[jppi]

I hereby declare October 17 to be Oldest Camera Day!

And how do you celebrate Oldest Camera Day? By pulling your oldest working camera out of the closet, attic, basement, shed, etc., taking a set of pictures with it (e.g., one roll of film, if it's a film camera), and then uploading the best 2 or 3 shots to the morgueFile archive. In your description of the photo(s), include some info about the camera you used. Since this will surely involve some film cameras, which require processing, you don't have to upload your photos on the 17th, that's just the day to use your oldest camera.

Of course, this does imply that you have an account on this site, so if you've just discovered this site or have been "lurking" then now is the time to sign up!

If I can get film for it, I'll be using my Kodak Instamatic X-15. If I can't get film for it, though, I can't consider it a "working" camera so I'll go with my first 35mm SLR instead, the Yashica FX-3 that I bought 3rd (4th?) hand when I was stationed in England.

Get creative and have fun!

Gee, the oldest (by manufacture date) working camera I have is also my newest (by date I bought it.) I guess I can also use my oldest lens, which is my next-to-the-oldest lens.

Actually, I'm going to try my old Minolta Highmatic 7S rangefinder. Film is no problem, but I don't know what comparable battery to use (I don't think I can get mercury cells, anymore), so I'll take the F90 along for the meter.

I don't think I can get film for my oldest working camera and to go back to film...I don't know about that. What I go back to film and like it?

[jppi]

Yeah, I've been thinking about that.... I haven't shot film in longer than I care to admit, since I once said that I wouldn't give up film for digital. And, really, I like my Minolta Maxxum 7 (35mm DSLR) more than my Sony Alpha A-100 (DSLR), but it's obvious which one gets used and which one is in storage. (Oops, just had a thought... batteries??) Anyway, I'm gonna shoot some film with that old Yashica, and just see what happens!

[xandert]

Afraid I don't have an "oldest" camera anymore. I got rid of all my film cameras (which weren't all that fabulous anyway) when I went digital. And I only have the one digital - what I'm currently using. Since it's only about a year old, I don't think it will count.

I'm using my old Minolta Hi-Matic 7s and Kodak Tri-X (TX-400) film. The 7s is a rangefinder 35mm camera with a 45mm f/1.8 fixed lens. Shutter modes are full auto, aperture priority, shutter priority and full manual.

I received this camera as a 15th or 16th year birthday present (1973 or 1974.) Unfortunately, it has been collecting dust since I bought my first SLR, about 1978.

The camera is relatively clean but needs a new accessory (flash) hot-shoe. As the original batteries (PX165 mercury) are no longer available, I used the meter on my Nikon N90s to determine the exposure.

I took a few shots of restaurants along US-301, but with the cold rain, I'll try for some more tomorrow. I'll process the roll at class on Monday if I can get it finished off.

(Oops, just had a thought... batteries??)

Does it use PX13 or PX625 mercury cells (about the size of a nickel?) If so, have a look at this site:
http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-111.html

[jppi]

(Oops, just had a thought... batteries??)

Does it use PX13 or PX625 mercury cells (about the size of a nickel?) If so, have a look at this site:
http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-111.html

Turns out the light meter was (apparently?!) working in the FX-3 despite how old the batteries are. They're just LR-44 button batteries, though, so they should be easy to replace when they die. I was actually more concerned about batteries leaking, which luckily was not the case for the FX-3 or the Maxxum 7. (I'm not particularly good about removing batteries from things in storage... {ahem})

Perhaps I should've called this oldest film day -- both the FX-3 and the Maxxum 7 had old rolls of film in them with a few shots already taken. What have I been thinking?! (Have I been thinking?) So I shot the rest of the roll in the FX-3. This should be an interesting "experiment" to see how badly it all turns out! I have no idea how old that film was...

We finally got some rain and it's been pretty dark all day, but maybe tomorrow I'll shoot the rest of the roll in the Maxxum 7 and get both rolls developed at the same time. Probably won't have photos uploaded here for a few days. I did get a shot of my FX-3 uploaded, though, and linked it to my first post above.

OK, folks, a shot of Silverbell in queue for approval.

Minolta Highmatic 7s (circa 1973), fixed 45mm lens; Kodak Tri-X Pan (TX400) at 400; I didn't document the settings, but they were probably 1/60 @ f/2 or f/1.8; no filters or post-processing work other than scanning @ 1200 dpi. Metering was done with the Nikon N90s. Most of the exposures seem to be close.


There are two scratches long the entire set of frames, which are also showing up on frames shot with the N90s so there must be something in the bulk-loader.

There seems to be some light leakage at the top and bottom of the frames but it may be from the scanner. I'll know after I make the contact sheets tomorrow.

edit: fixed typo.