I was staying at my Mom's for Xmas. I was looking for an iron and came across a heavy nylon gym bag. Curious, I opened it up. And found my Dad's old camera equipment. He passed away 16 years ago and I haven't seen his camera since then. But there it was, a
Nikon FG (circa 1982-84) and a
Pentax Spotmatic (circa mid 1960s). Several lenses for the Pentax, but only one for the Nikon. They both seem to operate well, though I haven't had a chance to develop the film yet.
The Nikon is one of the first cameras Nikon made from their move from fully manual cameras to ones with programmed autoexposure. But it's one of their entry-level cameras, so it's not very well regarded. I actually haven't even tried the program mode, using it in manual mode, using the camera's meter. (I had to replace the camera's battery).
The Pentax is fully mechanical. It can take a battery for a meter, but I have no idea what size. So I was using it in sunny 16 mode the other day. Supposedly a real classic.
Both are a huge change from my Digital Rebel XT. Very hefty cameras, sturdily built. Huge viewfinders with focus aids make manual focus a breeze compared to the Canon.
I basically gave up on film after getting my first digital camera. So I will most likely rarely use these cameras. But still cool to have.