I was a journalism major in college with aspirations of becoming a photojournalist. My first serious camera was a Nikon F, which I still own. I'm still a NIkon guy shooting a D850.

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Originally posted by FN in MT:
...I have run across three nice old Hasselblads in the past year or so...Two were $600 one which was REALLY mint, booklets, etc.. was $750...

If I was the least bit talented or artistic I could rationalize buying one. But unfortunately I am not.

And since I'm still scrimping and saving for a CPO 229, I guess I won't be, either! Oh, well!

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Originally posted by 6guns:

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Originally posted by shovelhead:
I have my Minolta SRT-101 that I bought in '75.

That was my first real camera.

Mine was a used SR-1 that I bought to replace a Fuji rangefinder 35mm. Remember that dinosaur?

Have not shot film in a very long time. I just traded in my old Canon F1n along with a 100-200mm tele, a 28mm wide angle, and a 28-70mm zoom for a new Nikon 5600 body. I thought it was a fair deal, as film camera's just do not command much these days.

My last Pentax MX died about the time they quit making Kodachrome. I dove deep into digital and I still long for my Kodachrome...

I've been tempted to buy a Hasselblad and put a digital back on it but I really want a Red set up for my Canon lenses

Has anybody heard recently about the intended re-introduction of Ektachrome? It's been over six months, I think, since I last heard.

I use a Nikon FE, an F3, and my SINAR F-series 4x5.

My favorites lenses in 35mm are my 28PC, my 55mm micro, and my 105mm. In 4x5, my Rodenstock Grandagom 115mm is my favorite.


I also use a Nikon 5200 DSLR.

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Originally posted by 6guns:

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
I have my Minolta SRT-101 that I bought in '75.

That was my first real camera.

Me, too. Bought in Germany on a trip to Europe when I was in college in 1973. Loved that camera. Last use on vacation about 15 years ago.

I still have my Minolta kit. XE5, XE7, XD11, and a nice collection of lenses, mostly Tamron SP series.

Last year, I finally succumbed to digital, picking up an Olympus OM-D E-M10, which has been fun to work with.

I have a camera bag with 3 Minolta 35mm bodies and an assortment of lenses, plus a Minolta auto flash unit that I use almost as much as my Nikon DSLR. Typically I only shoot B&W film in them... normally Ilford Delta 400.

I also have a fairly rare all-black variant of the Yashica Electro35 rangefinder from around 1973 that I cleaned up and put back in service. It is nearly mint condition and worth a good bit to collectors now, so I don’t carry it a whole lot, but when I do it’s loaded with the same Ilford film as the Minoltas are!

Dale labs in FL does my processing for me.

I have considered getting back into medium format with the same Bronica gear I used to shoot, but the film cost is prohibitive at this time. And by the way, that’s where my online name “bronicabill” came from! I used to do wedding and portrait work exclusively with Bronica SQ-B gear!

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Originally posted by shovelhead:
I have my Minolta SRT-101 that I bought in '75.

My first camera here. From there i had an Olympus om-10, and finally a Canon t-90 with a 1.2 lens - which I still have.

Big film fan... although I use digital. Nothing is like a properly exposed, developed and print from a film based negative.

I have a Nikkormat, FE2, Leica twin lens and a couple of large format press cameras.

Develop and print myself.

I worked as a commercial/advertising photographer for 25+ years, I stopped when everything converted over to digital, NOT ME, Not my style or what I got into photography for. I enjoyed the film process. Picking the right film for the job, picking the right developing process (push or pull)according to your test shot results. Having your film picked up at the studio and then delivered back to you in 1 1/2 hrs.I also ran several color labs and did Ektachrome E-3 and E6 processing, color printing and Cibachrome. As a pro you expected to solve all your problems through the lens using time exposures, selective lighting,and hours or days of set building and lighting tests. It was a craft, just like the guys that did Lithography, printing/separations. It would take many years for a good separator to learn his trade, and a for a great pressman to learn to to run a press.

I worked mainly with 8x10 view cameras ( Ektachrome or Fujichrome), after that it would be medium format, and as a last resort 35mm.
I still have some of the 35mm equipment in my closet. My first real camera, a Nikon Nikkormat I got in the mid 60's and a Nikon F2 along with a assortment of lenses. I just bought a eyepiece to convert a camera lens to a telescope, I hope to try it on my 1000mm Nikor.

I always thought of photography and shooting to be similar as to picking the right film as compared to ammo for the situation, picking the right camera format as to picking the right rifle for the task,and lighting and thinking out your photo as to stalking and pulling the trigger on your hunt. And as in shooting a gun and film photography, once you pull the trigger you own the shot/bullet, you can't take it back. Thats what was thrilling.

The only things I really miss about film cameras are the empty 35mm film containers. They sure were handy for lots of stuff! :-)

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Originally posted by armored:
...I always thought of photography and shooting to be similar as to picking the right film as compared to ammo for the situation, picking the right camera format as to picking the right rifle for the task,and lighting and thinking out your photo as to stalking and pulling the trigger on your hunt. And as in shooting a gun and film photography, once you pull the trigger you own the shot/bullet, you can't take it back. Thats what was thrilling.

I like the analogy! It reminds me of a picture I took, several years after I'd taken my last previous pic, a couple years into my competitive target shooting. My subject was perfectly centered in the crosshairs...err...picture!

I started with a Nikon FM in high school, added the MD12 motor drive and a Series E 75-150 zoom as well as my 50 1.8 and 24 2.8 F Lenses. Shot about 80% of my high school yearbook, and all the sports I could get access to. My father worked at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, so I had access to a lot of events. The best at the time were Pitt Big East basketball games against Georgetown. I worked at a local photo chain store through college and hunted the camera equipment shows religiously to upgrade/trade/finagle new equipment when I could. I worked small trade shows and retailer shows for my Nikon rep too.

Grad school, a family and a Manager's job with Ritz Camera for a couple of years was a lot of fun. My old store staff are still good friends, and that was from 1989-92. Started doing weddings with 35mm and then up to 2-1/4 with a Bronica ETR 6x4.5 format.......Did weddings for 17 years.

Equipment continued upgrading, had a ton of gear.....F2AS Photomic, F3HP, F4 in 35mm, a Leica M2, and bought a lightly used Bronica SQ-Ai outfit that I used for the rest of my wedding career. I collected for a while, post-WWII Japanese copies of Leicas (Nippon Kogaku and Canons) and I wish I still had some. The market is soft for them, but I loved using them.

I photographed Winston Cup racing from 1986-92. At first, you could have just about jumped in a car and run hot laps and no one would have stopped you.....by 92 it was getting impossible to get credentials at most of the bigger races. I had started by giving photos of Pontiac cars and drivers to a friend who was a Pontiac zone manager, and who's brother was a brand manager for the Grand Am. He gave pics to the brand manager for the Grand Prix, and I was able to get creds for Pocono, Michigan, Richmond, Bristol, Dover and New Hampshire from then to 1992.

I used to assist another photographer who had a lot of society connections, and we would do a ton of society weddings, corporate work, parties, anything you can imagine. I was able to photograph three US Presidents at fundraisers with the major donors. That was some high pressure work, let me tell you. His handlers would tell us how far behind schedule he was running and we had to be ready to go as soon as he walked in behind the curtains. About 150 grip and grins later, and usually would have time for a quick shot with the President too. Met and photographed George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush, and several parties for the Clinton Inauguration in DC. 8 parties in 3 days. The party at the Smithsonian Museum of American History sponsored by the Michigan delegation was huge, about 3000 attendees. Also photographed the Governor's luncheon event at the Library of Congress and another event at the Corcoran Art Museum. The Corcoran is supposed to be haunted! It was spooky, but a fun week as well. Oh, well, up to the time where the Dems that hired my buddy for the Inauguration events stiffed him. Yep. It's been going on for years.

Anyway, back to the equipment, I was not an early adopter of digital, I just thought it was a long way off from the true color and saturation and sharpness of film. It has certainly surpassed that now. I actually switched over to Canon in 1992 because the AF system for car racing was better than Nikon's. Shot with EOS1-N's and L Series lenses, 75-200 2.8L; 300 F4 IS-L, 35-350 3.5L, and wides out to 20mm 2.8. When I bought my first digital body, it was a Canon 40D and all my glass still works, though the wides are a bit compromised as it is an APS-C chip. I have bought and used Canon 5d's, up to the Mark II, but I haven't shot much in a long time. I have been trying to justify the purchase of a new body, so maybe this summer I will get back into it.

I started in photography because I loved it, I loved B&W darkroom, I loved the anticipation of opening up boxes of slides to look at them, I remember the first 2-1/4 slides I shot on FujiChrome Velvia were mind blowing! Once I started making money with my cameras, I just lost that same feeling. I only picked up a camera when I was getting paid. I'd like to go back to the time before that if I buy another camera.

my brother took pic's with the 35mm slr's for 35 years , he has an entire four drawer file cabinet full of negatives.

he only takes pic's at family events now, with a $400.00 point and shoot, has no interest in getting 3 grand worth of digital stuff

I still have my Hasselblads. One is the C/M model with a standard 80mm lens and the other is a Superwide.

Great cameras, and the big negatives are beautiful. But digital is so much handier. I haven't shot film in several years.

Digital backs for the Hasselblads are available, but they are incredibly exepensive - the sensor is huge. The cheapest digital back is right around $10,000.

I got into photography in High School, they had a B&W darkroom at school and I spent a lot of time in there. Started with a fixed-lens Minolta and "graduated" to a Nikkormat EL. Over the years I updated the gear periodically. The last time I shot a bunch of film was on a trip to Alaska in 2000. I had an F-4 and a Bronica SQ/A setup by then. I traded the F-4 on a D-70 a while later, still kind of regret doing that. Now I have a D-200 and the SQ/A stuff is still sitting in a bag. I also picked up a somewhat beat up F-2AS that I still have. Honestly though, most of my "photography" now is with my phone.

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Originally posted by PghPI:
...I actually switched over to Canon in 1992 because the AF system for car racing was better than Nikon's...

Nikon integrated the light meter with the shutter speed to get automatic exposure for my F3, making auto racing much more difficult. You'd think you have a good pic, but the results were blurred due to a slowed shutter speed, which wouldn't be an issue if they adjusted aperture instead. Guess they didn't think that one through, either.

I don't know if anybody remembers the deal Kodak had in the 1980's, a cheap poster-sized print if you used Kodak film. I still have several, all car-related, two shot at a vintage race at Road America -- a Cobra 427 S/C and a Ferrari 330GT 2+2, and both slightly blurred.