Spider-Man uses Canon… and Nikon… and Yashica!

Spider-Man uses Canon… and Nikon… and Yashica!
(Image credit: Columbia Pictures / Marvel Entertainment)

Spider-Man is a Canon user. And a Nikon user. And a… Yashica user? It's true – the world's pluckiest Avenger loves old SLRs.

While ol' webhead is best known for being a friendly neighborhood superhero who swings across the New York skyline, busting bad guys while making quips, his alter ego is mild-mannered high school / college (depending on continuity) student-come-photographer-come-photojournalist, Peter Parker. 

• Read more: Best film cameras

It stands to reason, then, that he's a dab hand at photography – but what camera does Spider-Man use? Well, an industrious film camera fanatic on YouTube has examined three of Spidey's feature film appearances in which he's seen snapping away with real-life cameras.

The video (below) by Azrael Knight, whose YouTube channel is manna from heaven for film photography lovers, looks at three iterations of Spider-Man starting in 1977 with the feature-length pilot of The Amazing Spider-Man television series, starring Nicholas Hammond. 

Here, Parker's camera of choice is the all-black Nikon F2 – a camera that would have cost him around $400 with a 50mm lens in 1977, which is roughly $1,900 (approximately £1,380 / AU$2,580) in 2021. Pretty pricey, for a college student!

By the time we get to 2002's pivotal Spider-Man, starring Tobey Maguire, the web-slinger has switched brands and is now using a Canon F-1 – the newer 1981 model, rather than the 1971 original, which Knight reckons would have cost Parker $1,600 at the time or $2,680 (£1,950 / AU$3,635) in today's money. Even pricier, for a high school student!

Finally, we reach 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield. This time round, Spidey – once again a high school student – is using a 1973-era Yashica Electro 35 GSN rangefinder, though Knight doesn't give a contemporary purchase price this time. 

The current iteration of Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portrayed by Tom Holland, has yet to be seen taking photographs on anything other than a smartphone (his photography arc not yet being fully developed). The big question is, will the MCU have him once again using a film SLR or will be have graduated to a DSLR or mirrorless camera? 

Read more: 

Best Nikon cameras
Best Canon cameras
Best DSLRs
Best mirrorless cameras

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James Artaius
Editor

The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). In this time he shot for clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal, in addition to shooting campaigns and product testing for Olympus, and providing training for professionals. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photo and lighting tutorials, as well as industry news, rumors and analysis for publications like Digital Camera MagazinePhotoPlus: The Canon MagazineN-Photo: The Nikon MagazineDigital Photographer and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and talks at The Photography Show. He also serves as a judge for the Red Bull Illume Photo Contest. An Olympus and Canon shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and a fondness for vintage lenses and instant cameras.