As for driving up prices, again for the cameras likely to be used regularly, I'm not convinced that's the case. It may be true for a pristine, boxed Leica M3, but then who would buy that to take it out and get it dusty and wet anyway?
To return to the OP's question (which was only seeking advice on cameras he should have, not whether he should be collecting in the first place!) I'll throw in another - the Zenit E. Though no great shakes specification-wise, it provided a first step into the world of SLR photography for many teenagers like myself in the 1970s who couldn't afford a Pentax and wanted to move upmarket from something like a Halina Paulette.
Steve
I agree. Zenits and Prakticas are probably responsible for more documentary images of 60s and 70s Britain than any other makes because of the people they were sold to, not artists or serious photographers but those who bought them to record their other interests.
I think some of the criticism of people who buy cameras as collectors' pieces is a little misplaced. For the kinds of cameras that are likely to be potential users, there are plenty to go around. As for driving up prices, again for the cameras likely to be used regularly, I'm not convinced that's the case. It may be true for a pristine, boxed Leica M3, but then who would buy that to take it out and get it dusty and wet anyway? Taking the longer view, come the day when all the users have been used, the collectors' cabinets can then be plundered for examples that have been kept in suspended animation! For most cameras that we'd likely want to take out and shoot with, we're hardly talking mortgage money.
To return to the OP's question (which was only seeking advice on cameras he should have, not whether he should be collecting in the first place!) I'll throw in another - the Zenit E. Though no great shakes specification-wise, it provided a first step into the world of SLR photography for many teenagers like myself in the 1970s who couldn't afford a Pentax and wanted to move upmarket from something like a Halina Paulette.
Steve
A question for US members: did many Zenits and Prakticas make it to the States in the 60s & 70s, or did the their communist origins prevent their being freely sold there?
Steve
Collecting vintage cameras is one of the factors that helps to keep film photography
alive. Camera collections help maintain camera values and thus their general
value as viewed by the public and they also help create interest in film photography
in people who would not otherwise be aware of its merits. Many people are
inspired to try film photography by seeing a collection of vintage cameras. The
more this occurs, the more demand for film is created and we all know what that
means.
Put a fine vintage camera in someone's hand and it often blows their mind --
few products made today compare with their obvious quality and charm. Seeing
and touching them often makes people want to use them.
Just as museums of all types help keep public interest alive in various fields, the
same is true of vintage camera collections. Collecting vintage cameras is good
for all of us.
... did many Zenits and Prakticas make it to the States in the 60s & 70s?
I suggest not collecting usable cameras. It will drive the prices up for those that actually shoot them, and will be a complete waste of the cameras' abilities. The thing about cameras is that even old ones are still extremely useful in every day shooting, and very high in quality compared to today's cameras.
I use everyone of them regularly - I do my part in keeping film alive, but I also would like to have a historical perspective on it. When I see such varying designs juxtaposed, it always has me wondering what were the thought process involved at that time . . .
Also, it is much better to have them in my possession then sitting unused or worst!
well I blame the Leica fondlers who pay outrageous sums for "Luftwaffen Eigentum" and IIIcK and red shutter curtains (made by Graflex in the US just before the war) Ernst Leitz and co were not Nazis and worked to protect their Jewish employees and families from the Nazis... That should be remembered, not the state-run industry.
David
And the point of collectors studying what they collect is adequately illustrated in your "1955 Leica Luftwaffe" which is either a Fed or Zorki which has had the chrome stripped and engravings intended to deceive made on the bare metal. These things were made with Western consumers (= 'suckers') in mind and have been sold for outrageous sums of money.David
So we're supposed to collect junk and inops? I insist on having everything in my collection be functional, thats why I have parts cameras.
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