What was your first slr?

[BayG75]

Nikkormat EL, 1979.

Replaced with an FE2 in 1985, which has been my go-to SLR ever since.

 

[wyofilm]

Nikon FG around 1982/3. I used it as a yearbook photographer in High School.

 

[R.Gould]

Zenit which I used until it got stolen, replaced with a Prackta 42 mount so I could still use my collection of lenses

 

[Horatio]

Petri, ca 1973. Can’t recall the model number. It was stolen at college in 1978. I replaced it with a Nikkormat FTn in 1983.

 

[guangong]

Minolta in 1961-62, given to me by Minolta when US headquarters were on Union Sq. in NYC. Sold it when I was able to get a Nikon F and lens, etc directly from Japan for, if I remember correctly, $159. Still a lot of money back then. I believe my Columbia tuition was about $15 or. $20 a credit hour and now about $500 pch.
The prices of good used high end equipment is soooooo cheap compared to the not so distance past that those who complain of the inability to buy a Hasselblad back, body, as well as two lenses, all for less than $500 seem a little ridiculous.

 

[jay moussy]

Nikon FM

Same
1979.
bought at Lechmere, Boston area folks will remember these stores.

I may use it this week, now that we got more sun.
The prime lens was just on MFT adapter.

 

[John Bragg]

Canon AV1

 

[Dali]

Olympus OM10 I resurrected a couple of weeks ago. It works fine now that I cleaned the shutter electro-magnet to avoid the sticky shutter syndrome.

 

[RMD]

Minolta SR1-S ultimately traded in for a SRT101.

However, in a nostalgic moment,about 2 years ago, I bought what turned out to be an immaculate SR1-S from a Japanese dealer
for the princely sum of £13 - about $20 dollars at the time. Shipping was also about £13 !!

Although I was originally ready to accept that it might just be a nostalgic shelf ornament,its condition,and a CLA by the Camera Repair Workshop,
meant it is a very useable addition to my collection.

 

[AndyH]

I love it when old threads with lots of contributions resurface again.

My first was a Praktica Nova IB, purchased as a refurb in 1969 from Altman's in Chicago found in one of those huge two-page spreads in the back of Modern Photography, listing dozens of cameras in fine print. It cost $49.95, which would be about $350 in 2020 dollars. It had a non TTL selenium meter and was arugged beast.

My first NEW camera was a Ricoh TLS, sold under the Sears Tower brand, in a black "professional" finish. Nothing says "Pro" quite like a camera with a Sears logo on it. It was tinny, but it had TTL metering. Wish I still had the Paktica, but I traded it in toward a cheap Vivitar long zoom after I got the Tower.

Andy

 

[KenS]

Mine was a Pentax 'Spotmatic' which now spends its days in a drawer with my 100mm Macro lens still attached. But I no longer use 35mm film..much preferring 4x5 and 8x10 now-a-days.
May my Spotmatic now "Rest in Peace"

Ken

 

[jwd722]

A Ricoh Singlex with a 55mm f2.8 lens about 1969/70. I wanted a Ricoh TLS 401 when they came out in 1970 but could not afford it.
I now own 13 Nikons, several Pentax, 6 Mamiya's, Bronica, Ikoflex, Rolleiflex, 4x5, 5x7, 8x10 and more. How times (and finances) have changed!

 

[sternwachter]

Canon FT (no "b") which I purchased used with no lens in 1977. I ordered a lens (the 50mm f/1.8) from an ad in Popular Photography-- I don't remember from whom, but do recall that they were in New York. I still have it and it still works, although when I shoot film nowadays I tend to use a slightly more advanced FTb.

 

[jay moussy]

A Ricoh Singlex with a 55mm f2.8 lens about 1969/70. I wanted a Ricoh TLS 401 when they came out in 1970 but could not afford it.
I now own 13 Nikons, several Pentax, 6 Mamiya's, Bronica, Ikoflex, Rolleiflex, 4x5, 5x7, 8x10 and more. How times (and finances) have changed!

There is a TLS on CL near me right now.. should I make an offer for you..?!?!
Comes with gigantic Braun prime too.

 

[Karl K]

Black Pentax H3v purchased from Olden Camera in 1964.

 

[M.A.Longmore]

.
The Minolta XE-7 !, purchased used in 1977
{ It took a licking, and it's still kicking }

 

[drkhalsa]

A Nikon FM2 in 1985.
It had the x200 flash sync speed and the 1/125 speed in red and the titanium honeycombed shutter blades.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I love it when old threads with lots of contributions resurface again.

My first was a Praktica Nova IB, purchased as a refurb in 1969 from Altman's in Chicago found in one of those huge two-page spreads in the back of Modern Photography, listing dozens of cameras in fine print. It cost $49.95, which would be about $350 in 2020 dollars. It had a non TTL selenium meter and was arugged beast.

My first NEW camera was a Ricoh TLS, sold under the Sears Tower brand, in a black "professional" finish. Nothing says "Pro" quite like a camera with a Sears logo on it. It was tinny, but it had TTL metering. Wish I still had the Paktica, but I traded it in toward a cheap Vivitar long zoom after I got the Tower.

Andy

CoronaVirus boredom.

 

[Donald Qualls]

My first SLR was a Zeiss Contaflex (126 cartridges), but I pretty quickly traded it against a Pentax Spotmatic SP, then got a Ricoh Singlex II as a backup (and used the Ricoh more than the Pentax). This was in 1981, and I've still got the Spottie and the Ricoh (the shutter eventually failed in the Ricoh, but I've got 2-3 more of those bodies, one branded Vivitar and another branded Sears).

 

[jwd722]

There is a TLS on CL near me right now.. should I make an offer for you..?!?!
Comes with gigantic Braun prime too.

Thanks but my Ricoh days are over except for my Ricoh GR (V). : )

 

[Kyle M.]

Mine was a Canon AE-1 Program with a 50/1.8. My grandmother gave me the 50/1.4 and several other lenses from her AE-1 kit shortly after. That was back in 2005 when I was 15. I shot it for about a year and lost interest. Then back in 2013 when I got my own place I rediscovered it while moving and that's when I really got into shooting film. It had failed electronically in the years it had been sitting so I ordered another at the time for like $50. I shot it and an AE-1 for awhile before moving on to Nikon F's F2's and an F3. I had a short adventure with an F5 with viewfinder LCD issues. Since 2013 I've used every major brand of 35mm SLR and a few RF's. I think the Nikon F2 and F3 are my favorite. But I still like all of the Canon A series bodies, mostly the AE-! even though I prefer cameras with aperture priority. Right now the only 35mm body I have is a RF but someday I'll find another affordable F2, or F3. I wouldn't mind having a clean fully working F5 with a 50/1.4 AF-D either.

 

[RLangham]

My mother gave me her AE-1 Program when I got into shooting film in 2017. She had sold all the accessories and most of the lenses, and accidentally kept only her old 28mm f/2.8 FD instead of a 50mm.

I prefer manual cameras now, but it's still a very powerful camera, especially with motor drive and my NFD 50mm f/1.4.

 

[mohmad khatab]

Ricoh-KR5.superII

 

[BradS]

I bought my first SLR, a Pentax KX, in 1976 or 1977. I had intended to buy the K-1000 but the salesman up-sold me...and I am very glad he did! Used it in high school to take photos for the yearbook and although I haven't used it in probably 20 years, I still have it today. I long ago switch to Nikon....which is, of course, the best!

 

[Pieter12]

I may have relied to this thread before. My first SLR was a Nikon F Photomic I got in 1967. I later traded it in to buy an F2AS sometime in the late 70's. That in turn was traded in towards an F4s sometime in the early 90s. I still have the F4s and recently picked up an F2 AS.