What Cameras do you have or have used in the past?

Discussions
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In my recent post Here I was lauded for using the Nikon D850 by another D850 user, and what caught my attention was a comment about how that camera today is considered heavy.

That got me thinking about all the cameras I have used in the last 30 years.

My first camera was a Minolta Freedom Zoom 90, a point-n-shoot with a zoom lens
Then came my first 35 mm body, a Canon QL it had a needle meter that would move up and down and good exposure was to keep the needle in the circle.
Then came my first auto exposure 35mm body, a Minolta X370
Then came a Nikon F3 HP
Followed by a Nikon F4s
Then a Shen-Hao 45HZ large format camera
I have a Canon D60 - my first digital camera
I also have a Nikon D2x the first real serious digital I bought.
Then I bought 12 Canon D30 cameras that I used when I taught digital photography in afterschool programs.
The Nikon D850 is the most recent camera, the camera that pulled me away from Large Format.
Then I was gifted two cameras: a pristine Nikon FM2, and a Mamiya Sekor 35 mm body.
Then I was gifted a Kodak folding Autographic Brownie

I lost my F3 when I went on an overseas trip back in 2004, and I miss it and have thought of buying another, but I don’t know if I would ever use it again.

I traded in my Minolta X370 when I wanted some Nikon lenses (although I wish I hadn’t), and the Freedom Zoom 90, I have no idea where it is. It was basically useless but I did use it in college.

The Autographic is fun to use, but the one take up spool I had for the medium format film was lost by the processing lab and I have not replaced it so the camera now is kind of useless but cool to have.

I still have all the Canon D30s but really have no use for them, as most kids in school today have better cameras on their phones, and I no longer run an afterschool class.

Every camera has been a learning tool that helped me improve my photography, coupled with the feedback from NPN over the decades. I like my tools and its really hard to let go of a good tool, especially when that tool was so central in helping me develop my photography.

What cameras have you owned/used in the past compared to what you use today? Do you still have them or did you let them go to move up to newer gear?

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Best I can remember, this is my progression. I was primarily a sports and wildlife shooter from about #4-12 on this list. Solely wildlife after that.

  1. Olympus OM-1: Dad’s camera, which I used in rare instances as a teen, through college and a couple years after college. I miss the feel of it.
  2. Canon Elan IIE: my first camera purchase, died in a kayaking mishap when our guide in New Zealand beached us so she could get back out in the water… will never forgive her
  3. Canon 7: maybe 7e?.. replaced the Elan IIE, but I barely used it, since I soon went fully digital
  4. Canon 10D
  5. Canon 20D
  6. Canon 40D
  7. Canon 7D
  8. Canon 7DII
  9. Canon 5DII
  10. Canon 1D Mark IV (first pro body, which I bought used)
  11. Canon 1DX
  12. Canon 1DXII (still own this, to use with my underwater housing)
  13. Canon R5
  14. Canon R3
  15. Canon R5II (reluctant purchase, due to a faulty mount on the R5 that cost me thousands in repairs over the years)

Still waiting for Canon to release something in between their R1/R3 and R5 lines. An R1 with 50% more MP would suit me just fine. Meanwhile, the other manufacturers have not come up with anything to sway me to switch. Yet.

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Ooh boy, some of these are so familiar as I worked for a camera store chain from about 1984-1990. The other day I was in one of those giant antiques malls and in a glass cabinet was a Minolta Maxxum 5000 which I think was one of the first of three autofocus 35mm SLRs from Minolta. Sold a crap ton of them for a while and seeing one as an “antique” really made me feel old.

Anyway, my list is a lot shorter than either of yours and probably everyone else’s, too.

Olympus OM-G (yep, that’s what it was called)

Olympus OM-1N - this was my main camera body, switching between it and the OM-G for 20 years

Olympus OM-3 - bought around 2000 because I’d always lusted after one, the shutter sound is so satisfying

Olympus E-300 - first digital camera bought around 2005

Olympus E-30 - first serious digital camera, prior to this I shot film and digital side by side, after this film went away

Lumix GH-3 - switched because Oly’s ergos went out the window. This was my first mirrorless (2013)

Lumix G9 - finally a viewfinder that doesn’t suck (2018)

Lumix G9 M2 - not as pretty as the G9, but a pleasure to use even if it’s a little like an International Harvester truck (2024) and it’s my main rig these days.

I still have all of these except the GH-3 and the E-300. I use the G9 for all my jewelry photography since I only need jpgs for that. The 35mm cameras would probably work if I ran film through them. The E-30 and its partner lens have stopped speaking; the thing turns on but the lens doesn’t stop down and I don’t know which is the problem. It was the last DSLR I owned and I was sad about its demise. Olympus really got the colors right in that baby.

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  • My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic in the mid 60’s
  • While overseas in '68 in the USAF I bought a Petri SLR-my first 35mm SLR
  • Canon FTb-1970
  • Omega View 45E-my first 4x5 (I used this along with the Canon Cameras)
  • Canon FTb-N
  • Canon AE-1 Program
  • Mamiya 645E MF SLR
  • Tachihara 4x5
  • Chamonix 4x5
  • Nikon D-7100 DSLR

The Canon cameras were donated to a high school in Stockton, CA. I sold the Mamiya to a friend a few years ago. The Omega View and the Tachi are in storage. I still have the Chamonix and the entire kit. Every once in a while, I get the itch to use but the cost of 4x5 film and processing (not to mention scanning and post) is not in the cards right now.

My Nikon still works like a champ and fills my needs. At this juncture, being retired, and with the price of everything going through the roof, any new gear is also not in the cards.

Fun topic. I hope to hear from others.
-P

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My first camera was a Minolta XG-1, a graduation gift from me to myself, and it served me faithfully for several years before finally giving up the ghost. Next came a Nikon 801, a genuine step up, which stayed with me for a decade until I stumbled on a bargain for a camera I’d dreamed about for years, the Nikon F4. In the 2000s, as digital photography was finding its feet, I drifted resolutely in the opposite direction and picked up a wonderful medium format Rolleiflex SL66, followed a few years later by a 4x5 view camera, the Chamonix 45 NII. I was deep into the darkroom in those days, mixing my own chemicals and chasing the perfect homemade Lith developer. The collection grew steadily, in the way these collections tend to. Then, five years ago, a kind soul, clearly disturbed by the state of clutter in our home, took it upon himself, out of pure altruism, to relieve me of all of it, along with our computers and anything else of value that wasn’t bolted to the walls. With the insurance money I went a completely different direction and bought a digital OM-1. It has been my only camera since, and it has done more for my photography in five years than analog managed in decades. The shorter feedback loop pushed me to grow in ways I genuinely didn’t expect, which, as a software engineer steeped in Agile methods, I really should have predicted. In my defence, I can be a bit slow on the uptake. I took my sweet time boarding the digital wagon, but here I am. I still keep the enlarger around and drag it out once or twice a year to show younger photographers what life was like before the undo button.

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List of Cameras I own or have owned. I have tried to group by type. But I’m I messed up somewhere. Please don’t judge me :joy:

Polaroid Land Camera* Countdown M80 : Special markets version of model 330 I’ve owned since 1965 when I graduated Junior High School Indianapolis PS#44.
Kodak Disc 6100
Olympus NewPic Zoom 90 APS Film*
General Imaging A1250 Digital APS

Yashica-A 6x6 Twin Lens Reflex Film (TLR)
Minolta Maxxum HTsi Plus 35mm Film
Minolta Maxxum 700si 35mm Flim
Minolta Maxxum 9 Film
Konica-Minolta 7D 35mm Film
Sony A700 35mm Film

Sony Mavica FD75
Olympus C5050Z*
Olympus C2020Z
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS75
Olympus IR-300 Compact
Kodak PalmPix V1.2, V2, V530

Minolta Maxxum 7D*
Sony SLT-A99V*
Sony A77M2 Digital SLT
Sony A99M2 Digital SLT*
Sony 7CR
Sony 7RM5*

RIM Blackberry 9630 Phone
Nokia E71x Phone
Nokia Lumia 1020 Phone
Galaxy A54 5G Phone
HTC HTCEVOV4G Phone

*Cameras I really liked a lot.

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Fun topic Youssef! Thought I would chime in. It was a fun exercise trying to remember. And at least for my 4x5 gear, I’m glad I had kept a MS Access database of all my 4x5 exposures, gear, exposure info, dates, locations, etc., etc.

One thing of note for me is that most all of my camera gear was purchased used/refurbished. With the exception of the little digital pt-n-shoots, the Chamonix 4x5 and latest, and maybe last purchase of the Nikon Z systems. Even so, I traded in a lot of previous digital gear to be able to afford the new system!

I’m sure there’s a couple I forgot along the way. I keep thinking I also had Olympus in the early days, but I’m probably thinking of the Pentax ME Super. Here ya go:

First notable interest in cameras and actually nature photography: 1972 family vacation to Glacier NP, Yellowstone, Tetons. So, 54 years and counting…

Kodak Instamatic – (70’s model)
Yashica 35mm Rangefinder. My first 35mm, was my fathers
Pentax ME Super – Loved that little camera
Canon EOS 620 – great ergonomics
HP digital Photosmart cameras including HP 945, 5mp and an HP 2mp pt-n-shoot
Also a couple of Panasonic Lumix pt-n-shoots
Nikon F4s and Nikon N8008s
Nikon FG – acquired from my father when he passed
Then, I got in to large format 4x5 for the next 23 years or so:
- Bush Pressman
- Nagaoka wood field from Japan
- Horseman 4x5 rail camera
- Wista DX wood field camera
- Zone VI wood field camera
- Zone VI Ultralight. Sadly, destroyed this knocking it over after closing the shutter on a 5hr star trail exposure. grrr
- Chamonix 4x5. First 4x5 purchased brand new
- Sold all my 4x5 gear in 2015 and finally went digital
Oh, had a Holga along the way sometime
Nikon D800E and Nikon D7100. Traded in to acquire:
Nikon Z7ii and Z8. Finally went mirrorless 2024

Will these by my last cameras? I hope so, but who knows

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I like it too.

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I agree, this is a fun topic! My camera timeline goes something like this (if I remember correctly):

Canon Rebel G - 1998 — My first “real” camera".

Canon Elan 7E - 2001 — I upgraded to this and I loved it. I sold it when I went digital but I still miss it sometimes.

Canon 10D - 2003 — My first digital camera.

Shen Hao 4x5 - 2005? — My forey into large format. I didn’t end up using it much and ended up selling it to buy my first Canon tilt-shift lens. This is another camera I still kind of miss having.

Canon Rebel XTi - 2007 — I upgraded/downgraded my 10D for this. I only used this for a short while until I went full frame later that same year.

Canon 5D - 2007 — My first full frame digital.

Canon 5Dmk2 - 2009 — My trusty friend. I used this as my main camera for 10 years!

Canon 50D - 2012 — I thought I might want to have a second body so I bought this used crop sensor for the occasional wildlife. Again, I ended up selling it fairly soon.

Canon 5Dmk4 - 2019 — My current main camera body going on 7 years now. I love this thing and I’m considering buying a second one to keep in reserve while they’re still fairly available on the used market.

Canon RP - 2023 — This is my newest camera even though I bought it used. I wanted something smaller for travel, for scouting locations and hiking. It’s a great little camera but I still prefer my 5Dmk4 more.

Of all the cameras I’ve used in the past I only have the 5Dmk4 and the RP now. I always sold my older camera to help fund it’s replacement.

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Well lookee here… I’ve been downsizing around the house, throwing out crap I haven’t seen or touched in 30, 40 or 50 years… Opened this box and discovered my son’s old Nintendo 64 - complete with all the necessary parts, about 10 games… Then, I found a few empty plastic slide boxes and some empty film cannisters… then at the bottom of the box… my old Pentax ME Super! OMG.

That made my day!

20260606162758-sharpened
20260606162758-sharpened2000×1228 801 KB

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Tom, Do I detect any brand loyalty here? Not sure… maybe? LOL

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Well Lon, you know how it goes…

You’re young and know little about the world but you want to get a “proper” camera so you go down to the camera store and the guy there hands you a camera. It seems fine and the guy sounds like he knows what he’s talking about so you take it. A year or two down the road, you decide to buy another lens and then another and another. Now, you’re a few years in and you’re enjoying photography and you think to yourself that maybe you should get a new camera, maybe one with a few more features. You go back to the camera store and what do you get? Of course a camera that already fits the lenses you have, This happens a few more times and before you know it, it’s almost 30 years later, you’re wondering where the time went, and you’re still shooting the same camera brand you started with. :smiley:

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I’ve long wondered what LOL means; now I know: “Lon Overacker Laughing”. :wink:

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HIlarious Jim! Honestly, that never crossed my mind. And now, of course, it can’t be unseen… :laughing:

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Canon AE1

YashicaMat 124
Kiev 88

Nikon FM

Nikon F601s

Nikon F4s

Nikon F90x

Nikon D80

Nikon D7100

Nikon D810

Nikon Z7ii

still got the D810, YashicaMat 124

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Canon EOS Rebel

Canon EOS 3

Canon EOS 5D (sold)

Canon EOS 5DII (sold)

Canon A1

Mamiya RZ67 Pro medium format film

Fuji X-T2 (sold, wasn’t impressed)

Canon EOS 5DIV (just sold, great body)

Canon EOS M6II

Canon EOS R5

Canon EOS R3

Fuji XPro-3 (sold)

Fuji XT-30II (sold)

Fuji XT-5

Fuji GFX100II

Fuji XE-5

17

First camera:
Kodak Brownie

My parents had several Rolliflex and a Leica M3

I would eye them all the time.

First SLR

Exa 1a. A German relative of the Exzacta. Got it in 1965.

Followed by Nikkormat FTN, Nikon N80

A few point and shoot :camera_with_flash: including digital

First digital SLR. Nikon D70. Which I still have in the original box.

Followed by

Various Nikon models D300 , D3x, D700, D800, D800E, D500, and D850

I had a lot of lenses including 10mm fisheye, 50mm, 70-200mm, 500mm and 600mm

300PF and 500PF, my favorite lenses, both exceedingly sharp. I have would have kept them if there was a realistic way to use them with my current camera Sony

I had and sold ILCE 7R3,7R4, and 7r5

They’re all gone now except for my ILCE 7r6 and A1 and current lenses

So that is a lot of cameras and glass over 61 years…