Hi All, I may just be the most well-stocked photog man on the prowl here at the halls of pdml-- and I use every one, at least occasionally. But I am completely an amateur (both financially and talent-wise...)
Starting with the oldest to the newest. Yashica D TLR medium format. The camera I used as a loaner to start my career as a photographer, when I was in the 4H club as a wee lad decades ago. That very camera was given to me as a gift a couple of years ago. I use it as my mentoring camera, when I "train" young photographers who ask for additional help, after I do presentations on basic exposuring and composition for local high school students. A Kowa 6 medium format (6cm x 6cm) format system.- This is a very nice camera, and I have 5 very nice lenses for this guy. I used to do all my medium format infrared landscapes with this camera, but since I got my pentax 6x7 system, its been sitting, and I've given serious consideration to selling the system, though I cringe at the thought of selling it for pennies on the dollar, which Kowa stuff has been doing lately on ebay. A pentax 6x7 system. My newest stuff. I have the 55mm lens, the 75, the 105, the 150 and the 200. Most of the lenses are the oldest versions, a couple are super-tak 6x7s, but all of them, and the very early non-mirror lock-up body are superb picture takers. I spent way too much money (though in terms of pentax 6x7 equipment, I spent way under "fair market value") But, the landscapes, the portraits I've taken with this (so-far) under-used camera are far superior in terms of image quality and ease-of-printing than any I've ever made before, including all 35mm, and medium format I've had experience with. A Spotmatic F. Stays loaded with Kodak HIE infrared film, and it has an opaque wratten filter (89b) mounted between the film rails behind the shutter curtain. I shoot infrared portraiture and landscapes. This might be my most used camera. About 2 or 3 rolls a month. A BEAUTIFUL chrome ES II. In drop dead mint condition, it stays loaded with plus-x or pan-f plus or FP4+. But I only shoot it to keep it in working condition. And I'm very very careful not to add any blemishes to its mark-free condition. One of the cameras I'll not part with, except upon my death or an offer for an obscene amount of money. I have the full complement of SMC tak lenses, but my favorite is the 35/2. That particular lens is also unique: when I bought it a couple of years ago, it was brand new, in all its original packaging, and I dare say it may have never been outside of its box before I opened it. A shiny ES. This is the one I've shown off to the list before: was a black paint ES, that I disassembled, and took all the paint off the top and bottom plates, and shined up the brass to a mirror finish, then lacquer coated them to keep 'em shiny. Very unusual-looking and quite a head-turner. I keep this camera loaded with 400 speed black and white film, like HP5+ or Tri-x, sometimes Tmax. A Beautiful black paint electro spotmatic. One of the early ones with the name spelled out. This one is also in dead mint condition, not a bit of paint missing, no blemishes at all. I keep velvia and a ring flash attached to this one, and very occasionally, it accompanies me out to the orchid greenhouse for photos of my latest phalenopsis or vanadium, oncidium or catelaya. Like the ES II chrome I have, a collector's piece, hopefully a treasure for one of my heirs or a rich collector... Then we get to my K2s... I have 2 silver K2s, and two black paint K2s, and two K2DMDs. I use these cameras extensively, either for infrared landscapes, or for T-grain standard black and white, usually either Delta 100 (wow, what a film!) or 400, and sometimes the Tmax films. I do at least a roll per week between these cameras, and they all are within easy reach when I'm headed out the door. I actually had even more K2s, but I've sold 4 of them in the last few months. The super program. My "wedding camera" backup plan, mostly. Though I enjoy mounting it to the motor drive, attaching the AF280T with a lumiquest bounce attachment (along with the flash bracket thing that raises it about 8 inches above the camera) and going out in public and watching the heads turn. Its a great picture taking machine, and at festivals and football games, its a great candid people recorder. And finally, my PZ 1s. I have two, and these are my machines for shooting football games for my university newspaper and yearbook, whom I work for, as the official "sports" photographer. (A job that gives me access to the sidelines and some spare change as I complete my college education very very slowly...) They work great, loaded with tri-x rated at 800, I shoot either a tamron 400/5.6 or an old SMC tak 300/4. I don't feel envious at all being surrounded by F5s and D100s. Except for the preview and review, and ability to shoot say, 7 frames in one second, I don't miss having what they have. OH, and thanks to Stan Halpin, I will soon have the one item I've never had made by pentax, an LX.... I may be forgetting a body or two, but, like I said, I am "well-outfitted." Greetings from South Louisiana Sid B
