Your FIRST 35mm Camera...

[tessar]

Lucky me! A Leica IIIf, given to me by my father when he bought an M4-P.

 

[spijker]

A Contax 139 with a Yashica 1.7 50mm lens in 1980 I think. Bought from my savings from a morning newspaper delivery job while in high school. It served me well and has seen quit a bit of the world before the shutter died from rust according to the repair man. That learned me that having a camera hanging on your chest while heavily sweating on a Thai jungle trek is not a good idea. The electronics never failed.

 

[donkee]

When I was about 14 years old I walked in to the Super City department store and bought my first 35mm SLR a Minolta XG-A with 50mm F/2.0. A good starter camera and it was all I could afford at the time. I stuck with the Minoltas after that. I have been thinking about getting another for giggles since mine went missing years ago.

 

[ambaker]

Yashica TL Electro-X. It survived the humidity and temperatures of two years in Vietnam. Made it to Taipei Taiwan, survived the heat of California summers, and later the cold of Idaho winters.

Not my best camera. Not my favorite. But like your first girl friend, you may not go out anymore; it is always kind of nice when you see her.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[CHX]

A Praktica BX20s - which I got as a birthday present in my teens. A really nice camera actually, more so than I realised at the time! I'm thinking about getting one again for travelling

 

[jspillane]

A black Nikon F2m. I still have it, but rarely use it... I should, as it is an amazing camera, but I never invested much in Nikon glass.

 

[Lamar]

My father's Argus C-3, he gave it to me back in the mid 70's. I still have it but the shutter strap broke late last year so it's OOS for now. :-(

 

[newcan1]

Got a Zenit B for my 14th birthday. It was such a big deal to me then that my hands were shaking when I opened it up. I wish I still had it -- for sentimental, not photographic, reasons.

 

[ettlinger]

Canon Demi

My parents gave me a Canon Demi half frame when I was a freshman in high school. It was a step up from my old Kodak box camera.
Used it through High School and College. After about 15 years it jammed and I had to move on.

 

[bobwysiwyg]

My very first was a Yashica Minister D. It wasn't long before I decided I wanted more control, so I moved on to a Pentax SV. Still have the SV.

 

[DWO]

Mine was a Pentax ME Super bought new in the 80s. I still use it.

 

[Peltigera]

Got a Zenit B for my 14th birthday. It was such a big deal to me then that my hands were shaking when I opened it up. I wish I still had it -- for sentimental, not photographic, reasons.

Zenit Bs (and the Zenit E) were quite capable of producing outstanding images. The standard Helios-44 lens was extremely good and the shutter was accurate to within the exposure latitude of film. My Zenit E is still in use.

 

[Nuff]

I was 23 and started my first big paying job back in 2000. I got myself Nikon F100. I later sold it around 2005 for D70. That was a big mistake...

 

[mds721]

While in High School the Konica Auto-reflex model 50mm f1.4 with full and half frames,December 1967, still have it along with the 21mm lens I purchased in 1969 mail order from TM Chan in Hong Kong. Back then cheapest prices were HK mail order.
A friend ordered a nikormat, the nameplate was reversed to the blank side since Berkley had the exclusive rights to import Nikons into the US.

 

[jerrybro]

Minolta SRT. Wife brought it home in 1981 and said "teach me how to use this".

 

[Axle]

Battery is long dead, rangefinder is a bit out, but mechanically it's still solid and all the speeds are there. My Hi-Matic 7s.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Battery is long dead, rangefinder is a bit out, but mechanically it's still solid and all the speeds are there. My Hi-Matic 7s.

I sold a lot of those at my first summer job out of high school The customers loved them so much they would come back and ask for advice and asked really thoughtful questions.

 

[mrred]

Penntax Pratika LTL, late 70's

I thought it was an awesome camera until I did a bit of research 10 years ago. I was looking to get another but they were so flimsy none really lasted. Mine broke 2 years after I had it. It got dropped and jammed; apparently common.

 

[Black Dog]

7 and 7 is

I sold a lot of those at my first summer job out of high school The customers loved them so much they would come back and ask for advice and asked really thoughtful questions.

I've heard they were really nice little cameras-must keep a lookout for one.

 

[Trojan_Llama]

Canon AF35M - an early autofocus compact. I would have loved a Canon AE-1 like my brother's, but just didn't have the dough for something like that.

 

[Roger Cole]

Ricoh Singlex TLS, bought for me by my parents in...1976 or so I think. Big, heavy, dim viewfinder, stop down metering, 55mm f/2.8 lens. But it worked and was nearly indestructible. I sold it years later. Bought another off eBay when I got back into photography just for the nostalgia of it.

 

[ozphoto]

My 18th birthday present (1988) was a Canon AE-1 Programme black body with a 50mm f1.8 lens. My folks purchased it used from one of the better stores at the time, and I was thrilled.

She was in pristine condition and served me well for many years (shooting many sports events) before trading her in for an old F1 with motor-drive.

 

[nateo200]

First post here. Chinon CS with 55mm ƒ/1.7 and 135mm ƒ/2.8 M42 mount lenses. Its sitting on my desk broken now :/ I shot about 100 rolls through it, I got it for $5 for all that so it definitely was a deal, gonna hunt on eBay to find one, last I checked they were only $25~, just need to find the rarer 28mm screw mount lenses compatible with it. I'm new to film but not photography (been shooting digital for 5 years now) always read in depth on film (as in analog format) but never shot the puck with getting into it tell about 2 months ago, just bought a Fuji GW690, gonna be a while not shooting film tell the GW690 comes and I replace my 35mm but I have about 20 rolls of Fujichrome and Ektachrome being processed and scanned this week so thats exciting.

 

[John_Nikon_F]

A black Nikon F2m. I still have it, but rarely use it... I should, as it is an amazing camera, but I never invested much in Nikon glass.

FM2? Load some film, pop on whatever Nikkor you have, and take it shooting...

-J

 

[Regular Rod]

This place was looking a bit dead...not much doing, so i thought this might be fun. Lets see what all you folks cut your teeth on - what was your first 35mm camera!

Here is me: this little East German thing that you had to walk ten steps away from your subject to be more less in focus! Then you wound the little wheel until it stopped. As far as I recall, your legs were the only adjustment.

But the first real 35mm (I had a Lubitel after that) camera was a Zenit ( I forget which letters - I think MF - it had a photo-cell light meter over the lens). It still works although the rewind knob broke and I cant locate the pieces to fix it (and I just realized that I can't locate the camera... wife cleaned the place...it can be anywhere... it may be in YOUR house!). Pretty good for over 20 years of use!

Hope everyone has fun recollecting!

Peter.

Zenit 3M with f3.5 Industar. 19 Guineas about 1962. Bought with savings from a Saturday job. What a mistake! I used it for years but I should have bought a good quality second-hand 120 folder with the money.

RR