What's your camera history?

[tripodjw]

I've always loved taking photos but never had a lot of money until i got my current job.

As a kid i had a Minolta Film P&S, no idea on model. My dad lost this at WDW when i was 14, i was absolutely gutted as it was my camera mum and dad had their own camera and mine had all our pics from a shuttle launch we'd seen a couple of days before.

They bought me a Kodak P&S. Which i nursed through til i was out of University (so about 8 yrs). I treated myself to a newer camera at graduation (can't remember model) but it was another p&s as that was all i could afford.

Entered the digital age the day i got married (2004) - my parents bought us a Canon Powershot S50 as a wedding present. (they also gave us a Sony Camcorder - including a tape inside on which they had got a friend to video the wedding ceremony)

In Jan 2007 i decided i wanted a bridge camera as i wanted to learn to do more and we had a first ever trip to NY coming up so got a Canon S3 IS. I used this to learn about exposure, aperture shutter speed, ISO etc. and even bought a tripod and gorillapod to use with it. But felt limited by the quality of low light pictures.

So in April 2008 i bought a Nikon D80 with the 18-135 kit lens and topped up with a 70-300 VR lens. Within a couple of weeks i'd bought the 50mm f1.8 nikkor lens. And in May went to WDW. Probably a bit rash but i found it really fun to learn the camera while taking pics of some fmy favourite things.

Since then i've bought various circular polarisers and ND filters and my most recent purchase is the Tokina 10-17 fisheye.

Have a variety of lens wants but will try and pace myself

 

[MICKEY88]

I had a few el cheapo cameras as a kid, I got my first slr in 1977,
a Minolta xg7, I had a 50mm 1.7 a 135 and a 28-200 vivitar lens, one of the first big zooms..

I used that until I picked up my first 9000 Maxxum in the mid 80s, with that I also bought a 35-105 zoom and a 100-300 zoom, I then added a second 9000Maxxum, at that point the 35-105 was mounted on my main camera, which had a motor drive,,the 100-300 was mounted on the second 9000, that's how I shot for many years, I was tempted by the 7000i, then the7xi,and 9xi, and eventually the maxxum9, but none ever tempted me enough to spend the money since my workhorse 9000s were still doing a fine job, the camera that tempted me most over the years was the Pearl White Maxxum 8000i, that was a beautiful looking camera, and a lot of wedding photographers used it...
then along came digital, I debated with myself for a few years, finally deciding it was time to make the switch, at that time I also decided that I was tired of carrying a bag full of stuff, so I decided to go with a bridge camera, finally deciding on the Minolta A2, that is an awesome camera many reviews at the time claimed it was almost as good as a DSLR I got a lot of great photos out of that camera, but it did have a few limitations and it drove me crazy when I couln't get the quality of picture that I wanted in some difficult situations, I decided it was time for a DSLR, fortunately MInolta came out with the 7D. right about the time I had decided to purchase, I heard that Minolta was selling out to Sony, so I had to start the thinking process all over again, did I want to go with minolta and hope Sony would continue the fine tradition of great quality cameras and lenses, or was it time to change brands..

I decided to take my chances. so I bought my 7D, great camera, very user friendly controls..


then I heard rumors of a Sony A900, the proposed specs were nice, I decide that would be my next camera, so I patiently waited for the rumor to become reality, then I heard rumors that it could cost as much as $5000. I started to re-evaluate my plans.. the A700 was starting to look like a better option for me, I decided I'd wait on the A900 and then make my final decision based on it's price.

SO here I was just reading posts on the good old dis, on a monday and
KAT4DISNEY posted about her find at best buy, all of a sudden the A700 was looking like the camera for me..
unfortunately my local best buy said I was crazy thinking I could get an A700 for $560, since it was a $1400 camera.

So I took a chance and pmed KAT4DISNEY, asking if her best buy had any more A700s, till all was said and done I called best buy in NEvada , bought the camera, and KAT4DISNEY, being the wonderful person that she is, picked my camera up at best buy, drove it to UPS, then called me so I could do that transaction by phone, by Friday I had my A700 in hand, I charged the battery, and started playing, I loved the camera, and quickly decided that if I could track another one down for 560, I'd buy it and be back to my previous 2 camera setup;... that very night I located one and bought it, so within a few days I had purchased 2 A700's, they both have been seeing a lot of use, and they are great cameras..

Once again I thank my new friend, KAT4DISNEY, for her very kind act..I should also mention that she re-arranged her schedule just to drive 30 miles to best buy , and get the camera to me as quickly as possible

 

[YesDear]

I guess my first camera was a kodak instamatic 110 from the 60's. My first real interest came when my dad let me use a zeis rangefinder camera he used in Korea. In high school, in the early 70's, yes I am dating myself, I got a Minolta 35mm and quickly went to a Nikon F2. I have had three with two stolen. I then got a Nikon FE because it had aperture exposure!!! It has been stolen twice also! I also happen to be an insurance agent and yes everything is well insured!

Those were my cameras with various lens until digital came out. My first digital was a Coolpix 995. It had 3mp images and was close to a grand at the time! My son was actually the first to get a DSLR, a Nikon D70. It took me less than a year to get mine. I have since sold that and gotten a D200 and D300. Like Gdad, I have a myriad of FX and DX lens. Fortunate to have a good friend that has lots of stuff and will let me use it!

It has been a re-education to go to digital because with film the ISO was set for you. You only had shutter speed and Fstop to worry with. No 3dmatrix metering in those days either. Everything was manual focus.

It is really neat to shoot in raw and have an option to be your own darkroom.

At this time I see no reason to go to the D700, but will probably seriously consider the next round of models that come out.

 

[captaincrash]

Let's see...

... I can't fully recall everything ... but lets see what I CAN recall. I'll start with the present KIT and work my way into the past.... Presently I have a Canon 10D, a brand new Olympus 850SW (water proof to 10 M, impact resistant to 1.5M, crush proof to 100 pounds, and operable in cold temps down to a figure I can't fully recall now), a newish Fuji f40 bought for $29 including rebates and a $100 credit from Amazon for opening 2 section 529 savings plans for my nieces), and a beat up old Canon SD400.

In the recent past I've retired a Digital Rebel (300D), and I've gone through THREE Canon G-1 bodies! One of which i still have operating - but I don't use anymore. The very 1st digital camera I used at length was the Epson 800 (very similar to the 700 pictured below).

Before that my 35mm cameras were an cherished Nikon FE2 in black with motor during my High school years 30 years ago... then I stepped down to the convenience of an Olympus XA-2 with flash just as pictured below and then the everyday kock about amera was a simple Canon Sure Shot supreme.

As a kid I had occassional use of 35mm cameras (which I cannot clearly recall the types or models now) and when I was really god and LUCKY I got to shoot my Dad's polaroid camera ... which was a lot like this one...

The kids also shoot with a brand new Mickey Mouse VGA camera purchased on clearance at the Disney Store last month for $10 ... and I plan on allowing them to use the shock and water resistant Olympus SW850 if I can be reasonably certain they won't LOSE it!

 

[brack]

My first camera was a completely manual Fujica 35mm. A friend was a professional photographer who helped me buy it. He let me go with him on shoots to learn. (he also let me play with his RB67) This was about 1975.

Early in the '80s I bought a Canon AE-1 Program that I used for a long time.

In 1999 a friend had a Canon EOS1 film camera and wanted to upgrade so I bought it from him. This was my first higher level camera. I love using and still own it. I have been very tempted to pull it back out for some B&W and Infared shots.

I bought the first Canon Digital Rebel and used it until the XTi was released. The XTi is still my main camera.

I do want (and plan to buy sometime) a higher level Canon camera (EOS1d) and a higher end lens.

 

[boBQuincy]

I moved up from Kodak Instamatics in about 1971, with an Olympus 35SP rangefinder. It took about a year to realize I needed a SLR and bought a Minolta SRT101 with 50mm and 200mm Rokkor (I still have them). Unlike today's digitals, these lasted me until I *needed* autofocus and again went with Minolta.

I bought my first digital camera in late 2000 based on good reviews of Kodak's DC4800, which I still have and which still takes good photos. Of course I liked it but missed my SLR and waited for Minolta to produce a digital SLR. After too much waiting I switched to Canon with a D30, the first affordable dSLR.

Through the film days I had a darkroom but sold most of it when I got my D30 and realized film was going the way of vinyl phonograph records. Like records, a few years later you couldn't give away darkroom equipment. No matter, the latest inkjet prints are better than anything I ever saw from chemical prints.

Now, several Canon dSLRs later I am again looking at another!

 

[thomas998]

Leica IIIf
Leica IIIg
Yashica Electro 35
Yashica J-5
Minolta X-700
Yashica FX-3
Minolta Maxxum 7000
Nikon N90
Nikon F5
Kodak 420
Nikon D50
Nikon D80

That of course excludes the silly gimicky cameras like the kodak disk camera and other oddities.

 

[handicap18]

Have a variety of lens wants but will try and pace myself

Let me know how that works out for you!!!

So I took a chance and pmed KAT4DISNEY, asking if her best buy had any more A700s, till all was said and done I called best buy in NEvada , bought the camera, and KAT4DISNEY, being the wonderful person that she is, picked my camera up at best buy, drove it to UPS, then called me so I could do that transaction by phone, by Friday I had my A700 in hand, I charged the battery, and started playing, I loved the camera, and quickly decided that if I could track another one down for 560, I'd buy it and be back to my previous 2 camera setup;... that very night I located one and bought it, so within a few days I had purchased 2 A700's, they both have been seeing a lot of use, and they are great cameras..

Once again I thank my new friend, KAT4DISNEY, for her very kind act..I should also mention that she re-arranged her schedule just to drive 30 miles to best buy , and get the camera to me as quickly as possible

AWESOME!! Just DISer's being DISer's. Gutta luv the friendlyness of the Disboards!

Great story!

 

[zackiedawg]

I started with my first camera in 1974 - a Kodak Instamatic of some kind (could have been a 126) - my father bought it for me when I was 5 along with a roll of B&W, and my very first shots were looking up at the World Trade Center buildings in New York. Yep - they were the afformentioned square photos and the brick-style flash cubes.

In 1977, my father bought me for Christmas a Pentax ME Super along with a 50mm F2.0 Osaka (sp?) lens. It was my first foray into manual camera controls and the SLR world...since I had shown an avid interest in snapping shots of everything I could find with my Instamatic. In the next year or two, I added a telephoto lens (another secondary brand I can't recall the name of now - I believe it was a 70-200 or so). I never took that second step towards learning about photography, and predominantly used the camera in 'auto' mode (though it was manual focus and had the LED-style meter in the viewfinder, so I had to at least nail that myself!)...and this was my main vacation and snapshot camera until 1994.

I added a Canon EOS-IX APS-SLR then, with a basic Canon telephoto as the only lens...it was a hand-me-down from my stepfather, and was more 'automated' than my old Pentax...I used it for a few vacations and a few of my first forays into portfolio and modeling photography as I attempted to learn how to use the controls a bit more.

In 1997, I took the leap to one of the early digital cameras - a 1.2MP Sony FD91 Mavica with floppy disk drive. Instantly, my love of photography was born and began to really flourish. Through years of SLR, I always thought of the camera as that device one needed to take vacation memories...once the digital arrived, it became an artistic tool I wanted to learn more about. Freed from the guesswork of how I did until days later when I processed the shots, and from the repeating expense of film and processing...I really began to experiment and snap alot more - learning more about the interplay of shutter and aperture by using spot meter mode and moving the spot over dark and light surfaces.

I shot that camera nearly to death over the next 5 years - thousands of shots from vacations to experimentals...before realizing that the digital camera world in 2002 had moved on considerably from my lowly little 1.2MP glorified video camera.

After hunting around, I settled on a Sony DSC-F717, with a great 2/3 5MP sensor, swivel body, and F2.0 glass. That was the moment I feel that I crossed the line to becoming a true photo enthusiast - the camera could produce medium sized prints comparable to film SLRs, had excellent manual controllability, and was an innovative design that showed what digital could do to change how photography was executed.

I also purchased a Sony U20 ultra-compact, an amazing little designer digital the size of a zippo lighter that was electric blue metal and cool as anything - and got far more attention and comments than my big F717. It was only 2MP, but I instantly knew I was a 2-camera guy from then on - one 'big' camera for the serious stuff, and one 'small' camera for the spontaneous times when i didn't feel like lugging the big guy around.

My addiction became more severe after 2002. In 2005 I bought my stepfather a Sony H1 ultrazoom, which I ended up borrowing and playing with whenever I had the opportunity - I loved all of that optical range in one camera. The next year, Sony came out with the H5 ultrazoom, and I decided I had to have it. It was also time to upgrade the little camera, so I bought a slim little DSC-L1 to accompany the H5. My photography grew a great deal with the H5 - including much more message board interaction to learn more, imitate other great photographers, get great ideas, and really push myself. With the H5, I sold my first prints, got my first paid photography jobs, and got my first published photos, both locally and nationally.

I finally decided to trade in the 717, which wasn't getting much use, at the end of 2007 - using the cash to buy a new ultra-compact DSC-T100/R to replace my L1 - the L1 went to my uncle who needed a waterproof compact for his boating excursions.

Finally, earlier this year I found myself bumping into the limitations of my H5 - yearning to try more action shooting, tracking birds in flight, and handheld high ISO low light work. It took 2 years and thousands of shots to finally master everything the H5 could do, and find myself wanting to go further - so I shopped around and finally settled on my current Sony A300 DSLR. I bought it with two lenses - the all-around 18-250, and the superzoom Tamron 200-500 for my wildlife and bird photography. I later added a Minolta 50mm F1.7 for low light work. The T100 serves as my ultra-compact backup to the A300 - and I think I've got a good enough pair to keep me happy for at least another year or two. I can always add more lenses to the A300 to fulfill expansion desires, and look at replacing the body a few years down the road while keeping the lenses.

Then again...I've got qite the addiction now, so who knows what I'll be thinking when the next new shiny thing comes along with 1 new feature that I decide is just the coolest thing in the world, and I want one!

 

[MassJester]

Cool thread

First up was my grandmother's Kodak Instamatic 50 it really was a fun camera. Dad was using a 35mm film slr at the time (Miranda, I think) and it was interesting to me, but way over my head.

The Kodak gave way to a Yashika--35mm, but I honestly didn't love it. It took few pictures and I have no idea what became of the darn thing.

Next up was a series of Minoltas. Maxxums 5000, 7000i, and 9xi--I loved them all and took thousands of pictures (of which at least 12 were excellent ).

The film cameras gave way to a Kodak digital P&S (don't remember the model #), and then a Sony Cybershot 5 mp. They were convenient, and I used them frequently, but I can't say I loved them.

I packed up all my old gear and sent it off the Adorama in NYC -- they sent me back my Canon Rebel XTi. The "free" camera has led to over $5,000 in additional purchases, and having to learn to take pictures all over again. The tools are far superior to the craftsman--but I'm working on that