I started to collect classic camera back in 1998, when I travelled in Dhaka of Bangladesh. By chance, I went to one junk store in DIT circle around Gulshan. After heavy bargaining, I got a LOMO TLR Lubitel 166B (see the above photo).
Its viewfinder cover is with rust. The shoe for external flash attachement is missing. Together with some other flaws, it is an imperfect piece, which I treasure for its imperfection and character. After that, I started to learn and collect different camera from different period. That is so amazing when I realised that people tried their best to make improvement in developing equipments, which ultimate purpose is to, make images. Images are always impacting our lifes.
To me, it may be meaningless if directly comparing vintage cameras with modern electronic type film camera or even digital cameras. Because they are different. There is also no point in directly comparing a Diana toy camera to a Hasselblad. Because they are different too. I enjoy in seeing the difference among them. In short, it is the diversity, rather than quality that makes me feel amazed in collecting vintage cameras.
There must be some reasons for a camera to appear and even disappear in photography history. It is amazing to view cameras as entities appearing in human history in pursue of image recording or even creation, in the sense that it may be a shift of shooting interest, a technology breakthrough, economic or even political reflection. In taking all of these into account, that closer look is to approach cameras, not only as a tool, but through some kind of perspective via museumlogy.
I trust that in using old equipments, we can somehow experience what people experienced in the past, and it can introduce more cross reference and perspective for us in understanding images.
