What was your first slr?

AgX · Aug 13, 2019

Still common. For instance Varta V28 PX

choiliefan · Aug 13, 2019

Many of our loudest politicians in DC don't care about cause and effect on the environment.
Perhaps they can be convinced to bring back mercury cells...
There will have to be a quick buck in it for them though.

kb3lms · Aug 13, 2019

K-1000. It still works great!

jon.oman · Aug 13, 2019

I bought a brand new Exakta VX IIb in 1967. In 1969, I replaced it with a brand new Nikon Photomic FTn. I had a friend in Japan early that year, and he picked it up for me. A 50mm lens, and a 200mm lens as well.

Here's an almost complete list of what I have owned over the years:

Kodak Brownie
Kodak Pony 135
Exakta SLR
Nikon FTN SLR
Canon AE-1 SLR
Mamiya C330 TLR
Calumet 4x5 view
Shen-Hao HZX-45IIA 4x5 view
Cambo Legend 8x10 view
Minolta 7000 SLR
Minolta 8000i SLR
Hasselblad 501C
Nikon D2x
Nikon D70
Nikon D200
Nikon D300
Nikon D700
Nikon D800

Willy T · Aug 13, 2019

1971. A Topcon RE with a 50 f/1.4. Five bucks because the lens mount was loose. 20 seconds with a screwdriver and locktite to fix.

Disconnekt · Aug 14, 2019

My first SLR was a Sears TLS, which is a rebadged Ricoh Singelex TLS.

miha · Aug 14, 2019

AgX said:
Still common. For instance Varta V28 PX

Thanks. I still have the camera unfortunately broken, however I might get another one for sentimental reasons.

KN4SMF · Aug 14, 2019

Mamiya/Sekor 1000 DTL. That was a GREAT camera. Truth be known, no other even came close. Spot and averaging, and it worked like a charm. Never lost a shot due to poor metering.

Per Bostrom · Aug 20, 2019

In 1974 ,or early 1975 I stepped into a photo/camera shop determined to buy a Minolta SLR. The guy behind the desk proposed a Pentax SPF with 35, 50 and 135mm lenses at a very good price. Bayonet was the thing to have but on the other side, getting 3 lenses with the camera for a better prize was very tempting. I took the Pentax gear, walked out and I am still happy. I have now seven Pentax SLRs... Still using the SPF (I have two of them...).
The competative price for the SPF combo was, as honestly explained to me by the sales guy, due the the coming introduction of the bayonetted Pentax K cameras.

/Per

one90guy · Aug 20, 2019

My first slr was a Yashica TL Super bought in PX in Vietnam 1968.

David

Armandillo · Aug 22, 2019

Canon TL, a stripped down version of the FT, in 1969. It was stolen and I upgraded to the FT with the insurance money. I enjoyed the mechanical Canons much more than I did the electronic bodies I used later. When I switched to Nikon in 1999, I bought two FM2s because they were all mechanical and reminded me of the Canon FT. I still use them today.

TomNY · Aug 25, 2019

Minolta X-370 in about 1984. Still works fine.

nrparsons · Aug 25, 2019

Pentax S1a at the Canadian PX in Zweibrücken, Germany, after shooting a Petri 2.8 Color-Corrected Super rangefinder for several years. I wanted a Spotmatic, but all the post exchanges in central Germany were out of stock, and I was in a hurry, so I bought the S1a and a clip-on meter and never regretted it.

BradS · Aug 25, 2019

Pentax KX in 1977.
I still have it. Had it overhauled in 2001 or so.
It has some wear from many years of use but still works perfectly.

Remasters · Aug 25, 2019

Olympus om10 with the manual adapter!

Mackinaw · Aug 25, 2019

Canon FTb with a FD 50/1.4 lens.

Jim B.

dkonigs · Aug 25, 2019

Pentax Spotmatic, that used to belong to my mom.
I think I traded back and forth between that and a Ricoh Singlex, because the built-in light meter of the Pentax didn't work.

craigclu · Aug 25, 2019

Fond memories of my dad buying me a Zenit E. I was self-teaching with his old Bantam 828 in a Jimmy-rigged darkroom in our basement. I lost him to a a sudden heart attack a couple of years later and this gift has been a good memory for me.....

cb1 · Aug 25, 2019

my father's SRT101, until he bought me a AE1P for Christmas in 1980

GRHazelton · Aug 26, 2019

choiliefan said:
Many of our loudest politicians in DC don't care about cause and effect on the environment.
Perhaps they can be convinced to bring back mercury cells...
There will have to be a quick buck in it for them though.

How about making mercury cells available but with a BIG deposit, to be returned when the spent cell is turned into an authorized disposal center? Or the deposit could carry forward on the purchase of a new cell. Unless there is a hazard presented in the manufacturing process this might solve the problem.

AgX · Aug 26, 2019

The current idea though is not only to prevent littering, but to keep mercury out of the industry from the start.

cooltouch · Aug 26, 2019

I agree with the last comment. Try and find a mercury-filled laboratory grade thermometer these days.

BradS · Aug 26, 2019

with the proliferation of low cost, low drop out voltage regulators, I'm surprised that nobody has come out with a simple electronics based replacement. One would only need a 3.0v lithium cell, a 1.35V LDO regulator and a few discrete components. I've plans to retrofit the low voltage side of my Pentax Spotmeter with such a circuit but powered from the 9V battery that's already there...just haven't "got around to it" yet.

cdowell · Aug 26, 2019

Nikon FG, as a Christmas gift in 1983. Still works like a charm; just bought a fresh battery for it today. And still a fan of the 50mm Series E pancake lens.

Louis Nargi · Aug 26, 2019

My first slr was a Argus Cursina I bought from the ships store in 1970 though the lens metoring I wish I still had it. Sold it.

What was your first slr?

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