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Vintage Cameras

My Gear

I get it, I have to tell a little about the gear I'm using and what I have shot with over the years. Writing this turned into a trip down memory lane. All the way back to the 1970s in fact, starting with the first camera I ever owned.

The Early Years

Zenit EM

The first camera I ever owned was a Russian Zenit SLR, a gift from my father sometime in the 1970s. Unfortunately I no longer have this camera, but I'm fairly certain it was the Zenit EM. It had a built-in light meter which helped tremendously in getting the exposure right, most of the time. This is the camera that taught me a lot about the basics of photography. Sadly I didn't get to explore much beyond those basics as student life, military service, and then a hectic and demanding job meant I had very little time for taking pictures. My hobby lay dormant for quite a few years.

The Canon Years

Fast forward to the year 2000 when a business trip and eventually a permanent move to Australia changed things. On the spur of the moment I bought a new camera - the Canon Digital IXUS - at the Amsterdam airport before boarding my flight to Sydney. It cost me an arm and a leg, but it was beautifully constructed and I was the proud owner of my very first digital camera. The camera was compact and lightweight, so ideal for traveling. I used it extensively for a couple of years, but I started to realise it didn't offer me the creative options I was looking for and the picture quality left to be desired. So later, when my wife and I had moved to Australia and had started exploring the country more seriously, I upgraded to one of the first affordable Canon DSLRs: the Canon EOS 300D. This was a big step up compared to the IXUS and it injected a new sense of excitement and passion for photography. A succession of Canon DLSRs followed, ending with the Canon 7D and a bunch of solid Canon lenses. 

Canon EOS 300D.jpg

The Switch to Micro Four Thirds

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II.jpg

And then I realised all this gear got a bit too heavy and bulky to carry around. When traveling I always had an enormous backpack with camera body, lenses, and a flash on my back and I was glad when I could put it down somewhere. This was not the way to travel and I needed an alternative that would be more gentle on my body. That alternative turned out to be the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II (who comes up with these names...) which I bought shortly before a trip to the U.S. I still had my Canon 7D but left it home and only took the Olympus with me. I needed to test myself with the new camera. It turned out to be a wonderful experience and I didn't regret switching to micro four thirds (and still haven't). In fact I sold all my Canon gear shortly after coming back from my trip and eventually upgraded to the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II and more recently to my current camera: the OM SYSTEM OM-1. I absolutely love this camera and take it with me on all my trips and holidays.

Current Gear

So, after a long journey and many different cameras, here's what's in my camera bag these days:

  • Olympus OM SYSTEM OM-1

  • Olympus M.Zuiko ED 7-14mm f2.8 PRO

  • Olympus M.Zuiko ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO

  • Olympus M.Zuiko ED 40-150mm f2.8 PRO with MC-14 extender

  • Olympus M.Zuiko ED 25mm f1.2 PRO

  • Godox V860II flash

Gear-1.jpg
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