the little cameras that keep coming back...

i have so much camera gear,sometimes i have to have a clear out.
in the past 3 years i have had the incredible minolta tc1,
i believe the smallest and most expensive compact in the world.
and the larger konica hexar af. and the lovely and unusual nikon 35ti.
my rational side says your crazy get rid,so i sell them and then regret it terribly.the fact is these 3 cameras are incredible.
a japanese statement of intent,perfectly formed point and shoot cameras.
a triumph of industrial design,with the most stunning lens..
yesterday i was looking at some kodachrome and fuji astia projected,images shot with these cameras,very impressive.
so now looks like i am back in the market..
so the question is what is the camera that you had now long for again.
or never had in the first place.

alan doyle said:

so the question is what is the camera that you had now long for again.
or never had in the first place.

Click to expand...

My first "real" camera (back in about 1960) was a Minolta SR1. Foolishly, I gave it away and have missed it ever since -even though it was plain, totally manual, and with no frills). I am still on the look-out for another in good condition, even though I have a number of (probably) superior other cameras by different makers!

Two that I would like to have is a Nikon F3, with all the trimmings, and an Olympus OM4Ti.

I regret selling my Contax cameras and Zeiss glass to go back to Canon. It makes sense from a money making standpoint (digital etc.), but when I look at the prints I make from those negatives.... Of course I use some Leica/Hexar stuff now, but that is a whole different enchilada. I will probably buy back the Zeiss glass at some point in the future though.

I have a bunch of small cameras too. I was taking pictures of my Konica Hexar AF to sell. Complete with box and flash. Then I just happened to look at some 11x14's I made from it. Guess I'm not selling it

The camera I sold that I wish I still owned was my largest 35mm, the Nikon F4e. I sold it half a decade ago and have missed it ever since.

I owned every accessory sans finders made for the camera and sold it all for less than the body went for when it was new. Everytime I see one for sale I kick myself. I no longer use Nikon enough to justify having one, but if I only had one Nikon body - knowing then what I know now: I would have sold my F3 and kept the F4.

Minolta SR7 and Maxxum 7. Owned both twice, sold both twice. Find myself looking and drooling over them.

Konica T3 with 50mm 1.2, sold it to buy a Nikon F with drive.

unohuu said:

Minolta SR7 and Maxxum 7. Owned both twice, sold both twice. Find myself looking and drooling over them.

Click to expand...

You just sold it last week!!!

A little Rollei S35.... Got back in the 80's and still got it, a wonderfull little gem.
For the first time an Olympus XA2, still have to try it out.

Peter

Chaplain Jeff said:

You just sold it last week!!!

Click to expand...

Not currently drooling. My resolve is strong today, Jeff. In a few weeks I might have remorse for selling the Maxxum 7. all the more reason to get out and shoot with the beast F4.

ive owned a minolta X700, it broke a couple of years ago, and ate dust in my closet.. now ive got a better fm2n, but i miss my minolta very much...

and i would like to own a nikon fm3a.. its my dream camera.. it would be a great main cam along side with a back up, my fm2n... and oh, a nikon F6 in the future...

I regret getting rid of my trusty Minolta X-700's and a bunch of lenses that fit them. I'm happy with the Maxxum 7000 and SRT 101 that I now use but really liked the feel of the X-700's better.

I kind of wanted my original Minolta XG-1 back. It had a load of lenses, but the shutter advance needed work and the guy at Ritz convinced me it was worthless. I ended up giving it back to my aunt whom gave it to someone else. The salesman convinced me on a Rebel G with the kit lens. It got me into photography, and led to a Elan 7ne 3 years later. Both are gone now, replaced with Nikon Gear, something that I had always really wanted but for the feature set was more than I was willing to pay. Not so with today's prices.

I got started back in the '80s with a Maxxum 7000, original version. That lasted me only six months; I was so sick of the damned luser interface that I sold the whole kit back to a camera store. Seeing one today still makes me want to wretch.

Shortly after, I bought the newly-released T90, an FD 85 f/1.2L and a Tokina 80-200 f/2.8 ATX, plus some unbranded 35-135 zoom. I had a great time with this camera, used it to study photography at the university, went on trips, the whole bit. (About this time I was introduced to the RTS III. Oh dear.) Developed a bad case of GAS, collecting all the T90 focusing screens, flashes, connecting cables, Quantum batteries, everything. After several years I realized I was packing it ALL in an enormous Domke just to go shoot some flowers, so I traded it all in for an Olympus IS-1. Less said about that the better. Yikes.

Fast forward a decade or so... I've just purchased a 5D and a set of f/2.8 L zooms, when I discovered cameras on ebay. Suddenly I have GAS again, real bad this time. I've always regretted parting with my T90; so much so that I now have three, plus a pile of L primes I'd always wanted and some seriously nice zooms, including the Tokina ATX I missed so much. And the F-1N I lusted after when it first came out. And a couple of A-series Canon's I'd never heard of until now. And nine FTb's; I still don't understand that.

When I was younger I would sit in the 'library', gazing at the camera ads in the back of photo magazines. My eyes always drifted to the listings for the Mamiya 645 Super. I now have a 645 Pro TL and an enormous pile of backs, inserts, screens, etc.

I have finally satisfied almost all of my youthful desires, though I still hear the RTS III calling my name. But I love my T90.

About a year ago I thought (!) I was going digital and sold my Rollei 2.8F.
A couple of months later I bought a Hasselblad, but it just ain't the same.






















1
1

The TC1, Hexar and 35ti are cameras I've often lusted over but they're way beyond my means. For me, the little camera which keeps coming back is the Olympus MjuII (Stylus Epic), I've just bought my third one. It's the same pattern each time; I love it's compact size but the autofocus sometimes lets me down. I sell it when I'm frustrated over the latter, and buy another when I remember the former.