Does an LPL enlarger count?
Started to love photography when I learned how to develop and print my own pics; it turned photography into magic!
There's quite a few Practicas come up in the thread. Did anyone else view them as I did when they were current, as being what you bought if you couldn't afford a 'proper' camera? My brother had one for a while, also a good friend - any pictures taken always seems to carry a caveat "well, it was just a practica". There seemed a distinct pecking order, with Zenith at the bottom, Practica next and then the Japanese makes. There was also a layer above holding Contax, Leica etc, but few ordinary people aspired to such giddy heights.
Not knocking anyone's enjoyment or use of them.
There's quite a few Practicas come up in the thread. Did anyone else view them as I did when they were current, as being what you bought if you couldn't afford a 'proper' camera? ...
There's quite a few Practicas come up in the thread. Did anyone else view them as I did when they were current, as being what you bought if you couldn't afford a 'proper' camera?
The Catalogue. I'd almost forgotten.They were the cheapest SLR in the Kay's Catalogue, I'm guessing lots of us were bought them as christmas pressies "on the drip" by our parents - I know the 14 year old me was...
My mum did catalogues for a few years as a rep - paid for several holidays. [emoji4]The Catalogue. I'd almost forgotten.
My Dad's Rolleiflex TLR with which he taught me photographic parameters. I sadly no longer have my Dad but I will never part with that camera.
My first camera, a Miranda SLR. I don't know what happened to it but I learned a lot with it.
My third camera, a Nikon FM2, which I still have. We were joined at the hip for c.15 years and had many adventures. Aside from many satisfying photos, I also knocked out a knife wielding mugger with it.
I have zero attachments to any digital camera I have owned or still own, even though I'm a 100% digital shooter.
I think one of the main reasons is that film bodies didn't go out of date whereas digital cameras are subject to constant and rapid improvement. It was normal to be using a film body that was often a couple of decades old, or more. Digital obsolescence is partly marketing driven but also down to a difference in the technology; improvements in film didn't mean having to replace your camera.Totally understand the attachment thing. Digital cameras don't have that "personality" that film cameras did/do.
That’s true. We need something a bit like the Ricoh GXR. A modular camera where you slot in a new sensor. That seems to me (in my ignorance) to be eventually feasible once computing power becomes sufficient to be reprogrammed for the new sensor. Something like that anyway, it’s the parts your hands touch & eyes look at that lead to liking the physical camera when everything else is done in the darkroom, photoshop etc.I think one of the main reasons is that film bodies didn't go out of date whereas digital cameras are subject to constant and rapid improvement. It was normal to be using a film body that was often a couple of decades old, or more. Digital obsolescence is partly marketing driven but also down to a difference in the technology; improvements in film didn't mean having to replace your camera.
Not wishing to be rude, I think that's a bit of rose-tinted nostalgia. I bought a Canon A1 in 1980, and while it's still going strong (two services and 40 years later) when I was using it for gig photography in the early 90s it was seen by my fellow photographers as 'old hat', as they were using autofocus SLRs by that time. By 1998 Canon had introduced the EOS-3, with 45 eye-selectable AF points (you chose the AF point just by looking at it), a 21 zone metering system, lighting fast AF, with predictive AF and servo AF, etc. This camera was in a totally different league to the A1.I think one of the main reasons is that film bodies didn't go out of date whereas digital cameras are subject to constant and rapid improvement. It was normal to be using a film body that was often a couple of decades old, or more. Digital obsolescence is partly marketing driven but also down to a difference in the technology; improvements in film didn't mean having to replace your camera.
Not wishing to be rude, I think that's a bit of rose-tinted nostalgia. I bought a Canon A1 in 1980, and while it's still going strong (two services and 40 years later) when I was using it for gig photography in the early 90s it was seen by my fellow photographers as 'old hat', as they were using autofocus SLRs by that time By 1998 Canon had introduced the EOS-3, with 45 eye-selectable AF points (you chose the AF point by looking at it), a 21 zone metering system, lighting fast AF, with predictive AF and servo AF, etc. This camera was in a totally different league to the A1.
So yes, 35mm SLR bodies did go out of date and, as much as I love my old Canon A1, given the hard, cold, choice between that and something like an EOS-3 or EOS 30, if it came down to delivering the goods I would have to take the 3 or 30 (which still work with Canon's latest EF lenses). So unfortunately, improvements in technology meant you had to replace your camera even in those days, probably around every 6 years or so, which seems to be around the same change point these days.
Oh yes, very much so, see post #18 https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/t...st-significant-camera-why.716208/post-8789366 that's why I've just paid to have it serviced and I'll never want to sell it. It really was (and still is) very special camera to me.Don't you love your A1 a little bit, in a way you don't love the others?
Not wishing to be rude, I think that's a bit of rose-tinted nostalgia. I bought a Canon A1 in 1980, and while it's still going strong (two services and 40 years later) when I was using it for gig photography in the early 90s it was seen by my fellow photographers as 'old hat', as they were using autofocus SLRs by that time. By 1998 Canon had introduced the EOS-3, with 45 eye-selectable AF points (you chose the AF point just by looking at it), a 21 zone metering system, lighting fast AF, with predictive AF and servo AF, etc. This camera was in a totally different league to the A1.
So yes, 35mm SLR bodies did go out of date and, as much as I love my old Canon A1, given the hard, cold, choice between that and something like an EOS-3 or EOS 30, if it came down to delivering the goods I would have to take the 3 or 30 (which still work with Canon's latest EF lenses). So, unfortunately, improvements in technology meant you had to replace your camera even in those days, probably around every 6 years or so, or get left behind, which seems to be around the same change point these days.
My father worked for Phillips, a chap he worked with sold him a Gnome enlarger. After working Saturday morning he brought home this strange contraption and told me he’d show me what it was once it was dark. I was about 8 or 9 I suppose, it felt like being 5 and waiting for Christmas! Eventually that evening with the curtains closed and the living room and hall lights out he performed magic by sticking a negative in it and voila! He didn’t even mix chemicals just projected the image,when he actually took me into the bathroom with a safelight on and printed one I was totally blown away! It turned out he’d kept a box with tank, trays etc since before he had kids (my oldest sister would have been 15) having bought a Praktica L he’d decided it was time to educate me!Does an LPL enlarger count?
Started to love photography when I learned how to develop and print my own pics; it turned photography into magic!