Leica IIIc

A hand down from my father. The Leica was fitted with an Elmar 50mm lens (with non standard aperture settings) and came with some extension tubes and close up rings.

This camera was used from 1965 to 1972 and was only put aside when it developed shutter problems at slower speeds.

The camera has one black and one red shutter which suggests it may have been an ex Luftwaffe model. It is in very good condition - it doesn't suffer the metal delamination of later Leica III's.

Ilford Advocate

Only used briefly but an interesting camera with a distinctive white enamel body. It was quite heavy. For some reason I thought this camera was the Sportsman but the old grey cells are fooling me.

Praktica L

We all start off somewhere and the Praktica was a simple, robust camera that lasted me from 1972 to 1984. Fitted with a Tamron 135mm lens it supplemented and then replaced the Leica. The telephoto did it really - essential for air shows.

Olympus OM1n

The first serious system camera I bought. Motor drive, 28mm, 50mm and 85-250mm zoom (shown left) made it excellent for aviation work. Used from 1984 to 1989.

I sold the whole package just to buy one Hasselblad body and lens..

Hasselblad 500C

The business. It's back to Weston meters and manual focus/exposure but you really start to get to grips with theory and practice with this camera. Initial adjustment to compose to 6 x 6 format was slow but it grows on you.

This camera was 25 years old when I bought it and it is still going strong. All Hasselblad parts are given a two letter code from which you can work out the year they were made. The code is as below and my TU stamped camera was made in 1967:

VHPICTURES
1234567890

Hasselblad 250mm lens

My first essential for building up the 500C system. This was an old TT (1966) lens but it is still a cracker.

Hasselblad ELM500

The ELM body is the 500C with built in motor drive. Excellent for remote shots as it can be fired from a long cable or from a remote control.

Olympus AF-1

With moving up to medium format I started to miss out on a lot of "grab" shots - so I augmented the 'blad with this nice little pocket camera. The AF-1 took superb shots until it developed a cataract - the glue between the lens started to turn cloudy.

Nikon FM2

Actually my better half's camera but I use it for air to ground work. Basic system is the body and motor drive plus a 28-75mm zoom and the 100-300 zoom. This makes a nice compact system useful for a lot of work.

Nikon 100 - 300mm Zoom

Brilliant lens. Some users don't like the sliding barrel zoom but this lens has just the right amount of friction for good control. You just have to remember not to pick the camera up by the sliding zoom barrel!

Olympus Mju 1

Bought after the AF-1 packed in and just as good. It is half the thickness and the first true pocket camera I owned - it went everywhere with me.

Olympus Mju 2

The Mju 2 was smaller still than the Mju 1 and probably the smallest possible design for the 35mm system. Another excellent camera.

Olympus C900Z

My first digital camera and somewhat a revelation despite the 1.3 MP resolution. Along with the Mju's it became a permanent part of my travelling kit. It went through 4 AA batteries like stink if you used the rear LCD at all but was much better if you turned the LCD off.

Olympus Mju 400 Digital

My second venture into digital photography and the move that gave serious thoughts to a fully digital future. Superb camera, excellent photo's. 4MP resolution was very good indeed.

Olympus C765 Digital

The first "semi serious" digital camera for me. Superb lens offering 35mm to 350mm optical range. Again it was 4MP but the added zoom made it a very worthwhile tool. Complemented the Mju400 very well although it was just to big to fit in a jacket pocket..

Olympus Mju 600 Digital

Bought to replace the dead Mju 400. Features a 6MP resolution and a huge rear LCD screen. No viewfinder - which is more annoying than you might think.

I don't enjoy using this camera and although it stays in my pocket all the time it has had substantially less use than the lovely Mju400.

Canon Ixus 55 Digital

Although the Mju 600 above is a very good camera it suffers from one serious deficiency - no viewfinder. This has proved worse than expected, especially in strong sunlight.

The Canon Ixus 55 is only 5MP but it is smaller than the Mju 600. It has a nice viewfinder - and an LCD screen as big as the Olympus. An added advantage is that it uses SD memory cards which are interchangeable with my iPAQ and the Nikons.

Nikon D50 Digital

The compact digital cameras proved so versatile to use they became the first cameras to grab if just nipping to the shops or when going on holiday. The bulky Hasselblad outfit was the first to suffer but even the FM2 started to become sidelined. Digitals are far too convenient and the idea of lugging serious film equipment around became very unappealing..

In getting the Nikon D50 I was intending to break away from the growing reliance on the compacts, good though they were, and move back to better optics of a mainstream camera. It was a good move. The D50 is a very capable camera and can give excellent results if fitted with a good lens.

The D50 and D80 are used with a series of lenses. In addition to the 80-400mm I also use the 18-55mm, an 18-135mm and a 70-200mm.

Nikon D80 Digital

The D50 was intended to replace the Nikon FM2. It was rapidly complemented with a Nikon D80 coupled to the AF VR 80-400mm zoom allowing far greater ranges than I'd ever achieved with the FM2 or Hasselbald.

Still in very early days of use but it is a seriously impressive camera.

Nikon AF VR Zoom ED 80-400mm f4.5-5.6

Bought as the prime lens for the D80. Some dislike it for it's slow AF but it is no problem on manual focus. The VR is very good at eliminating camera shake but don't expect it to correct target motion - that's still up to the user.

The shot below is hand held - click on the image for the full size photo.