Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Finding your favourite

Every photographer has a favourite camera, and most of us have a few. My very first camera was a Diramic 110, and I shot tons of murky, blurry pictures with it. I had an Olympus Pen through grade school, and I used a Nikon FG for a while after that.

But my first "real" camera- the one that really got me into photography- was a Nikon F4s. I grew up with the F4s, and to this day I think the handling and controls of that camera are just about perfect. Some people will say, quite rightly, that the autofocus system is limited, or that the knob-based controls are an anachronism- but I like it.

I shoot mostly with a Voigtlander R3M rangefinder camera these days, and I put a lot of black & white film through my Leica M3. The Olympus XA is my go-to pocket camera, and I shoot medium format film in a miniature Speed Graphic. Each of those cameras has proven itself more than capable, and I like the way they work. We get along, so to speak.

You can read specs and reviews all you want, but finding the right camera is sometimes just a matter of trying out anything and everything you can until one "clicks." You may not find it right away, but you'll find it.

At Camera Traders, we try to present you with the widest selection of cameras that we can, from old film classics to modern digital cameras to alternative and toy cameras. There's such a variety of picture-taking equipment out there that you owe it to yourself to explore a bit.

So in this blog, we'll highlight some new acquisitions, some interesting equipment, and give you some tips and tricks to make your picture-taking more fun.

And if you like what you see, stop into our shop and try out the equipment for yourself- or just stop in for some advice. We hope to see you there.

-Anthony

1 comment:

Jebby said...

I like the Camera Traders blog so far. I just came across it today.

So true about finding your favorite. I haven't used enough cameras to truly have a favorite but I've found a huge difference between cameras I have used even ones that are similar in theory. My first camera was a Kodak Disc Camera. My parents never liked buying me film for it because it was always so much more expensive than 35mm. My latest camera is the Nikon D300 and I find it really feels much more apart of me than my D80 ever did. When I use my Nikon N8008s having the much larger viewfinder makes it a joy to compose with. Not knowing the results until development makes it that much more exciting.

A couple of months ago I picked up some polaroid cameras and they are a whole different experience. Luckily film in and around Vegas is still dead easy to find.

My next test is a Russian Leica IIc copy who a friend lent me to figure out. He is heavily into German WWII war re-enacting so a period camera is pretty much a requirement.

I've always wanted to give Medium Format a try so I hopefully will soon. I see you are renting a Hasselblad outfit now which would be a great way to see if I like it.