My Equipment Through The Years

As mentioned in 1st blog entry, my first camera was a Canon Analog SLR.  Honestly, I don't remember the model, but it had the full manual controls that allow you to create your shot.  It was dad's camera and I only got to borrow it so that I can join the camera club back in school.  I pretty much used it to take black and white pictures.  I must still have those photographs lying somewhere, something to target during my next spring cleaning.


For the point and shoot, my dad had a very small 110mm camera.  It was quite a small camera, rectangular in shape, and quite thin, about 1-1/2 inch thick.  It had a flash attachment that slides in and out of one end of the camera.  The camera had a door to open where you put in your film.  And if I remember right, it was Fuji brand and I had to buy the green boxed 110 Fuji films.  The old cameras used regular batteries, some penlight and some use the more advanced lithium batteries, but basically, you had to buy extras.  There are no rechargeable batteries yet at that time.


Then when camera models advanced, dad bought a Pentax point and shoot.  The camera was quite heavy but it was a very durable one.  It still used film but this time the Kodak films with the round yellow barrel casing.  This was a very good camera.  Also used regular batteries, but this time lithium.  The flash was built-in to the camera and there was a slight zoom feature.  I also learned to use different ASA films (not referred to as ISO) but honestly, I didn't quite understand these till I went digital.


The first one that I bought myself was an Intel high quality digital webcam.  It had the shape of a regular point and shoot so that you can bring it around, and there is an option to attach it to its dock so that you can connect it to the computer.  The camera had a white and blue casing so it was like a toy.  The camera was quite heavy though for a webcam and it was very durable.  In fact, I still have the camera today, and I was able to attach it to my computer.  The quality of the picture is still much better than the webcams we have today.  Lighting was much brighter.  The memory storage is built in, unlike the ones today where you can insert an extra memory card.


After a few years, I bought myself a Sony Cybershot point and shoot with silver casing, from Wan Chai in Hong Kong, potentially a 3.2 megapizel.  It was an impromptu purchase, my brother bought one and was recommending me to buy the same model.  Again, a great camera, but I didn't like that it uses a Sony memory stick which wasn't compatible with other cameras or card readers.  I had to buy a separate card reader so that I can transfer the photos to my computer without connecting my camera each time.  It also had a video recording feature which was neat.  I still remember the camera came with an 8mb memory card, and with the high quality shots I took, it just saved about 6 photos, hahaha.  I had to buy a bigger sized card, which was expensive because it was Sony brand.  But I was pretty happy with my camera.  I remember bringing it to the cruise trip and it even fell on the ground and sand during our stop in Langkawi, Malaysia.  It got a couple of big scratches but it was ok.  I had it cleaned by the service center when I got back from the trip, which took about a month or so.  But other than that, it was pretty reliable.  Unfortunately, I lost my camera when my stuff got stolen in Melbourne, Australia, while I was there on a foreign work assignment.  I guess it was time to change my camera, haha.


I asked my friend from Hong Kong to get me one, and she recommended a Canon Ixus 700, with 7.1 megapixels and 3x zoom.  At that time, 7.1 megapixels was extremely large, and not really necessary (was comparing with a 5 megapixel one), but I wanted to get the latest model as these easily go out of date, just like computers.  I also relied on my friend's choice since she was better in photography than I was.  Good thing I got this, I was really happy with the quality of photos resulting from it.  The high resolution feature surely gave me an option to shoot for more detail and handle difficult lighting.  But it was still a point and shoot, and I pretty much relied on the Auto or Scene program which will give me the right settings off the bat for night shots, sports shots, and macro shots.  The camera is quite heavy, but very compact, which is a plus.  A very durable one too, as it fell a couple of times and never serviced.  One time, I was visiting the Arlington Memorial Park in Washington DC, US.  It was really cold and I had my big coat and gloves on.  I brought my Canon Ixus to take photographs and at one point, I noticed my coat pocket was empty and my camera was missing.  I panicked and quickly traced back my steps.  It was outdoors and no one was around, so I was hopeful.  But I didn't really know when I lost it.  I just remembered that I had it when I entered the park as I was taking a lot of pictures.  I was blessed, I found the camera lying on the side of the street amongst the red dried leaves.  Phew!  First of all, I was lucky it didn't fall into the gutter nearby.  And secondly, I was able to retrace my steps and immediately found it.  I was sweating despite the ice cold weather.  But the challenge wasn't over.  I found out the battery door was shifted and it was slightly open, but then it was stuck and I couldn't open the door.  I turned on the camera, and it worked.  And despite my fear that the shock could have damaged my memory card, I was able to see my photos.  Now, I was worried about the battery door.  When I got back to the hotel, I tried to pry it open.  I thought to myself, anyway, if the camera is damaged, I can't do anything, but at least I could access the memory card.  After some time, I was able to open it, and with a little push and adjustment, I was able to bring back the door into position and close it tight.  What a relief!  I still have this camera to this day :-)  I also bought an extra battery to extend the use of my camera.  Some days when there's a lot to shoot, one battery is not enough.  I decided to just get the generic one since it's a secondary battery and I would like to save some money, although I regret it at times, cause it doesn't always work fine.  Sometimes, the newly charged battery appears as empty.  I searched the internet later on and found that there are some unofficial reports of incompatibility.  I guess that's the risk you take, for paying less.


Two years ago, I bought my 1st DSLR, a Nikon D60 with a 28-55mm VR lens as part of the kit.  I wanted a basic one so that I can practice without worrying about the high price of the equipment.  And then if I'm serious about photography, then I can get myself a more advanced one.  To this day, I still have the D60.  I'm sure one day, I will buy a more advanced one, but I wanted to master the techniques first.  After all, good photographs are created by good photographers and not necessarily an advanced camera.  I got an extra battery for this, and I opted again for the generic brand which I bought in a Best Buy store in the US.  Despite my bad experience with the Canon Ixus extra battery, I still felt it wasn't worth the investment for a back up battery.  This time, I was happy since the Nikon batteries actually last quite long and it's very rare that I have to use my second battery.  But if I needed to use my second battery, it worked quite well with no hitches this time.  I bought my kit from the US, so all this time, I was plugging my power adaptor to 110V.  It was only recently that I was having problems finding a 110V during my trip, did I try to search for a 220V adaptor or at least very compact transformer.  Then I found out that I was so stupid.  All this time, my adaptor can actually be plugged into 220V despite the fact that it says 110V.  Apparently, there is a small fine print that is not very readable, at the bottom of the adaptor label that says for non-US countries, you can plug into 220V.  My reaction?  Why the hell didn't they just say 110-220V?  Oh well, thank God for people posting on the internet, I didn't have to buy another adaptor or transformer.


A year after I bought my kit.  I also bought myself some UV filters, and Sigma zoom lens (80-300mm).  I decided to get Sigma instead of Nikon, mainly for the lower price.  The only disadvantage, after doing all the comparison research in the internet, is that the Sigma lens is quite noisy.  And indeed, sometimes, I get irritated myself, because it invites unnecessary attention, people around me would react when I adjust my zoom and look at me like I'm weird.  Anyway, aside from that, it works quite well.  And this year, I bought myself a close up filter set for my kit lens and a Canon D550 close up lens for my zoom lens, as I want to learn to do macro photography without spending too much on the equipment.  I have yet to use this in more detail.  I am also eyeing the 17-200mm lens, which is a wide angle and zoom lens in one, great for travels, so that I don't have to switch lenses.  Maybe in a year or two.  I want to maximize the use of my existing equipment first.


Last year, to supplement my point and shoot, I also got a Canon Powershot D10 waterproof camera.  I wanted a camera I can bring under water or at least a camera I am not afraid to get wet, but I didn't want to buy the Olympus brand.  My brother had some bad experiences with Olympus, so I was really hesitant to get an Olympus, even if they were the first ones to go into waterproof point and shoot cameras.  When my brother's Olympus camera fell, it died, and wasn't servicable.  So far, I am quite happy with my Canon Powershot.  The quality of the photos are great, the LCD screen produced clear and bright photos as well.  The only thing I don't like about it is that it's a big round in shape and can easily fall off your hands, it's not as compact as I wanted it to be.  I would love for it to have a darker casing though, cause if I use this other than the beach, it looks a bit too casual :-)


In reality these days, I still use a combination of my D60 and either the Canon Ixus or my Canon Powershot depending on where I go.  For quick shots, I would just pull out my Canon Ixus point and shoot, so I just throw this in my everyday bag.  When I want landscape shots or night shots, I would use my D60.  And when I go to the beach, I would bring my Powershot D10.  It's also practical and more secure at times to just use a point and shoot.  Like on my recent trip to Brazil, it wasn't really safe to bring out my DSLR in the middle of the city park in Sao Paulo, but when we were up in Corcovado Mountain in Rio, I definitely needed my zoom lens and I had more time to change lenses and compose my shots too.  Anyway, a lot of people had their DSLRs there as this is a major tourist area.