Work in progress

I have been using cameras for decades, since about April 1964, and I describe the comings and goings in my camera equipment page. But since about 2010 I have been buying cameras primarily for collection purposes, so on this page I describe the cameras that I have and why I have them.

Currently my collection looks like this:

Some of those photos are still in use, and the lens collection also includes a number of lenses that I use.

I have bought the cameras for a number of reasons:

1. Historically relevant cameras
2. Cameras I no longer use
3. Cameras that remind me of the past
4. Cameras I have inherited
5. Cameras I actually use

Historical cameras

These cameras, or something very similar, represent an important step in the evolution of cameras.

Leica II (FED 1)

This was the first rangefinder camera—I think. It was the successor to the Leica I, the first successful production 35 mm camera, introduced some time in 1932. It looks remarkably primitive by modern standards, though the original Leica was more finely finished than this Soviet copy.

Why “I think”? Nobody so far has been able to tell me when in 1932 it was introduced. Zeiss introduced the Contax in the same year.

Contax 4 (Kiev 4a)

This camera is the successor of the Contax I. It was introduced in 1936, and was the first camera to have a built-in (but not coupled) light meter. My copy is a Kiev 4a, made in 1957. It is almost identical except for having flash synchronization.

Cameras I no longer use

I have not disposed of all my old cameras. The ones I have include:

Pentax Spotmatic

Nostalgia

Cameras for photography