My first camera was a toy camera for an early birthday which an older brother
had broken before the requisite song was sung at me. I want to say it was a
Diana, but I can't imagine it not being 35mm (Dianas are MF, right? I'd look it
up but who gives a fat rat's manky clacker, eh?) That was where I learnt* to
protect my things from others and lend them to no one.
Long after, about 18, I bought a Ricoh XR-10(?) which, aside from standard
zoom, I picked up secondhand with a 20mm lens. Which is where I learnt* I don't
do wide angles.
I eventually traded that in for a Ricoh Mirai. It had a 35-105 lens I think
(I'd look it up but...), and I guess is what might be called a "bridge" camera,
but that'd make it look like I was crossing the bridge the wrong way. It was a
funky looking thing, ergonomically good (but not as good as you might think),
and I spent a lot of time explaining to/convincing people it wasn't video.
That's where I learnt* not to be impressed by shiny toys.
But my true pre-OM was a Canon EOS 50E/Elan IIE. I never could get the
eye-control to work, probably due to poor coordination (shutting one eye, the
other eye is convinced it must follow and gets confused by my orders into an
each-way-bet squint - which is another reason why I've always loved the
Voigtlander R3A the most maybe?) It had a dull lens, but with the battery pack
is possibly the best I've used from an ergonomics viewpoint - the 5DII might be
the same with the extra grip but it's weight might penalise it a bit. From this
I learnt* not to be dazzled by features/gimmicks.
Then I bought the OM1 with Zuiko 50/1.4. That manual simplicity worked for me,
complementing what I was learning with a growing Canon system (incl. growing
into 10D & then 5DII in bodies). From this I learnt* that my photography
improved most with a focus on photography rather than photographic tools. It's
still a good camera, but it's film and I've *learnt I'm over that pain in the
arse (to me) part of the craft.
(*I've never learnt a damn thing)
Cheers,
Marc
Snowy Mts, Oz
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