And I'll be damned if I don't get nostalgic about those old cameras. I would not start developing films again for all the treasure, but the cameras were "real cameras"... They were equally good years later, unlike digital ones, which you can almost feel crumbling under your fingers after their first new years'.
And these old metal machines often had a classic macho kind of beauty, something you can't say about many digital cameras, except a few which were made to look classic, like the Fuji X100 and the Olympus Pen-F.
... A photographer friend once asked to buy my Olympus X100. He didn't remember the exact name of it, so I asked him which of two possible choices it was. He said "the one which looks like a camera", and I knew which one he meant...
I had a Pentax LX for many years. It was the professional level Pentax but for various reasons didn't achieve the success of Canon or Nikon although it was possibly a better camera, and definitely a more beautiful one. It had all the controls that were needed readily accessible, and would still do almost everything I need.
ReplyDeleteMy first camera was the Nikon FG. It supposedly was the first SLR that had a full program mode where it would adjust aperture and shutter speed automatically. Once I purchased a number of Nikkor lenses, that pretty much locked me into the Nikon system for the rest of my life. Nikon's lens backward compatibility also had something to do with that.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the Pentax LX!
ReplyDeleteI had a Pentax ME-Super which I still love, and the LX was the dream for me. It was an amazing camera, and so much more compact than the other pro cameras, which I always appreciate.
It's also one of the classics which I have *not* bought used after the millennium, since they actually still hold a high value. (Also I'd prefer it in silver, but that is a titanium model, and almost impossible to find.)
Re where and when Programmed Auto entered, see here:
ReplyDeletehttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_single-lens_reflex_camera#Programmed_autoexposure
These cameras were so beautiful. A photographer´s delight, even today. That is why I use my old film cameras from time to time although they are so heavy compared to my modern Lumix FZ50 Superzoom, which meanwhile has become old-fashioned.
ReplyDeleteYes, a funny paradox that.
ReplyDeleteI still have a Honeywell Pentax SP-500
ReplyDeleteCongratulations.
ReplyDeleteJust got a huge Minolta mf setup. With adapters the md and mc lenses can be used on Sony full frame bodies and micro 4/3. Don't think I will do it.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I was not really aware that Minolta had done medium format. What’s the system called?
ReplyDeleteCongrats.
Older lenses, probably especially for MF, were not designed for the resolution of modern sensors. Especially wideangle lenses were a huge weak spot before the made new lenses for digital.