Late Mumbai-based photographer Dilish Parekh, 69, has a strong passion for photography and has channeled it into an illustrious career as a press photographer.
He held two world records for owning the largest collection of antique cameras and the largest collection of photographic equipment.
Parekh earned a Guinness World Record (2003) for his collection of 2,634 antique cameras, and also received a Guinness Certificate (2013) recognizing his possession of 4,425 cameras.
He started the hobby in 1977, and since then has collected cameras of various shapes and sizes from different manufacturers around the world.
Parekh’s collection consisted of Leicas, Rolliflexes, Zeiss, Linofs, Canons, Nikons and Kodaks.
The most valuable and rare piece is the 1934 Leica 250. This camera is one of only 1,000 ever made and can hold a nearly 33-foot-long roll of bulk film. It has 250 exposures per roll hence the name
Also noteworthy is the German-made Bessa II Tessina L, produced in 1962, which is the world’s smallest and lightest 35mm camera, weighing just 155 gms, and a twin-lens reflex camera produced in Concava, Switzerland, in 1959.
While collectors around the world were interested in buying all or part of his collection at exorbitant prices, Parekh fiercely guarded it and never sold the camera.
