As photographers our relationships with gear can be a little like summer flings: exciting but short-lived. Only one or two will endure the long haul. What follows is a list of my favourite cameras. Good choices, bad choices, my indiscretions (late night Ebay bids) and even a couple of cameras I’ve only ever looked at from afar, knowing it is not yet meant to be.

Nikon D700 or the first love
I started taking photography more seriously when I was around 16 and lucky enough to be able to borrow a Nikon D7000. This was my ticket into live music venues. I had fallen head over heels with photographing live music. The time came when I needed my own camera.
I decided to stay with Nikon as on occasion it allowed me to borrow lenses from my old man. The D700 was the camera I dreamt about and saved for. The Nikon D700 had a fantastic full-frame sensor, fast autofocus and a rugged build. Best of all the D700 was available secondhand, so to Ebay I headed. A second purchase shortly followed; a 50mm F1.4 Lens.
I was about ready to retire the D700 from being my second camera body (the D810 being my main camera body.) That's when I had my first portrait shoot for a renowned actor. When it came to the shoot I had a problem with the D810’s hot-shoe. The old faithful D700 saved the day.
This combination got my foot in the door of professional photography. It was my workhorse for years. If someone was starting out today, it would still be an outstanding camera and an even better deal!

2. The Nikon FE2

I’m fortunate enough to own two of these beautiful analogue cameras. One was a gift from a close friend, so has sentimental value. They are my favourite cameras for walking around with and using as a daily carry.

I keep one with a 28mm F2.8 lens loaded with Ilford HP5 Film (often pushed 1 stop, so shot at ASA-800.)
I keep the other with a 50mm F1.4 lens loaded with Kodak Portra 400 Film or Cinestill Tungsten.

The FE-2 is compatable with every Nikon F-Mount Lens ever made, as long as it has a manual aperture ring. The FE-2 is a manual focus camera with aperture priority and a lovely bright meter in the viewfinder. The shutter speed only goes up to 1000th of a second but I rarely find that a problem in rainy England.

3. Hasselblad 500CM + 80mm F2.8 Planar

In its purest form a camera is a box that lets in light. On the surface there isn’t much more to the Hasselblad than that, but hold it in your hands and listen to the shutter fire. It is then that you will understand that the whole is so much greater than the parts. My Hasselblad, built in 1974 worked flawlessly. I regret selling it, but freelancers hit hard times; especially during the early years of their career. I felt I could not justify owning that camera with rent to pay. I was right to sell it but I still miss it.

One of my favourite aspects of the camera was the viewfinder. I loved looking down and shooting the camera from waist level. I felt that this allowed a better connection with the subject. Without a big black box between my face and the face of my subject eye contact was far easier to maintain.

Without a doubt the manual metering required to expose the Hasselblad made me a better digital photographer. I’m sure I’d have learned as much with a Mamiya or a Pentax 67 but I’m not sure it would have felt quite the same.

4. Nikon Z7/6

My Journey from DSLR to mirrorless cameras goes from Nikon back to Nikon via 3 years of Fuji XT-2 usage. It would be wrong not to mention the brilliant Fuji camera’s as much of my portfolio exists because of them. The Fuji gave me fantastic colours and had lovely controls. But the bodies are not built for a professional in the field everyday.

Despite all the ‘Pro’ prefixes and suffixes in Fuji's marketing, the cameras didn’t stand up well to the abuse of professional work. I’m careful with my kit, everything has it’s place in the pelicase and it always goes back there. Yet working on location can mean harsh conditions that make rugged kit and comprehensive insurance a necessity.

I always held on to my Nikon lenses, hoping that at some point Nikon would enter the full frame mirrorless market. Nikon did this in 2018 with the Z7 and Z6 and I now use these cameras for ninety nine percent of my professional work. The move to a 50 megapixel sensor required an upgrade in computing power and hard drive space. If interested in purchasing a higher megapixel camera I would work this in to your costings.

Fantastic low light performance, silent shooting and a wide array of heritage and new glass to choose from appealed to me. The build quality is far superior to the Fuji’s (if not as rugged as my D700 was.)

5. Dream Camera(s) - Hasselblad Xpan + Leica M10P

Okay, so when it comes to dream cameras I’m going to be cheeky and talk about one analogue and one digital camera. I feel that the two processes, though very different, complement each other. Analogue photography is a meditative process for me. It is without screens or certainty, it offers satisfaction in a different way. Rather than the instant reaction to an image on screen, I draw satisfaction from the process itself. Digital has its place for a myriad of reasons, inlcuding practicality and colour accuracy.

Analogue - Hasselblad Xpan + 30, 45 and 90mm Lenses

This camera shoots two 35mm frames next to each other as one frame, creating a 65mm wide negative. This is a native panoramic format. Perfect on film sets if shooting alongside anamorphic lenses. Iconic images have come into the world via these cameras. Check out Wilson Webb’s work with this camera shot on the Coen Brother's films and the Men In Black franchise.

I’d load it up with my favourite Ilford HP5 or FP4 film. With a full set of lenses available I'd have the equivalent focal lengths to 17mm, 35mm and 50mm. There is a more lo-fi panoramic camera, the Widelux. The acclaimed actor Jeff Bridges often uses a Widelux whilst on set. Jeff's photo books are available online and are worth a look.

Digital - Leica M10-P + 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and 75mm Primes

The analogue lover’s digital camera. The ‘P’ designation in M10-P stands for ‘Press’. This model has an exceptionally quiet mechanical shutter, a black facade and an understated elegance.

Even with a full set of fast primes, this (plus the Xpan) would fit in the smallest of day bags.

You pay a hefty price for build quality and a lack of features (manual focus), for history and for the brand. As a professional it makes no business sense to invest in a Leica. Even despite certain lenses appreciating in value due to their collectability. That’s part of what makes this a dream camera.

In reality if I had the money for these cameras I’d take the camera kit I already have and spend the money on a camper-van. So they remain objects of desire, from a distance.

A mark of true friendship is when someone lends you their Leica for an afternoon. As happened in the images above.

Rounding off

If you have read this far, thank you. Photography isn’t about the gear, but it’s hard to take photos without a camera and we all have our preferences. I've enjoyed coming up with this list and thinking about old cameras like old friends. I even rediscovered images I had forgotten I’d made with them.

If you have questions about any of these cameras, do comment below. What are your favourites and why? I’d love to hear from you.

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