I do love my analog gear, and selecting just one seems like cheating (sorry, F3 and EOS 3N, and Hasselblad C), but today it would have to be my Fuji Gx 680. This is a behemoth of a camera with the most incredible glass. It is not the camera for walkarounds, or backpacking (unless you know a sherpa who works cheap) but it is my first choice for serious work. I usually shoot from the general area of my vehicle and it is most definitely on a tripod. The tilt shift makes it so much fun. Currently I mostly shoot black and white, but recently picked up a couple of bricks of Ektar 100 for a trip to southern Utah.
My favourite is my Hasselblad 501cm. I would change nothing, save the prism finder. I need it for the hotshoe and most of the time want the viewing angle, opposed to the waist finder, however it doesn’t have a diopter (like the waist finder) and I would prefer it did for critical focus. My workaround is carrying a laser measuring device made by Bosh. Not perfect, yet works for me.
A great issue, I loved reading the story of how you got back into film and it got me reminiscing about my own journey too.
My go-to film camera at the moment is my Olympus XA, my M2 has been out of action for several months for an expensive repair 🙈. I love the XA’s pocketable size and great aperture-priority metering. And I really hate it’s hard-to-see rangefinder patch!
It’s the perfect pocket camera IMO. As pocketable as a point and shoot but still has control over aperture and manual focus. Zone focusing at f8 is faster than any autofocus pocket camera. I set to f8 or even f16 then set focus to 3m.
At the moment my go to is my Mamiya 645... I love the range it gives between portraiture with super shallow depth of field, but for landscapes you can have absolutely everything in focus!
My go to has to be my Mamiya M645. I've only had it for a couple of months, but every time I hit the road it's the one I opt for. It is pretty heavy, but not to complain about. It's just such a joy to look down into the wait level viewfinder and seeing the light play with the environment.
Been shooting with a Pentax 6x7 lately, and I really love it, but would still choose my Olympus Pen F as a go-to. It's so portable, and I can snap seemingly endless 35mm half-frames, wherever I am. Just a simple camera, and that gothic "F" is a thing of beauty!
My trusty xg-m Minolta, bought in 1983. Getting batteries are the worst thing, but I love her and she with her lenses has reciprocated by getting me out of many jams and creative ruts.
My go to is my Minolta X700. My favorite part about it is it’s not a canon ae-1. Also if I load it in a darkroom I can get 40 photos from a roll of 35mm and that feels like getting a discount on my film. My least favorite park of it is I can’t really hand it to a non photographer friend and have them shoot with it. It’s not an iphone so mist people can’t really operate it.
My go to camera is my Nikon F100. Switched over to this after acquiring Nikon Digital Gear for client work. Never was fully satisfied with the digital process as I was jumped into photography via the analog route. This was the perfect companion to my digital camera and once I had the trust with the F100 it started to phase out digital. Clients almost all the time enjoyed the film work more and it was a win/win. Got mine off a random Amazon listing that stated the camera was used, I then got an email that it was not an actual product they had and got refunded. Three days later a brand new still in plastic Nikon F100 showed up at my door and I've had it for 6 years since! Never asked questions and I got pretty lucky with it :)
My go to film camera right now is my Bronica Gs-1. I love that I can both shoot square and 6x7 with it, and that I can change which film I’m shooting without finishing the roll! Normally I’ll have HP5 pushed 1 stop in my 6x6 film back and porta 400 in my 67 film back.
There’s only one thing I hate about this camera and that is it’s weight..
My favorite analogue camera is my Lomography Diana Mini - it's cheap, it's lightweight, I don't take myself (or my photography) seriously when shooting with it, it's just pure fun to use. What I don't like is that it's really flimsy (again, super cheap camera) and the film advance somehow stops working like every third roll.
The Pentax 6x7. It's my favourite ever camera. I love everything about it, even the heaviness of it. The 6x7 format is glorious achieving such a unique look and depth. Can add so much customisation to it too with extension tubes and waist level viewfinders to really hone in on a specific look. Brilliant camera for life.
My go to camera is LeicaMp and in summer Portra400 and winter 800, since Netherlands is a bit dark:) I love how reliable and solid it is. I hate how lenses are expensive:)
In addition, I carry olmypus XA if I dont want camera but I want to carry camera:) and mostly use Fuji Xtra400 with that.
My go-to camera is my Canon A1. I started with a Pentax espio for memories but then decided to want to make better images. So I found a Canon A1 on the marketplace and bought it. During the past two years I have been steadily upgrading it, lens-wise, and also accessories. Right now I have a cokin filter system on all three of my prime lenses for the A1, which makes it a joy to use with black and white film and color filters. I love the A1 for its bright display with the recommended settings. Also, the FD glass is nice and sharp and generates beautiful bokeh (which I'm a big fan of).
I have also just grown used to it over the years. I can operate it quickly without any problem, a true joy to use!
Currently, I'm saving up for a Mamiya 645 super/pro. So in a few months, this answer might change .. cheers!
For now my work it's split equally between the Pentax LX and the Mamiya C220. The first one is my main 35mm workhorse (even though is eerily fragile), the second is a camera i bought months ago to have a lightweight 120 film camera: at first nothing seemed to have clicked, but after a few rolls i have changed my mind. But, in spite of everything, i keep feeling absolute thrilled when i shoot with the RZ67. The images are so incredibly nice, those Seiko lenses are unmatched.
I do love my analog gear, and selecting just one seems like cheating (sorry, F3 and EOS 3N, and Hasselblad C), but today it would have to be my Fuji Gx 680. This is a behemoth of a camera with the most incredible glass. It is not the camera for walkarounds, or backpacking (unless you know a sherpa who works cheap) but it is my first choice for serious work. I usually shoot from the general area of my vehicle and it is most definitely on a tripod. The tilt shift makes it so much fun. Currently I mostly shoot black and white, but recently picked up a couple of bricks of Ektar 100 for a trip to southern Utah.
that sounds like a dream Don!
My favourite is my Hasselblad 501cm. I would change nothing, save the prism finder. I need it for the hotshoe and most of the time want the viewing angle, opposed to the waist finder, however it doesn’t have a diopter (like the waist finder) and I would prefer it did for critical focus. My workaround is carrying a laser measuring device made by Bosh. Not perfect, yet works for me.
Smart work around, and amazing camera. Thanks for sharing, Peter!
A great issue, I loved reading the story of how you got back into film and it got me reminiscing about my own journey too.
My go-to film camera at the moment is my Olympus XA, my M2 has been out of action for several months for an expensive repair 🙈. I love the XA’s pocketable size and great aperture-priority metering. And I really hate it’s hard-to-see rangefinder patch!
I've always been curious about trying out the XA!
Olympus XA... I’ve been eyeing one of these for a 35mm pocket camera
It’s the perfect pocket camera IMO. As pocketable as a point and shoot but still has control over aperture and manual focus. Zone focusing at f8 is faster than any autofocus pocket camera. I set to f8 or even f16 then set focus to 3m.
At the moment my go to is my Mamiya 645... I love the range it gives between portraiture with super shallow depth of field, but for landscapes you can have absolutely everything in focus!
I hate how big and obnoxious it is!
Amazing camera, but I agree not so fun to walk around with haha. I have the Pro version and I use it pretty much exclusively in the studio.
My go to has to be my Mamiya M645. I've only had it for a couple of months, but every time I hit the road it's the one I opt for. It is pretty heavy, but not to complain about. It's just such a joy to look down into the wait level viewfinder and seeing the light play with the environment.
its an amazing camera! go you :)
Been shooting with a Pentax 6x7 lately, and I really love it, but would still choose my Olympus Pen F as a go-to. It's so portable, and I can snap seemingly endless 35mm half-frames, wherever I am. Just a simple camera, and that gothic "F" is a thing of beauty!
HUGE fan of both! Great combo!
My trusty xg-m Minolta, bought in 1983. Getting batteries are the worst thing, but I love her and she with her lenses has reciprocated by getting me out of many jams and creative ruts.
so cool that you have had it for that long Patrick!
My go to is my Minolta X700. My favorite part about it is it’s not a canon ae-1. Also if I load it in a darkroom I can get 40 photos from a roll of 35mm and that feels like getting a discount on my film. My least favorite park of it is I can’t really hand it to a non photographer friend and have them shoot with it. It’s not an iphone so mist people can’t really operate it.
"My favorite part about it is it’s not a canon ae-1" hahhahhaa please explain
My go to camera is my Nikon F100. Switched over to this after acquiring Nikon Digital Gear for client work. Never was fully satisfied with the digital process as I was jumped into photography via the analog route. This was the perfect companion to my digital camera and once I had the trust with the F100 it started to phase out digital. Clients almost all the time enjoyed the film work more and it was a win/win. Got mine off a random Amazon listing that stated the camera was used, I then got an email that it was not an actual product they had and got refunded. Three days later a brand new still in plastic Nikon F100 showed up at my door and I've had it for 6 years since! Never asked questions and I got pretty lucky with it :)
wow how lucky!!
My go to film camera right now is my Bronica Gs-1. I love that I can both shoot square and 6x7 with it, and that I can change which film I’m shooting without finishing the roll! Normally I’ll have HP5 pushed 1 stop in my 6x6 film back and porta 400 in my 67 film back.
There’s only one thing I hate about this camera and that is it’s weight..
it's a heavy boi BUT yes such a versatile camera :)
My favorite analogue camera is my Lomography Diana Mini - it's cheap, it's lightweight, I don't take myself (or my photography) seriously when shooting with it, it's just pure fun to use. What I don't like is that it's really flimsy (again, super cheap camera) and the film advance somehow stops working like every third roll.
haha oh no every third roll is a lot! how do you then deal with it?
The Pentax 6x7. It's my favourite ever camera. I love everything about it, even the heaviness of it. The 6x7 format is glorious achieving such a unique look and depth. Can add so much customisation to it too with extension tubes and waist level viewfinders to really hone in on a specific look. Brilliant camera for life.
FOR LIFE, that's right :)
My go to camera is LeicaMp and in summer Portra400 and winter 800, since Netherlands is a bit dark:) I love how reliable and solid it is. I hate how lenses are expensive:)
In addition, I carry olmypus XA if I dont want camera but I want to carry camera:) and mostly use Fuji Xtra400 with that.
both so good :)
My go-to camera is my Canon A1. I started with a Pentax espio for memories but then decided to want to make better images. So I found a Canon A1 on the marketplace and bought it. During the past two years I have been steadily upgrading it, lens-wise, and also accessories. Right now I have a cokin filter system on all three of my prime lenses for the A1, which makes it a joy to use with black and white film and color filters. I love the A1 for its bright display with the recommended settings. Also, the FD glass is nice and sharp and generates beautiful bokeh (which I'm a big fan of).
I have also just grown used to it over the years. I can operate it quickly without any problem, a true joy to use!
Currently, I'm saving up for a Mamiya 645 super/pro. So in a few months, this answer might change .. cheers!
The A1 was the first ever analog camera I used as a kid, so good!
For now my work it's split equally between the Pentax LX and the Mamiya C220. The first one is my main 35mm workhorse (even though is eerily fragile), the second is a camera i bought months ago to have a lightweight 120 film camera: at first nothing seemed to have clicked, but after a few rolls i have changed my mind. But, in spite of everything, i keep feeling absolute thrilled when i shoot with the RZ67. The images are so incredibly nice, those Seiko lenses are unmatched.
Mannnnn that RZ, such a beast! Thanks for sharing Alessandro!
I’m in love with my Nikon F2 right now. The just overall feel of it, cocking the shutter etc just feels so good.
I love the lenses (rocking some sweet Noct-nikkor and 28mm f2 right now) and that it is a bit modular.
The biggest dislike atm is having no meter in the DE-1 finder!
such an iconic and classic camera! so much photo journalism done on that beast.