This is the first in a series of posts about the equipment I’ve used over the years. I’m going to call these non-reviews because I don’t want to get into the nuts and bolts of the cameras or their operation. There are plenty of places to find such information on the web. I’d rather stick to reminiscing about my experiences with them.
What better to start with than my first real camera (I had a cheap Kodak point and shoot prior to this but I can’t even remember the model anymore, alas).
This is the Mamiya/Sekor 500 DTL. It was my dad’s camera and was handed down to me on our second trip to Colorado in 1992 (I used the aforementioned Kodak P&S on the first trip). It’s been in my possession ever since and is one of the few cameras that I’ll never get rid of. There’s an emotional connection to it that means a lot to me.
It’s a pretty simple affair. A top speed of 1/500th of a second means that it’s not a great action camera. It does have an onboard light meter but the accuracy of it can be a little hit-or-miss. Some of this is related to my not understanding how camera metering worked in the early years of my tenure with it. Still, when I compare it to my modern Nikon DSLR’s and their very accurate matrix meters, the Mamiya can…wander…a bit with regards to metering a scene. There is one ace up its sleeve compared to other cameras of its era, though; the DTL cameras (this camera, the more upscale 1000 DTL and the rare 2000 DTL) offered a “spot” metering option in addition to the standard center weighted average. I put “spot” in quotes because it’s not a very tight spot pattern but it does offer the ability to be a lot more selective about where one is metering. I’ve also noticed that using the spot option offers more reliable metering for my uses.
Like all Mamiya 35mm cameras of this era, the camera utilizes an M42 mount. This can be both a benefit and a hinderance. On the plus side, there are roughly a Graham’s number of M42 lenses out there and some of them are truly special. On the downside, changing lenses on an M42 mount body is not exactly quick. One develops a certain dexterity and rapidity with it given enough use, though.
Along with the body and the standard 50mm f2.0 lens that came with the camera, my dad also passed on a Vivitar 28mm f2.5 T-mount lens, a Vivitar 85mm f1.8 T-mount lens, a Vivitar 200mm f3.5 T-mount lens and a Vivitar 2x teleconverter (the camera salesman that sold my dad this outfit must have been getting some nice spiffs from Vivitar!). The lenses certainly all have a unique look to them. I’ve especially become fond of the 85mm over the years for it’s hefty dose of spherical aberration wide open. Since this is the quintessential portrait focal length, the spherical aberration gives a nice glow that works for certain subjects.
I’ll confess that in the first years that I had the camera outfit, I was more interested with throwing the 200mm and the 2x teleconverter on and walking around thinking I belonged on the sidelines of the Chicago Bears…or something to that effect. What I would give to go back and spend more time actually learning the craft of photography at an earlier age than I did.
The title photo at the top of this page is something I created when Nikon brought out their Pure Photography campaign to launch the Df. It’s a little interesting in one regard — I didn’t shoot B&W growing up. Nevertheless, when I think of the idea of “pure photography”, a classic MMM (metal, mechanical, manual) camera loaded with Tri-X is the first image that pops up in my head. In truth, my youth was spent using Ektachrome in the early years and Kodachrome once I had a better understanding of what was going on (someday I’ll pen another blog entry about that rite of passage). Indeed, all those years of receiving little yellow boxes in the mail and seeing the colors of Kodachrome come to life on the light table are still as vivid as ever and it still stings a bit that those days are over forever.
While I don’t shoot with the 500 DTL as much as I used to, it’s still always a true joy to pull it out. It makes me think of autumn weekends at White Pines State Park in Illinois hiking and waiting for trains at the Lookout Trail overlook. It makes me think of our family vacations to Colorado and photographing in Rocky Mountain National Park. Most of all, it makes me think of my Dad, how much I miss him, how much I wish I could talk photography with him but how grateful that I am that we had the time together that we did.
I’ll close with a few photos that I have handy from the camera. One of these days I really need to make a concerted effort at scanning more of these and sharing them. Another item on the never-ending to-do list!
Sunrise at Kate Shelley Bridge – Iowa
Bloomer Line – Gibson City, IL (not the greatest picture ever but it always makes me happy to think that both my Dad and I photographed locomotives in this paint scheme with this camera)
Autumn Color Train – Mid-Continent Railway Museum
As an aside, if there are any Mamiya 35mm fans in the audience, Ron Herron runs a great webpage about these wonderful cameras. Check it out here!