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Flybye
Tinkerer
Username: Flybye
Post Number: 5
Registered: 01-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 26, 2010 - 08:33 am: | 
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I'm curious..is there any difference to being a collector or user?
I've seen the case of collectors which do not use their collection at all. They simply have the collection up for display for all to enjoy. I am somewhat against this because if you have something that works, I would very much want to use it!
Which I think is the category where I fall in. I have been slowly collecting Konica Hexanon lens for my Konica T3 to take B/W pictures with, but instead of having it up for display, I use it to actually take pictures with! I go through several rolls of film each month (and sometimes 2-3 in 1 day) always being careful with my subject and method of shooting.
But looking around the internet, I've noticed that collectors are usually the type to want to try to keep their cameras as "original" as possible while users will do what ever it takes to get their equipment working.
So is there a line drawn somewhere or is it all silly terminology used by everyone, and there really is no true way to classify yourself? |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 5
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - 07:28 pm: |
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I'm a little of both. Some cameras I collect for their aesthetic looks, or their engineering. Others I collect for use, like a Konica C35, or an Ansco Viking. Some I have gotten that I never thought would be in working condition, or have repaired myself to working order. Then there are the ones that I thought were working cameras, and wound up being shelf riders since it was too problematic to fix them. Right now it's a mix of 40/60 users to collectibles, but that changes as I aquire more examples. I like mechanical things, and cameras are the type of small items that I have the room for. And it's fun to work on them too.
PF |
Marty
Tinkerer
Username: Marty
Post Number: 83
Registered: 11-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - 09:18 pm: |
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I first ran across a "conflict" between "collectors" and "users" in a short magazine article in the early 1970's. At the time, I had been collecting antique cameras for 4 or 5 years, and I was taking a photography course in college. I felt that the writer of the article, who was a "user," and criticized "collectors" was a bit of a self-righteous elitist, although he worked hard to make collectors look like rich fat-cats who were somehow guilty of hoarding cameras which would otherwise be used to make photographs by more moral, noble, artistic, types like himself.
I myself felt that very few photographers would really want to use most of the pre-1920 cameras in my collection, although using them to see if and how they worked was what sparked my interest in artistic photography. Also, while I was primarily a collector, I was taking the photography course with my father's Argus C3, which I didn't even consider old at the time.
At this time in my life, I guess I'm primarily a collector, since I don't have a darkroom, and I spend much more time playing in my little room in the basement with my toys than actually making photographs.
What am I getting at? What's the point of all this? Damned if I know... Just rambling on like an old man... |
Dsides
Tinkerer
Username: Dsides
Post Number: 34
Registered: 04-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 07, 2010 - 12:21 pm: |
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I collect "user" cameras. I have a box full of beautiful "parts" cameras. I shoot a roll of film to test each camera in my collection (more than one roll if I haven't fixed the problem yet). People ask me if I'm a photographer, and I say no - "I'm a collector who goes through a couple of rolls of film a week".
I'm not sure if that makes me a default "User" as well... |
Mareklew
Tinkerer
Username: Mareklew
Post Number: 208
Registered: 03-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 07, 2010 - 01:17 pm: |
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What actually got me into film was not being able to afford full-format digital and wanting a wiiiiiide angle. So I got a Praktica and a Flektogon 20mm. That was wide. As the praktica came with its bunch of problems, I soon got into camera tinkering too.
I must admit, that I prefer owning cameras that are in far-from-mint cosmetic condition. The reason is quite complicated, but I'll try my best to explain it:
- on one side old machines fascinate me and I love to enjoy them in their original condition, as the engineers of the past invented them. I find a lot of ingenious solutions went away with the advent of electronics, and so went away the handling of fine mechanics. What do you need a mechanical speed governor for, if you can just use an IC to count the time, and it's more accurate too? So there goes the metal speed dial that goes click when you switch it...
- However, I hate to see cameras, that are perfect users, sitting on a shelf. I can just think of these hoarded RF Leicas, that are treated more like jewelery, than tools. And they are close-to-perfect tools.
- On the other hand I hate to ruin the appearance of perfectly preserved piece of engineering, and I know, that if I actually USE it, I will mark it or dent it. If it wasn't mint, one scratch won't make a difference, and my conscience will not stand in my way. So I feel happy, that there are people, who keep some items in pristine condition just for the sake of preserving the look.
Till now only once I have violently opposed using a camera just for the fun of handling it. A friend of mine brought a camera his father-in-law gave him. The camera was an original-condition, connoisseur-mint (as opposed to eBay-mint) Rolleiflex, built in 1937, with original, perfectly preserved leather strap on it, original lens cap, and shutter in 100% working condition. Minute sings of rust on the hood hinge and edge corossion on the front-silver mirror were the only flaws.
I said I won't shoot it, the first scratch it gets will be worth a fortune. I had no idea, what the value in present-state was. There were (according to the serial number) only about 2000 units produced.
Well, I hope he keeps it well 
I'm back to shooting my not-so-good-looking-but-well-oiled 'tools'.
Marek |
Bill_alexander
Tinkerer
Username: Bill_alexander
Post Number: 28
Registered: 12-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 26, 2011 - 09:46 pm: |
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I Have Been a collector/User since the early seventies.I started out just for the Photography aspect, but then became facinated, with the Cameras themselves. I think some are mechanical marvels, and Master Pieces of 20th Century Engineering.I still use them and still collect them. Eighty percent are fully operational. I do use newer Digitals, but only for Taking picture of my Vintage Cameras..Once bitten hard to quit, so I guess I am Both Collector and User |
Thol
Tinkerer
Username: Thol
Post Number: 23
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2012 - 07:01 am: |
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It seems an easy question but it is a difficult discussion. And it is one that is not restricted to cameras of course. It extends all the way from wrist watches to bicycles, automobiles .... and the extravagant end — aircraft and classic racing yachts.
There are a lot of places with climates that can be so humid as to ruin any displayed collection within short order unless it is sealed in a display case that controls humidity. Not cheap. I have a collection of non-working cameras that I cannot afford to have repaired, yet they are too precious and/or complicated (e.g. Contaflex) for my amateur meddling. I've thought of displaying them, but that is consigning them to a certain eternal death in the Japanese climate. Even if I had the funds, there is no room for a large enough display case. So they remain sealed up in special boxes with huge tins of desiccant.
Perhaps I am neither a user or collector. I have all the cameras I've ever owned since 1963 but two. Some of them still work perfectly I am sure that I am not alone here. |
One90guy
Tinkerer
Username: One90guy
Post Number: 32
Registered: 07-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2012 - 06:30 pm: |
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User or collector, I love using old film cameras. Usually I buy cheap, no working etc, and have been trying to repair them. If I do get one working I will sell it and buy something different. Only problem is my junk box is getting larger:^) So not sure what I am, other than old and sometimes grumpy. |
Brianshaw
Tinkerer
Username: Brianshaw
Post Number: 125
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 27, 2012 - 11:53 am: |
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One can be both - there is no need to be just one or just the other! |
Brianshaw
Tinkerer
Username: Brianshaw
Post Number: 126
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 27, 2012 - 11:54 am: |
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Oh... I meant BOTH COLLECTOR and USER, not both old and grumpy. |
Biloraguy
Tinkerer
Username: Biloraguy
Post Number: 6
Registered: 06-2013
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 10, 2013 - 12:33 pm: |
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Collectors generally prize cameras in perfect cosmetic condition and could care less if they can be used to take photos. Shooters want to use the camera to take photos and think collectors are odd. Collectors will generally pay more for the right camera. They consider them art for their living room or whatever. |
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