the Cameras I’ve Owned …an Abbreviated History

Leica CL + Carl Zeiss Jena II 24mm f2.8 Macro

This is not a story about my relationship with photography, but literally an account of the cameras I have used over the years. When I read people’s commentary and opinions on specific cameras and lenses, I find it helpful to know what other equipment they have experienced. And so likewise I want to share that information about myself in order to provide context. In the interest of brevity, this summary leaves out details such as the model names of most lenses. Still, it provides an overview of my experience with film and digital equipment.

ZENIT E
Sometime in the late 1980s my father taught me to use his Soviet Zenit E, which he later gave me. This was the camera I messed around with as a child and teenager.

NIKON FM3A
In the early 2000s {I genuinely don’t remember the year - but it was early enough so that film cameras were still occasionally sold in mainstream camera stores}, I bought a Nikon FM3A from a shop in Boston that was clearing out its remaining analogue stock. I used this camera on and off for the next decade, then gave it to my husband after I came to prefer rangefinders.

ROLELIFLEX TLR
In 2007, a friend gifted me a Holga. Out of courtesy and curiosity, I loaded it with film and took to the streets of Vienna, where I lived at the time. An elderly gentleman saw me using the Holga, shook his head, and directed me to a small vintage camera shop… which I visited, walking out with a Rolleiflex f3.5. I still use it today on a regular basis.

HASSELBLAD 500 C/M
In 2008 I befriended a professional portrait photographer. She decided to retire, and sold me her Hasselblad 500C/M system. The Hasselblad got me interested in tableau photography. It also earned me a ‘lifetime supply’ of Kodak Ektar film, after I entered a photo contest and won. While I love the photographs out of the Hasselblad and find it simple enough to operate, I do not actually enjoy using it very much due to its heft and conspicuousness. So officially it now belongs to my husband, while the Rolleiflex remains my casual-use medium format camera.

NIKON D600 & D800
In 2009 I bought my first DSLR - the Nikon D600. Since I already owned the Nikon FM3A with several lenses, this seemed a logical choice. {I later also used the D800, but decided against keeping it as it was too heavy and had other qualities that did not appeal to me.} It was with the Nikon DSLR system that I began to take on paid photography assignments. I never deliberately set out to work as a photographer. But I was unhappy with my then-career in academia and was looking for options to get out. So when opportunities came my way I gave them a go. I have done freelance work in editorial photography, certain types of product and portrait photography, event photography, and wedding photography. Taking photos was never my full-time occupation, but I did it alongside other creative work whilst transitioning out of my previous career and trying to find my niche.

FUJI X-PRO
At some point {from 2012 to 2015 I think} I also owned a Fuji XPro mirrorless system, which I hoped would serve as a handy alternative for travel photography and low light photography, as well as being a backup camera. However, I never really took to the Fuji, and eventually traded it to a man looking to get rid of his extensive darkroom equipment. Ever since then we’ve had a darkroom in our home {in Ireland, where I have lived since 2013}.

CANON 5D Mark II
In 2018 the shutter on my Nikon D600 failed after 9 years of use. At that time I had just begun to establish myself as a knitwear designer. Being my own photographer was essential to my business model as I was not in a position to pay for this service. Neither was I in a position to immediately buy a replacement camera body. My husband {a hobby photographer since before we met, with a love for manual vintage lenses} suggested a solution: I could get my Nikon repaired, and in the meanwhile borrow his Canon 5D + whichever of his lenses I found suitable for my purposes. I did not love the idea, as I had tried his setup before and found the Canon uncomfortable and unintuitive to use. Plus I was skeptical about using his unfamiliar vintage Zeiss lenses which required screw-in converters to work with the digital camera body. It seemed like some sort of franken-camera setup! Did it even work properly?

M42 MOUNT LENSES
To make a long story short, I loved the images taken with the borrowed ‘frankencamera’ so much, it became my permanent digital setup. Discovering the Zeiss Jena lenses was a revelation, as prior to this I had not realised that I could affect a filmic look in my knitwear photographs by sticking a vintage lens onto a digital camera. I never did get the D600 repaired. Later my husband bought himself another used 5D body, and the M42 lenses became shared between us. He also owns a Praktica MTL film body, which uses the same M42 mount, and my childhood Zenit uses the same mount as well. So between the two of us we now had a handy shared SLR/DSLR system with a collection of compatible lenses.

ZORKIY 2, 3, 4, 5, &6
In parallel to all this {between 2014 and 2019}, purely for sentimental reasons I began to collect Zorkiy rangefinders. My grandfather had a Zorkiy 2, which he passed on to my father, who eventually gave it to me. Feeling it was too precious to use, I bought a newer model - the Zorkiy 6 - in order to try the rangefinder experience. I fell in love with it immediately, and eventually Zorkiy 5, 4, and 3 completed the collection. I did not expect to prefer rangefinders to SLRs, but came to realise that I did. My husband also pointed out that my focusing was better when using rangefinders, and that the photos I took with the rangefinders were more interesting. He encouraged me to get a vintage Leica, similar to his beloved IIIf. But I was quite happy with my Zorkiys.

LEICA IIIf
On my last birthday my husband genuinely shocked me, by presenting me with his Leica IIIf. He meant this to be a romantic gesture, but it made me sad to take away his favourite camera and I did not want to accept it. Today we still debate whether this is now ‘my’ camera, still ‘his’ camera, or a ‘shared’ camera. Seems silly, I know, as we live in the same house and borrow each other’s equipment anyway, so what does it matter. But with certain sentimental or precious things I suppose it does, at least for symbolic purposes.

So that was the state of affairs up to the end of November 2021, at which point we acquired the Leica CL and the Leica M9. We are trying not to act hastily. But realistically, we will most likely sell the DSLR bodies and pare down the rest of our equipment as a result of this purchase. 

To be continued...