Some years ago, my brother handed me a crumpled camera bag. “I thought you might be able to use this,” he said. “Do what you like with it, but don’t ever sell it.”

Inside was our dad’s treasured Zenit-E, a Russian-made SLR from the 1970s; a wide-angle lens, some very old film, and a hand-held light metre device. I’ve looked at it from time to time but I am a long way from understanding how to use this camera. I’d like to learn, though, because it’s a beautiful machine and one that was clearly designed with much affection for the medium.

It has a marvellous weight to it, a heft that my simple Canon digital camera just can’t match. It sits snug inside a black leather case with a red felted lining; proper protection for a proper piece of kit.