Film photography is a hobby for me. One of the more enjoyable aspects of the hobby is testing and trying different cameras. Another aspect is buying "as-is" cameras from Used Photo Pro located in Indianapolis. I have a number of film cameras in regular rotation that get used the most often. Other cameras get less regular use.
I keep a worksheet on cameras and film stocks I use as a reference for future information. In reviewing my worksheet for 2025 I used 248 rolls or packs of film. This includes 35mm, 120 and i-Type Polaroid instant film. I used 60 different cameras in 2025.
Of the 60 cameras used my top 4 were my Nikon F100, Contax T2, Konica Hexar Silver and Leica M6. These 4 cameras accounted for 45.4% of the rolls used. Honorable mention goes to my Hasselblad X-Pan at number 5.
I tend to use rangefinder or rangefinder styled cameras that have point and shoot AF and size (Contax T2 & Konica Hexar) the most. When I want a feature loaded camera I stick to higher end SLR's like the Nikon F100. Whenever I do street photography I almost always have my Leica M6.
The advantage being close to Roberts Camera / Used Photo Pro in Indianapolis is that they have a very active and well stocked "as-is" section. The inventory changes actively and while the cameras and lens have something wrong with them they almost always work. The cost for an "as-is" camera body is typically $20. Therefore, I buy these type of cameras regularly just to test and play with. These types of cameras were at least 25% of the cameras I used in 2025.
Here are the cameras I used in 2025 and the film count.
- Nikon F100 = 39
- Contax T2 = 38
- Konica Hexar Silver = 18
- Leica M6 = 14
- Hasselblad X-Pan = 13
- Contax 137 MA Quartz = 8
- Nikon F4 = 8
- Mamiya 6 = 7 (120)
- Nikon N90s = 7
- Canon EOS A2 = 5
- Minox 35ML = 5
- Olympus OM-10 = 5
- Polaroid i-Type = 5 (i-Type)
- Contax G1 = 4
- Canon A-1 = 3
- Fed 2 = 3
- Fed 4M = 3
- Holga 120S = 3 (120)
- Leica CL = 3
- Olympus XA = 3
- Canon TX = 2
- Contax RTS = 2
- Fed 2 Zarya = 2
- Horizon S3 = 2
- Kiev-19 = 2
- Minolta Maxxum 3000i = 2
- Minolta XD-5 = 2
- Nikon FE = 2
- Nikon Nikonos-III = 2
- Olympus OM 2000 = 2
- Olympus Stylus = 2
- Ricoh GR1s = 2
- Yashica 44 = 2 (127)
- Zorki 4K = 2
- Acmel-MX = 1 (Minox film)
- Agfa Isolette = 1 (120)
- Asahi Pentax Spotmatic = 1
- Canon AF 35ML = 1
- Canon VL2 = 1
- Foldex 90 = 1 (120)
- Kiev 4M = 1
- Kodak Brownie Hawkeye = 1 (620)
- Konica Autoflex A3 = 1
- Konica Autoflex T = 1
- Leica AF-C1 = 1
- Lomography Konstructor = 1
- Minolta 110 Zoom = 1 (110)
- Minolta 7000i = 1
- Minolta 9xi = 1
- Minolta X7xi = 1
- Nikon F2 = 1
- Nikon F60 = 1
- Nikon Lite Touch Zoom = 1
- Nikon N50 = 1
- Nikon N70 = 1
- Ricoh KR-5 Super II = 1
- Universal Stere-All = 1
- Vivitar 440 PZ = 1
- Yashica 230AF = 1
- Zenit 122 = 1
Of this list several of the cameras ended up not working or failed. My Ricoh GR1 & Horizon 3 (both cameras that were on my bucket list) and were purchased at market price failed and were returned for full purchase price. I still have to develop the roll of Minox film shot in the Acmel-MX spy camera so I'm not sure if that camera is fully functional. All the other cameras are in good through "work but not the best" shape.
My latest market priced purchase was my Contax G1. I have put 4 rolls through it since purchased and I think this will definitely get more use in 2026.
Bottomline, film photography remains an active hobby!
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