What was your first camera? And when did you become interested in photography? (Page 10): My first camera was a Canon FTbn, with a 50mm f/1.4, the 135mm f/3.5, and the 28mm f/2.8, all...

TBPJr Loc: South Carolina

My first camera was a Canon FTbn, with a 50mm f/1.4, the 135mm f/3.5, and the 28mm f/2.8, all bought in 1976; I kept it when I bought an A-1 as soon as I could get one, I think around Christmas of 1978; and at some point, I added the Canon 80-300mm f/4.5-5.6. Sometime in the late 1990s, I had the A-1 professionally cleaned and its deteriorating foam rubber cushion for the mirror replaced. I still have all of that, plus a standard Canon flash and the Canon circular flash, too (that I almost never used). I really ran the film through both cameras, negative and slide--my "next" project will be to convert all those negatives and slides to digital.

Paul Chefurka Loc: Canada

First camera was my parents' Samoca Super. First serious photography was with a Canonet rangefinder, during the Paris riots in 68. An Asahi Pentax SV started me off on SLRs.

btbg

Chwlo wrote:

Don't laugh... It was a Kodak 110. And I was 5. I just knew I would have my pictures on the cover of Life magazine.
In School I used a Cannon 35mm for the annual staff.
After I got married I bought a Nikon 4004. And had hoped to get an 8008.
I refused to get a digital camera for years because I was told you could not do black and white. Fortunately, a friend opened my eyes, I recently got a Nikon D3300. And joined here to read others posts to shorten my learning curve.

My first camera was a Kodak 110 also. Got it 53 years ago. Started using a Pentax 35 mm film camera with a 45mm lens in middle school. Then had an argus C3 in high school, and a Konica in college. Bought a Nikon FM2 the year after we got married 35 plus years ago, then bought a Nikon F3hp a few years later. Switched to digital about 11 years ago with a Nikon D70s. When I went to work for a newspaper I purchased a Nikon D300 and then a D300s. This summer I finally got my first state of the art cameras when I purchased a D5 and a D500.

I have been interested in photography every since I learned that you could push a button on a box and take a picture. So at least 55 years.

jct842

My first was a minute 16 I bought from an ad in a comic book, then I got a pony828 on sale at a department store so I could join the photo club. After some store prints I was able to use my father's dark room along with out dated developer packets to do it my self using instructions printed on the packets. It was pretty hard to enlarge 16mm with a 75mm enlarging lens, I think my prints were maybe a little less than 1 1/2" !

crafterwantabe Loc: Mn

Wow! Thank you all for your comments... It was interesting reading through each one. One had a lovely green camera too. And yes I do believe that camera took 127 film.
I had to giggle when I read about the flash cubes... I had forgotten about them. They were not fun to carry in your pockets. That was always my job..

I talked with my dad he is 86. I asked what kind of camera he had that he bought while in the service. It was a Contact from Germany. I remember seeing it a couple times that was off limits to us kids. He also had a teeny tiny camera but I do believe my nephew has taken it. Along with numerous other things.

I also remember dad setting us three kids on the ironing board which was laying on two chairs. He took our picture. Then sent it some to be developed. He would paint the black and white picture to color. It was amazing.!
Did anyone else do that? Thanks again for all the replies:)

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

Bill Wilcox wrote:

When I was (I think) about 8 or 9 years old I wanted a camera so my Mother started buying Wheaties cereal which had a coupon on the box. I needed three of these coupons plus fifty cents to purchase a camera. It was not make of a material very similar to plastic. I used this camera until I graduated from high school. My Grand Mother bought me an Argus C3 35mm camera for a graduation gift. That was 64 years ago. . .I still have that Argus C3 and will never part with it!

Well, well, well! Another UHHer that graduated from high school 64 years ago. You got started in photography much sooner than I, though. The big thing is that we are around to talk about things.

clh3RD

My boss told me I was to be the company photographer in 1965, and sent me to the upstairs camera store near Times Square. The salesman took pity on me and sold me the best camera I've ever used, aside from my current Leica M8. It was a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex. I was too stupid to ask my boss to sell it to me when I left the company. I thought all cameras took photographs as clear, sharp and near perfect as that Zeiss.

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

clh3RD wrote:

My boss told me I was to be the company photographer in 1965, and sent me to the upstairs camera store near Times Square. The salesman took pity on me and sold me the best camera I've ever used, aside from my current Leica M8. It was a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex. I was too stupid to ask my boss to sell it to me when I left the company. I thought all cameras took photographs as clear, sharp and near perfect as that Zeiss.

Your post further jogged my mind. I neglected to say earlier that my father bought a Contax IIa around 1950 that he used to take color pictures during his travels. Great camera. I inherited it and sold it a few years back for a good sum on eBay.

https://www.cameraquest.com/conrf.htm

Ringer

Mine was a Kodak Brownie in the 50's, probably for my 10th birthday (but maybe younger). I had grown up watching Dad take, develop and print pictures so photography was in my DNA. I still have the (truly horrible) first pictures I took -- grainy, fuzzy black & whites -- and they were of the subjects you would guess: our house, my sister, our family, our car, etc. Before long my camera went to Girl Scout camp and I don't think I've ever taken a trip since then without a camera.

MDI Mainer

My first camera was a Kodak Brownie Starflash, a blue model my parents gave me circa 1960 (I would have been about eight). I can't recall how many times I burnt my fingers switching out the flashbulb!

http://www.brownie-camera.com/36.shtml

According to Wikipedia, these cameras sold for $8.50, which translates to about $68.38 in today's dollars!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodak_Starflash

My next camera, though was a big step up, a Nikkormat Ftn, which my dad brought me back from a business trip he took to Japan around 1970. I remember I had asked for a Nikon F, but was delighted to get the FTn anyway!

Sadly, I have neither today.

Abo

jim in TC wrote:

I remember how cool it was to see those distant things in a photo clearly. Of course, it turns out I was near-sighted. But that was what got me started.

That is cool. Did you know you were short sighted before you saw the first photo?

I bought my first camera from the ASCO store during basic training.

First thing I did with it, was sell images to the other recruits that
I shot with it. I did a roaring trade, as the lads all wanted to send
pictures of themselves in their jungle greens aiming there SLRs
(Self Loading Rifles* not Single Lens Reflexs (-: )
looking like deadly "Cong Killers" to their girlfriends and families.

It actually made pretty good images you only had to wait 60 seconds to see.

*Get a rundown on the SLR here... if you watch the video, take "kicks like a mule" as false.
Set up correctly and in reasonable condition they are quite smooth and you don't feel pain until you've put
a 100 rounds in succession through it: http://www.5rar.asn.au/weapons/slr.htm

Preachdude Loc: Geneva, OH

In August of 1953 I was eight years old and went with my family to Yosemite. My parents bought me a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera with flash at the General Store. It used 127 film. The next Christmas I was given a developing and printing kit, and I was hooked. During that time my Dad also taught me how to use his Zeiss Contaflex.

jim in TC Loc: Traverse City, Michigan

[quote=Abo]That is cool. Did you know you were short sighted before you saw the first photo?

As it happens, no, neither I nor my parents (who I know heard my comments about distant sharpness in pix) knew about my vision issues. I just thought that was how things looked, between "reality" and a photo. Since I could see distance well enough in one eye to get by (and read the blackboard) it took all the way until an eye screening in driver's ed, probably at least 4 or 5 years later, to diagnose it. Meanwhile, I got thoroughly hooked on photography.

Quinn 4

My first camera was a Pentax K-1000. Real first test of the camera when I took with me to Australia for a month back Jan. 1982. I was in Western Australia with friends. Took 10 rolls of 100 speed film 36 pictures to a roll, came back with 360 pictures. Still have that camera and it still works fine to this day. Quinn 4

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

Quinn 4 wrote:

My first camera was a Pentax K-1000. Real first test of the camera when I took with me to Australia for a month back Jan. 1982. I was in Western Australia with friends. Took 10 rolls of 100 speed film 36 pictures to a roll, came back with 360 pictures. Still have that camera and it still works fine to this day. Quinn 4

Yep, the days of film and frugality. I did a 3-1/2 month double crossing of the Sahara by Land Rover in 1989. I took along 40 rolls of 36 exposure (and I was always able to eke out 1 or 2 extra shots with careful loading) and came home with over 1500 slides. Now I shoot at least that many digital images in a single week of vacation. I take many more shots of something from different angles and zoom positions, and I will even reshoot the same image if someone spoils my picture by walking in front of my camera, without thoughts about cost. Times have sure changed.