It’s all about the vibe ~ why use old digital cameras?

Posted in Consumer Culture, Other Thoughts and Reflections, Philosophy and Photography, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , ,

If you’d told me 15 years ago that my 1 megapixel Kodak would become a vintage digicam fetish item for Gen Z, I might have been amused. At the time, I was looking for tech-upgrades I could afford. It was all about more megapixels, as that seemed to be the measure of a digital camera in the 2000s – a time when companies thought they had a chance to revive their fortunes after the film era.

I might not be Gen Z, but it’s nice to use these old cameras again. Exploring macro modes, slow start-up times accompanied by bell chimes, and outdated storage media (XD card, anyone?) reminds me of how exciting the digital camera market was back then. Even a company like Casio – largely known for calculators and watches –  was dipping their toes into a market that was fresh and ripe for innovation.

Soft shadows on wood #1 – Olympus C-770

For those of us who lived through it, this particular past doesn’t hold the mythical gold that Gen Z thinks it does, but it’s also perfectly natural to yearn for brighter yesterdays, especially when today is so obsessed with both the perfection of the image and the kind of moral purity testing that accompanies a technology layer that weaves relentlessly through our lives, recording our thoughts and feelings so that we’re not allowed to ever forget or forgive.

Despite the nostalgia, there are other benefits to reviving old digital cameras:

  • Save the environment by not chucking out a perfectly usable old camera. Companies tapping viciously into the dopamine hits that reliably ensure we hit the technology upgrade treadmill and spend spend spend don’t help our planet.
  • Use limits to learn – it might only have a maximum ISO of 400, no image stabilisation, and a sensor that goes blind as soon as a sliver of a highlight hits the photosites, but those old camera limits will teach you patience. They’ll teach you to consider dynamic range. They’ll teach you to slow down and compose each frame properly because the camera doesn’t have the same easy conveniences our modern cameras do.
  • An old digital camera will also teach you that photography is about more than expensive camera gear. I’ve said it before – people have been making wonderful photos for more than a century. Great photos are not restricted to the 21st century and camera gear that makes your bank account weep. If you’re not making good photos with a cheap camera, you’re not going to make good photos with a $6000 camera.
Demolition of the old church – Nikon D200

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14 thoughts on “It’s all about the vibe ~ why use old digital cameras?”

  1. I’m not sure I’m ready to explore my old digicams. My first was an Olympus C900z 1.3Mpx bought second hand in the summer of 2001 from my brother in law, who was upgrading. Slow focus lock, if at the moment of truth it managed to find focus at all… It’s probably around somewhere… along with the Canon G2 and G7 each of which was “the best thing since sliced bread”. Now I have 61Mpx and I’m thinking fewer and a better high ISO is where the future lies…

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    1. There’s no doubt that modern digital camwera technology is pretty cool. I guess I just see them all equally as photographic tools. They are all the same for me in that way. I started with a 1 megapixel Kodak over 20 years ago in digital. My next camera was a 2 megaixel Konica and then a 3 megapixel Olympus, whochI still have and like to use on occasion. Unless I’m cropping a lot or printing beyond 8×10, they are all the megapixels I need mostly. But it all depends on need. If I was selling big prints and it was my job, I would be using higher pizel counts.

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  2. 1.3mp? I’ve never used one but a six thousand dollar camera is way beyond what a photographer needs. The Nikon Z series always works great for my amateur photography. GenZ? When is that, I’m a Boomer! 😎

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      3. They sure are, I have the Z50 Mark II and the Z30 bodies. The Z30 is small and light and blends perfectly with the Nikkor 26mm pancake lens. I have a photo on the wall in my living room of the lake in Michigan that I grew up on in sunrise mode.

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      4. I had my eye set on the Z50 before getting the Z5 fairly cheaply. Really like the form factor and it would be great paired with old glass, especially since it will use most of the sharpest part of the lens.

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      5. I see, I do understand what you mean. We all as photographers have our own likes and dislikes with our equipment. I’ve never used Canon equipment, it doesn’t feel right nor do they take quality of photos I like…

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  3. The explanation is very simple. As they use the only small phones screens for 3-5 seconds of “looking on these images during chimping on TikTok stream, the quality and file size is absolutely not a problem. And 1 mb is even too much for this process. I don’t even talk about printing the photograph.

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Fill the digital abyss with your wise words!