DSLR Photography Forum

Bit of nostalgia here... what's the first camera you ever owned / used, digital or otherwise?

I used to use my Dad's 35mm Fujifilm camera (I can't even remember the model) but you pressed a button and the lens extended, which was cool for its time. It was fixed focus (no zoom) and the pictures frankly were not that crash hot.

The first camera of my own was the Canon EOS 300 (SLR), which I still have with me... although it's been collecting dust since I bought my newest digital.

I've never had my 'own' camera until this year when I got my Canon 300D.
Before that, I've always used the 'family camera', which I used so much that everybody thought it was my own, and when they asked, I'd tell them "no, it's the family's camera". The first camera I remember of using was a compact Pentax. I don't know the exact details of it, but I'll find out later when I dig it up. My mum LOVED this camera! When the battery cover broke, she sticky taped it back, so much, until it was unusable after many years.
In about 2000, my dad bought an Olympus Camedia C860L. This was the family's first digital camera. In my final year of highschool, I'd bring it to school every day and take candid shots of everyone and everything. (very useful for the graduation dinner!).
My mum's pentax required replacement, so before going to malaysia a few years ago, she bought a Nikon Nuvis compact camera from duty free. It's small and nice to use, but I still preferred digital cameras because of the ability to take pictures without thinking (and worrying about costs per picture). Talking about it now, makes me want to try it out, since I haven't used it for a while!
We've had another camera, a generic-type digital camera, which gave quite bad pictures - and it was THIS that made me really want to get a good new camera.
I used to bring it to uni, and then one day, full moon over the river, it was so beautiful, I tried to capture it using the camera but it didn't come out nicely and the the beautiful scene was just turned into a blur on the camera.

Got the 300D this year while I was in Singapore, very happy with it
So, after using the family camera a lot, this is my own, first camera

My first camera is a Nikon compact 35mm, I bought it then because it was cheap and affordable, and I probably wasn't all that into photography as a teenager.

After that I bought a Canon SLR, 3 years ago. Just a few months ago, I've upgraded to Nikon D70.

hrm.... my first camera was presented to me in a showbag from the Melbourne Show when i was about 7.

It was claimed as the 'world's smallest camera' and cost probably all of $3 to make. the thing was it required this awkard film to use which at the time cost $7 a roll.

Funny that the film cost more than the camera........

Oh were they those ones that use the funny film, like how can I describe it... like two small canisters joined by a flat bit?

I think I got one of those when I was a kid as well... No viewfinder - you had to look through this square plastic frame which you flipped up... I can't remember using it though...

^^ yep, spot on ST!!!!

Came with flimsy flip frame viewfinder and everything

First camera I ever owned was this little blue 35MM SLR cam, have not used it for sometime, I have not used a camrea for a long time now I have my new cam, it was collecting dust, just noticed it is still only on it 12th shot on what appears to be a 24hot rool (we mainly ever bought 24shots)
The old beastie:

uhauha thats .. microfilm or sumfin ..
my brother bought an old minolta 110 compact which used that fiilm ..so annoying to get a hold of tho .. .

i htink my first cam was a canon AV-1 ..so chunky.. and old .. but i guess my 300D now is even bigger.. uhauhah .. .

GO the manual SLR's!

And when we go photo-outing, Peter comes fully equipt, not one, not two, but three cameras!!!!!!
Film SLR, Digital SLR, Digital camera + lenses!

haha ~

huahua .. not usualy.. that was to the fro trip ..and i didnt even iuse the other two ...
so sad tho ..
the plastic on my kit lens a bit broke off ...
but has no effect on the usgae of the laens .. but its annoying ..

I know what you mean Peter, like when I received my 50mm f/1.8 there was a mark on the lens element, you couldn't see it in the pictures taken when using it, but it was annoying having a big black mark there

I remember now, that I have had 3 other cameras.
One was a disposable cam which I never processed the film (it's got pictures from a school camp in 1997 in there), the other two were cheap cheapish ones, one I got with a fishing kit and another for my birthday.
The one I got with fishing kit, I accidentally opened and exposed the film. The one I got for my birthday, brought it with me to Melbourne trip in 1997 and.... when I came back and brought for processing, they said that I didn't load the film properly!!! arhhh!

Hahah, funny stories adam! Before I got my Canon SLR, I was playing with my dad's old Nikon SLR (a real manual one). I remember being so enthusiastic about it - carefully framing shots, manually focussing, setting the aperture and shutter speed... 2 weeks and 50 shots later I realised I hadn't wound the film on properly... doh!!!

funny stories goes on... when I first got my canon slr, I was enthusiatic and eager... so much so that I loaded the film without even looking at the manual. After loading the film, the shot indicator show "24". I thought I loaded the film incorrectly with the camera and open up the camera and exposed the whole roll of film... bugger...

shuttertalk Wrote:Hahah, funny stories adam! Before I got my Canon SLR, I was playing with my dad's old Nikon SLR (a real manual one). I remember being so enthusiastic about it - carefully framing shots, manually focussing, setting the aperture and shutter speed... 2 weeks and 50 shots later I realised I hadn't wound the film on properly... doh!!!

uhauha yeah ... i think ive accidentally not loaded my film priperly twice b4 ...
once i didnt fuullly wind the film so a bit was stil lsticking out .. i thought it was anew roll of film so it got double xposesd ~_~ soo gay ...

i remember how i was so much more carful it taking shots wid a manual SLR .. cause i had no $$ to go develope photos ..

The first camera I can remember using was an old Kodak Brownie. It was in a junk heap at my Grand Parent's house. I took it to the local photo retailer who told me what sort of film it took. 620.... and it was still on the market. This was about 1973.

I quickly moved on to the family Polariod.

Starting Tech School in 1975 I got my 1st taste of 35mm photography with a Ricoh 500g. The students used the range finder and the one SLR in the Dept was never loaned out.

Leaving school and getting a job, i got my 1st SLR. Oylmpus OM10....And went spaz buying the the accessories, Flash, zooms, Manual adaptor, filters etc...most gathered dust due to lack of use.

Saw the new Oylmpus OM2sp (1986?) and had to have it....It was a lemon, untraceable intermitant fault that took the pleasure out of shooting.....We got robbed and I did not cry when they took the camera...

Decided to ditch most of the Oylmpus gear, by this stage the magnets in the OM 10 were sticky and it had a shutter fault. I went for something basic, but good. A Ricoh XR-10....Still got it.

Welcome to shuttertalk mic!!!
wow!! You were a kodak brownie user!!! Do you still have it/use it? Would be an antique!

Hi mic, and welcome to shuttertalk! That's funny... people would pay lots of money nowadays to collect the equipment you're talking about..

So what do you use now?

Thanks for the welcome ST..Adam.

The Brownie has long since gone. 620 film is gone too. I have been told you can wind 220 onto 620 spools, but I'm not sure....

That could be a thread on its own.....Film & Memory Card Formats...What worked, what bombed?


Anyway, with the birth of our 1st child I decided I needed something quick and smaller and bought a Pentax MZ-50 SLR. Auto wind, Auto Focus, Auto Fill Flash etc. It's a smallish but good SLR for the money. It's compact enough to use in lieu of a point & shoot, but offers much better results.

Moving onto Y2K, I was watching the development of the digital market with great interest. I'm in the photo trade and was working for a firm the was the market leader in B&W photo supplies. The loss of trade at this time was dramatic, so many 35mm & B&W products just stopped selling.

Apart from Web publishing there was no practical uses for digital photography. Boy has that changed in such a small timeframe! But I was keen to get a new digital toy, and when the price of a 1.3 mega pix Kodak (DC215) dropped under $500.00 I took the plunge into digital.

Hello Mic!
You are an old git like me huh?

What part of the world are you in?

By the middle of 2001 my company was in serious trouble, they had not moved quick enough, they offered some good products to the trade but nothing for the consumer market, where the money was. So by the end of 2001 I was unemployed, but not for long. The Kodak DC-215 was a good introduction to digital photograpy, over 10.000 shutter fires before it died.

Like most people my Hard-drive was full of latent images. There was no point trying to do much with such low-res images and the photo finishing market was not established to service the market. The 35mm cameras gathered a lot of dust on the shelf and the early JPEGs never got printed....This was a bad time, an effort had to be made to pick up the 35mm gear and shoot.

In late 2002 I bought a Ricoh RR-30. 3 Mega-pix P&S. Some people love the camera, it did not really meet my expectations, although I still have it. Poor flash range, noise and inconsistent exposures are the big issues.

About the same time I also got a Ricoh R1-S 35mm P&S....A stylish, non zoom model that I'd recommend if they were still on the market. Too many 35mm P&S camera are feature loaded but really bad. The R1-S is a great camera because it lacks features.

Hi Rufus.

I'm in Melbourne, Australia.

And 41....

And now to 2004.

I'm pleased to say the Photo Finishing Trade have got their act together and now offer 6x4" digital prints for a decent price, and digital photography has matured enough to have practical consumer applications.

I still have the Ricoh RR-30....It is seldom used. I borrow a Canon A-40 and think its a better camera.

I'm looking for a high quality low price digital P&S. Am I dreaming? Maybe so.

I'm thinking about a DSLR, the Canon 300D would be my 1st pick, but I'm going to wait, as more manufaturers release models the cheaper they're getting.

mic Wrote:Hi Rufus.

I'm in Melbourne, Australia.

And 41....

haha .. looks like a few Melbourners here ...
looks like we can have a Melbourne and perth Groups so far. ..

mic Wrote:I'm looking for a high quality low price digital P&S. Am I dreaming? Maybe so.
I'm thinking about a DSLR, the Canon 300D would be my 1st pick, but I'm going to wait, as more manufaturers release models the cheaper they're getting.

If I might be so bold as to recommend a Panasonic Lumix model. All the flexibility of DSLR (almost) without the cost of accessories (extra lenses, etc.).

You arent as ancient as me then.