When was the last time you bought a "new" 35mm film camera?

[Uncle Bill]

Sounds odd but I have never bought a new SLR camera. I was given a Canon Rebel XS for my 31st birthday 6 years ago, from there pick up an Ae-1 and built an FD system around it. Bought a Nikkormat FTn, inherited a Nikon F and LEica M3 from my dad's estate, you get the idea. I would like to buy the Zeiss Ikon or Bessa R2a RAngefinders some day, and that would constitute film product.

Bill

 

[photomc]

Funny, have all of my 35mm cameras (some long gone now) were purchased new..all Canon (TLb, AT-1, F1N, EOS Elan and Elan II)....none of the MF or LF have been new....Hmmmmmmmmmm, now the 35's don't see much film.

 

[Sanjay Sen]

Nikon N75, bought in 2003 for the wife. I love manual cameras and mostly use the F3HP & FM2N (both bought used).

 

[lee]

I bought a Nikon F in 1968 in Germany from the base exchange at Rhine Main. That is the last NEW camera I have bought.

lee\c

 

[Travis Nunn]

The only new camera I've ever bought just happens to be the first camera I ever bought, a Canon EOS Elan II in 1998. It is now my backup 35mm camera.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I guess I did buy my wife a Yashica T4s when they stopped making them a few years ago.

 

[mgb74]

Over 35 years I must have bought 50-60 cameras. The only 35mm cameras that I can remember buying new (other than gifts) were a Minolta XE-7 about 25 years ago and an Olympus XA about 20 years ago. % of lenses (new vs. used) is a bit higher.

 

[braxus]

The last 35mm I got was in late 2003 when I got my Elan 7. My T-90 was dead, and my AE-1 needed repair, so I went EOS and picked one of these up. I still use it today along with my repaired AE-1. As for digital I got a Rebel XT just last year when it came out.

 

[jeffneedham]

Bought an F5 a while back, three maybe four years now.

 

[Flotsam]

An interesting question.

I actually can't remember. Maybe my Omega 45F from Olden in NYC.

 

[joeyk49]

1981...I think...it was my X700...allthe rest have been used.

Oops! Nope, I lied....1984: I bought my wife a 3xi

My wife bought one in 2003. But it doesn't count. Its one of d*g*t*l point and shoot thingees...and SHE bought it...

 

[benjiboy]

The last new camera I bought was a Nikon F2 photomic in 1972.

 

[bohica]

I wonder how many people forgot they bought a digital camera?

LOL, Yes I did, Bought one for my ex so she could shoot snaps of the grandchildren, used so little that everytime it was used,had to read the instruction manual again. gave up the ghost after about a yr and is now a paperweight on my computer desk

 

[LeonardT]

My last new 35mm was a Leica M7 in October last year.

 

[T42]

I'm Like Bentley Boyd. My last new out of the box 35 was a Nikon F2, bought about 1975. I bought a used Leica M3 since. I use them both.

Henry Fisher

 

[Monophoto]

In 1982 my old 35mm SLR failed, and it was clear that repair was not feasible. I did an exhaustive study starting with identifying my needs and wants, and then comparing those with the capabilities of all commercially available 35mm SLRs at the time. Made a decision to get rid of my old system entirely and start over with Nikon, centered about an FM-2. One of the factors on my wish list was for a system that would last a while, and the decision to go with Nikon was clearly correct since that system is still functioning very well - several thousand rolls of film later.

I also have an Olympus rangefinder that I purchased in 1978. It it a bit beat up - there is a serious dent on the top plate from the time that I dropped in on the pavement at Ghiradelli Square in San Francisco, and the self-timer lever got lost years ago. I've been using the same mercury battery since 1998 - but I have four spares for when it eventually fails. Have probably put a couple hundred rolls of film through it.

Four years ago, however, I did purchase a new camera. It was a 4x5 field camera. I fully expect it to last longer than the Nikons.

The beauty of these cameras is that they share something with the old slant-6 Plymouth my wife had when we got married - they are so basic that there's essentially nothing to go wrong. On the other hand, the Plymouth was a piece of junk that wouldn't go uphill. Can't say that for any of these cameras - they are real workhorses.

 

[Vincent DiPietro]

The last new 35mm camera purchased by me was about four years ago when I saw the last remaining Yashica FX3 Super 2000 on a shelf of an electronics store that went out of business two weeks later. This is a sweet little camera that is bare bones, no frills and takes Zeiss c/y mount lenses. In fact the only "new" cameras that I have ever purchased has been two Yashica FX3 Super 2000's (I gave the first one to a girl friend -- she still uses it) and an Olympus point and shoot. All the rest of my gear, both past and present have been purchased used.

 

[hka]

I think it was in 1973 or 1974 I bought my last 35 mm camera's and I still use them frequently without any problem. You all are not wondering if I tell you that this where Leica R3 camera's. The only repair where the lightseals at the back of these camera's.

 

[titrisol]

1998, a Rollei Prego Zoom P&S camera

2004, a Pentax Optio digital to replace the Prego

2006??? or whenever I have the money I'll buy a Bessaflex M42

 

[kapro]

2005: 2xLeica M7, XpanII
Today:fridge, 500 Tri-Xs

 

[Mark Layne]

Leicaflex SL2 2002. Found in the camera store basement.

 

[Oren Grad]

Leica M6, 1994.

 

[Bjorn R]

Nikon FM3a with 45/2.8p lens 3 weeks ago.

After following this forum for a couple of months you all inspired me to return the fully automatic plastic thingie
I had borrowed from a friend of mine and got myself something a little more manual.

Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[elekm]

I bought the new Zeiss Ikon a couple of months ago. Last year, a Rollei P&S. In 2003, the Hasselblad XPan and right before that the Rollei 35 RF. In 2002, a little Leica P&S for my wife. In 2001, another Rollei P&S. In 2000, a Nikon Pronea S (APS!). Then go all the way back to 1983 for a Rollei 35S (new).

In the meantime, four digitals -- of which only one continues to work correctly. Well, I guess the old 0.3MP Epson works but why bother. The digital is great when I'm overhauling a camera -- snap some photos if reassembly becomes tricky.

 

[narsuitus]

I have purchased more used 35mm cameras than new. All of my medium and large format camera purchases were used. The following are the only 35mm cameras that I purchased brand new from a dealer:

1. Miranda Sensorex (1967 from Altmans in Chicago, Illinois)
2. Nikon F2 (l971 from Fairchild Camera in Champaign, Illinois)
3. Nikon F3 (sometime in the 1980s from 7th Street Camera in Fort Worth, Texas)
4. Nikon F2 titanium (purchased two sometime in the 1980s; one from 7th Street Camera in Fort Worth, Texas and the other from B&H in New York)
5. Nikon EM (purchased sometime in the 1980s from a dealer in Chicago or Texas)
6. Underwater 35mm camera (2005 from Wal-Mart)

Of the six, the F2 I bought in 1971 and the underwater camera are the only ones I am still using.