High Quality, Low Cost Digital Cameras
Every week, I see advertisements for the latest in digital photographic equipment that varies from inexpensive low quality mini-cameras to high-end professional grade instruments. Leaving the low quality cameras on the discount store shelf is a no-brainer, unless you want something you can leave in the glove box of your car to document your next accident. If you want high quality photographs, your options are to risk rapid obsolescence by buying today’s latest digital technology, or buy a professional quality film camera from eBay or perhaps a garage sale or local pawn shop. So what does an “old school” film camera have to do with high quality digital photography? Besides the obvious costs involved, more than you might think.
Not even a decade ago, photographs in magazines and exhibitions were created from photographic film exposed in cameras that have changed little in principle for a century. A photograph made with a forty year old Nikkormat or 10 year old Nikon F100 was of better quality than a digital photograph shot through the same lens. Digital imaging technology has improved much since then, but you can still get high quality digital photographs from a film camera if you let the processor scan and digitize the negatives and slides for you when the film is processed. It doesn’t cost much for the casual photographer to get high quality digital images from film. If your volume is low, the cost of the latest digital SLR camera with its dedicated lens is far more than an older film camera using the same optics. If you shoot lots of film, like some folks I know, a quality film scanner can be had for less than $1000.
For less than half the cost of a refurbished $1,300 Nikon D300 body, you can get a professional quality Nikon F100 in excellent condition with a 28-35mm Nikon autofocus lens that produces images, when scanned, rival those from any digital camera. If you prefer a mechanical camera like a Nikon FM2, a Minolta SRT 102, or a Canon AE-1, the cost is even less. In case you didn’t know, a Nikon lens produced in 1975 will fit the Nikon F100, albeit without autofocus. For the price of a few memory cards, you can get a superb Nikon autofocus or a Canon FD zoom lens. There are thousands of them on the market and most are available for a song. Lenses from other manufacturers, like Pentax or Minolta, cost even less.
As a bonus, the photographer also gets low-cost, incorruptible image backups with the negatives and compact discs full of digitized photographs. No corrupt memory cards. No lost image libraries. No missed shots because of dead batteries or faulty electronics, and no confusing menus or settings to fiddle with while awe-inspiring photo-ops slip away.
Besides, good photographers can create outstanding images with any camera, even if it is just a light-tight box with a pinhole for a lens.
Not even a decade ago, photographs in magazines and exhibitions were created from photographic film exposed in cameras that have changed little in principle for a century. A photograph made with a forty year old Nikkormat or 10 year old Nikon F100 was of better quality than a digital photograph shot through the same lens. Digital imaging technology has improved much since then, but you can still get high quality digital photographs from a film camera if you let the processor scan and digitize the negatives and slides for you when the film is processed. It doesn’t cost much for the casual photographer to get high quality digital images from film. If your volume is low, the cost of the latest digital SLR camera with its dedicated lens is far more than an older film camera using the same optics. If you shoot lots of film, like some folks I know, a quality film scanner can be had for less than $1000.
For less than half the cost of a refurbished $1,300 Nikon D300 body, you can get a professional quality Nikon F100 in excellent condition with a 28-35mm Nikon autofocus lens that produces images, when scanned, rival those from any digital camera. If you prefer a mechanical camera like a Nikon FM2, a Minolta SRT 102, or a Canon AE-1, the cost is even less. In case you didn’t know, a Nikon lens produced in 1975 will fit the Nikon F100, albeit without autofocus. For the price of a few memory cards, you can get a superb Nikon autofocus or a Canon FD zoom lens. There are thousands of them on the market and most are available for a song. Lenses from other manufacturers, like Pentax or Minolta, cost even less.
As a bonus, the photographer also gets low-cost, incorruptible image backups with the negatives and compact discs full of digitized photographs. No corrupt memory cards. No lost image libraries. No missed shots because of dead batteries or faulty electronics, and no confusing menus or settings to fiddle with while awe-inspiring photo-ops slip away.
Besides, good photographers can create outstanding images with any camera, even if it is just a light-tight box with a pinhole for a lens.
(This image was created with a 35 mm pinhole camera and TMax 100 film)