I am a certified camera junkie. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. At least, not if you know me and/or read this blog often. The last time I counted, my total camera tally is now at 13, and it’ll probably go up again over time. Here’s the current lineup:
- Nikon D70 w/ 18-70mm, 50mm, and 10-20mm lenses
- Fujifilm FinePix F30
- Canon AE-1 w/ 24mm and 50mm lenses
- Lomo LC-A
- Lomo LC-A+
- Olympus XA
- Olympux XA2
- Holga 120CFN
- ColorSplash Xpro Edition
- Fisheye No. 2
- Dalek SuperSampler
- Octomat
- Snapsight Underwater Camera
Only the D7 and F30 are digital. The rest are film cameras. The LC-A and XA2 are busted, and I have yet to finish a single roll with the SuperSampler and Oktomat cameras. My D70, F30, XA, and (now) LC-A+ are my most-used cameras. My D70 and associated lenses are always in my backpack. The F30 is always in my pocket. And, as of last Thursday, my LC-A+ replaced my XA as my pocket film camera. Basically, no matter where I go, I always have a camera ready to use.
Naturally, all this begs the question: Why do I have so many cameras? Well, because each of those cameras offers me a different shooting experience. No camera is good at everything, and, since I have such varying tastes when it comes to photography, I like have different options available to me. Sometimes I want the speed, power, and flexibility of my D70. Sometimes I just want my F30 to carry around in my pocket for quick snapshots. Sometimes I want to try different films in my LC-A+ for different colors/effects. Sometimes I want my Holga for a completely different format. In the end, it’s all about using the right camera to get the image I want.
I like all of my cameras for different reasons, but I do tend to gravitate towards specific ones: D70, F30, and LC-A+. My D70 is my work-horse, powerhouse camera. It’s the go-to camera for the vast majority of my shooting needs. My F30 is my compact, pocket digital camera for random snapshots and for the times when I can’t/don’t want to carry a big DSLR. My LC-A+ (previously, XA, and before that, LC-A) is my main film camera for cross processing, fast and discreet shooting, and anything else I want to do with film.
They’re all great cameras with strenghts and weaknesses of their own. They also represent pretty much all of the elements I like to have in a camera I use, whether it’s physical design, usability, or image quality. I’ll go into the specifics in later posts. For now, I’ll just say that the craziness of owning and using 13 different cameras has actually helped me learn a lot about how I like to shoot, what kinds of cameras suit me best, and what to look for in future camera acquisitions. That’ll also be material for a future post.
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