My journey with cameras ...

I recently had to dig deep into the distant far corners of my sporran to buy a new camera. When I was out taking the photos on my previous blog ~” Early morning at Cherry Hill beach ...” ~ the suspicions I had about a possible problem with my existing camera were confirmed. The issue basically is, my Nikon 1 V1 seems no longer to be sensitive to light. To take any sort of photo at a recommended maximum hand-held shutter speed of 1/60, the camera has to be on 6400ASA and the F-Stop at 4.5.

I made a couple of inquiries to Nikon, but they were not in the slightest way helpful. They said I could send the camera to them to evaluate the issue, but ~ “Japan (Nikon) no longer has spare parts for a Nikon 1” ...

In addition to that disappointment, I thought that I could then buy another Nikon to suit my existing lens, So, I asked them what current model of camera would suit my Nikon 1NIKKOR 10-100 (27 to 270 in 35mm), the answer was ~ NONE …!!!

So, I have a camera that has no available spare parts, an expensive lens with no suitable or available camera and filters (Polarizer, ND 1000, ND 64 and Skylight) with 55mm thread diameter that could very well soon become redundant, unless I can purchase a camera and lens with the same size of thread.

Realizing very quickly that a beach wander is extremely lonely without a camera, the search was on for a replacement. But before getting into that, below is a brief history of my past journey with cameras ~

 

Kodak Instamatic 25 ~

At the age of 13, my first camera was either given to me or left behind by my sister when she immigrated to Canada in October 1974. It is an extremely basic little box that I used for about four or five years. It required a Kodak 126 film and when I had the money, I would occasionally buy Kodalux flash bulb or indoor pics.

Here are the specs taken from the inter-web …

The Instamatic 25 was made from 1966 to 1972 by Kodak Ltd. (England) and Kodak Spain. The camera has a two-speed shutter. Its speed selector can be shifted from the sun symbol (1/90 sec.) to the half-sun symbol (1/40 sec.). The Kodak 1:11/43mm lens has fixed focusing and fixed aperture.

Kodak Ektra 22-EF ~

I think it may have been around 1978/79 when I bought the Kodak Ektra 22-EF. It was during the time of my Rolls-Royce apprenticeship when I was keen to record, with a better camera, the many capers and antics from those fun days. This camera also travelled with me during summer 1982, when I hitchhiked with my buddy (while wearing kilts) from Scotland across Europe to Greece and its islands. The camera recorded some very strange situations which could cause the occasional censorship issue …

Again, from the web ~

The Kodak Ektra 22-EF was produced in Germany between 1978 and 1980. It used a 110-film format that was popular at the time. It had sunny/cloudy exposure settings, a bright-line viewfinder.

Olympus Trip 35 ~

It must have been around 1982/83 that I purchased my Olympus Trip 35 with a matching Olympus Flash. It was my first 35mm and is certainly the camera that introduced me to some very important photography basics. Within its limitations, I would define this camera as truly fantastic. I could manually select the F-Stops (thus learning about Depth of Field) and manually focus by a rotating ring scale calibrated in metres and feet. It also had a manually selected ISO (ASA) range of 25 to 400.

Techie stuff from the web …

Manufactured by Olympus. It was introduced in 1967 and discontinued after a lengthy production run in 1984. The Trip name is a reference to its intended market—people who wanted a compact, functional camera for holidays. During the 1970s, it was the subject of an advertising campaign that featured popular British photographer David Bailey. Over ten million units were sold.

It was a point and shoot camera with a 40 mm ƒ/2.8 lens, solar-powered selenium light meter and two shutter speeds. In 'A' mode, the camera operates as a Program automatic, choosing either 1/40 s or 1/200 s. The camera could also sync with flash and has a range of aperture settings, from ƒ/2.8 to ƒ/22. In flash sync mode the shutter is set at 1/40 s.

Olympus OM-20 with a Tamron 35-135 with Macro ~

My forever camera ...!!!

Within the Rolls-Royce design office where I worked at the time, there were many hobbyist photographers including a semi-professional. As a means to improve my own skills and learn from the semi-professional (John Coyle), who I respected as a very good photographer, I would often sit with him for many hours to review in detail the printed photographs I had taken on my Olympus Trip. The knowledge that I picked up was extremely valuable and always practical.

After perhaps a couple of John's tutoring, around 1984/85, he recommended that I upgrade to a Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) camera, where I would have far more control over every aspect of my photography. He suggested an Olympus OM-20, which at the time along with the OM-10 was the most popular camera among the many budding photographers in the Rolls-Royce design office. So, that is what I bought along with the standard 50mm Olympus (Zuiko) Lens, which I quickly outgrew to be replaced with the Tamron 35-135mm.

This camera made many trips, to places such as the West Highlands of Scotland, the Greek Islands, the USA, Alberta and British Columbia, France, Belgium and spent a long period in Northern Spain during 1987/88 when I was living and working there.

With the addition of a Skylight and Polarizing Filter, I really felt that my photographic partnership with my OM-20, with its Tamron Lens, a professional standard of flash and mount, together with an endless supply of Fuji 200 film was going to be forever ….

Nikon 1 V1 with the Nikon 1NIKKOR 10-100 (27-270mm) ~

Time moves along, technology changes and things like bulk Fuji 200 are no longer available ...

I believe it may have been early late 2012 or early 2013 that my normal source for bulk Fuji 200 film by mail order no longer existed. So, off I went to Walmart to buy some camera film, but after a good search, I could not find any. I asked an assistant where the camera film was and he pointed me in the direction of a very small corner within the Digital Camera area of the store ~ but alas they had no Fuji 200 and did not expect to take delivery of any more. By coincidence on that very same Walmart visit, I wanted to buy some VHS Video Tapes, the assistant by this time was looking at me very strangely, as though I had just arrived from another planet, which in reality I beginning to feel that I had ....

After much thought about my place in the world of photography and in the universe of advancing technology, I decided to retire my “forever camera” the Olympus OM-20 to replace it with a forever Digital Camera.

Typical for me when it comes to anything to do with technology, I decided that I did not want a Digital Camera that was far too Geeky or one with an excessive number of features that I would probably never use., I wanted something that I could quickly learn, that must have a viewfinder and one to which I could later add a Zoom Lens.

All roads led to the Nikon 1 V1 with a standard 10-30 (27-81mm) lens that came to me via Amazon. I spent many hours with this camera and the 206-page manual. By the time I finished, I reckon I could remember and probably use only a quarter of the features I read about, in what was considered a very basic beginners’ camera.

It was about a year later I was confident enough with the camera, and was also sure that it was my “forever” means of photography, that I bought my “forever” zoom lens, the 1NIKKOR 10-100 (27-270mm). Purchased with lens, I added the following "forever" filters ~ Polarizer, ND 1000, ND 64 and Skylight and a Nikon Wireless Remote Control all to broaden and complete my photography empire.

This camera made many trips around Southern Ontario, it went to Newfoundland, explored many remote corners of Nova Scotia and got to visit Scotland three times.

With all the elements of photography in place and living in the photogenic South Shore of Nova Scotia, I was completely satisfied and pleased with everything I did with this camera. I was totally sure that the Nikon with its additions were enough for me and yes it would be my "forever" camera, with no thoughts or need ever consider upgrading. 

Pentax K-70 DSLR Camera with 18-135mm (27.5-207mm in 35mm) Lens ~

After the huge disappointment of the Nikon issue, with no spare parts and thus no possible repair, I reluctantly found myself in the camera and lens market.

My guidelines for my next camera were 1) Not to over buy and 2) Not to under buy. Basically, I wanted a camera that was not any more complicated than my Nikon, I always felt that was enough for me, in fact even after nine years with the Nikon, I was still learning some new features on it. In my search, I also hoped to get a camera with a zoom lens with a 55mm diameter thread to accept my existing filters ~ the Polarizer, ND 1000, ND 64 and UV. So, onto the inter-web I went and spent a few evenings exploring digital cameras. My first reaction was complete shock at the unexpectedly high prices, they had moved along a bit during the past few years.

To cut a rather long story short, after reading many articles and viewing lots of YouTube videos, I decided upon the Pentax K-70 DSLR Camera with 18-135mm Lens (27.5 to 207 in 35mm format equivalent), which by some comments was considered a beginner’s camera. Unfortunately, the lens thread size for filters is 62mm, therefore along with my Amazon order for the camera, I also had to order a complete set of replacement filters.

I am not going to declare this as my “forever” camera. I say this not because in later years I may desire an upgrade ~ such a scenario would be extremely unlikely for me. The reason is simply, after the recent Nikon experience, I feel that the cameras of today which are filled to the brim and beyond with electronics and sensors are very likely to have a very disappointing limited life.

Finally, it is interesting to note that up to and including the Nikon, it was my most advanced and expensive camera, but it is now the only one in my collection that does not work ~ I hope the Pentax takes a very long time to get there. 

Below are some other cameras that once belonged to family members ~

A No. 2 Brownie that was made in Toronto by the Canadian Kodak Company, it was my maternal grandmother 's camera ~

A Brownie Flash B, made in England by Kodak Limited London, it belonged to my parental grandmother ~

 A King Penguin Kershaw Eight-20, Made in England, it was my dad's ~

A folding Brownie SIX-20, made in Great Britain by Kodak Ltd, it was also my dad's ~