A while back, I met my friend Daniel (vs. my brother Daniel) and we went to a camera show. I was both exciting and a little bit sad. I remember when these things were huge back in the 80's and 90's. There was one particular one at the old Big Town Mall in Mesquite. My buddy Pat and I made a special geek trip into Dallas, all the way from Lubbock to go to that and the (then new) Incredible Universe that had just opened out in the east side of town. It was in a big hall with huge number of vendors. I bought a medium sized Tamrac bag used for about $50 which was a lot of money to me back in those days. Now, the camera shows are small affairs that fit in hall the size of a high school gym. At any rate, it was fun and I got to handle some old gear.
A few years ago, I got involved in teaching a little "club" style photography class for the middle school that I taught at during that time. You know; 12 and 13 year-olds love photography! Being the old-school curmudgeon that I am, I decided that I needed honest-to-gosh manual 35mm cameras for them to learn the craft on. I had one kid who's dad had worked for Kodak, and he brought his Nikon FE, the other kids just stared when I said words like, "film", "35mm", "f-stop" and "shutter speed". So, I started looking around for "old iron". In my world; "old iron" means, Japanese 35mm cameras from the 60's and 70's.
I was able to round up a some cameras, after a few weeks of scouring Craigslist. There was a pair of Mirandas, one Sensorex, and a Sensorex II. A faculty member donated her husband's old Pentax P3, and I bought a Nikon FM as well. From somewhere, a Pentax SP500 materialized, don't even remember how. There was even a Konica T, that got thrown into the Nikon deal, but it didn't work consistently. Anyway, I bought some film, removed the batteries and taught them all how the "sunny 16" rule worked.
They had a great time with the old gear and took a lot of pictures. This is how I accidentally kicked off my current bout of collecting. Although I sold off the majority of that equipment when I moved on to teaching at the High School, I did keep a couple of things. Oddly, the Konica T, and a few hand-held meters that I made them use. Actually, I didn't think that I'd be collecting anything, but not long ago, my brother sent me a Topcon Uni, along with a random Schneider lens that he picked up somewhere.
It was obvious to me that it was about the same vintage as my Dad's old Voigtlander, so a short Google search later, it was revealed that it was a Kodak Retina reflex mount lens.
.....And $15 later, I got something to mount it on! A Kodak Retina Reflex IV from the mid-60's. No, it's not completely working, but it sure does look good sitting on the shelf with that Schneider mounted on it!
There's also a non-working Nikon EM as well, courtesy of my Australian friend Kym. So, that's it. I know it's not terribly extensive or impressive, but it's a nice start. Maybe I'll be able to add that Russian Fotosniper that I've always wanted!
