Oh My! The Cameras I Have Owned....

www.dennismook.com
 

Despair, Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia

 

I’m a bit embarrassed.  Seriously embarrassed, to be honest.  The other day I was quietly sitting and thinking about my 44-year journey in photography and started to mentally list the cameras I have owned.  Wow!  I surprised myself by the shear number.  I certainly have furthered the stereotype of a gear head and the dreaded GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) with my numerous and varied purchases over the years.

 

I think I understand why I had purchased so much and varied equipment.  Varied is the key.  As I journeyed through photography, I was always learning.  I wanted to learn 35mm, medium format, large format, black & white, color negative and transparency photography as well as forensic, industrial, wedding, landscape, portraiture, wildlife, railroad, macro, and on and on.  I found myself so engulfed with photography that I would just drink in new knowledge.  Each time I found a different aspect of photography that intrigued me, I bought equipment to support learning it.  I suspect that what I did was no different than others who have indulged in their passions.

 

 

So here is a list of the cameras, in alphabetical order, I have owned and used, to the best of my knowledge.  Don’t even ask about lenses….

 

Calumet 4X5 Studio Camera

Canon A-1

Canon EOS 650

Canon EOS 620

Canon F-1

Canon F-1n

Canon G11

Reflections

Canon G2

Canon G9

Canon S95

Contax T

Holga 120N

Kodak Brownie Flashmate 20

Kodak Instamatic 102

Koni Rapid Omega 100

Leica M3 SS

Leica M6

Leica M6 TTL

Leica M7

Leica Minilux

Leica R4SP

Leica R8

Mamiya C330F

Minolta Dimage A-1

Minolta Hi-Matic 7

Minolta SR-T101

Nikkormat EL

Nikon D200

Nikon D300

Nikon D70



Harbor Park, Home of the Norfolk Tides, Norfolk Virginia

Nikon D700
Nikon D7000

Nikon D800E

Nikon F2A

Nikon F2AS

Nikon FE

Nikon FE2

Nikon FM

Nikon FM2n

Nikon N2020

Nikon N8008

Nikon N90

Nikon N90s

Olympus OMD E-M5

Olympus XA

Pentax 645

Pentax 645N

Pentax 6X7 (3 of them)
Plaubel Makina 67

Speed Graphic

Tachihara 4X5 Cherry wood Camera

 

There are probably a few more that I don’t remember.  I believe I’ve made good images with every one of these cameras.  You don’t have to have a specific brand of camera to make good images.  You don’t have to have an expensive camera to make good images and you don’t have to have a camera with a lot of fancy features to make good images.  With the exception of a camera’s specific features that allow you to do something other cameras won’t (for example—double exposure), the most important thing in making good images is you.

 

You know what I said to justify all these purchases?  Thinking about it, it doesn’t wash.  I just love the tools of photography as well as the art and craft of photography.

 

Enjoy

Dennis Mook