What was your first slr?

moggi1964

Subscriber
Joined
Oct 18, 2020
Messages
275
Location
Rossendale, UK
Format
Hybrid
Pentax ME Super bought in 1981 whilst I was in St Maarten. Sold it some years later because I needed to eat!

Just bought another (actually two) along with a Spotmatic SP II at auction and should have them by the end of next week. Fingers crossed at least one of them is in full working order.

I'm rather excited to have one in my hands again.
 

narsuitus

Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2004
Messages
1,813
Location
USA
Format
Multi Format


My first camera was a medium format.

As I said in my earlier post, the 35mm Miranda Sensorex was my first SLR.

However, the RB67 was my first medium format SLR.


Mamiya RB67 by Narsuitus, on Flickr
 

randyB

Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2005
Messages
535
Location
SE Mid-Tennessee, USA
Format
Multi Format
1967 I think, Olympus Pen F, 1/2 frame 35mm from a local pawn shop. !st full frame 35mm was a Yashica J-7. The nice thing about living close to a military base are all the pawn shops, dozens of them, and they all had lots of cameras. Now a days I rarely see any 35mm cameras in pawn shops.
 

eli griggs

Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
3,848
Location
NC
Format
Multi Format
Canon TX bought in Texas pawn shop, 1976.

Shot a roll or two of film only to discover it done no work.

Took it back to shop only to find I'd be getting a credit, no my money back.

This was in San Antonio, where some places military personnel really got screwed over.

Otherwise it was a great place and I did end up taking much of my time at the River Walk, taking photos and exploring shops that were hidden away from the main river front.

I do no remember the second camera I bought down there, but it may have been a tdl 1000 and it took beautiful pics, including one landscape that won "1st place" in an Army Contest but I was only allowed the Second place award, because of the poor quality of the print I made.

I was showing a buddy the negatives strip one night prior before I was going to make a better print of it, when it slipped from my grasp and, by reflex another friend stomped on the strip, like you would a $20, to keep it from flying away, with his boot.

We were indoors, but the reflex to stomp on stuff to "catch" it was a frequently observed practice in the Army l, at that time and in that unit.

That's why my only print, a quick, dusty 'proof', of that shot was all I could enter in the contest, but considering the quality of other landscape that were part and parcel to serving at Ft. Lewis, in the Pacific North West, I was very happy just to come out on top, despite the poor quality of the print.

It was truly a great shot.

Cheers, stay warm and safe and Good speed to all
 
Last edited:

russell_w_b

Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2018
Messages
92
Location
Penrith
Format
Multi Format
Praktica MTL3 with a Pentacon f1.8 50mm lens, bought on tick from Dixon's in 1978. In a fit of nostalgia two years ago, I bought another one with the same lens.
Here's me, forty years apart: same room, same mirror, original MTL3 and 'new' MTL3.
 

Attachments

  • mtl3.jpg
    52.5 KB · Views: 109

George Mann

Member
Joined
May 14, 2017
Messages
2,846
Location
Denver
Format
35mm
The first one I was gifted in '72 was a Miranda Sensomat. It was difficult for me to handle until I grew older, but I had zero issues with it.
 

markjwyatt

Subscriber
Joined
Apr 26, 2018
Messages
2,417
Location
Southern California
Format
Multi Format
Zeiss Icarex 35S with Zeiss 50mm f1.8 Ultron. I bought it form my dad in 1975. Camera no longer functions, but the Ultron became the seed of my small, but growing M42 collection. I bought a replacement body (35S) in 2019, really do not miss it much (but was fun to use one again anyway). The shutter on my original one failed, and I think the shutter on the replacement is on the blink. The nice thing about M42 is I can put my Ultron on many bodies.
 

markjwyatt

Subscriber
Joined
Apr 26, 2018
Messages
2,417
Location
Southern California
Format
Multi Format
russell_w_b said:
Back then I was thinking 'I wonder if one day there'll be a vehicle by which I can post my pictures for everyone around the world to see?' It pays to wait!
Click to expand...

I have been scanning my negatives and slides form the 1970s and posting on Flickr (as well as my new pictures of course).
 

RLangham

Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2020
Messages
1,018
Location
USA
Format
Multi Format
Most of them explicitly don't take any film cameras anymore. The one I know that does is inept at pricing them. They wanted 199 USD for a banged up and untested Nikon DS-2 shutter speed unit for Nikon F2S.
 

TheFlyingCamera

Membership Council
Advertiser
Joined
May 24, 2005
Messages
11,546
Location
Washington DC
Format
Multi Format
My first SLR regardless of format was a Hasselblad 500C that had been modified to take an Acute-Matte focusing screen, with the Chrome C 80mm lens. My first 35mm SLR (which came after the Hassy) was a Contax 167MT with the 50 f1.7.

Both are long gone now, but I still have one 35mm camera against the off chance I have the burning itch to shoot a film stock I can't get in a bigger format, or some other thing (there's still some 35mm Infrared film that you can't get bigger, and/or the IR filters to shoot it cost a small fortune for the lenses that I'd use on 8x10). My 35mm holdout is a Contax RTS III with the 50 f/1.4 . Back when I was younger and worked at the camera store, I lusted after but could never afford the Contax RTS III. Now that I can afford one, I'm not getting rid of it for anything. I just have a really hard time justifying any other lenses for it, since the ones I would want are now sought after by the mirrorless digital crowd for adapting to their Sonys and Fujis.
 

cullah

Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2004
Messages
55
The first camera was an Exakta with a 35mm East German so-so lens. Then I bought an Alpa 9d with the 1.8 Macro Switar lens. The camera was interesting, but had flawed design problems. The lens was only so-so. I went on to aquire other Alpas and had problems with all of them. The first camera I bought was a Rolleicord of ancient vintage. It was a fun camera to use. I did the Canon shuffle with an Ftb and A-1. At some point I ended up with a few Leicas. I use an M6 TTL now. Beautiful. I've also had a Mamyia Universal, and other Canons . Along the way I've picked up some Graflex's a Konica and various others. The best?Leica.
 

Karl K

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 13, 2006
Messages
1,108
Location
NJ
Format
35mm
Pentax H3V.
Unusual self-timer spring-wound knob located under the rewind shaft.
 

randyB

Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2005
Messages
535
Location
SE Mid-Tennessee, USA
Format
Multi Format
RLangham said:
Most of them explicitly don't take any film cameras anymore. The one I know that does is inept at pricing them. They wanted 199 USD for a banged up and untested Nikon DS-2 shutter speed unit for Nikon F2S.
Click to expand...
I agree, most don't take film cameras but occasionally I find one, last year I found a Spotmatic w /1.4 lens, bargained them down to $25. everything works.
 

Donald Qualls

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
Messages
12,301
Location
North Carolina
Format
Multi Format
My first SLR was an Exa II that i bought, with 50mm f/3.5 and 135mm f/5.6, in 1973. I used it for two or three years, but the shutter started hanging a couple millimeters open and I traded it away for a Kodak Reflex II.
 

RLangham

Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2020
Messages
1,018
Location
USA
Format
Multi Format
randyB said:
I agree, most don't take film cameras but occasionally I find one, last year I found a Spotmatic w /1.4 lens, bargained them down to $25. everything works.
Click to expand...
That must have been quite some bargaining. At the pawn shop I mention they won't take a dollar less than whatever absurd number. They googled "Nikon" when I was buying my F2SB from them and the first thing was some F5 or F6 for 1000 USD, and they almost wanted to charge me that!
 

Joseph Bell

Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Messages
275
Location
Toronto
Format
35mm
Ricoh Singlex with a 50mm 1.7 Rikenon lens. It cost $20 in 1994 at a pawn shop in Toronto. It works just as well today and the lens is quite nice indeed - great colour and plenty of character, not unlike the Takumars - I sometimes use it on my Spotmatic, which is a far more pleasant camera to use!
 

wiltw

Subscriber
Joined
Oct 4, 2008
Messages
6,451
Location
SF Bay area
Format
Multi Format
The camera on the far right is my actual first SLR, purchased by my Dad for a 14 year old photography nut. $159 for body and normal lens....Topcon Auto 100
The camera in the center is the Topcon D-1, which was $269 for body and F/1.8 normal lens, which I did not get until about 65.
At the far left is the Topcon Super D. The world's first commercially available SLR with TTL metering ...and any finder could be used, while retaining TTL metering capability. It sold for $420 with f/1.4 normal lens...It was an object of my teen lust, and was made of Unobtanium. To put the $420 price into perspective, $6600 was the median annual family income in the US, So the Super D was 3.3 weeks pay; put in 2020 terms it would be priced at $4980...and then you still had to buy film and pay for processing (unlike dSLR of today). I bought it in fully functional condition about 5 years ago for $25 at a thrift shop!



Everything in the photo is currently owned by me today...the kid's dream grown up!
 
Last edited:

ciniframe

Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2014
Messages
803
Format
Sub 35mm
MultiFormat Shooter said:
Cool idea, to do the same picture, 40 years apart!
Click to expand...
Our cameras have aged better than we. I hardly recognize the baggy eyed old man staring back at me in the morning mirror but my 1960 viewfinder Pen half frame looks quite fit for a 60 year old.
 

choiliefan

Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
Messages
1,311
Format
Medium Format
Summer of 1971.
Minolta SRT-101 with 50mm1.4 Rokkor.
Still remember the shimmer of the microprism as it nailed focus.
52 years later, microprisms are useless as I can barely make out the split image type now.
 

Kino

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 20, 2006
Messages
7,762
Location
Orange, Virginia
Format
Multi Format
Minolta SRT-MCII with 50mm, f1.4 Rokkor and a bag full of Ferannia Color Film from K-Mart in 1976.

I still have what I could salvage from the body when a "friend" borrowed it and took it to Disneyland, dropping down concrete steps in front of the Cinderella Castle. Saving the spare parts for the 2nd body I bought to replace it...
 

Alan Edward Klein

Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2017
Messages
9,473
Location
New Jersey formerly NYC
Format
Multi Format
A Nikon F Photomic T with 50mm f1.4 lens biught in Japan in 1965 and lost years later on a NYC subway. Downgraded to a Nikkormat FT3 with F2.0 50mm which I still have. I stay off subways.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…