Bonding With a Camera

[Nitesail]

I was wondering how many have experienced this or how many don’t believe it’s possible. I would think that the more time you spend with a tool, especially one used for creative expression, the more that tool simply becomes an extension of you and also becomes a partner in the expressive output. From what I’ve read over the years some known photographic artists felt this way and some didn’t. We all know that some photographers used mostly one camera their entire career, Cartier-Bresson, Winogrand, and some stated they didn’t care what camera they used so long as they got the result they were striving for, Walker Evans comes to mind. Personally, some camera/lenses/gear I simply didn’t get along well with no matter how much I wanted it to work for me. Other times everything fits; you work smoothly with it, controls are second nature, it becomes an extension of you to the point where it does what every piece of equipment should do for you, it gets out of the way. It may seem silly for some to hear that such things have their own personality. After all, they’re just man-made pieces of equipment, right? But I ask those people to consider that everything we use everyday, every piece of equipment, at some point came from the earth, was a part of this living world, its form has just changed. Maybe these tools are living, in some ways on their own, in other ways maybe we give them life. Either way, just a thought.

[Willie]

Friend tried 8x10 with a Kodak Master View as recommended by another we respect. Did not get along with it at all and was ready to dump 8x10 completely.
Another friend visited and was using an 8x10 Deardorff, so he tried it.
Dumped the Master View, bought a Deardorff and is still using it. This was mid 1990's.
Both produce good work and both are highly regarded. For some reason he can work with one and the other was very uncomfortable.

It happens, all formats, film and digital. Just like with cars and so many other things in life.

[Robert Bowring]

I have a closet full of Nikons. Nikon F, F2, F3, And Nikkormats. My favorite go-to camera is the oldest one. A Nikkormat FT. I don’t know why but it just feels good and fits.

[Alan Klein]

Friend tried 8x10 with a Kodak Master View as recommended by another we respect. Did not get along with it at all and was ready to dump 8x10 completely.
Another friend visited and was using an 8x10 Deardorff, so he tried it.
Dumped the Master View, bought a Deardorff and is still using it. This was mid 1990's.
Both produce good work and both are highly regarded. For some reason he can work with one and the other was very uncomfortable.

It happens, all formats, film and digital. Just like with cars and so many other things in life.

Even wives.

[Torquemada]

I have a closet full of Nikons. Nikon F, F2, F3, And Nikkormats. My favorite go-to camera is the oldest one. A Nikkormat FT. I don’t know why but it just feels good and fits.

sounds like you need to send some of those nikons along to me, since leaving them in a closet is camera abuse

[jp]

Yes... My Rolleiflex Automat and Speed Graphic Preanniversary. Both bought cheap and I've become very comfortable with them despite supposedly superior available newer models... Like cars, I had a special relationship with my classic Saab 900 Turbo and an old Ford Ranger 4x4 pickup truck both from the 90's. Ashes to ashes, cars to rust.

[Jim Jones]

This Leica, bought new about 43 years ago and retired after maybe 31 years of hard use, was like a best friend. It has never been serviced and never let me down. I could precisely set the aperture and shutter without looking at the camera, and even approximately focus. Appearance between old friends is unimportant. The only thing I did that affects it's looks was to tape over the film reminder on the back: it rubbed against my nose. Even Leica isn't quite perfect. Now this Leica is retired to a display shelf with 8 other 35 cameras that I've used over many years. Only the Leica and a Univex Mercury II (years older than the Leica) appear to be in good working condition. Univex boasted that the Mercury's rotating focal plane shutter was more accurate than Leica and Contax 35mm cameras, and extremely durable. They were probably right. That was when America produced some of the World's great cameras.

[Alan Townsend]

I could be wrong but believe men are more apt to bond with things than other people are. Cars, airplanes, cameras, wrenches, hammers, etc. I am particularly bonded to several things, many of which are things that I designed and built myself. For example, my boat, the garage for my boat, my RV, my bed, some furniture, etc. I tend to diy things for this reason and after finding I can't buy exactly what I want. More skin in the game is good.

I recently decided to trade my old Olympus Stylus Epic camera (my most disliked camera in my life that's been in a drawer for 23 years) for a Minolta SR-T 101, which was always my favorite 35mm camera and a Gossen Luna Pro exposure meter, which was also a favorite of mine from the past. I made this trade with an extremely well-known camera company that advertises widely and has amazing customer reviews. The SRT I received was such a thing of beauty. I immediatly bonded with it like a long-lost best friend. I owned 3 of these in my past, the last one being stolen around 1992 and replaced by a series of X-series Minoltas that I never liked much and had constant problems with the shutters. I was amazed how happy having that camera made me, until I discovered the TTL meter wasn't working properly and had to RMA for refund, since the dealer had no others to replace it with. This was so painful to me. I had immediately loved that camera but had to say goodby so soon. It wasn't fair.

I ordered another SRT 101 a few days ago from an Ebay dealer in Japan, and it should arrive this coming Thursday. I hope my sad love story has a happy ending.

ps I do love my new Luna Pro.

[LabRat]

Used long enough to be able to just grab a knob in the dark and just tweak a movement enough where it falls perfect, and know everything by touch is a good working relationship!!! And if you can get in the zone where you automatically go through the routine steps automatically and camera rig responds well is the goal (so you can spend more attention to the scene at hand and vision)...

Steve K

[Ulophot]

When I was working as a photojournalist and ballet photographer, my 35s felt natural. I never had a motor drive. I knew my (prime) lenses and the cameras well. I have never used either my 645 or 4x5 nearly as much, nor had to use either for that sort of fast-moving work. I sold my Nikon gear but still have my M4. After a 13-year absence prior to 2017 and only occasional shooting now, it's no longer the extension of me it once was, but I do love it.