I remember using a plastic 'box' camera in grade school. It was red and used 120 film I think. Didn't take very good pictures as it was a fixed lens, probably plastic too.
Next camera I remember using was a little Retina which was fun as it took pretty good pictures for a zone focus or guesstimate distance as I like to think of it. My sister has it down in Australia now, sitting on her shelf.
My first real camera, besides the Retina, was a Mamiya Sekor 1000 DTL. My neighbor had been drafted into the Army back in the late '60's and wrote us offering to buy a camera before he came home. He could get them cheaper at the PX. I asked a friend of mine what I should get and he suggested the 1000 DTL since he had experience with a 500 TL.
My neighbor returned with a Minolta SR-T 101 black body edition. He let me borrow it to shoot the races out at Riverside Raceway. I fell in love with that camera. My roll of film was junk as I hadn't wound it onto the take up reel properly, but that didn't deter me. My 1000 DTL finally arrived some time after having been on a boat.
I never jelled with it and don't recall ever getting a decent picture out of it. I think it had a lot to do with the focusing screen. The split image of the Minolta was far easier to focus IMO. I ended up giving the Mamiya to my buddy when he told me he'd dropped his 500 while hiking.
30 some years later, I finally bought an SR-T. I took a photo of my 2 year old son with it that so impressed my mom that she paid for a CLA by Minolta. I've never had a photography class, but have read up on a lot of the 'how to's' of picture taking. I typically don't adhere to the 'rules' of composition since I don't know the 'rules'.
I don't shoot film now as it's too pricey for a retired guy like me.
I love the mechanical cameras and have a few of them in my cabinet.
I really enjoy digital and mixing in the old manual focus lenses every once in a while too.