For last week’s Question of the Week, the conversation shifted from camera disasters to something most are far more proud to display: the cameras you’ve chosen to keep. We noticed many of you stuck with the same brand or even era of camera, but many more had a surprisingly wide array of brands, lens types and some interesting nostalgic objects. Each collection felt less like a lineup of gear and more like a historic timeline of your unique photographic life.

Read on and view the wide array of cameras collected over the years by our readers.

Your impressive camera collections

Just one part of my collection. Photo: vigi

icexe: The Nikkormat FTn was my very first “real” camera, bought during my college days back in the late 80s-early 90s. This thing is bullet-proof, surviving being tossed around in my backpack on various road and camping trips, punk rock concerts in seedy little nightclubs, drinks being spilled on it, and mud being splattered all over it. One time, it was stolen from my apartment in a break-in, but I later found it on the ground behind the apartment; the thieves probably dropped it in their hurry to flee with my stereo and TV. I never once took it in for a CLA, yet as far as I can tell, it still works perfectly fine for a nearly 60-year-old camera.

xpatUSA2: For the pocket: Panasonic DMC-LX1. For Foveon shots: Sigma SD10 house-brick. For my shaky hands: Panasonic DC-G9 (IBS plus lens Power IS). For IR: Modified Panasonic DMC-G1. Apart from proprietary, a good few M42-mount lenses: Asahi Lens Co, Helios, Jena Zeiss.

Ken Sky: I’ve owned cameras since I was 8 and I’m 87. I’ll only show the cameras in my office showcase. Right now, I alternate between a Sony A6000 and A7R4 with multiple lenses. Ironically, photos for this week’s discussion were taken with my iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Not counting the broken ones… Photo: Krummj

ZorSy: My cameras are in full cases (even Ikonta has its leather holster with the strap). Everyone has a story behind them; they were not flea market finds and had been taking family photos for decades. Oh, and a drawer full of digital compacts, bridge cams like Fuji S602, S9500 and DSLRs, which are all counted as disposables.

Swerky: I finally decided to move entirely to APS-C when I acquired my trusty G1X Mark III and DXO with its great denoising engine. But I wasn’t able to sell those Voigtlander lenses, since a 20mm on a crop sensor wouldn’t be of much use as a 32mm. Since I was kinda reluctant to sell those because I liked their qualities, I bought and RP and adapted them to it. Then I finally added an R100 with which I used a very good EF-S 55-250 IS STM.

Michaelgc: I’ve had a lot of cameras over the years, but the only one I kept was this Nikon FTn. I was an Army combat photographer in Vietnam and took this one into Cambodia in the spring of 1970.

I was an Army combat photographer in Vietnam and took this one into Cambodia in 1970. Photo: Michaelgc

thielges: I have dozens of cameras, and the whole collection weighs over 50kg. I bought most of them at the San Jose and Capitol flea markets in California for rather low prices. The pre-WWII cameras are usually exquisite examples of mechanical design. Like Swiss clockwork. The post-WWII cameras gradually devolved into cheap plastic junk by the time they became obsolete at the dawn of the home video camera era.

sx-70: My GAS had originally started with my obsession for cheap film cameras I would see in opportunity shops (thrift shops), and then made its way into digital. By far my favourite of the film cameras I own is the Nikon S2. I have taken it out for some shooting recently, and if anything, it has pointed out many flaws in my photography, especially when it comes to how heavily reliant I can be on modern tech that makes life easy.

RaleighTiger99: I’ve acquired a few cameras. Some I once shot with, some were used to shoot photos/movies of me as a child, and some were given to me by friends. They all have a story, and most are in working order. They reside in different areas of my house, but the largest collection lives over the bar. I often ask folks if they can spot the only two digital cameras on display.

Can you find the only two digital cameras in this collection? Photo: RaleighTiger99

webcastedude: A Sony A7Cr and Fujifilm X-E5 comprise my camera collection – one full frame and one APS-C. Lenses, however, are my weakness. I have a collection of Helios (vintage Russian) lenses and others of similar age. Compared to new, modern lenses, vintage lenses are cheap, and they offer a wide variety of optical features. Go on, try one on eBay. They are like candy; you can’t have just one.

RetCapt: In 1984, Nikon introduced their Nikonos 5. It seemed ideal for the often-hazardous environments in which I found myself. I am not a diver (that is where the great whites dwell, and I have seen what they can do to a human body). I bought the three above-water lenses, 28mm, 35mm and 80mm, and I was set. There are some eccentricities to using this camera, but nothing an experienced film photographer couldn’t handle.

Alan Sh: My collection – all Fuji apart from a Canon 300 film camera. The photo collection in my forum post is 5 cameras, 21 lenses, 4 flashguns, plus a host of accessories and tripods. It doesn’t include all my bags, most of which are up in the loft.

So many other stories we couldn’t fit in this article are shared in the forums. Here is a photo gallery of most of the collections shared:

Thanks to everyone who took the time to write up an account of your camera collections.

Keep watch for the next Question of the week every other Wednesday to participate in this series. New questions are posted here on the homepage and in the forums. We can’t wait to read and share your stories!

Pit your camera collection against the many others in the community!

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