know is if a real camera is any better than a cell phone, or "can you still get film for that?" In both cases it is easy to get out of a protracted discussion... "Yup" and return to what I was doing.

BTW, it may be a dumb thread but whatever... if it helps you think things through its worthwhile.

 

[BrianShaw]

Oh... I take that back. I did have someone once mention "Nikon" when I flashed it in their face... but only once. A few years ago an acquaintance gave me his Dad's FE. A few months ago we were at a party together and I was using it. He was not only surprised that I was still using a film camera but very happy that I was using his Dad's Nikon.

 

[BradS]

You're over thinking it. Just use it and be happy. Life is short...too short to worry about "things"....and, nobody cares about nameplates. Less thinking. More doing. Enjoy life while you can and quit worring about "stuff".

 

[bdial]

Use it carefully if preserving the finish is a priority for you, otherwise just use it, that's what it was made for.

Unless it's a rare version, you won't change it's value much, if any, unless you bang it up. You got it as a used camera, and it's still a used camera, setting it on a shelf won't change that.

Consider thet artificially aged cameras show up at a premium on ebay (usually Leicas though).

 

[Arklatexian]

A last note on the problem. I TRIED shelving it and buying another. I bought an F2, thinking it was a good user grade. But it showed up at my door in mint condition also. Now I have both of the finest 35mm SLRs ever made. Now I'm a curator of both. I disavow knowledge of the existence of any post 1977 model. Why do I have the desire to forget all this stuff and go back to my Nikkormaat FTn? There's gobs of them out there and you can't tear one up. And I don't have to act like a snob when I point it at people to take their picture and they see the great "Nikon" name in their face. Who in the heck ever headr of a Nikkormat? I don't take people's pictures to flash off my fancy bling.

Why not use both cameras, but alternate them. This way, they would roughly have the same amount of wear and you probably won't live long enough to wear out both cameras which you own, by the way, and can do anything you please so quit griping, we should all have your "problem"............Regards!

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I'm not sure what FTN is actually is among Nikon models. So, I'll operate in familiar to me terms, do forgive me.

If someone will give me black M4 Leica made in Canada, which is worth of 2K$, I'll use it and keep on using it as long as I could afford CLA (280$).

Used by yourself camera brings memories; it is worth of something more than dollars. Shelf queen brings nothing. I have none, if camera is given to me and I don't need it, I do my best to find new owner for it.

 

[Eagle Blue]

Why not use both cameras, but alternate them. This way, they would roughly have the same amount of wear and you probably won't live long enough to wear out both cameras which you own, by the way, and can do anything you please so quit griping, we should all have your "problem"............Regards!

All I'm doing is running up my message count, which translates to becoming a tiresome spectacle. But there is a method to my madness. We're coming up on fall time, and that's when I've always shot my best photos, especially 35mm. And I found myself providentially holding a late model F in mint condition. Up till now my posts have been questions about which lens is sharpest. At the same time, the camera body has the power to rob sharpness if it can't operate smoothly. And this F operates like a rangefinder model, or an iris shutter model. It's a fluke. You can lock up the mirror and there's almost no difference at all. I attribute it to model variation maybe. It just seems to me that if I've been so obsessed with sharp lenses that they belong on this particular camera body to get the best of them. And leave my Nikkormat in the exact place I've always designated it to, which has been my color/flash camera, where it excels. But hand-held with Tri-X in autumn afternoon light, I bet this thing can be a dream. And put the F2 in the china cabinet. It's pretty mint too. Just not smooth enough for my taste. So I guess something. did come from this bonehead thread I started. The votes are in. Use it. Thanks. I will.

 

[Bill Burk]

I would just like to add to the voices who say use it. Especially since you have two. Don't protect it any more than ordinary care. Just throw it over a shoulder and keep it ready.

 

[John_Nikon_F]

Load the camera up with a roll of film and shoot with it. If it doesn't have a case, grab a Nikon CTT case and slide it into that. A curator of a camera museum (er, collector) is going to have probably 10-50 times the amount of cameras you own. You just happen to have three bodies. Set the 'mat up with a 50/2 Nikkor-H to be used as a car camera/kamikaze kit, then with your F and F2, have those as your shooters when you're not worried about situations where a camera might get dropped or slammed into something. Right now, my two daily film "drivers" are an F eyelevel with F-36 motor drive and an F2AS. I have an FM2 that is a backup, and then my Spotmatic II, which satisfies my need for rekindling my youth (first camera was a Pentax H3v).

-J

 

[blockend]

I "won" a Nikkormat on eBay some years ago, when it arrived it was to all intents brand new and completely unmarked. As I had other 'Mats I rarely used the mint one. Then about a year ago I thought what the hell, the model was made in hundreds of thousands, and while there can't be many in that condition, I'd give/sell it to someone who would use and scratch it, or it would end up in a glass case like the figures in Toy's Story. Now I use it like any other camera.

I guess a flawless Nikkormat is only worth about twice the price of a regular one. For fetishism, freakery and camera taxonomy OCDness you'd need a Leica or something that makes grown men dribble, not a Nikkormat. Go take pictures with it.

 

[darinwc]

Use the nikkormat. It is not a very collectable camera. But it is a great user.
And think of it this way.. any miles that happens to this camera.. will be what you have done. A living history of the places you have been to and photographed.
Awesome!

 

[Sirius Glass]

Why not use both cameras, but alternate them. This way, they would roughly have the same amount of wear and you probably won't live long enough to wear out both cameras which you own, by the way, and can do anything you please so quit griping, we should all have your "problem"............Regards!

Since you cannot switch film backs nor change film holders, use one for black & white and one for color. Besides they both need the same lenses so the weight of extra lenses in not so great.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

This post is not a left-handed attempt by a non-subscriber attempting to post an item for sale without paying dues. It's a "what should I do" question. For a little over a year, I have in my psosession a camera given to me by someone on this forum and I have no idea who. But they gave it to me on the stipulation that it be mine to enjoy, and not for flipping. It is a Nikon FTN ser 7255502 with original 1.4 lens. The problem is that it is in 99.975 mint pristine condition. So do I put it in a showcase, or use the heck out of it and let it suffer the knocks? Because I'm sure as heck not going to coddle a camera all its life like a nut, with knots in my stomach about some faint scratch. I'm amazed one of these has lasted this long to end up in my hands. What are you supposed to do with a 46 year old classic camera of this historical significance in such condition? Its operating condition is flawless. So the question is, would you get out there and use it and forget about the knocks and scrapes it's bound to get?

I would probably cuddle it and carry it on a pillow for the rest of its life but, I'm nuts. Go and use it and just treat it with respect.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

These are recent photos of cameras I bought new-in-box between 1988 and 2003. I've used them a lot (especially the F3/T) and they are still in mint condition. No scratches, dents, or dings. Don't worry about using your camera.

 

[fstop]

I'm not sure what FTN is actually is among Nikon models. So, I'll operate in familiar to me terms, do forgive me.

If someone will give me black M4 Leica made in Canada, which is worth of 2K$, I'll use it and keep on using it as long as I could afford CLA (280$).

Used by yourself camera brings memories; it is worth of something more than dollars. Shelf queen brings nothing. I have none, if camera is given to me and I don't need it, I do my best to find new owner for it.

Used and abused cameras don't bring as much money as "shelf queen" and there is no need to beat the snot out of cameras either.Brassing is nothing to be proud of, it just means you don't take care of your equipment.

 

[MattKing]

Used and abused cameras don't bring as much money as "shelf queen" and there is no need to beat the snot out of cameras either.Brassing is nothing to be proud of, it just means you don't take care of your equipment.

Or your camera is one that is more likely to show signs of use and wear - see my black body OM-2s pictured above, which shows way more wear than other cameras I've owned almost as long, which have been treated similarly well, while still being used!

 

[fstop]

Or your camera is one that is more likely to show signs of use and wear - see my black body OM-2s pictured above, which shows way more wear than other cameras I've owned almost as long, which have been treated similarly well, while still being used!

That is why I resisted the urge to buy black bodies. Chrome doesn't brass and get hot in sunlight.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

What are you supposed to do with a 46 year old classic camera of this historical significance in such condition? Its operating condition is flawless.

Irrespective of condition and neurosis, use it.

 

[MattKing]

That is why I resisted the urge to buy black bodies. Chrome doesn't brass and get hot in sunlight.

The OM-2s/OM-2Sp was like a Ford Model T - any colour you want, as long as it is black.

 

[summicron1]

Thank you for replying. But I forgot to mention even the passed sticker is absolutely pristine 100% condition, and not a reprint. And downgrading to a used one is not worth the trouble for the money. That's not the point. If I put it in service, it will get used. And that will be the end of the matter. I'm not going to coddle it.And the world will be out one museum piece. Fair notice to the world. I think the guy who gave it to me was probably dying, and meant for me to have it. But it's no use to me if I don't just go on and use it.

haven't read all the answers, but here's mine: Eff "prestine." Use the damn thing. It's a tool, it is meant to be used and, frankly, has no collector value in any condition at all, even mint. At best it might be worth $100 in that condition -- big whoop, three tanks of gasoline.

Use it. That's what it was made for.

 

[MattKing]

worth $100 in that condition -- big whoop, three tanks of gasoline.

If only that were true where I live!
Gas is around $1.40 a litre around here now. Last week they were blaming the eclipse!

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

If only that were true where I live!
Gas is around $1.40 a litre around here now. Last week they were blaming the eclipse!

Notwithstanding the significance of the Canadian- Australian dollar exchange rate (near parity), I can beat that in figure terms: my sporty V6 slurps PULP98, all of $1.72 a litre here...

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Used and abused cameras don't bring as much money as "shelf queen" and there is no need to beat the snot out of cameras either.Brassing is nothing to be proud of, it just means you don't take care of your equipment.

I have nothing to do with beat and don't care. You made false assumptions from my comment. My family FED-2 is in use by me since eighties and here is no brassing.

 

[removed account4]

I'm not sure what FTN is actually is among Nikon models. So, I'll operate in familiar to me terms, do forgive me.

If someone will give me black M4 Leica made in Canada, which is worth of 2K$, I'll use it and keep on using it as long as I could afford CLA (280$).

Used by yourself camera brings memories; it is worth of something more than dollars. Shelf queen brings nothing. I have none, if camera is given to me and I don't need it, I do my best to find new owner for it.

+1 !