The first camera I ever used, older than I was at the time, was the Brownie Hawkeye Flash. It had a C cell or something like that to power the flash, which was a large bulb that had to be individually changed out and was hot after exploding! The flash was heavier than the whole camera.
I have no idea how exposure was determined and don't recall any controls. the film was like a skinnier version of 120, called 620 and the advance was by eyeball through a red window. IQ was poor. There were all kinds of aberrations including CA.
I said the camera was older than I was. Kodak stopped making them before I was born and then I started using at maybe 7.
The first P/S I bought was the Olympus XA, but I already had been using SLRS for many years. It's probably still around somewhere.
I found a Canon S80 in a drawer a few weeks ago. I only used it once and don't recall if it just plain sucked or what the deal was. There is no battery pack.
EB-1 wrote:
The first camera I ever used, older than I was at the time, was the Brownie Hawkeye Flash.
EBH
I have a couple of the Brownies. The first one belonged to my grandmother, and I remember playing with it as a kid (maybe 7-10 years old... I'm 61 now). It was one of the only things I ended up with as my cousins swiped all the "good" stuff before anyone had a chance to look.
I recently bought an earlier version with the metal winding knob after reading about how to wire one up to trigger a modern flash. It might be something I try this winter while I'm hanging around without much to do.
The Brownies are great fun to shoot because you don't have much control. A few years ago, I shot a vintage baseball game with my grandma's camera, which gave everything a very authentic look with vintage uniforms and a simple camera. The center of the frame is actually pretty sharp... not so much toward the edges.
I started with my mother's Brownie Flash 20 (or a similar design). It had single-use pop-out flash bulbs and an aperture lever on the lens marked sunny, cloudy, and flash. I caught the bug and saved money from my paper route and bought a Miranda F SLR with a 50mm f/1.7 lens. It lacked a meter, so I had to guess at exposure (no biggie with Tri-X). I could even remove the pentaprism and focus directly on the ground glass screen. Still have the camera after nearly 55 years. Great paperweight.
Since we're talking about the first cameras we used, my father first let me use his 1946-7 Leica IIIc when I was a teenager. He bought it the year before I was born ('47). I guess it's not a point and shoot. I used it frequently until I left home after college. I then bought my Pentax Spotmatic as soon as I had money. I remember using my mother's brownie as a young child - still have some pictures somewhere.
P.S. I inherited the Leica and still have it. I had to look up the Leica's manufacture date from its serial number. It agrees with my dad's telling. But this makes me wonder how available Leicas were during and just after WWII.?
P.P.S. The camera has two lenses the Sumitar 50 f2 and Hektor 135 f4.5. I remember dad getting the 135 saying he wanted a lens that could really get out there. There is a Leica flash shoe mount view finder that crops the field of view between 35 and 135 mm. The 135 view is tiny. There are also two GE light meters that more or less still agree. The shutter still works but haven't used it in many years.
Well my adult son borrowed my G9x MKII about two weeks ago. Told me the other day that he's surprised to realize that it does take better pictures than his iPhone.
tkbslc wrote:
As a parent of teens, I think there a few reasons these are getting popular and rising in price:
1) When every photo has that same sharp, bright phone look, having something from a "retro" camera sets you apart
2) Film is kind of getting out of reach for most teens. Can be $25=30 a roll by the time you do film+develop+scan. So this is an accessible way to have "old" photos. And honestly, this look is from a time when their parents were younger, so it might as well be a film look to them.
3)The supply dried up so all the demand is for used cameras right now. Everyone stopped making cameras in this category. And for a while you couldn't give these away, so a lot got junked. Not as much supply as you'd think.
4)Fatigue from AI and fake edits. People just want something that takes unprocessed photos.
5)Crummy built-in flash look. Phones can't do it as they don't have real flash. It makes your pictures look like they are from 20-40 years ago. It's a "vibe".
Mike_5D wrote:
My oldest is 14. She doesn't have social media accounts, but she's plugged in enough to know what's trending. She likes taking pictures with my R6 set to square crop + 50/1.8 wide open + 580EXII aimed straight at the subject. I cringe because I've spent almost 20 years on photography forums reading "get that flash off the camera", but hey, it makes her happy. They're aesthetic, as she'd say.
Thats interesting, that parallels my experience over the last couple years going back to older bodies. Got sick of carrying my flash earlier this year so using the pop-up flash some. I'd prefer the p&s over a phone, I think, just not in to phone photography, and the G12 has 28-135 lens, so it's pretty good range.
I hope people are tired of the internet as mentioned earlier in the thtead, it has kinda run its course imo. It'd be interesting to see the numbers on how many exist vs demand
My loyalty to my 7 year old G1X3 was reinforced recently when I thought to compare the Photon to Photos data for noise and DR between the 80D and the R10. They are identical! The G1X3 has the 80D sensor and its traces are just slightly below the 80D (presumably due to heat in the G's small body). Other 24 MP DSLRs like the SL2 and 77D, etc. should also equal the R10 in sensor performance. Mind, we're talking APS-C sensors not the 1 inch sensors in many P&Ss.
AmbientMike wrote:
... I'd prefer the p&s over a phone, I think, just not in to phone photography...
Speaking of iPhone photography, My wife and I got iPhone 15 pros mainly for the "advanced" cameras. 24 MP at 24, 28, and 35 equivalent mm which could be a nice supplement to a real camera. At the Vatican a couple of years ago we took almost identical photos, me with my G1X3 and she with the iPhone. Both 24 MP at 24 mm. Well, no comparison for colors and resolution between them. Recently Adobe has come out with Project Indigo, an app for the iPhone to use stacked images to produce the best possible from an iPhone camera. It actually works pretty well. No 24 MP, the native resolution of the 15 pro is actually 12 MP. But after Photoshop and using Topaz Photo AI to uprez to 24 MP it almost equals the G1X3's 24 MP. Almost, but with a lot more PP! Don't know how many phone users would do this.
I sold two of my "mistake" point & shoots a few months ago (Ricoh GRIII Street Edition and a Panasonic TS100). I kept my old Panasonic LX3 and TS3.
For all the hype behind the GRIII, I was never happy with it. My smaller sensored OM-5 produced much better IQ. The TS100 yielded images worse than my old flip phone.
On the other hand, my old LX3 is still amazing! Maybe legendary point & shoots like the LX3 are the reason why younger generations are developing an interest in these older cameras.
Jeff Nolten wrote:
My loyalty to my 7 year old G1X3 was reinforced recently when I thought to compare the Photon to Photos data for noise and DR between the 80D and the R10. They are identical! The G1X3 has the 80D sensor and its traces are just slightly below the 80D (presumably due to heat in the G's small body). Other 24 MP DSLRs like the SL2 and 77D, etc. should also equal the R10 in sensor performance. Mind, we're talking APS-C sensors not the 1 inch sensors in many P&Ss.
Speaking of iPhone photography, My wife and I got iPhone 15 pros mainly for the "advanced" cameras. 24 MP at 24, 28, and 35 equivalent mm which could be a nice supplement to a real camera. At the Vatican a couple of years ago we took almost identical photos, me with my G1X3 and she with the iPhone. Both 24 MP at 24 mm. Well, no comparison for colors and resolution between them. Recently Adobe has come out with Project Indigo, an app for the iPhone to use stacked images to produce the best possible from an iPhone camera. It actually works pretty well. No 24 MP, the native resolution of the 15 pro is actually 12 MP. But after Photoshop and using Topaz Photo AI to uprez to 24 MP it almost equals the G1X3's 24 MP. Almost, but with a lot more PP! Don't know how many phone users would do this. ...Show more →
But you need to look at how easy it is to use the phone to put your photos onto social media compared to what it takes to move your images from your p&s to social media. The phone’s images are plenty good enough for the vast majority that just want to share their experiences with others via social media.
For me, if it’s a quick snap, the phone is with me always…if I’m out taking photos, I always have my mirrorless kit. I have no room for a middle of the ground p&s.
chez wrote:
But you need to look at how easy it is to use the phone to put your photos onto social media compared to what it takes to move your images from your p&s to social media. The phone’s images are plenty good enough for the vast majority that just want to share their experiences with others via social media.
For me, if it’s a quick snap, the phone is with me always…if I’m out taking photos, I always have my mirrorless kit. I have no room for a middle of the ground p&s.
I don't think we disagree much except on the P&S uses. The iPhone is handy and does great close-ups and videos. Plus, it provides location information to my real cameras.
However, I don't do social media and have no opinion on the needs of those who do. I share my post processed images to friends and fellow travelers with Drop Box (at the free level). My G is a real camera: 24 MP at 24-70 mm equivalent focal length without computed zoom and yielding excellent IQ. It goes with me on all my travels and serves when I have the 100-500 or 16 on my R5 or when i'm in a crowd and don't want to risk my big camera. It's a 1 lb jewell that disappears over my shoulder, but I can't keep shopping lists on it. Both have their place.
Jeff Nolten wrote:
My loyalty to my 7 year old G1X3 was reinforced recently when I thought to compare the Photon to Photos data for noise and DR between the 80D and the R10. They are identical! The G1X3 has the 80D sensor and its traces are just slightly below the 80D (presumably due to heat in the G's small body). Other 24 MP DSLRs like the SL2 and 77D, etc. should also equal the R10 in sensor performance. Mind, we're talking APS-C sensors not the 1 inch sensors in many P&Ss.
Speaking of iPhone photography, My wife and I got iPhone 15 pros mainly for the "advanced" cameras. 24 MP at 24, 28, and 35 equivalent mm which could be a nice supplement to a real camera. At the Vatican a couple of years ago we took almost identical photos, me with my G1X3 and she with the iPhone. Both 24 MP at 24 mm. Well, no comparison for colors and resolution between them. Recently Adobe has come out with Project Indigo, an app for the iPhone to use stacked images to produce the best possible from an iPhone camera. It actually works pretty well. No 24 MP, the native resolution of the 15 pro is actually 12 MP. But after Photoshop and using Topaz Photo AI to uprez to 24 MP it almost equals the G1X3's 24 MP. Almost, but with a lot more PP! Don't know how many phone users would do this. ...Show more →
I have no idea why they discontinued the G1xIII with the Fuji X100v & VI so popular and often out of stock. Should be able to modify it if needed to compete. Maybe not as cool looking, however 24-70 beats 35 only in my book
Jeff Nolten wrote:
I don't think we disagree much except on the P&S uses. The iPhone is handy and does great close-ups and videos. Plus, it provides location information to my real cameras.
However, I don't do social media and have no opinion on the needs of those who do. I share my post processed images to friends and fellow travelers with Drop Box (at the free level). My G is a real camera: 24 MP at 24-70 mm equivalent focal length without computed zoom and yielding excellent IQ. It goes with me on all my travels and serves when I have the 100-500 or 16 on my R5 or when i'm in a crowd and don't want to risk my big camera. It's a 1 lb jewell that disappears over my shoulder, but I can't keep shopping lists on it. Both have their place....Show more →
Obviously if you don’t do social media then the big advantage of phone photography is taken away. There are millions ( billions ) of people that do use their phones for photography specifically for loading their images to the net. For these people having a “better image”:from a dedicated camera is meaningless.
AmbientMike wrote:
I have no idea why they discontinued the G1xIII with the Fuji X100v & VI so popular and often out of stock. Should be able to modify it if needed to compete. Maybe not as cool looking, however 24-70 beats 35 only in my book
I have no idea why either. Also, I have no idea why it wasn't more popular than it was. It was somewhat poo-pooed because it was f5.6 at its max 45mm but that doesn't seem so bad compared to today's lenses and wasn't bad then compared to the M lenses. But it is f2.8 at 15mm and as sharp at that aperture and FL as the 15-85 at f3.5/15mm on the 80D. Its major drawback today would be video at 1080/30 fps, which isn't my use. Also, since the lens collapses into the body when off, making it more compact, it does take longer to deploy. But it has face tracking, a control ring, and the first panorama mode - really the initial R series in my opinion.
If Canon never replaces it that's ok with me. I have two of them and the 30m underwater housing. We're going to Tahiti in a couple of months and it will get much use snorkeling the reef.
