Most photographers I know, including myself, are brand-loyal. However, it looks like photojournalist Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, is not among them. In this impressively detailed video, Azriel Knight explores all cameras used by different incarnations of Spider-Man, showing us that he’s used Nikon, Canon, and Yashica… so far.
The first iteration of the famous super-hero was played by starring Nicholas Hammond in the feature-length pilot of The Amazing Spider-Man TV series. This Peter Parker was in college when he became the superhero we all know and love. But he was also a photohournalist who used the Nikon F2. The TV series first aired in 1977, and the camera had been published six years before, in 1971.
Tobey Maguire was the next actor who played Spider-Man. It’s Azriel’s favorite incarnation of the famous superhero, and mine too. The movie was launched in 2002, and Peter Parker was a high school student and a photo enthusiast, just like me back in the day. But unlike me, who used dad’s old Zenit, the 2002 Peter Parker shot on a 1981 Canon F-1. It was a pretty pricey camera at the time, especially for a poor high school student, so it’s definitely an unusual choice of gear. Or the producers just didn’t think anyone would be geeky enough to actually go into details nearly 20 years later. Still, I’m glad that someone did!
In 2012, Andrew Garfield became the next Spider-Man. Although the newest Peter Parker, he used the oldest camera: a Yashica Electro 35 rangefinder camera, first introduced in the late 1960s. The model in the movie was launched later though, in 1973 – which Azriel concluded from the fact that it has a hot-shoe.
I loved this video because Azriel really goes in-depth with his analysis. He even found prices each of the cameras was sold for at the time. In addition, he specifies which iterations were used, considering that there were several upgrades of the same model. And finally, he even shares vintage TV and newspaper camera ads – some of which are really cringe-worthy. So, whether you’re a gearhead, a Spider-Man fan, or neither of those, make sure to watch the video. You won’t regret it!
[Spider-Man’s (aka Peter Parker’s) Cameras | TOC Xtra | Canon F-1n, Yashica Electro 35 GSN, Nikon F2 via Digital Camera World]
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