hassighedgehog Loc: Corona, CA

Not professional. My first camera was a brownie knockoff. First 35 mm an Argus C3, First SLR a Canon FL-QL (still have), a couple of Polaroids (don't remember models, one folded down) Pentax K-1000 (still have), another Pentax semi automatic (still have) First digital a Nikon E995 (5 MP) a couple of Fujifilm Fine Pix (S5700 and S2000), First serious digital Pentax K-X (chose Pentax because had several lenses) then current Pentax K-50

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Oh, we'd have had a lot more fun!

JackW

Ansco half frame - then my grandfathers Minolta Super A rangefinder, a Canon AE-1 and the Canon F-1 I bought in 1980
My dad had a bunch of cameras ranging from Minolta SRT's to Rollies, Speed Graphics and even a Hasselblad so we were seldom out of reach of some kind of camera.

I shoot a Canon 1Dx now.

bigguytf

Canon AE-e with a 1.4 50mm lens. Took great pictures which I mostly made slides of.

dukepresley

First camera was a Brownie in about 1957. In 1970 bought a Pentax that I used till the mid-70s & then sort of lost interest in photography. In early 90s had a friend w/a Nikon film camera (6006?).

In mid 90s, got a Nikon P&S; upgraded to a D50 & caught the bug again. Upgraded to a D90, then to a D300S & then bought a D700 a couple of years ago. Generally do travel photography & really enjoy that. Looking at a D800 but that may be beyond my present skill level.

Enjoyed this trip down memory lane!

ecommons

I started with an Argus C3, still have it and it still works. Moved on up. I friend in the Russian Consulate gave me a Zorki 4. Still have that too/ Replace the prime lens with a Nikon, (from a S2) and added a used Leica 135 mm later. Graduated to SLR with an Asahi Pentax (not the spotmatic) , moved on to Minolta SRT 101 and later Nikkormat Ftn. Upgraded to Nikon FTn and Later Nikon F2S and added a Nikon FG (Still have all nut the Nikon FTn. Jumped into digital with Olympus E500, with two lenses for $850. Nikon F90 was a $100 for the body only. Still use the Olympus although I now have a Nikon D700 and for fun added a Nikon D90 earlier this year.

copladocus

Minolta SRT-Super, the Japanese version of the SRT-101 back in 1974. I had a 50mm f1.4 lens. I purchased it on Okinawa for something like a million Yen... I shot crime scenes with it after I left the Navy and never considered getting any other lenses. I still have it and the hard shell rollerskate case I used as my camera case.

hassighedgehog Loc: Corona, CA

I have an Argus C3, but not my first one. It died from an attack of curiosity about how it worked. Bought the one I have now as an attack of nostalgia.

zoomphoto Loc: Seattle, WA USA

Brownie Hawkeye

awc657 Loc: Magnolia, Arkansas

My first camera was a Canon A1 w 50mm f1.8 lens. I absolutely loved this camera, but when auto focus came out I was amazed and enthralled with that, so I went with a Minolta Maxxum 7000. I always regretting selling the Canon A1 and over the years have acquired several more. It has always been my favorite by far! I now shoot digital, but I still own several of my old standbys.

Photogirl17 Loc: Glenwood, Ark.

The first camera I used was my Mother's Brownie Reflex in the 60's, in the 70's I either used my Mom's Poloroid One Step if I didn't want to wait for the Print, or my Vivitar 600 110 Camera. If I was at a School function 71-75 I used the Schools Pentax k1000, and then developed the film in the Photography classes Dark room. in the 80's I had one of the popular Kodak Disc Cameras model 3100, in the 90's I was using a Minolta Freedom Dual 35mm camera. My next camera was my first Digital camera, The Panasonic DMC-FZ8, I still have this camera although I haven't used it in quite awhile now, I outgrew it..lol, I then went to the Canon Rebel t5 which I still use, and now I've added the Canon 7D..None of these is equal to a Professional Camera, in my opinion it's the one behind the lens that is the professional.

Kissel vonKeister Loc: Georgia

Sorry that happened to you. I feel your pain.

jamesl Loc: Pennsylvania

My first was a "4x5" Graflex Speed Graphic" press camera my grandfather bought for me when I was 14 and then a little later I bought my first 35 mm camera, an "Argus C3".

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I originally asked because I thought negatives would reveal what kind of Instamatic you had - I certainly didn't expect dreadful news like this.

When people talk about their careful backup procedures, I sometimes ask how they protected their film. A lot of the time, the correct answer would be "we were lucky". I'm so sorry that you cannot give that answer.

bobsisk Loc: Chandler, Arizona

1959 - Two weeks out of high school and about ready to board the plane for San Antonio and basic training in the USAF; my mother handed me the Kodak Bullet she had been given as her high school graduation present in 1940. The learning curve was not too steep since I already knew the mechanics of it. She told me, "It takes the best pictures on cloudy days."
1960 - Having been moved from Lackland AFB to Keesler AFB, I was in the BX one day and discovered a Polaroid 80a that I just had to have. I used it mainly to take pictures of the fellows in the barracks that they could send home. I charged them 25 cents and probably lost money because I had to experiment with the EVs to get the lighting just right.
1961 - After finishing basic military and electronics schools I was transfer from KAFB to Ellington AFB and didn't take many photos because I spent all of my spare time (and money) getting my private pilot license.
1962 - The PCS move from EAFB to RAF Lakenheath in England left me without the Bullet. I probably didn't pack it right. Unfortunately the back cover was broken, as was my heart since it was very special to mother. She took the news very philosophically. (What else could she do?) I then started the quest for another camera. I was eyeballing the camera selection in the BX one day and spotted a Petri flex 7. It was an SLR, the latest thing! And it was one that I could afford, so I bought it. Versatile cameras were a mystery to me. That made the learning curve much steeper. But it was fun. It gave me a really good grounding in the basics of photography: film speeds (ASA), shutter speeds, f-stops, focus, light meter operation, etc. Then I discovered the base photo hobby shop. There I learned the best technique for fumbling around in the dark to load film in the development canister; use of the proper chemicals; enlarger operation, etc. More than that, I learned about mistakes I had made in framing a number of the shots so that I could take better photos in the future. A few years later I added three FFL lenses, all Soligar, a 35mm (waste of money), a 135mm, and a 350mm. I still have what I think are some really good portrait shots with the 135 of my wife a few weeks after we were married - developed in my own darkroom/bathroom. During this period of time I picked up a Minolta 16. Why? Novelty I suppose. I did use it some.
1975 (or so) - A friend of mine on the Pima reservation borrowed the Petri and when he brought it back I gave it to him, knowing he had a need for a good camera and I was planning on getting a new one anyway. And I did - a Minolta SRT. It's a good camera; I still have it. But it didn't 'feel' right in my hands, probably because I was so used to the Petri.
2005 - Two events:(1) My wife's brother's daughter got married in Salt Lake City. While we were taking pictures on the temple steps the batteries in the brother's camera died. I zipped across the street and got him some batteries, but what was my luck but to see the same camera he had, a Fuji 3.5mp, on the store shelf (BTW, it was a camera store); pretty good for that time. So I bought it. Thus did I enter the digital world. (2) Then my wife's father died. While she and her siblings were sorting through his stuff they found his camera bag. Nobody wanted it, so she brought it home to me. The camera in the bag was a Nikon F, which I still have.
2011 - My wife and I served a church mission in Salt Lake City. The little Fuji camera was OK, but I was tired of outdoor brightness swamping the viewing screen. I wanted something with an eyeball friendly viewfinder. What to my delighted eyes should appear (near Christmas) but generational advances of DSLRs. I NEEDED one, but the ones I considered buying were more expensive than I wanted to pay. Once again, as I was strolling through Sam's Club a day or so later my delighted eyes discovered a Nikon D5100 that was in my spending range. So that was my Christmas present. Then my wife said, "I wanted the little Nikon." (Coolpix S8200) We still had budget enough for that, so she got her Christmas present too. The D5100 has been my main 'go to' camera. A year or two ago my oldest grandson discovered that my cell phone was so old that it didn't have a camera on it. So he went out and got me one for my birthday that did. I do use it when emergency photo opportunities happen and I don't have the D5100.