NormanTheGr8 Loc: Racine, Wisconsin

According to my grandkids I'm vintage.

Ollieboy

😃😃😃

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I doubt you'll find a hard and fast legal definition for those terms. It's the same in the world of cars. What's a classic or an antique? Different organizations have different definitions. I've seen definitions of classic cars that were very restrictive, yet someone sees a '57 Chevy and calls it a classic.

Generally speaking, those terms are applied to something old and desirable - and more expensive than a comparable item. A Rollieflex could sell for $5,000, yet a similar Yashica Mat would sell for $100.

wrbc Loc: Palm Bay, Fl.

I still have a Nikkormat EL film camera that was manufactured from 1972-78. I think it was the first Nikon to offer aperture priority.

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

I would say that when it comes to cameras, "vintage" has pretty much the same meaning as it does with computers since both are in a class of electronic products that are rapidly evolving. Maybe refers to a time as little as 10 years ago.

OTOH, "vintage" has an implication of quality. Doesn't just mean "old".

OlinBost Loc: Marietta, Ga.

In the car arena 25 is considered antique. At 73 I fell like an antique.

Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

I still posses nearly every camera I ever owned to include a number of ones that were made before I was born and they all are in mint condition & operational. I still own a dark room though not in use currently and still carry bulk film & loaders and tanks & reels and all the king's men !

Old Habits DIE HARD........BOOM !


Jimbo

Tex-s

Interesting question(s). For me, the definition of 'vintage' photographic equipment can quickly move to the realm of argument. Just like astronomers searching for a useful definition of "planet", it may be that no universal definition is truly possible.

For example, one might decide that all film cameras, because they use an old technology, are 'vintage'. This could be true, but these cameras still require new film and must be developed today..... so the PROCESS is vintage....

One might decide that lenses with no electronic communication with your camera are 'vintage', but Rokinon is making manual lenses today that produce stellar results using the most modern coatings and lens elements.

For me, 'vintage' is more the feel of the process, like using adapted manual lenses on digital cameras, or is the look that these old lenses can produce. Some produce marvelous swirly or soap bubble bokeh, ethereal low contrast B/W images, or images that resemble the pastels of a Norman Rockwell piece.

In short, and to actually try to answer the posed questions, I'd say all fully manual film cameras are 'vintage' and all manual lenses designed for manual cameras are also 'vintage', regardless of the year of production. These tools require the photographer to make all the choices, to choose the correct aperture and shutter speed, invoking the 'vintage' methods.

Whew. Time to put on my brand new (vintage?) Crosby Stills Nash and Young vinyl. My daughter picked a cool father's day present this year.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

I would Google, Leica Repair for the camera and lenses. I would not have anyone at a local camera store mess with any of it. There are people who will go through the camera and lenses to clean, lubricate and adjust properly. There should be some people here on the forum who could recommend someone who would do things properly.

Perhaps you could think about adopting me,

Dennis

jrh1354 Loc: Dayton, Ohio

I collect 35mm film cameras. As a general rule, anything built prior to about 1975 is labelled vintage. As you can guess, it's a sliding scale. As time passes, the "vintage" date changes. I've encountered offers that were labelled "vintage camera" only to find that the seller is offering a digital camera from 2010. So, I guess you could say that the term means different things to different people. Ditto with the term "antique". I've seen it applied to 25-year old items - really??

James R. Kyle Loc: Saint Louis, Missouri (A Suburb of Ferguson)

----------------------

Yes...

I too have my first camera, and like yours = The "Old Black Brick".

In 1971 I was handed a Crown Graphic 4X5 and an Ansco 8X10 from a local photographer who I learned from. They still work - and Yep! I Still Make Use of them as well.

I have a Canon 5D Mark IV that I replace from my 5D Mark II that went the way of the Doodoo. Funny that the old manual cameras outlive the "New Improved" digital equipment.

Also, I have built two "Sliding-Box" Cameras (circa 1838) = for the making of "Paper Negatives" - A chemical/digital process.

-----

Bill P

You can't just oil a lens focusing helix. With this camera and I assume native lenses, you must send to a qualified Leica specialist, of which there are several. Don't take to the local camera store, you won't be paying them to fix things, you'll be paying them to learn how.

Joe Paich

i ALSO OWN A LEICA 3F. tHE LENS WOULD NOT TURN SO i APPLIED ONE DROP OF VERY FINE OIL... AND IT TURNS SMOOTHLY.
JOEPAICH@AOL.COM

fehutch Loc: gulfport, ms

I acquired a Leica M2 brick with a couple of lenses from a friend, about 20 years ago. By brick I mean it was locked up tight as a drum. Nothing worked. Cosmetically, it looked good. Minor leather scruff, etc.

I looked around for a Leica repair shop and they were all $$$. Ended up sending the whole kit to Digitech camera repair (Now located in Pasadena, CA.)...
Free estimate - let them do the work, and got a solid M2 back. Then sent the camera to have it re-leathered in something called Grey Griptack by a firm in Maine, I think. May now be cameraleather.com, but not sure.

This is what the camera looked like when I finally sold It about 5 years ago.
The lens is a 28 mm type 2 Elmarit, hence the accessory viewfinder.

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

I generally consider anything prior to the autofocus lenses to be vintage, I have about 40 old film camera lenses from the manual focus and M42 era that I consider vintage. I recently came across the first version of the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro, the all metal non USM version and even though it is some 29 years old now and for me it has a very special place in my collection I don't think that many would consider it a vintage lens because of its ability to autofocus.