The camera gear thread

[TaoMaas]

Originally Posted by dhodgeh

I'll be the oddball here....

Pentax K1-MkII, with a full complement of prime lenses covering 14mm - 500mm and everything in between.

I have not been shooting much lately, though we have week planned in the Smokies during October, hoping to catch to leaf color.

D

You've got company...I'm a Pentax guy, too. I'd used a K10D for years, but upgraded to a K1 about a year ago. I'd been using a K01 for video, but got a Lumix GH-4 because it matches my work gear better.

[Earl49]

Man, I'm really out of it. Those are mostly digital cameras and I don't even recognize the models. I started initially with a manual only Pentax K-100 but ended up buying a Minolta XD-11 in 1977 as I got more serious, and had a good summer job. XD-11 was the first multi-mode auto-exposure camera on the consumer market. I used it hard during college working as a photographer for the school newspaper, the yearbook, and for the university. Photography was my primary side job as a starving student. I could never afford Nikon gear like some of my friends, but they never made their living with photography either. They were too busy saving for lenses that they never bought. There are binders full of negatives and contact prints, plus hundreds of 35 mm slides, easily totaling more than 35,000 frames.

The last time I used my film camera was to shoot a childhood friend's wedding, and they are coming up on their 20 year anniversary. That camera and accessories still exist in storage, but I haven't used anything but a point-n-shoot or my smart phone for a long time. I also have my darkroom equipment (everything except an enlarger) in storage too. But even the local high school won't take that stuff as a donation. Anyone want a few unexposed rolls of Kodachrome ASA 64? They stopped processing Kodachrome years ago.

[Dirk Hofman]

Some folks have some awesome gear here. Would love to see some of the shots from an 8 x 10 view camera!

In addition to my iPhone, I have a Fuji X-T2 with a complement of lenses, mostly primes, and I just picked up an X100V which is like a little Leica rangefinder with a 23mm (35mm equivalent) lens. I really pack that around quite a bit.

I do miss my Canon 6D full-frame. Canon colors are really nice, but then so are Fuji. Always more gear to lust after. Here's the X100V:



X-T2

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Some folks have some awesome gear here.

I think today's cameras are very much like today's cars. There are no truly bad ones out there, and once you get past the basic functionality, they're all capable of doing a very fine job. DSLR? Mirrorless? P&S? Phone? Use whatever you're comfortable with, and don't fret over the gear.

...and I just picked up an X100V which is like a little Leica rangefinder with a 23mm (35mm equivalent) lens. I really pack that around quite a bit.

I think the X100V is a sweet camera. It reminds me of my old Olympus 35SP.

I love the thought of having a very capable, fixed lens, rangefinder style camera in the bag. I think I'd be very happy with a Leica Q2, or a Sony RX1Rii, but the pocketbook really won't stretch that far.

And honestly, I don't think either would necessarily help me take better pictures.

[saxonblue]

Anything pre digital is a paperweight now & I have lots of those including some rather vintage stuff which would not be worth much but is still fun to look over every so often.

I have a Lumix FZ300 & there is lots to learn about it but the IA (intelligent auto) mode is pretty bulletproof & does most everything I need.

I wasn't planning on spending too much (about $AU600, no doubt cheaper in the US) & it seemed to be the best option in it's price range, the zoom range & AF are sensational for the price.

Still got an older Lumix DMC FT10 compact I took on hikes & bike rides but it got to the point where the androids I've had in recent years take better pics, currently using an Oppo CPH.

[Brucebubs]

Another Lumix user - mine's the FZ-80.

Another addition to Panasonic Lumix’s long legacy of excellent big zoom cameras, the FZ80. As is common-place with these releases, the FZ80 is the ideal bridge between your basic Digital Compact Camera and the generally dearer and heavier DSLR kit. With a 60x optical zoom, with a 35mm equivalent range of 20-1200mm, the fZ80 can perform the tasks of an interchangeable lens camera and several other lenses, making it a much lighter and more portable option for getting the job done.

[saxonblue]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

Another Lumix user - mine's the FZ-80.

Another addition to Panasonic Lumix’s long legacy of excellent big zoom cameras, the FZ80. As is common-place with these releases, the FZ80 is the ideal bridge between your basic Digital Compact Camera and the generally dearer and heavier DSLR kit. With a 60x optical zoom, with a 35mm equivalent range of 20-1200mm, the fZ80 can perform the tasks of an interchangeable lens camera and several other lenses, making it a much lighter and more portable option for getting the job done.

I think the software & options are a bit different between the FZ-80 & FZ-300/330 series but superficially almost identical, definitely the chassis & Leica lens anyway.

I basically got mine because at the time Harvey Norman were doing run out discounts on the 300s phasing them out in favour of the newer & pricier 330s.

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Some folks have some awesome gear here. Would love to see some of the shots from an 8 x 10 view camera!

I don't have any of my prints (some contact prints, and some 16 x 20 prints made on the Saltzman) from my old Deardorff pixelated®, otherwise I'd gladly post.

Originally Posted by Earl49

I also have my darkroom equipment (everything except an enlarger) in storage too. But even the local high school won't take that stuff as a donation.

When we closed the lab at the end of 2012 I could have brought anything I wanted home but didn't, for the most part. Some lenses, a turn of the 20th century contact printing frame, and a few things from the commercial shooting side of the business (cameras, and the Starbird boom stand).

Originally Posted by saxonblue

Anything pre digital is a paperweight now & I have lots of those including some rather vintage stuff which would not be worth much but is still fun to look over every so often.

If I could get 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 pack film I could still use my R.B.Auto Graflex!

[Sage97]

Originally Posted by TaoMaas

You've got company...I'm a Pentax guy, too. I'd used a K10D for years, but upgraded to a K1 about a year ago. I'd been using a K01 for video, but got a Lumix GH-4 because it matches my work gear better.

There are a few of us here. I have the K3 and the K5 and the usual suspects for lenses - 15mm, 21mm, 31mm, 43mm, 77mm and a few more.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by dhodgeh

I'll be the oddball here....

Pentax K1-MkII, with a full complement of prime lenses covering 14mm - 500mm and everything in between.

My favourite film camera ever was my Pentax MX, which I owned some 35 years ago. What a little gem that was.

[imwjl]

Earlier with film cameras I recall thinking about main and favorite cameras vs best cameras where I always loved an old mechanical or one particular p+s even though I had better film gear. Same thing happened with digital once I had my first camera with image stabilization and two lenses.

Somehow in that I still wanted the best exposure or a RAW image as good as can be. Now I'm at peace with being in the world of computational photography. You still see two people with a same phone or camera making good or bad shots.

I expect the phone I'll get in coming weeks to put me there permanently with phone as main camera and and camcorder. The new Apple phones look impressive whether it's the lenses or the rest.

Yesterday's phone releases were also fun to think about in a then and now because my job used to be administering a program that deployed or demonstrated Apple's latest technology. I worked with the first DSLRs and Apple digicams. I remember when we timed taking a photo and getting it across the country for a group of Fortune 500 execs - one who said the digital photography will never replace their Nikons, Hasselblads and Lear jet plane. In just shy of two hours we took a 640x480 color photo on San Francisco street and got it to the office for the execs to see.

In all this the biggest point on my brain is having a kid with about to die phone. I'll be bummed if we have to make a purchase before the new stuff is shipping. The next point is I've nursed my unsupported Lightroom version for a long time. I'm guessing I'll have to finally buy a monthly subscription or think about a laborious conversion to new software.

My actual best camera stuff is mostly used by the kids now.

[Mr. Jelly]

A little off topic but does anyone know of a company that prints archivable black and white pictures?

[rllink]

Originally Posted by imwjl

I have old film cameras, two Canon digital bodies, and some nice Canon lenses and flash units.

Reality is most of the year I've only used my iPhone and a GoPro but my kids enjoy the other stuff.

It's cool that my kids appreciate a mechanical camera that was my dad's and an Olympus OM kit with body and lenses that was one of their aunt's.

One of my kid's has a barely hanging in there phone so I expect a hand it down and new phone for myself this fall where I expect it to take a step better as far as capabilities.

My son came home for Christmas a few years back and left with my old Nikon film camera and three lenses. That's fine, I hadn't used it all for years and was glad to get it out of the way. He seems to think it is some kind of long past throwback vintage thing and is having a good time with it.

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by rllink

My son came home for Christmas a few years back and left with my old Nikon film camera and three lenses. That's fine, I hadn't used it all for years and was glad to get it out of the way. He seems to think it is some kind of long past throwback vintage thing and is having a good time with it.

There's a lot of that going around, I follow a few "film accounts" on Instagram and there is a nice quality to it. Good on them if they enjoy it!

One of my great memories as a kid was watching my dad develop B/W images in his darkroom. Being in there with him, that orange safe light, and watching the images emerge from the bath from nothing had a magical quality about it. A different time and a different experience.

But as much as I loved the manual process as a youngster, I would not go back. There is just so much creative control with the computer and I don't miss the chemicals at all. Such waste and unnecessary toxic disposal. My photography professor in college had such messed up fingers from decades in the chemical bath. Ugh. And the number of prints and contact sheets one would go through to get it right was tiresome after a while. I guess it feels cool now as an antidote to the virtual process. And some of my best images ever are still on film, but I think that was more a factor of being young and having time to spend really thinking deeply about the work. Now it's just quick jaunts and snaps for me. In some ways I used to be a lot better.

I was in the only remaining real photography store in San Francisco the other day picking up a part before I headed up to the mountains, and they still have a wall of developers and paper. And photography...books...mind you. Seemed kind of quaint and dusty, but it was cool seeing all those old brands of paper like Ilford and Fujifilm.

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

A little off topic but does anyone know of a company that prints archivable black and white pictures?

I use a local company here called Bay photo. I assume you can print from anywhere, I send them files remotely. https://www.bayphotolocal.com/ There's a YouTuber named Nick Carver who does a lot of printing and he has some resources linked from his videos IIRC. Check him out.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by rllink

My son came home for Christmas a few years back and left with my old Nikon film camera and three lenses. That's fine, I hadn't used it all for years and was glad to get it out of the way. He seems to think it is some kind of long past throwback vintage thing and is having a good time with it.

We have a few old cameras. All the kids appreciated the retro part but one of them truly enjoyed the idea of what was my dad's and an aunt's 1953 and 1970s purchases. He never knew either of them. It's been no surprise that same kid is enjoying fixing our Laser (sailboat) that's a classic in it's way and also older than he is.

A fun part of this forum is seeing some obvious "gear heads" and this kid likes the gear aspects of things that he barely uses his driver's license or doesn't always do a lot of participation in an activity but he's always sweating the details for mechanisms. Kids appreciating and using old stuff has been a fun part of parenting.