What was your first camera?
p.1 #1What was your first camera?
What was your first camera? Of course, this is before you became the photographer you are today. I'm talking about the genesis camera that sparked your interest. I'll start, mine was the Sony Cybershot T7. This thing was about as thin as the Motorola Razr and surprisingly took so quite decent close ups and IQ was decent. Boy they sure made some interesting gadgets from 2000s to 2010s.
Aug 29, 2026 at 09:08 PM
p.1 #2What was your first camera?
Can't remember exactly what it was, other than some model Yashica. Second was a Nikon F2.
Aug 29, 2026 at 09:16 PM
p.1 #3What was your first camera?
The very first was a Time Magazine free gift plastic fantastic camera in fifth grade. My mom bought me a Pentax K1000 and signed me up for a darkroom class about a year later.
Aug 29, 2026 at 09:30 PM
p.1 #4What was your first camera?
Yashica rangefinder. Still have it.
Technically, it was my dad’s.
Technically, it was my dad’s.
Aug 29, 2026 at 11:22 PM
p.1 #5What was your first camera?
I'm sure I played with my parents cheap cameras over the years, but my first real camera was a Minolta SRTMC. I think it was only sold through Kmart.
Aug 30, 2026 at 04:31 AM
p.1 #6What was your first camera?
Argus C3. Loaned to me in 1968 by a friend's father. Paired with a beat up Weston light meter I found at a garage sale.
An incredible brick of a camera, with a terrible viewfinder and really bad ergonomics; but I was hooked for life.
An incredible brick of a camera, with a terrible viewfinder and really bad ergonomics; but I was hooked for life.
Aug 30, 2026 at 06:22 AM
p.1 #7What was your first camera?
My first was a Nikon FG-20 acquired in the summer before I started college. I took a basic photo class my first year at the university and I was hooked. Had a few years where I didn’t do photography but I always come back to it.
Aug 30, 2026 at 07:32 AM
p.1 #8What was your first camera?
It was something like one of these…
Somewhere I actually have one of these in a box — I think my dad owned it…
Somewhere I actually have one of these in a box — I think my dad owned it…
Aug 30, 2026 at 09:03 AM
p.1 #9What was your first camera?
The first of my own cameras was a Kodak Brownie with a flash, given to me by my grandmother as a birthday gift in about 1952. Second was actually my dad's Argus 35 mm that he eventually let me keep. My dad helped me build a darkroom in the corner of our basement that we both used. Several years later a teacher noticed some photos that I had brought to school to show my friends and he asked if he could look at them. Then he talked me into taking school yearbook photos using the school's Graphlex Press Camera. I shot photos of the school club groups and sporting events using that camera during my last 3 years of high school. After college (EE), I found a job helping build a camera system for NASA, to take mapping photos of the Moon from an orbiting rocket (Lunar Ranger and Lunar Surveyor - before Apollo). I later worked on several electrical projects for the Apollo Missions and then Skylab.
Most of my working career was as an EE, designing control systems for large scale manufacturing automation, but several projects involved photography, using digital images for automated positioning and inspection. High speed/high accuracy automation of sometimes whole automated assembly and inspection manufacturing lines.
I went "totally digital" for my own cameras in 1998. The first "Really Good" digital camera was a Sony Mavica FD-98 at 2.1 mega pixels, bought in June 2000 (I still have it). Though I have owned many digital cameras of the 4 major camera companies since then, my present digital cameras are 2 Canon 77D and 1 Canon 90D, with an older Fuji X as my in-the-car backup. I'm now finally "Very Retired" at 85 and on a fixed income, so a good mirrorless camera and lenses is a bit beyond my financial reach at present. What I have now is more than I really need, so I may never jump the next hurdle into mirrorless.
I've wanted a studio of my own for my whole adult life but never had one, until I built my very own in an unused large 2nd Master Bedroom Suite in my present home six years ago. The "shooting room" (former bedroom) is 19 X 26' X 8'. The only significant limitation has been the 8' ceiling height, but I have some work-arounds for that and I am quite happy with what I have. A walk-in gear closet and full double bathroom are off the shooting room, and the make-up/break area is in the large upstairs hallway adjacent to the shooting room and this completes my studio. I do product, macro, and portrait style shoots, as well as small video productions, all in this studio with considerable design ideas to help me change from one form of shooting to another very quickly. This is now working quite well for me as my "out-of-control" serious hobby. I have two Pro Video cameras, a Canon C100 and a Minolta for 4K video. Video lighting is via 8 GVM LED 480-LS light panels hanging from a DIY ceiling lighting support grid hanging up close to the ceiling so I can do still shoots below them without the need to remove them. This produces a near "NEWS Room kind of even lighting for the kind of videos that I shoot. Six semi permanently hung backdrops on a motorized and remote controlled backdrop system lets me change backdrops from the camera position mid shoot if I wish. All power for my lights is also controlled via remotes at the camera locations whether they are on the ceiling grid or on light stands - no ladder climbing unless a need to move something.
Charley
Edit - The train photo attached was taken with the Sony FD-98, a 2.1 megapixel camera back in June 2000. It's straight from the camera with no editing of any form. I still have this camera and still use it occasionally, but have owned about 10 others of the popular brands since then, and now using Canon DSLR's mostly..
The train in the photo was the "ride train" in the NC Transportation Museum that is a restored former Southern Railways Shop and Roundhouse that was donated to NC after the erra of Steam had ended. This past weekend the museum hosted a Celebration of 250 years for the USA, and brought in about 30 diesels from all over the country that had been painted especially for the celebration. There are videos of this celebration available on Youtube, probably only interesting to only those who also love trains. The town that this railroad shop/museum is located in is "Spencer, NC" and located just NE of Salisbury, NC in Central NC, so that should help in your search for these videos.
Taken with Sony Mavica MVC-FD98 June 2000
A shot of my studio and one of my 2 camera stands. I sometimes teach and use the white board. The 6 most used backdrops lower in front of it.
Edited on Aug 31, 2026 at 05:29 AM · View previous versions
Most of my working career was as an EE, designing control systems for large scale manufacturing automation, but several projects involved photography, using digital images for automated positioning and inspection. High speed/high accuracy automation of sometimes whole automated assembly and inspection manufacturing lines.
I went "totally digital" for my own cameras in 1998. The first "Really Good" digital camera was a Sony Mavica FD-98 at 2.1 mega pixels, bought in June 2000 (I still have it). Though I have owned many digital cameras of the 4 major camera companies since then, my present digital cameras are 2 Canon 77D and 1 Canon 90D, with an older Fuji X as my in-the-car backup. I'm now finally "Very Retired" at 85 and on a fixed income, so a good mirrorless camera and lenses is a bit beyond my financial reach at present. What I have now is more than I really need, so I may never jump the next hurdle into mirrorless.
I've wanted a studio of my own for my whole adult life but never had one, until I built my very own in an unused large 2nd Master Bedroom Suite in my present home six years ago. The "shooting room" (former bedroom) is 19 X 26' X 8'. The only significant limitation has been the 8' ceiling height, but I have some work-arounds for that and I am quite happy with what I have. A walk-in gear closet and full double bathroom are off the shooting room, and the make-up/break area is in the large upstairs hallway adjacent to the shooting room and this completes my studio. I do product, macro, and portrait style shoots, as well as small video productions, all in this studio with considerable design ideas to help me change from one form of shooting to another very quickly. This is now working quite well for me as my "out-of-control" serious hobby. I have two Pro Video cameras, a Canon C100 and a Minolta for 4K video. Video lighting is via 8 GVM LED 480-LS light panels hanging from a DIY ceiling lighting support grid hanging up close to the ceiling so I can do still shoots below them without the need to remove them. This produces a near "NEWS Room kind of even lighting for the kind of videos that I shoot. Six semi permanently hung backdrops on a motorized and remote controlled backdrop system lets me change backdrops from the camera position mid shoot if I wish. All power for my lights is also controlled via remotes at the camera locations whether they are on the ceiling grid or on light stands - no ladder climbing unless a need to move something.
Charley
Edit - The train photo attached was taken with the Sony FD-98, a 2.1 megapixel camera back in June 2000. It's straight from the camera with no editing of any form. I still have this camera and still use it occasionally, but have owned about 10 others of the popular brands since then, and now using Canon DSLR's mostly..
The train in the photo was the "ride train" in the NC Transportation Museum that is a restored former Southern Railways Shop and Roundhouse that was donated to NC after the erra of Steam had ended. This past weekend the museum hosted a Celebration of 250 years for the USA, and brought in about 30 diesels from all over the country that had been painted especially for the celebration. There are videos of this celebration available on Youtube, probably only interesting to only those who also love trains. The town that this railroad shop/museum is located in is "Spencer, NC" and located just NE of Salisbury, NC in Central NC, so that should help in your search for these videos.
Taken with Sony Mavica MVC-FD98 June 2000
A shot of my studio and one of my 2 camera stands. I sometimes teach and use the white board. The 6 most used backdrops lower in front of it.
Edited on Aug 31, 2026 at 05:29 AM · View previous versions
Aug 30, 2026 at 09:28 AM
p.1 #10What was your first camera?
Wow.
gdanmitchell wrote:
It was something like one of these…
https://onthesquareemporium.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/websitelistings-154.jpg
Somewhere I actually have one of these in a box — I think my dad owned it…
https://www.juliantrubin.com/bigten/eastmancamera_files/brownie_2_camera.jpg
Aug 30, 2026 at 11:16 AM
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p.1 #11What was your first camera?
Asahi Pentax H2a around 1968, followed by a Pentax ME Super.
Aug 30, 2026 at 01:42 PM
p.1 #12What was your first camera?
Pentax ME Super with a slow, off-brand 35-70-ish zoom. Trading up to a 50mm f/1.4 was a revelation.
Aug 30, 2026 at 03:50 PM
p.1 #13What was your first camera?
jeffbuzz wrote:
Pentax ME Super with a slow, off-brand 35-70-ish zoom. Trading up to a 50mm f/1.4 was a revelation.
Had both an ME and a MX at one point, with a set of Pentax lenses. The system was great for backpacking — small, light, and good quality.
Pentax ME Super with a slow, off-brand 35-70-ish zoom. Trading up to a 50mm f/1.4 was a revelation.
Had both an ME and a MX at one point, with a set of Pentax lenses. The system was great for backpacking — small, light, and good quality.
Aug 30, 2026 at 08:51 PM
p.1 #14What was your first camera?
My Dad had dabbled in photography and developed film but didn't go much further. He taught me how to develop film and do contact prints when I was in 6th grade and that hooked me. In junior high, I signed up for photography, where they had a real darkroom. For my 13th birthday (1973), Dad took me to Henry's Camera in downtown Los Angeles on a $100 budget. I came away with a used 35mm Beseler Topcon B (aka Topcon R) SLR with the 58mm f1.8 lens and an inexpensive hand-held light meter. Getting an old but really good camera/lens, instead of something shiny and mediocre, served me very well. I used it all through high school and still have it.
Aug 30, 2026 at 09:04 PM
p.1 #15What was your first camera?
I sure do miss Henry's and Frank's and Pan Pacific and so many others of the 70s and 80s. My first 135 camera was a Nikkormat EL and 50/2, my father probably bought from Hooper. The first camera I ever used was an old 620 Hawkeye Brownie Flash, made before I was born.
I learned the most from the SX-70, an early one with all the leather and the split image, a bit before the Nikkormat. The 1:1 macro lens was amazing to me.
EBH
I learned the most from the SX-70, an early one with all the leather and the split image, a bit before the Nikkormat. The 1:1 macro lens was amazing to me.
EBH
Aug 30, 2026 at 09:15 PM
p.1 #17What was your first camera?
My first camera. I used it from the early to late 1960's. Still have a few prints from it actually.
From 1973 to 1981 I worked for a traveling photography company called PCA (Photo Corporation of America). They/we would set up in Kresge stores (precursor to K-Mart) and use a camera that was built specifically for their purposes. The camera used very long rolls of 220 film as I recall.They eventually got exclusive contracts with several other major (at the time) retail establishments offering a 38¢ 5x7 (Kresge/K-Mart) or an 88¢ 8x10 (everywhere else) as their "hook".
My first 35mm camera was a Minolta SRT 101 somewhere in the mid to late 1970's.
©¿©
LB
From 1973 to 1981 I worked for a traveling photography company called PCA (Photo Corporation of America). They/we would set up in Kresge stores (precursor to K-Mart) and use a camera that was built specifically for their purposes. The camera used very long rolls of 220 film as I recall.They eventually got exclusive contracts with several other major (at the time) retail establishments offering a 38¢ 5x7 (Kresge/K-Mart) or an 88¢ 8x10 (everywhere else) as their "hook".
My first 35mm camera was a Minolta SRT 101 somewhere in the mid to late 1970's.
©¿©
LB
Aug 30, 2026 at 09:52 PM
p.1 #18What was your first camera?
Man you really beat that one up. 
Mine has a small crack in what looks like the Bakenlite casing.
EBH
Mine has a small crack in what looks like the Bakenlite casing.
EBH
Aug 30, 2026 at 10:44 PM
p.1 #19What was your first camera?
The camera model photo just posted by @LarryBeemer was my first camera model as well. I don't think mine remained in my possession much past me getting the 35 mm Argos from my dad. I don't remember who got it, but likely one of my cousins.
Charley
Charley
Aug 31, 2026 at 05:43 AM
p.1 #20What was your first camera?
Give was a AGFA Clack 6x6 given to me by my grand mother. She was an amateur photographer and did her own b/w printing, just contact prints, no enlarging.
The Clack worked but it was very basic and it had one major drawback - no double exposure prevention. I'm quite sure some of these photos still exist somewhere.
Unfortunately a line of basic cameras followed, handed down to me, and it took many years until I came to a proper camera.
The Clack worked but it was very basic and it had one major drawback - no double exposure prevention. I'm quite sure some of these photos still exist somewhere.
Unfortunately a line of basic cameras followed, handed down to me, and it took many years until I came to a proper camera.
Aug 31, 2026 at 05:44 AM