First post here. Didn't even know this thread existed until just a few minutes ago. I guess I never look at the TOP of the page...... Post is way too long, because I like to tell stories rather than make simple lists. Sorry. Feel free to TL;DR me.
Film:
Had a Kodak Instamatic in high school, which made me think taking pictures was pretty cool. Begged the parents for better, and got a hand-me-down 1952 Voigtlander Vitessa folding rangefinder. (This was Xmas 1979.) Dad handed it to me (his old camera, he bought it new) and said "Have at it." Oh, yeah. He handed me a light meter, too. Needed that.
His only real help: shoot Kodachrome. Nothing else matters!
Sometime in 1983 my sister's boyfriend was talking about a camera he got for his birthday but didn't want. I had a hunnert bucks on me for some reason, offered it to him. Deal! he says. Brand new Canon AE-1 with 50-1.4. I did not lose any sleep! Eventually added a Kiron 70-100 f:4 and a thyristor flash. Shot with that for 8 years or so, and bought a Nikon n8008 AF camera. That had the 50-1.8, and a 80-200 (or was it a 70-210?) along with an SB-24 flash. That was my first "dedicated" flash with TTL flash metering (where the camera could control the flash, rather than simply being set to the aperture required for the thyristor light sensor) The Canon stuff went into a drawer at that time, and eventually to eBay.
Digital:
Started with a Sony DSC-P92 point-and-shoot that I still have. I let the grandkids shoot with it now. Amazingly nice IQ, good color. 5MP, which was state of the art in its day. It made me love the instant feedback digital gives, and the freedom to pick and chose from the images without having to pay for film and processing. Got it as a door prize at a company party at Christmas 2003. Wasn't too long before the n8008 and stuff went into the dresser drawer, and eventually to eBay.
I soon enough got tired of the shutter delay on the P92, and longed for the response and flexibility of an SLR again. Friend of mine with a media company upgraded some gear, suddenly had a Nikon D50 with the two kit lenses and an SB-600 for sale. Nabbed that and became a "modern" digital shooter.
Sure enough, 6MP wasn't good enough, found a D5000 on eBay and sold the D50. The D5000 showed me how bad the 55-200 kit lens was so I bought Nikon's 70-300 ED VR, and dumped the 55-200 on eBay. After a couple more years I eBay-traded again, this time to a D7000, and that was not the best trade. I took a bath on the D5000,
after I'd ponied up for the D7000, because I was too cheap to put a reserve on it. They were flying all over at 150 more than I got.
Back to film:
I got this wild hair up my butt one day, thinking I'd like to shoot some nice, slow, slide film again. People kept telling me how lovely Velvia was, but I had no vehicle for it. Off to eBay! Found an F4 for 152 bucks and nabbed it. Shows handling wear (markings worn on the mode switch, stuff like that) but it runs perfectly. Shoots with my 70-300, and even with the 18-55 as long as it's over high-20s on the zoom. Got curious about old glass and picked up an 85-1.8 and a 50-1.4 on the ol' fleabay.
But that viewfinder is useless with a manual focus lens, so some patient searching turned up a K screen, with the microprism and center rangefinder. But crap! It fit the F3, not the F4. Comparing the glass to the E screen the F4 came with, and comparing the metal frame, I found that the frame is all that was different. I didn't want to actually change the frame on the E screen, I wanted to be able to swap easily, so now what? Well, I found an F screen on the UK eBay site that was for the F4 and bought it. I put my K screen in the F4 frame and put the F screen (useless to me) in the F3 frame and set it aside. Now I have truly interchangeable E and K screens for the F4, even though the K stays in most of the time.
I've picked up 2 other lenses over the few years I've had with the D7000. I found a damaged Sigma 30mm f:1.4, listed with AF working but not focusing closer than 3 or 4 feet (instead of the 6 inches or so it ought to reach.) Fine. I don't care. Bought it for way less than half a new one. It eventually failed and stopped focusing, though. Sent it for repair, which took almost 10 weeks (!) but it's been perfect ever since, and was still much less than a new one! The other was the Rokinon 8mm fisheye, the Nikon chipped version so it meters all modes and writes EXIF data correctly. That lens has been way more fun than I dreamed it could be!
Since I was a Canon guy with my first SLR, I decided to investigate Canon film bodies. I slobbered over the T90 when it was new (1100 bucks!!!!!!!) and got one on eBay for less than a hundred. Of course, I had to get glass, too. FD mount lenses are not expensive, since they can't be put on ANYTHING else, so I got a 50-1.4, and a 70-210 f:4. I still had a 28-2.8 from before, and a 2x teleconverter that's pretty much junk. I did find the "good" 7-element teleconverter on eBay and picked that up. I also got the 300TL flash, which is an amazing piece of kit for the late 80s! The most amazing thing happens with the T90 when you half-press the shutter button. The viewfinder display for shutter and aperture is red LED digits!!! Like an ancient calculator!
The T90 is a wonderful camera, but I think after playing with them both, and the fact that the 70-210 is not exactly magnificent, I'll reBay that stuff and stick with the F4 for film.
One more: When Dad passed away I grabbed his photo gear. The camera amongst that was a Canon T70 which instantly went on eBay, and a Voigtlander Ultramatic with three lenses which I kept. It's got a jammed shutter, and the meter doesn't respond to light (probably not good....) but one day I'll have an extra 300 bucks or so to get it working. Just for old times' sake. Or not. Its glass is wonderfull, and I got a Hong Kong adapter ring that lets me mount it on the D7000. That leads to some interesting experiments!
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So: currently on hand:
Voigtlander Vitessa folding rangefinder, 50mm f:2 Ultron lens, working
Voigtlander Ultramatic SLR with 50-f:2, 35-f:4, and 135-f:4. Camera not working but lenses mountable on the Nikon with an adapter, and usable in M mode with stopped-down metering.
Nikon F4 with E and K focus screens. Uses all my Nikon lenses, and can mount non-AI lenses as well. Even uses my SB-600. Only thing it doesn't do is trigger the VR on lenses so equipped.
Canon T90
Canon 50mm f:1.4
Canon 70-210 f:4
Vivitar 28mm f:2.8
Tokina 7-element 2x teleconverter
Cheapie 4-element 2x teleconverter
Canon 300TL flash
Sony DSC-P92 point-and-shoot.
Nikon D7000
SB-600, originally with the D50 all those years ago
Nikkor 18-55 lens, originally with the D50.
Nikkor 70-300 ED VR
Sigma 30mm f:1.4
Rokinon 8mm fisheye, Nikon-chipped manual-focus
Nikkor 85mm f:1.8 manual focus converted to AI (so it fits the D7000 as well as the F4)
Nikkor 50mm f:1.4 manual focus non-AI
Oh, yeah.... with all this film being shot in this digital age, I got a film scanner a few years back, a Nikon LS-2000. SCSI interface, about 6MP scanning a 35mm frame.
Haters gonna hate 
