Consider this just a geeky log of most of the photo gear I’ve owned or used over all these years… Mostly for own interest but may be an interesting photo-technology history.
1) CAMERAS
My mom’s Kodak Vigilant 620 which I started using sometime around 1960. This camera took 620 roll film and was used primarily by holding at waist level and using the tiny viewfinder near the lens. There was also a fold-up “sports” viewfinder but it wasn’t too accurate.
My Agfa Super-Silette 35mm camera. This was a great piece of German photo engineering, with smooth focusing and a split screen focus viewfinder. I bought this used, and had it for many years
My Minolta SR-7 (came out just before the SRT-101) that I purchased with money from my bar mitzvah in 1966-67. Wonderful handling, great lens and a built-in light meter (not through the lens). Great micro focus screen in viewfinder. I still have this manual film camera!
My Mamiya Pro C22 dual lens reflex camera. Also purchased with my bar mitzvah money (and some added help). This was a great film camera. Dual lens assembly was removable, although I never did obtain another lens for it. I used this camera for landscape and portrait photography. (The scout troop portraits in my work blog were taken with this camera)
I never owned this, but borrowed it a few times in 1968 from the Nepean High School camera club. This was a Graflex Crown Graphic view camera, the sort you will see being used in 1940’s and 50’s movies. It took 4″ x 5″ sheet film, so could only take one shot at a time, after which a light-blocking slide had to be inserted into the fim carrier, which could then be swapped for another single shot. The huge negative size and great lens quality made for some great, detailed shots. My “gingerbread” house photo was take with this Crown Graphic…
My first greatly upgraded 35mm reflex camera, a Nikon N80, which I purchased circa 1993
My first digital reflex camera (DSLR), the Nikon D70, purchased circa 2001. I started doing my pro photography with this camera, shooting child portraits.
Within a couple of years shooting professionally I realized that I need a more capable, professional grade camera. The D200 DSLR fit the bill for some years, and allowed me to transition from just portraits to events.
My pride and joy, the Mamiya RZ67 studio portrait camera. Always drooled over this and finally decided to treat myself. Film based with excellent optics and control; bellows focus and vertical viewfinder (albeit mirror image which took some getting used to.) I had a couple of lenses and different film backs for this incredible camera. I used it for portraits primarily. The large 2.25″ square negative gave superior results. As everything started to quickly move to digital, I expected that I’d get a digital back for it and extend its life. But, alas, when a digital back was finally released, it was priced at about $40,000, so was out of the question. I sadly decided to sell it while it still had decent value.
As I started shooting more events, including many more weddings, I had to upgrade my DSLR to keep up with lastest advancements in speed and light handling. The D300s was a great step up from the D200 (which I kept as a backup body).
By 2018 I was in need of another upgrade. Although my D300s was still a great camera body, newer models had greatly improved in speed and low-light capabilities with less noise. The D500 fit the bill perfectly for me even though it was still a DX format camera (not “full frame” FX).
2) OTHER GEAR
One of my earliest purchases was this Sekonic passive light meter. I purchased it on a layaway plan from a local Ottawa camera store, making monthly payments until I owned it. I was very proud to have purchased this entirely on my own, at about 14. For some reason I still have it although it has not been used in over 50 years!
Early on I had an old folding reflector bulb flash, the kind that gave one flash per bulb… My first electronic flash purchase was this Kako Super Elite, which I used for several years. One day a friend asked to borrow it for a shoot and when I got it back it didn’t work! After that I decided never to lend out my photo gear!
My next electronic flash unit was similar in build but much more powerful. The Ultrablitz Meteor SP-GH served me very well for many years. Although the rechargeable battery is long gone and no longer made, I still have the original flash (and it still works when plugged in!)
This was the school enlarger that I learned on… Used it almost daily for over a year, learning all the nuances of printing black and white photos in a darkroom.
After a year or so of using the school darkroom, I decided that I had to set up my own. I bought this inexpensive but quite capable b+w enlarger, the Meopta Axomat II, made in Czechoslovakia. A great feature for me was that it could be quickly broken down and stored in its carrying box. Since my home darkroom was a windowless basement bathroom, I had to be able to pack it away. I also took this with me when I went to graduate school in Montreal (1974) and set up a temporary darkroom in my apartment bathroom.
Once I was doing more studio and in-home portraiture and weddings, I needed real studio strobes. I chose these Paul C Buff White Lightning Ultrazap units. Two 800 watt units and one 1600. These served me flawlessly for over 20 years. As of 2022 I still have them but will probably sell them as I am no longer shooting studio portraits or indoor events.
Of course, in order to use studio strobes properly, one needs a light meter that is able to measure strobe flash light. I chose this Minolta Auto meter, which I still have but rarely need to use.
As I progressed to shoot weddings and bar/bat mitzvah I needed fast action on camera flash. My first unit was the Nikon SB-700, next was SB-900. I still use both of these as of 2022.
In terms of other equipment, I used a Manfrotto tripod and preferred Manfrotto and Calumet light stands. Lenses were Nikon and Sigma.
At some point when I was in high school, probably about age 14, I took a photo of the photo gear I had at the time (I was quite proud of it all!)
