Whoa, autofocus from 1985, that’s a big deal! I have a $15 ebay-special Sigma SA-1 from the mid-80s that has nothing electronic on it besides the meter. And of course my Canon AE-1s are entirely manual but they’re more late-70s. I didn’t know AF went back that far.
The Minolta that I have, as far as I know, is the first SLR to utilize AF. It’s pretty cool, but I also have to take good care of the camera since it is discontinued, I can no longer find certain parts for it anymore. I also use a Pentax (which is a bit more modern, I believe early 1990s. I don’t remember the exact name at the moment), this one can still be repaired and have parts replaced. Also, it has a built in flash. I want to use them more but sadly the price for developing has gone up here, I think last time i paid around $17 or so for one roll of film.
Good grief. I pay $5 per roll here but I just get negatives and scan them on my Epson V330. The images are nowhere near print quality but they’re good enough to post online, plus I can pick out which ones I want printed. There’s no good local print shops here so I have to send them out and that gets expensive. I’ll send you a Walgreen’s 5×7 of one of mine this week. That Sigma I have is actually a Pentax K-mount camera and Ricoh has a twin version of it. My AE-1s are both older than me, one was my dad’s, but they’re so common a camera the parts are still available. The one I got on ebay is in great shape but I need to get my dad’s cleaned and sealed. It’s letting in too much light. Is the Pentax a PZ-20 or -10? Pentax makes good stuff. The old K1000 is an awesome manual SLR. I think I mentioned the K-r is on my short list for my first DSLR.
The Epson seems pretty useful, I use a Canon Pixma MP 280 printer/scanner to scan photos I like. So far it’s pretty good. Any digitals I really like I have printed through my walgreens account, though I wish they had proper wallet prints (for my journaling). I don’t remember what Pentax it is exactly, I haven’t used it in some time so I forgot, I love it though it is pretty nice. It may be a PZ-10, it’s more modern than the k1000 for sure. Once I get it back I will let you know! Usually though I make do with my cell phone camera, or the small Sony, Canon or GE that I have. They’re small digitals but still take some great shots. Each is great for a certain type. Both the Minolta and the Pentax were my dads, but he gave them to my sister and I last year for christmas, i unofficially claimed my sisters since she does not use it. But sadly, I left it at home and haven’t had the time to get it back.
Yeah I guess it would be handy for you to have prints for your journaling. I don’t get many printed unless someone wants to buy one or I want to get one framed to hang up. And in that case I want good quality so I send them to Adorama or Shutterfly. There is also a great shop up in Austin that specializes in B&W. They’ll even develop the film for you, but it’s pretty expensive. I’m trying to start shooting more in B&W but for now I have to use the C-41 B&W which isn’t true B&W so they can develop it at Walgreen’s. It’s not quite as crisp and the contrast isn’t as great as with a true B&W. When I run out of film I’m going to order some Ilford XP2. It’s C-41 B&W film too but it’s supposed to be a little better than the Kodak stuff I use now. We shall see. Eventually I’d like to be able to do my own prints but I can’t afford the chemicals and stuff now and I don’t have any room to do it.
I never really thought about selling my photos, what has been suggested to me, however, is selling the jewelry I make. Now and then I will sell a piece, but most of the time I end up giving them away. I like them as a hobby because making things is therapeutic, once it becomes “job-like” i no longer enjoy it as much, if at all. I do want to frame a few of mine though, my sister has access to our University’s print room, so I can get things printed in very nice quality whenever she goes there for her projects. Besides the university we only have Fedex, Kinkos, and a few other crappy places, so my choices are limited. And yes! I’ve wanted to do black and white photography for a while now, but sadly my university no longer has the course (as far as I know) and thus I do not have access to a dark room. I would love to learn about it though. I’ve been really into Polaroids lately but the film is expensive. I need to order more as well, as soon as I come across some extra money though.
Living in the Moment 
Whoa, autofocus from 1985, that’s a big deal! I have a $15 ebay-special Sigma SA-1 from the mid-80s that has nothing electronic on it besides the meter. And of course my Canon AE-1s are entirely manual but they’re more late-70s. I didn’t know AF went back that far.
The Minolta that I have, as far as I know, is the first SLR to utilize AF. It’s pretty cool, but I also have to take good care of the camera since it is discontinued, I can no longer find certain parts for it anymore. I also use a Pentax (which is a bit more modern, I believe early 1990s. I don’t remember the exact name at the moment), this one can still be repaired and have parts replaced. Also, it has a built in flash. I want to use them more but sadly the price for developing has gone up here, I think last time i paid around $17 or so for one roll of film.
Good grief. I pay $5 per roll here but I just get negatives and scan them on my Epson V330. The images are nowhere near print quality but they’re good enough to post online, plus I can pick out which ones I want printed. There’s no good local print shops here so I have to send them out and that gets expensive. I’ll send you a Walgreen’s 5×7 of one of mine this week. That Sigma I have is actually a Pentax K-mount camera and Ricoh has a twin version of it. My AE-1s are both older than me, one was my dad’s, but they’re so common a camera the parts are still available. The one I got on ebay is in great shape but I need to get my dad’s cleaned and sealed. It’s letting in too much light. Is the Pentax a PZ-20 or -10? Pentax makes good stuff. The old K1000 is an awesome manual SLR. I think I mentioned the K-r is on my short list for my first DSLR.
The Epson seems pretty useful, I use a Canon Pixma MP 280 printer/scanner to scan photos I like. So far it’s pretty good. Any digitals I really like I have printed through my walgreens account, though I wish they had proper wallet prints (for my journaling). I don’t remember what Pentax it is exactly, I haven’t used it in some time so I forgot, I love it though it is pretty nice. It may be a PZ-10, it’s more modern than the k1000 for sure. Once I get it back I will let you know! Usually though I make do with my cell phone camera, or the small Sony, Canon or GE that I have. They’re small digitals but still take some great shots. Each is great for a certain type. Both the Minolta and the Pentax were my dads, but he gave them to my sister and I last year for christmas, i unofficially claimed my sisters since she does not use it. But sadly, I left it at home and haven’t had the time to get it back.
Yeah I guess it would be handy for you to have prints for your journaling. I don’t get many printed unless someone wants to buy one or I want to get one framed to hang up. And in that case I want good quality so I send them to Adorama or Shutterfly. There is also a great shop up in Austin that specializes in B&W. They’ll even develop the film for you, but it’s pretty expensive. I’m trying to start shooting more in B&W but for now I have to use the C-41 B&W which isn’t true B&W so they can develop it at Walgreen’s. It’s not quite as crisp and the contrast isn’t as great as with a true B&W. When I run out of film I’m going to order some Ilford XP2. It’s C-41 B&W film too but it’s supposed to be a little better than the Kodak stuff I use now. We shall see. Eventually I’d like to be able to do my own prints but I can’t afford the chemicals and stuff now and I don’t have any room to do it.
I never really thought about selling my photos, what has been suggested to me, however, is selling the jewelry I make. Now and then I will sell a piece, but most of the time I end up giving them away. I like them as a hobby because making things is therapeutic, once it becomes “job-like” i no longer enjoy it as much, if at all. I do want to frame a few of mine though, my sister has access to our University’s print room, so I can get things printed in very nice quality whenever she goes there for her projects. Besides the university we only have Fedex, Kinkos, and a few other crappy places, so my choices are limited. And yes! I’ve wanted to do black and white photography for a while now, but sadly my university no longer has the course (as far as I know) and thus I do not have access to a dark room. I would love to learn about it though. I’ve been really into Polaroids lately but the film is expensive. I need to order more as well, as soon as I come across some extra money though.