Particular camera in search of a specific type of image

[cliveh]

Today I loaded my Leica II with FP4 and went for a walk in search of simplistic images. I felt this type of camera lends itself to this form of image. Do others use a particular camera in search of a specific type of image?

 

[Dr Croubie]

Well, when I want 'vintagey' looking street shots, I grab my dad's old Petri 7s 40/2.8 (works well with C41 XP in E6), when I want 'wide' street shots I grab the Bessa L with 21/4 Skopar (great with FP4 125), when I want *very* funky portraits it's the EOS 3 with 85/1.5 Cyclop and Pan F 50, for nice portraits it's the Kiev 88CM (or P6 or K60) and Zeiss Biometar 120/2.8 (or 180/2.8) depending on how much I feel like carrying at the time...

Over New Year's I went down to my holiday house on the beach, every year they have a Sand Castle Building Competition on New Year's Day (I'm in Australia btw, it was 40C). Loaded some Provia 100 that expired last century and took the Zeiss Flektogon 50/4, it would have been a perfect 'vintage' look on the Pentacon 6 except that was already loaded with other film, so I ended up sticking it on the Mamiya 645AF. Bit too much of a 'pro' looking camera to be taking shots of kids building sand castles so I didn't get too close, too many wary-parents these days. Anyway, XPed it in C41, got some great wide-shots of the competition, the sand and brown grass on the surrounding hills and the blueblue sea XPed into a perfect beach scene...

 

[Pioneer]

When I load my Leica II or IIIc it is so fun I just shoot whatever I come across. Just yesterday I was shooting Little League tryouts with my IIIc and APO Lanthar 90/3.5. The Leica II was the 1930s version of the point and shoot, and that is exactly how I use mine.

 

[John Bragg]

Yes to a point. I set out with a Nikon kit if telephoto lenses are needed and an M6 and 28/50/90 for other things. Also I carry an Olympus Mju-1 and it has proved a great camera for casual walks. The camera that you have with you is always better than the one you left at home. That's where the little Mju proves its worth.

 

[Rich Borutta]

I like the look of color prints shot with my pre-war Argus A2 or Argus C3. The un-coated lens produces sort of flat colors and shots of old diners, road signs and buildings have that retro, 1940s or 1950s look found mostly in old Life or Look magazines.

 

[FL Guy]

The camera that you have with you is always better than the one you left at home. That's where the little Mju proves its worth.

John:

Well put, you could even substitute the word "woman" in your comment as an option to "camera".

FL Guy

 

[dorff]

John:

Well put, you could even substitute the word "woman" in your comment as an option to "camera".

FL Guy

There are quite a few male photographers who will agree that when photography is the purpose of leaving home, it is usually not a bad idea to leave home without any women in tow. Unless, of course they are to appear as subject matter in the photographs, or carry the gear, or both.

 

[LJSLATER]

I mostly shoot color with ultrawide lenses, but when I shoot b&w, I tend to prefer shooting with fast 50s.

It's funny, I've never had the problem of too many women wanting to follow me anywhere

 

[DannL]

These days I use a 6x6 folder for walking around and general snapshots. Having a larger format camera which easily slips into a coat pocket is nice. But also, working with and printing from larger negatives is preferred. For the field and creative artsy-fartsy stuff I'll use the Horseman 45HF, both handheld or mounted. And for close-ups and other artsy stuff I'll use the Sinar F1 configured with three standards and two bellows. These three are more than enough to cover anything I'd be interested in photographing. I don't do underwater, space-walks, wing-walking, or cliff-diving, which I suppose helps minimize the number of cameras I need.

 

[MattKing]

A TLR when I want to play with near-IR.

 

[M Carter]

I've been working on some no-digital (but heavily retouched, using masks, matting, sandwiched negs, etc.) ideas, and I want a somewhat vintage, ancient, "very early photography" look. I could do the work with Nikon AF (N90s, 8008s, etc) or an RZ... but it feels way better using old metal. Canon FT, Nikon FG, my RB gear. Just "feels" right to have those funky bodies in hand.

I've been a musician all my life, and it's the same way with that gear... "this guitar" is what I want for this feel, that sort of thing. It's more than just the specific tonality, it's how I feel playing the things. Ghosts in the machines, if you will. The old gear has a mojo the new stuff can't touch.

 

[Yashinoff]

The Exa is my favorite "primitive" camera. The Halina 35X is another primitive, but much more frustrating to use - very "lomo" results though.

 

[narsuitus]

There are times when a pen hole camera is just what I need.

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