aardq

Used to be a "vintage-antique" camera store an hour south of me that had a lot of view cameras and photographic oddities. His definitions were: Antique=100 years or older. Vintage=pre-WW2. Collector=certain makes and models that were used, and still saleable. Classic=a descriptive term used to make a camera more saleable. It was always worth a side trip when in the area just to visit the shop.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

I don't know what the standard is for photographic equipment. In general I believe antique means 100 or more years old. Vintage more likely varies by the nature of the item. Personally for me, I tend to use vintage for cameras and lenses to mean lacking current expected features. So cameras and lenses with out AF and AE might be thought of as vintage. Though of course there are specialty lenses today that are fully manual only. I'm really so referring to lenses from the all manual days or at least early AE and AF film days. Note a few examples.

I still have Pentax K2 DMD, K1000, and Spotmatic film cameras from the Seventies thru early Eighties. I personally consider those vintage. Along with the Pentax / Takumar M-42, K(K), K(M), and K(A) film lenses I own. One might debate the K(A) and K(FA) lenses I have. Yes, the FA lenses are on the fence as to being "vintage". I still have my parents' Argus "Seventy-Five" 620 roll film camera ('53). I have an '70-'80 vintage Omega View 45F 4x5" film studio rail camera. "Vintage," perhaps. I also own a Gundlach wooden folding 4x5" field camera. Definitely vintage even tough I have no idea of its actual vintage, 40's - 60's perhaps. I also have a just post WWII Certo German 35mm Rangefinder I got from my Father-In-Law. Stamped with "Germany, USSR Occupied" on the bottom. Definitely vintage, and with a Carl Zeiss 5 cm lens. I also have a German made Kodak folding 35mm camera, no focus-coupled rangefinder, you have to frame and guess at focus. Funky. Has Schneider lens. For sure vintage. Even my oldest camera has or I have for it relatively modern, not antique lenses: Schneider, Zeiss, Nikon glass with Copal or Compur shutters. My wife's (now icky car is a 1984 Camry). That is not vintage is it? Just ready for the junk yard.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

I have pretty much the same situation, including two 4x5" film cameras and two huge 4x5" enlargers. Though, I did not keep all the film cameras I've owned.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Most interesting all of the replies.

In todays fast moving high tech world, DSLRs will soon be called "vintage".

There are still film cameras available new. So if I buy a new film camera is that a "Vintage" camera? Some say yes. Sometimes a motor vehicle company offers a "Vintage" edition. Which is a new car but it resembles the older design. But cameras or motorcycles, I can't see how it can be called a vintage product if it is brand new.

BebuLamar

While I think there are many meanings for the word "Vintage" but if used in a sense that vintage represents an era of the past then yeah DSLR can be called vintage soon.

SteveFranz Loc: Durham, NC

How about this for vintage photography: The viewer is a CA 1860 Brewster Stereoscope. He invented/perfected the stereo picture viewer in 1849 and popularized it in the 1850 worlds fair. With my camera on a tripod, I take two pictures, moving the camera about 1 1/2 inches. (about the distance between our pupils) I crop & print on translucent paper. Fun combination of old and new.

JimmyDK

I also have 1970's era Nikon non-AF lenses that I used with a Nikon FTN. I was told that I could not use them on Nikon digital cameras because the lens mount would cause damage to the digital camera. I tried finding an adaptor to no avail. I am therefore curious as to how you overcame this problem and use those lenses on Nikon digital cameras.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

It's measured in hours.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Same as the amount of time between purchasing a car and when it becomes a "used car".

Bittmoore Loc: SE Wisconsin

Vintage when referring to wine means that only one variety of grape was used and all from the same growing season. I recall that much from my active culinary days.

wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

My impression is that on ebay, “vintage” in the item listing just means “it’s old and I expect more money for it.”

BebuLamar

You may better off posting in another thread however this is my answer.
Your lenses if made before 1977 can not be mounted on certain Nikon DSLR's but not all. Nikon doesn't recommend using them on the D40, D60, D3xxx, D5xxx but I know people who have used them on those without problem. The Nikon Df can use these lenses without problem.
Now if you have a D7xxx, Dxxx or Dx then the lens has to be modified to use. You can not get an adapter for that. The correct modification was to replace the aperture ring but I don't think you can find the part any more. Other way is to cut the existing aperture ring.

ornault

The lenses I have been using on the digital have been AI'd for Auto Indexing and these seem to work ok without jamming anything. The other lens is a 500mm f/8 mirror which does not have the aperture ring to cause the issue.

leenso52

I have read that the old German cameras, especially WW11, are now worth much more than what Americans were using at the time

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

It seems there is some consensus that antique is defined as 100 years old. But claims for what vintage means are all over the place. Numerous people replying seem certain they have the answer, but few of them agree.