What gear did you start off with?

[greybeard]

My first relatively serious Digital camera was a Sony F828 about 10 years ago.

 

[Buckster]

You wouldn't know it to look at today's market, but Pentax invented the SLR

Would you care to back this statement up with some historically factual information and sources?

 

[maaatter]

I almost embarrassed to say I haven't heard of half of that without Googling, aha. These might be before my time a bit.

 

[LightSpeed]

I started with a 110 point and shoot camera.

Then, onto a fixed-focus 35mm Fuji point and shoot in 35mm. No zoom. Humble as it was, it was much better. I shot with that for a few years, before I figured out that no matter how hard I tried, my pix wouldn't get better with that camera; it was for snapshots only.

My first serious camera was a Pentax K1000 SE, a 35mm SLR, and a 50mm f/2 lens. Added a Sigma 28mm f/2.8 and a Tokina telephoto zoom. I shot a lot of pictures with that. I worked in a Ritz Camera and I had two girlfriends that were the lab girls. MAN did I have good prints for those couple years!

Then, my grandpa gave me his Olympus OM1n, which was a step up. He included the 28mm f/3.5, 50mm f/1.8, and 135 mm f/3.5 Zuiko lenses. All very sharp.

I had a Yashica FX3 Super; a very cheap mechanical camera body; nowhere near the quality of the OM1n or the K1000, but it took the Carl Zeiss lenses. I had scored a 50mm f/1.4 for that baby!

Then, a Yashica-mat TLR, followed by a Rolleiflex TLR.

Then, an Olympus OM4. That was my best 35mm camera ever. The spot metering was pure magic.

I also flirted with Nikon with an FM2n and an EM. The FM2n felt more industrial and I never really bonded with it. The EM was low quality.

First digital camera was an Olympus C720 Ultrazoom. Fantastic lens sharpness, but terrible 38mm wide angle. Sold it and put some serious dough into my Pentax K100D. It was the only entry level dSLR at the time with stainless steel lens mounts both on the body and lenses, and the entry level lenses were the smoothest around, with all glass elements. This camera is kind of future-proof, and I think I'll stick with it. It uses AA batteries, and I'm powering it with Sanyo Eneloops. SD cards are still used, but if they're not, it has a USB cable.

I bought the 80-200 equiv. kit lens for it and a used 50mm f/2 manual focus like I had on my old K1000. It still works, and is still very sharp. $50 from ebay. Then, I really splurged and bought Pentax's top-of-the-line flash. I lugged this around Europe on vacation one time, and now, it doesn't see the light of day too often, because...

I bought a Canon S90 pro point & shoot a couple years back, and have been using that for EVERYTHING. This one, I can always have on my person. f/2 lens @ 28 mm, and the sensor is twice as big as most point & shoot sensors. Now, it is an old model. The only thing I miss from the SLRs is the hot shoe and bounce flash. So I think I'm going to get an Olympus XZ-1 and a bounce flash for it.

Don't be like a sheep and only consider Nikon and Canon. There's nothing wrong with them. But Pentax, Olympus, Samsung, and Sony all make good SLRs too, and they are often overlooked. Also, don't overlook previous generation models. Save money on the body. Even a clean used one is a good buy. Spend your money on quality glass and a good bounce flash and tripod. I bet you could get a Pentax K100d like mine on ebay for $100. It has 6 MP (all you need) and body-integral anti-shake, so it works with all lenses, instead of just the ones you pay extra for, for the image stabilizer. Outfit it with a couple of good lenses for another $150. Maybe even a really classy f/2.8 28-70 or something...

You wouldn't know it to look at today's market, but Pentax invented the SLR, and they co-developed probably the world's best lens coatings with Carl Zeiss. Zeiss calls it T*, and Pentax calls it SMC. Just a devil's advocate here.

One of the many reasons LightSpeed endorses Gipson AND Pentax.
K5 rules. Pentax glass is fine as hell.

 

[Jeremy Z]

You wouldn't know it to look at today's market, but Pentax invented the SLR

Would you care to back this statement up with some historically factual information and sources?

Hmm. I seem to have misread something somewhere. (maybe from Pentax, hehehe) It seems the Asahiflex I (they were Asahi before they were Pentax) was the first mass-produced Japanese 35mm SLR.

But the Germans did the 35mm SLRs first.

Before that, there were medium format SLRs too.

Source: Wikipedia:
History of the single-lens reflex camera - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[LightSpeed]

Kodak invented the first Digital SLR. It was about 30k

 

[480sparky]

One of the many reasons LightSpeed endorses Gipson AND Pentax.
K5 rules. Pentax glass is fine as hell.

Old technology doesn't help today. Many companies invented cutting-edge technology that means nothing in today's market. Not saying Pentax is crap (I shot with it in the film days), but what they had in the 70's does not automatically make their products today superior.

 

[Tony S]

Started off with a Kodak Brownie, then had every cartridge camera there was after that. Progressed up through the 35mm bodies and started the digital age shooting the 2000 Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill with an Olympus P&S (only 856K pixel count) along with film. That was woefully inadequate for shooting things that move, fast, so when it came out I then went to the Canon D30 (3.1 MP) in the winter of 2000. I still have the D30, I think it renders some of the best colors on dark overcast days in the woods.

After that I moved up to the 1D, then the 1DII, then the 1DIIN and now I work with a pair of 1D MKIII. Hopefully things will be prosperous enough for me to move on the the 1Dx later this year.

 

[cmerc4]

My first DSLR is a nikon d3100, which I've had for just under a year now. I'm already wishing I would have shelled out a little more to get a nikon with a few more options and more speed. 10 Years ago I had a 35mm canon rebel.

 

[manaheim]

on the Flintstones cam.

For me.. brandy new Nikon D100 and a couple very basic lenses.

 

[Patrice]

My first camera was a Speed Graphic. My first roll film camera was a Kodak instamatic that took little film cartridges. My first 35mm was a Konica rangefinder with a fast lens. My first MF was a Rolleiflex TLR. My first SLR was a Canon AE-1. My first pro level SLR was a Nikon F4s. My first DLSR was a D70 when they first came out.

 

[maaatter]

Now what are you all shooting with?

 

[Alistair]

My first was when my mom was teaching me since she was into photography was a Pentax K-1000. I used that for a few years for Yearbook, and such. Then I dropped out for about 16 years for it was so expensive to keep going until about year and half ago. I bit the bullet and got myself a Rebel to see if I still liked shooting, and if not I had a good camera for my son and still be a little creative with it. I still enjoyed it, so worked on lighting and getting better equipment. Saving for 5DMII right now as I do side jobs here and there for friends to build a port, and practice.

 

[Patrice]

Now what are you all shooting with?

Mostly D700 and sometimes Mamiya C330.

 

[Buckster]

Now what are you all shooting with?

Mostly, a 5DMKII.

Beyond that, sometimes a 7D, occasionally a 40D, once in a while one of my medium format film cameras, once in a great while one of my 35mm cameras.