In the meantime…
Interim notes. The iPhone was always upon me in the hospital. I wonder… why did I have a regular camera one day?
Two cats – Lulu and Cassie – feral cats who wandered into my villa. They and I were buddies for a time…
A trip home – meetings and visits. A new home.
My nurses were largely expatriate Filipino nurses who adopted me and took great care of me. I am eternally grateful.
Old is new again
This was my first DSLR camera. I shot a lot of images before upgrading to the Nikon D200 in 2007.
Clunky! Chunky. It seems so old compared to the features and shooting capability of the Sony A6700 – latest and greatest. Images? …a work in progress.
My initial images… well the original D70 has been misplaced. Amazon… delivered a used body that was “sticky.” Really!? Returned, reordered, and the new (old) body works well enough. The images are soft. Max ISO is 1600. Shooting indoors on a gray winter day is a challenge for exposure and focus. Learning curve!
It will take a bit of time to adjust to shooting with so few bells and whistles as I have become accustomed to. I was so proud of this camera for a few years. No more slide film. I was ushered into the digital age and look back in fascination at how things evolved. No you cannot go back. Knowing what I know and the capability of up to date digital camera features, I feel hampered as I try to get a decent image from a camera I once thought was so special.
Venerable
What do you call an old camera? The Nikon Z5 has been my workhorse since 2021. … a lot of images (water) under the proverbial bridge.
Bored? Boring? Too familiar?
Mind you this is not the flagship mirrorless Z9 model that costs thousands $$$$ more. It is definitely still serviceable. I used it mainly for groups, remote triggering, and where flash was needed. Anything else could do the job, but, this was my best most reliable tool for the job.
Ok! The goal was to get the family in groupings. Grandkids. Families. Mom and her favorite children.
Done!
Old camera? In terms of use, it has been used 200k+ images. … more like an old friend.
New camera old IV
8/28/2014 Nikon D610 B&H photo, direct from the store.
An iconic moment! First frame – Colleen and I. Our first outing – B&H photo. New camera. It had been planned (by me). I needed an upgrade. – It seems so quaint now! – I got Colleen a Canon S110 point and shoot as part of the bargain.
We had just met – again – reconnected after more than fifty years. Little did we know (shhh, we did) how this would all go as the future would unfold. It turns out I was in Saudi and moving out of NYC forever. So the two weeks we spent exploring the city – Broadway shows, dinner, Met, MOMA, etc – was a honeymoon of sorts.
Yeah! Memorable!! First frame? Priceless!!
It was also my break with B&H photo. I would soon enough be seduced by Amazon.
New camera old III
7/12/2007 Nikon D200 B&H photo mail order
It came to me in Maine just in time for me to head out to see the puffins. Puffins? Nope! It was my second try. The waters were too rough to land on the island and so, no puffins that day!! Alas!!! I chummed the waters. Seasickness!!
My iconic shot of the day?! Dawn and early morning fog! This was my time in Maine. Flowers, lobster buoys, and car racing. I can secretly admit I understand why Colleen loves it (Maine) so! And no! I am not moving there anytime – soon or ever! It’s cold! And I got no more moves left in me.
A poor workman
…blames his tools.
I’m experimenting with old camera gear. Canon G3, Canon G12, Nikon D200….
Comparatively my new mirrorless up to date wonders seem so much easier to use. Did my old gear get obsolete so fast? Well, I suppose twenty year old gear is pretty ancient by comparison to what advances have occurred in digital camera technology.
Eh? The LCD screen has gotten better. Focus is better. Zoom is better. Ergonomically, the new cameras seem so sleek. Biased? Am I just used to the new gear that the old camera seems so clunky?
I got a lotta good digital images in my catalog. And before that I have a lot of slides. Did I get old? Are things easier nowadays? Cameras have indeed changed. Did I change too? Who can really know? I only know that my new mirrorless gear makes things so much easier to get the image I seek.
Not so long ago
Antique – defined as an object greater than 100 yrs old. Vintage – less. Hey! I’m not an antique yet! It’s old camera week. I have taken out the old digital cameras – off the shelf, out of the closet – old and dusty. Dust?! Ha ha! It was the paranoid bugaboo of my early film experience. Dirty lens, dust, film, dust on your gear or film – all forbidden. In the end I am hardly one to point and criticize. I just use my stuff. Practical over nutty behavior.
This old camera was last used in 2017… not so long ago. In that time since I last used it, I have taken nearly 500k images. Whoa! No film. Film is dead. And I am not about to get back into a darkroom. I offloaded my $$$ enlarger to Colleen’s youngest daughter. Meanwhile I am busy making old things new again. I shall push the limits to see how limited I was back when my gear was “new” compared to now. Time flies. We don’t look older? Right?
Leap year, once every four years. I have only abandoned this camera for less than two cycles.
Retro
Old cameras? Old cameras! Film?! Not that far back. But I go … I went back to the first digital camera I used with regularity. Hmmm? Where is my Nikon D70? Too much gear. And besides, unless you are a nut, you probably don’t care much. In fact I daresay you probably are using your iPhone. iPhone represents the bulk of the photos taken now. Digital camera is but a small slice. How about 92+% of all pics taken are smartphone. Me? Less than 1%. Much less!
My argument – the glass lens of a dinky phone is no match for real glass of a camera telephoto lens. Sensor size compared to film compared to the dinky sensor of the smart phone? A camera has a much bigger sensor. No doubt!
Pictured is my first Canon G3 circa 2003. Film? My Nikon lineage goes back to the Nikon Ftn. The latest greatest Nikon D200 and D610. I know. I know. Who cares? Small point and shoot? Mirrorless?
Ok. Ok. I admit I am a camera nut. I still have big lenses – big glass! And last year I shot more than 130k images. That would have been a large $$$ expense in film and developing. Instead I now sport a 512gb memory card that takes thousands of images for pennies.
Film, digital, iPhone – gee, the choices! I realize there is a difference between Ford, Porsche, and Tesla. Do you want to get where you are going? Or do you want to look good getting there?
My kids don’t use a camera other than smart phone. Colleen looks good in selfies with me. Our grandkids? Our friends? I would be hard pressed to say when I last saw anyone holding a camera in hand. Ha! I’m an antique!
Old camera
Old baby photo? Colleen? First camera I ever shot? Argus C3. Not this one, the original has disappeared. Film? … not a roll in 20 years. How quickly Kodak disappeared!
Old cameras? I have collected a few. Film cameras? I have used a few. Digital camera? I have used enough that many are “old” and no longer in use because the technology has improved so much. iPnone? Ha! Heresy! It’s pretty much all my kids use? Cloud? I don’t trust it fully. Not for me.
Progress? It would be like driving around without GPS. Dave laughed when he first saw Colleen and I driving. We each had a GPS mounted – right and left side of the dash – Garmin and Tom Tom. Gone! We debate Apple maps or Google GPS now.
There! Upper left corner – four – cameras I still use, occasionally. They are not go to but they suffice in certain situations. Old comes so quickly!
Collections
It did not start out with any passion in mind. We both had constraints before we met that prevented us from collecting things. Sure, Colleen was fiber – spinning and weaving. And, I was photography. Cameras!
But what has followed since we met, is delightful and bewildering. Clutter? Nah!
It starts innocently. A memory. I sought the old typewriter that I composed all my after midnight term papers upon. Or, the sewing machine that my mother used. Crystal, Waterford, inheritance, old and valued. Ha! Cameras, looms, spinning wheels necessary to pursue our hobbies.
But then… beer steins? Phonograph? Old clocks? Baskets? Of course, we have a ton of books – on shelves and under the beds.
Done? Hardly. It would take many more pictures to show all the details. Hey! You can’t take it with you. But we sure are having fun right now. I got no complaint. Winterthur has 90,000 objects and is one of the largest mansions (175 room) in the US. We do not have the Dupont wealth or resources but we are making a small inroad in our house. Downsizing? Ha!
Did I forget to mention we have eight cats?
Journey
I began photography roughly about 1966 or thereabouts. Argus C3 and a single roll of black and white film. It went horribly bad – not much of anything to see. Fully manual and without a lesson… Next came a Kodak Instamatic 100? … the World’s Fair NYC summer of 1966. It was equally dismal.
My first SLR camera was an Exakta (model unkown) roughly 1970-71. Black and white film, develop it yourself, and my photo start began in serious earnest. It was the summer of my sophomore year in college. I worked as an encyclopedia salesman/field manager and made a ton of money for those days.
The purchase of a Nikon Ftn followed my successful summer selling encyclopedias. My father returned from Hong Kong, Nikon camera around his neck and no questions asked at US customs.
Somewhere in the mid 70’s I started/discovered slide film. And I finally began a database – on index cards. (Home) computers were many years away yet.
Voila! My earliest slides (that I can track and digitize) were in London circa 1975. I was in college/medical school. … and the last circa 2004. I got a Nikon D70 just before David graduated high school. ….last slide. It was and still is – a hell of a ride!
Inventory
I got a lot of cameras. Colleen can’t match me with her spinning wheels. Some collected; some used; some inherited; some gifted – it is a considerable number that took about 40 images to find and record. There is still gear hidden in bags and drawers and closets…
I got involved with a Argus C3 35mm film camera. I failed dismally in getting any usable photo. A Kodak Instamatic 100 and the NY World’s Fair of 1964, followed. Not very memorable either. College – an Exakta SLR…. Black and white. I learned to develop my own film.
The summer I sold encyclopedias – don’t ask – I earned well over $2000. It afforded me a Nikon FtN – about $400 in the 1970’s. The current top of the line mirrorless Nikon body is well over $3000. …economies of scale.
Currently – Sony A6700, Sony RX100 VII, Canon S100, Canon G7X, Canon EOS M6 II, Nikon D610, Nikon Z5. These are among the cameras I am using – this year. So? Do I need them all? Would one camera do the job? iPhone!! It is what most of the rest of the world uses right now. Am I old? Old fashioned? Behind the times in thinking. Has progress passed me? No more film. Kodak (film) was gone in about a decade (circa 2004), probably less. Imagine that!!
I got a Canon G3 followed by the Nikon D70. Imagine. I bet you don’t care. And unless you are of a certain age… it has always been iPhone for you. My last slide was taken in 2004 just before Dave’s high school graduation. My current 256gb memory card is limitless and with storage for 10k+ images, it is nearly free!
Leica? They were expensive then, and, now. This one is my father in law’s camera – inherited.
Yup, the Argus C3. Sentimental. I shot one roll in Charleston, WV in 1964 for the Golden Horseshoe ceremony. Maybe?? One photo was printable if any were any… a spectacular dismal first failure.
I am a serial Nikon camera body user. FtN to 610 to Z5. No Nikon Z9. The bang for your buck does not justify spending $$$$. I get good shots from the Z5.
What next? Take good images – early and often. I take inspiration from the things around me, travel, and the pictures others show. Technology helps me capture the images of what I see. Latest: the Sony A6700 – that sensor sees in the dark. Literally by moonlight…
Shoot one
I have owned a lot of cameras. I own a lot of cameras. I am a confirmed gearhead. I collect things. He, who has the most toys…. This is only a partial view of my collection. I am currently using all the cameras you see pictured. No iPhone. Well, very few. iPhone technology is good enough to be comparable. I am not persuaded that the big sensor and big glass lens is not better. But, hey! 99% of the rest the world lives with iPhone.
I got one big Nikon in use constantly. There are two smaller mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses. The others are point and shoot. I use them as the need arises or the event presents itself.
Too much? How many cameras does one person need? Is there a better camera out there that is not in my collection? I chose Nikon vs Canon long ago. Leica is legendary! And, it has a legendary price too! There are lots of choices and a good deal of hype surrounding technology and advances in lenses and sensors. If you would believe me, I have been circumspect about adding cameras into use. And still I have about nine cameras rotating in use. I do not carry them constantly nor together. A long trip might have me taking three cameras along. I have a well-worn camera bag that holds everything easily. It’s a comfortable life. There is a camera to shoot about any subject that may arise. There are still many times what I see, cannot be successfully captured to memory. It remains a work in progress.
Inventory
How many cameras do you have? I have film cameras. I have collectable cameras. That is to say – I have collected a few cameras after film was no longer in much use. And, then, there is a collection of regular digital cameras. Some are in use. Some are in little use.
Why so many cameras? Do you need them? Is it excess consumerism? Each to its purpose, I say. There is a camera that I used to dive. There are point and shoots. Excuses? Could I do with a single camera? iphone?!
Many cameras are on the shelf or in drawers now. And, there are 4+ in more or less constant use. They rotate depending on the venue and the subject at hand. For instance, my macro lens is in constant use right now for the flowers in bloom on my deck.
Lens? Don’t ask! Ha ha. There is an equally ample collection of lenses. All kinds, all sorts, zoom, fixed and so forth – lenses for all occasions. Sorry, no pic. There are multiple large camera bags holding lenses… drawers, too.
Meanwhile, I am not too indulgent. A new camera is added infrequently. I have been mainly Nikon with occasional Canon brand specific and loyal. Of late Sony has also gotten into the mix.
TMI? Exuberance?! I still shoot early and often…
Oh my!! 39 cameras and counting… I have lost several, or, more. And, I did not use some of the film cameras in the collection. The “oldies” were not many $$. But, all the digital cameras have been used by me. Slides are in number about 112k. Film rolls were numerous but the number unknown. A lot of black and white negatives were shot in my early days! Digital images number 868k+ and counting. Wow! I started a database for slides and digital images so they are reasonably tracked.
Should I tell you about my first Nikon FTn? Or, the cameras I lost? Or, fried underwater? My favorite? Alas, it would be for another book.
Mileage
New camera? …makes you a better photographer. Really? Am I? Will I be? Can I be…with one more newer better piece of gear?
Ha ha! Delusion. Or, is it just another toy. I crave a new piece of equipment. Nuts.
I have not completely lost my senses. Huh?
Am I better a couple days later, having used a new camera? I think I am the same person…. It is like skiing. It reminds me of when I first started downhill skiing. Mileage! It is a matter of mileage. You get better. More mileage. It really does not matter the ski you are using. You just get better…with mileage.
Shoot early. Shoot often. A new camera is incentive to learn new things. I take advantage. I push the envelope of the camera testing its capabilities. There are plus and minus issues making each camera unique in strength and weakness. Using the gear to its best advantage comes with mileage and practice. Fun!
How often? Not very. Who can afford to buy? One thing is certain – change. Better or not, I like to be pushed to learn new tricks. Meanwhile, no cat or family member is safe from my camera and me.
Day 1
I have never done this. The Sony A6700 came onto the market on August 3. I preordered it on August 2. It was delivered by the Amazon fairy on August 4. I watched the tracking of the package from Idaho to me. It arrived complete. The first picture on the new memory card is of me. … for ID purposes should the camera go missing. Smart. After that… a new toy!! Better? Hey! Christmas in July, well, a few days late. I have never gotten a camera when it was first released. Caveat? The LCD does not tilt up. It folds out. There is no battery charger. You plug a charger into the camera.
Short of that, I am just now trying out the camera in real life with my very tolerant family. Well, a wee bit tolerant. I am ordinarily nuts enough that they did not notice much change. Meanwhile, this camera will have its place among the others. I shall use it much as I used the Canon M6 II.
Ah!!! Boys with toys!!
Lowest denominator
Cleaning day! We finally got around to throwing out the clutter in our closets and… Scary! There’s stuff that moved into the house with us and has never been outside. There is stuff we forgot we ever had. Oh my! It’s embarrassing. …three big bags of clothes… don’t ask.
I have a lot of camera stuff. It doesn’t take much space. Ha ha… unless you have a lot! It brings me around to my point today. I was shooting the cats with my point and shoot dinky camera. It did great! So, is it the camera, or, the photographer? Fine, just fine! Better gear makes you a better photographer? There are a lot of $$ riding on the hype of a newer better camera?! Meanwhile, we will be out getting new clothes too. The closet is looking so empty! I will also readily admit there are some old shoes that are new again today. Found! I bought a pair of Adidas sneakers – eh! Running shoes! At the time I thought this might be the last pair of sneakers I ever would buy. So far… true.
What did I use?
Gordon Castle, Highland games, Scotland, May 21. There was a discussion about the relative zoom lens quality of the Sony RX100 and the Nikon 80-400mm zoom in Photocritical on my post of July 12. Did I carry the big heavy lens though the Sony zoom was comparable would suffice without lugging all that weight of the Nikon zoom?
Short answer – I lugged the big zoom across the Atlantic. It proved its worth and was useful on this day. Of course! It’s mental. Or, am I “mental?” Certainly, close to home when there is a car and weight is only a number, the big lens is no big deal to carry around, say, the Indian Powwow.
No matter, I got good shots using both cameras at different times. It was – right lens and zoom at the right moment. It was an eventful day and I documented the color, pageantry, and action. We had a grand time. I finally got to see them throw the (caber) telephone pole. As Colleen will readily attest, that was a dream come true for me.
If you have the glass, take it, use it. Otherwise, why own it?
Old camera
Is it better than an iPhone? The Canon S100 was recommended to me a long time ago by a professional photographer friend. I did not get it until my camera did not work in Saudi and I had no camera to dive with. The S100 was for sale in a local store with an underwater housing. It was take it or leave it. There were no other options. The camera worked fine until I upgraded to a better setup.
I do not know why I do not use the S100 more. It is compact and quiet. I rediscovered the camera just before our recent trip to Scotland. I am basically a camera snob. Big sensor, big glass = better pictures. Ha! I am definitely biased against the “dinky” iPhone glass. I know I’m wrong. iPhone is ok for the mass majority of folks out there.
What’s my point? In response to recent ennui, I took out the S100 and tested it against the opportunities in my garden. Flowers! And, the pics are comparable to my big lens and DSLR. Do you care? I doubt you do. iPhone! Meanwhile, I am continuing to evaluate my gear and technique. The images are ok. Ha! No new camera is needed to get what I desire. So, I continue the search for a better image. But it is not a gear related problem.
A poor workman blames his tools. A good one makes lemonade when given lemons.
New
Christmas in July! (actually, April) My new Sony RX100 VII. The old model VI fell and was injured. I’m a gearhead. This is actually not a new model. There is supposed to be an VIII, which will of course now be released… When I got my Nikon D610 the D750 was released shortly afterward. Don’t ask. Do you care? Ha ha.
Meanwhile, the first thing I do with a new memory card is photo my ID in case the camera goes missing. And then to try it out. The new model is not exactly the same as the old. Sure!? So, there is a learning curve of sorts. Tweaking! Colleen was giggling.
Did I really need this camera? A new camera? Ha! It is part of my travel gear with specific use and purpose to my madness. The cats were cooperative. Did they have a choice? And a selfie or two…
Four cameras
I’m a tech nut. Not really. I stick with four digital cameras at the moment. And this post has six recent pictures from four cameras. Currently in the world 92% of cameras sold are digital and 2.16 million DSRL cameras were shipped for sale. You learn more than you bargained for when you search the web…
A cat, the “dear” wife, flowers, and construction… flowers, naturally, it’s that time of year; cats are always about; an average day has Colleen spinning or weaving; the moon and sunrise out my window; construction something new at the moment. These are representative of the latest shots. Which camera? I pick up the one at hand? Or, right camera for the right job?
Canon G7X sits on my desk. Nikon Z5 has the macro lens mounted. The Canon M6 II or the Sony RX100 VII are available for a grab shot or when a smaller body is less noticeable. Four cameras rotate. They cover my range of needs. I suffer camera envy. But I am also practical. Though anything is available I try not to think too much about quality and pixels. At the end of the day it is the image that counts. I am not good enough to distinguish raw from jpeg. Get the shot. Let it be colorful, focused, and composed. I am content.
A loving wife and eight cats – what more could one ask?
First born
My first born has a first born now… and a second. Lisa always said Jules was a funny looking kid. Humpf! I would think she was nuts.
Then again, I was a dad. This was my kid. Special!?! You bet! Pictures? Umm… hey, I could have done better. At least there are pictures. When you consider the paucity of shots in my own childhood… I simply compensated for what was lacking when I grew up. As I got better – at photography – Jules grew up. It was a race… did she win? … cameras got better too.
Cringe
Have you been to the beach? Sand gets into everything! Camera? Oh my! Fearless!? Stupid? Wealthy and don’t care? Old gear?
Who can know? But it is a photo op. A legitimate photo op.
Quite the sand castle. Eh? Or not?! But the camera? It made it home in one piece to shoot another day.
Way back
About sixty years ago… back in the 60’s, I began my photographic journey. I had won the Golden Horseshoe in WV in 1965. I wanted to take a camera to the ceremonial event in Charleston. My mother let me take her Argus C3 camera. I shot one roll without knowing a thing on how to use it. The pictures were useless. That was my first and last roll with this camera. A Kodak Instamatic 100 camera came in 1966 for the World’s Fair. It got limited use – very, little, and was soon abandoned. And so began my journey. I later got an Exakta DSLR. It did not last long. I had Nikon envy. Soon a Nikon FTN came when my father traveled to Hong Kong. John got it; it was stolen from him. I have replaced – symbolically – the FTN and the Argus C3. They are in my collection of old cameras. Until recently all the Nikon F mount lenses fit my latest Nikon cameras.
Collection? I have at various times found and collected a few old cameras. The price must be right… low. The are on the shelf collecting dust. Cringe!! There is a Nikon FTN and an Argus C3. Fun. Nostalgic. I would be nuts to get obsessed. It is purely a hobby. I am not developing a camera legacy. But, there are a lot of old lenses… The Instamatic? Who knows where it went?
Colleen has been greatly interested in genealogy. She has traced her family ancestors back hundreds of years to the 1600’s in Ireland and Scotland. Me? Ho is a common name in China. My clan/tribe is lost among millions. WWII put my family asunder. I can trace my camera heritage back 60 years… I hope digital will last a long time on the internet.
photobackstory 