San Jose Photo Fair
Nikon D300, Micro Nikkor AF-D 105mm f/2.8
I did manage to make it to the San Jose Photo Fair this past Saturday. This was my first time and I had a blast.
I haven’t been to a camera swap meet since I was a kid. I recall going to at least one with my dad back when he was busy getting accessories for his Canon AE-1. (I seem to recall attending more model train shows with him than camera shows… not sure if that is accurate or not.)
I was expecting to encounter a long hall full of people selling gear from tables stuffed to the gills and that is basically what I found. I would guess there were around 50 vendors selling almost any manner of photographic item including cameras, lenses, filters, tripods, lighting, film… you name it!
I think it was about 80% classic/vintage/film oriented, although there were some offering digital cameras and accessories as well. I went there looking for a few specific things and while I didn’t find them, I came away quite satisfied.
I was looking for a few particular Nikkor lenses or one of Nikon’s older camera system cases (the leather kind which have lens mounts inside of them). I didn’t have any luck there, but I did manage to find a few filters, eyepiece cups, tools, and other accessories that were on my to-buy list.
I couldn’t resist a few items which I was most certainly not looking for but which caught my eye. I found two very nice table-top tripods; one vintage by Kodak which will make for a nice prop, the other a more modern Polaroid with nice rubber feet and a mount which rotates to avoid scuffing your camera (nice touch!).
And yes, I bought a Rollei B 35 on an impulse. I heard these were among the smallest 35mm film cameras ever produced and I couldn’t resist picking one up after some very helpful show goers walked me through their history and usage.
Ahem… I do seem to be swimming in newly acquired film cameras these days. I think I need to re-focus my efforts (har har) on some lenses next as well as getting down to taking some photographs!
