Why Photographers Shouldn’t Write Off Older Cameras
Three reasons why I’m keeping hold of the old girl.
Expensive cameras are not for me.
My plan was to save up my Medium earnings to purchase the legendary Olympus PEN-F.
It’s possibly the most attractive camera I’ve seen.
As well as that, it’s packed with features.
Now is not the place to write about that, and seeing as I’ve decided against buying the PEN-F, I probably never will.
Farewell, PEN-F. You have been usurped by my true love.
She’s old and slow. Her image stabilisation has never worked. She has no WiFi, and her teeth are not Blue. She’s noisy and can’t cope well in the dark.
So yeah. She’s pretty much the opposite to you, in every way.
The Olympus E-P1 is the camera I’m sticking with, for the long haul.
I had the opportunity to upgrade, or at least side-step, a while ago. But I chose to buy a quality lens instead.
The Panasonic Leica 15mm f/1.7 is a perfect mate to pair up with the E-P1. It brings out the best in her. They work wonderfully together.
And I’ve remembered what I already knew: I love old cameras.
Here are three reasons why I will never write off older cameras.
I love old cameras because they save me money.
I have a few pennies coming up from August’s earnings.
Admittedly, it’s not a great deal, I’m only a small-time writer on Medium. I’ll never make it big.
But it is enough to make a good start on saving for a PEN-F.
I could have picked up a PEN-F in excellent condition for between £600 and £700. That’s a lot of money, and now if I ever do save that much, it can be put towards something else.
The E-P1 cost me £59. Yet she is able to work with me to produce photos which make me and other people stare (thanks Gareth Willey).
Money is just a number, and it’s a huge mistake to assume that just because a camera costs a lot of money it must take better photos than those that don’t.
I love old cameras because they make me more intentional.
I’ve probably written about this before somewhere, and it’s nothing new.
It’s like shooting with manual lenses. The more limitations you impose upon yourself, the more intentional you have to be to produce the images you want.
- The E-P1 has noticeably inferior dynamic range.
- As I mentioned, it doesn’t do well in low light (although I might disagree with that — it depends what results you’re after).
It’s an old camera. It’s futile for me to continue with the list. You get the point — it’s inferior.
It does nothing as well as pretty much any other camera I’ve owned — yet I enjoy using it more than most.
I have to work for my images — and that work is what I love most about photography.
On that note, I remember that it took me about one minute to nail the focus on the above photo of the lights. No exaggeration. And I loved every minute of the frustration.
I love old cameras because they keep me away from professional photography.
I’ve shot a few weddings in my time, and I’ve had good kit for each one.
I’ve produced some great wedding photography with Canon, Nikon, and Fujifilm cameras.
I reckon at some point, in theory, I could get a business loan, buy some quality gear, set up a website, and make a good living from shooting weddings and portraits.
Tempting as though it may be, that is not the route for me. And by sticking with my old camera, professional photography simply isn’t an option.
No-one wants to see a wedding photographer rock up with a camera that looks older than their prospective in-laws.
Finally, I simply can’t justify the expense
My family and I went on holiday to France recently, and I shot a lot of photos. I took the E-P1 everywhere with me, and she was great.
But since we’ve returned home, do you know how many times I’ve taken her out of my camera bag?
Approximately zero.
I’ve just been too busy. Life is full on. I wish I had more time to take photos, but I don’t.
And so how can I justify spending over £600 on a camera if its going to be left in the bag week after week?
I can’t. It would be a Bad Choice.
So here’s me, sticking with the old camera, and loving it.
End.