When I was young I didn’t have a camera. My father had a camera but I didn’t dare to touch it and he never let me try it. I remember a Olympus half frame and a small Rollei. In the mid seventies I got a 126 cassette film camera but I can’t remember the brand, I think Agfa. That summer we traveled for the first time to Spain and I did feel like a real photographer. Proudly showing my camera that I carried in a small etui fastened at my belt I felt great!
After that I visit every camera store I did see and I looked at the camera’s in the shop window and get inside for all the leaflets of brands as Hasselblad, Nikon, Pentax etc. With the little money that I had as a 14 year old kid far out of reach!
But I got lucky and got a job for the weekend at a local supermarket so I could save money to buy me a “real” camera, a SLR! After two months, the end of my probationary period, I was fired along with two colleagues who had been hired with me. We didn’t fit in the team…
I just saved enough money to buy a camera…
I just saved enough money to buy a camera so I went to the camerashop. The camera I could affort was the Praktica B200 with the standard lens, a 50mm f2.4. I was very happy!
I took this camera everywhere! Holidays, birthday party’s, military service etc. But I grew older and put the camera away. Got a digital camera, nice but a bit boring. And during a holiday when visiting a nice city there was a small camerastore with a few used camera’s.
One of them a used Nikon F50 with lens for less then $20… I bought the Nikon, bought some film and was again taken by the photographers spirit!
Thats many years ago but I’m still collecting and using old cameras but I also got a few digital cameras with a retro twist. The Fujifilm X100 and 100f and a old Nikon D90. For me and for now the best of two worlds.
First published on Ottodocs.nl, feb 1, 2023