Many people wonder what makes other people spend money on old tech, when new tech is expensive enough. Technology advances happen so fast, anything older than 3-4 years is obsolete. Photographers overbuy gear anyway, why add more to the pile? Today hybrid shooting is all the rage, where video AF, high FPS, raw video capture are still evolving as of 2024. So what’s the point of struggling with old technology?

1. The Sweet Spot of Involvement

My own passion flamed up in the summer of 2022. After two years with my Nikon D3300, I decided it’s time for an upgrade and bought a Nikon D7500 in early 2022. It was – and likely remains that forever, as it turned out – the pinnacle of APS-C DSLR technology. A sensor that puts older FF cameras to shame. Dynamic range, resolution, readout speed are all there. Packed in a body that handles extremely well, without being as chunky as a full frame camera (unlike the D500 or the Canon 7D). Yet, something was missing. The D7500 shoots itself. Its AF, tracking and smart auto-modes combined with the extremely forgiving sensor makes you feel like the director, when you actually want to be the cinematographer.

I was on a hunt for a used Nikon lens when an Olympus E-500 showed up with two lenses for 35 EUR. By then I had some knowledge of Kodak sensors, and this was so offensively cheap that I gave it a shot. I loved it. It was definitely not better than the DSLRs I already had. It’s actually a pretty bad camera with substandard AF even for its time, a terrible viewfinder and a very limited ISO range. It was just different. It has a unique color character and the overall rendering with the Standard Grade Olympus lenses is as if you married a toy camera and a DSLR. I also had to put some mental effort into taking pictures, because auto-ISO is comically bad, you have three AF points two being useless, and anything beyond ISO 640 is no-go. Plus I had to learn hand-holding technique, thanks to the lack of stabilization.

All that together lead to a very different shooting experience. I felt like I got the starring role in my own photography for the first time. There was now risk in messing up shots, and the excitement of not seeing precisely on that little preview LCD what would come out on the big screen later. Since then I tried to go even more technically limited – film, no AF, manual winding – but the number of missed moments outweighed the sheer enjoyment I got from fiddling with a mechanical camera. So I ended up on this semi-abandoned hill of happy shooting, where photography is a thoughtful and tactile experience, and have no plans of moving over to MILC-mountain anytime soon, where EVFs, silent shutters and infinite dynamic range rule the day. I do see and even appreciate the benefits, but I’m happy where I am.

2. The Living History of an Industry

Another aspect is the condensed history of digital cameras. It’s actually less than 20 years when digital cameras ruled imaging. Up to the early 2000s even pros remained on film, and by the mid 2010s the masses were shooting smartphones – it was that period between when digicams were sold in hundreds of millions in two dozen different market segments. The whole industry scaled up then collapsed so fast that a) it happened in a timeframe that we can intuitively grasp, and b) it was so intense that we still have an overabundance of items thrown away from that period. This makes it an approachable hobby with a very low barrier of entry. There are not that many hobbies where landmark pieces of technology are so easy to get. Console gaming and cellphones might come close, but both industries are still at their heyday, whereas digital cameras are gone from the mainstream – around 10 million cameras were sold in 2023 vs. 1,34 billion smartphones – let that 1:134 ratio settle for a second -, and an estimated 93% of all photographs were taken on phones.

You might still wonder, what’s the point of using a “landmark piece of technology”. Well, it’s fun! Playing Super Mario Bros on a NES is a timeless experience on its own, but knowing that it’s a historical icon certainly adds to the enjoyment. Shooting an early Canon PowerShot or a 5D – or sitting on a Boeing 747 for that matter – takes you to a similar place: it’s not just a piece of technology, it’s something that changed our ways of preserving memories.

3. The Hunt

Most people are hoarders to one extent or another. It’s our genetic predisposition and if not taken to the extreme, it’s just fine. Collecting is fun, and digital cameras are no exception. DSLRs even have a combinative aspect – you can hunt for compatible lenses, flashes, accessories – which normally fuels the flame of the collecting instinct.

In practical terms, it can become a mini hobby on its own: trying to find a piece of kit for the right price, then convincing the seller to send it across the globe, only to realize that it’s not working when you finally get it – there’s dopamine and serotonine involved here, which is what keeps people in this – admitted or not.

4. The Exploration Aspect

Some people believe that there’s no such thing as “color character”. You just shoot RAW and “make your own colors” in Lightroom. This is simply not true. Imaging pipelines are complex, and sensors, color filters and RAW processing are not made equal. Lens coatings are different, and can have an impact on your images. When you pick up a new camera system, you normally enter a slightly different world of color rendition, noise handling (yes, even in RAW). Some of them are more fake than others, but they are variants, not clones. Then there’s the experience. Some people find it daunting and unnecessary to re-learn habits and stick to the same camera brand for an entire lifetime. Others find it fun to explore the differences in philosophy, handling and overall ergonomics of a camera. If you make a living out of photography, then the camera should be an extension of your hand. But if you’re a hobbyist, then different is fun.

I’d argue that every single camera has its own character, and every manufacturer is somewhat consistent in its opinion on color and overall rendering. Taking something slightly new to your next photo adventure always adds to the fun, and personally keeps me going in this hobby.

I’ve heard many false claims and validations over the years when it comes to old cameras. These are not completely invalid, but I can’t identify with them.

1. Old Cameras have the Best Value and are Ideal Beginner Cameras

The good value part as a barebones statement is true. Buy a Nikon D300 for 100 EUR, add lenses and a flash, and you’re within 400 EUR with a capable photo gear. I even built a complete full frame kit for <350 EUR, so these are doable. But it’s bogus validation for buying old cameras. First, collectors think of the best finds when they think about price-to-performance, but in reality, if you were to buy a camera for a daily driver, you’d buy at market average, since you won’t have months to wait for the unicorn offer. Second, we are normally deep down the rabbit hole and have some experience with older cameras when we make statements like “the best value ever”. In reality these cameras are more complex to handle, and more difficult to switch to from a smartphone. There’s no warranty, servicing can be limited or non-existent, you’re stuck with 3rd party batteries and AF / sensors / metering / JPEG are significantly better in newer cameras – which are especially important for a newcomer.

2. It’s a Cheap Hobby

It is not! If you’re not picky, and happy to pickup any digicam, or go against the trend – let’s say buy bridge cameras or JPEG-only shooters -, then indeed it’s inexpensive. But if you’re after great historical cameras, your wallet will feel it. Even worse, you’ll buy objectively crappy gear for a lot of money in several cases. Notable examples from my own collection are the Sony DSLR-A900 or the Olympus E-5. They were capable cameras for their time, but non-competitive to Canon or Nikon, hence not sold very well. That low volume is why they command a serious price even 15 years later. If you’re into Leicas, Zeiss lenses, medium format or other exotics – fortunately I’m not -, it’s even worse financially. But if you don’t think of it as investment, but as a hobby, you won’t really care.

3. Old Cameras are Collectibles hence Good Investment

This is hard. Some items indeed go up in price. But if you consider old cameras collectors’ items, you shouldn’t shoot with them, but pack them up in the original box and put them on a shelf. That’s thanks but no thanks to me, although I understand why somebody would do that. The problem is more about the trends, which are abrupt and non-predictable. As of early 2024 premium compacts are trendy thanks to the Ricoh GRIII and Fujifilm X100 series, and this drove up the price of retro-styled old premium cams. Will this last forever? I don’t think so. Have a look at the analog mirror-flappers from the 70s. They’re being sold for peanuts, cheaper than what they used to cost even a few years ago. The generation that lusted for those cameras are probably not shooting anymore, and for the currently active collectors – in their 40-50-60s – they’re just irrelevant. If you’re trying to find now 15-year-old cameras, hoping they’d go up in price, well, you’re missing out on the meat of the matter: using these gadgets, which is where the fun is.

4. You can Adapt Old Cheap Lenses

Another hard one. Older, optically great lenses are not cheap at all. Comparatively cheaper than the modern equivalents, but fleshing out 800 EUR for a 135mm f/1.8 lens released to a long-dead mount – I’m talking about the Zeiss Planar f/1.8 for Sony A – then struggling with adapters and inferior AF doesn’t get the investment of the year award from me. Adapters are compromises, and rarely work perfectly. Olympus’ own FourThirds to m4/3 adapters can be picky with their very own lenses and produce peculiar errors, like not focusing in a certain focal length range. I get the fun aspect of using newtimer (a termed I borrowed from the automotive hobby) lenses but not the value justification.

1. Usability first

I don’t just buy these cameras, I use many of them as daily drivers. That’s why my collection is DSLR-heavy, and that’s why I have a bunch of historically insignificant travel zooms, super common cameras and apparent redundancies. That also drives many 3rd party lens and flashgun acquisitions. Usability also answers why I love bridge cameras – they are quite practical with much better ergonomics than a compact and somewhat better portability than a DSLR.

I rarely buy anything that I don’t see any use for, and I never buy something for prestige. I also don’t buy gear to turn a profit, although I do shortlist items from my backlog if I think they’ll go up in price.

I do love editing, therefore I’m quite adamant on RAW support, and only buy JPEG shooters in the peculiarity or personally related category, see below.

2. Price matters

I don’t mind spending on good technology, and I’m also not ignoring market realities. That said, I normally wait for real users selling off their gear rather than buying from shops or individuals that have an investor mindset and fish for die hard collectors.

I’m also perfectly fine finding a close substitute if the “real thing” is expensive. I didn’t have a Nikon D200 for quite a while, because it was much more expensive than a D80, yet the latter has 90% of the former’s capabilities, and in many regards, identical. Some wear & tear and not having the original packaging are perfectly okay in my book, although I hate scratched up displays.

If something is truly expensive, I normally opt out. Given that the history of digital cameras is extremely rich, I don’t mind giving up some items and moving along, if the asking price is simply too high. The Samsung NX-1 is a typical example. I’d love to have it with the pro-grade optics, but I find the asking price unjustifiable.

3. Personal preferences

I’m an optical viewfinder guy. There’s nothing wrong with EVFs, I have plenty of cameras with no mirror box, but I prefer the OVF. So I’m not that into historical mirrorless formats, like the Nikon 1, Pentax Q or Samsung NX. I’m also a Nikon person. I learned on Nikons and use Nikon cameras ever since in high-pressure situations, let it be a time-crunched vacation or a company event. I fully respect Canon, but given my Nikon bias I learned to love the rendition and handling, therefore my collection is richer in Nikon. I quite like two dead mounts – Sony A and FourThirds -, and happily collect for those. The Sony A has that Minolta DNA up to the translucent models. That manifests in the color profile – with the right lenses – and also that unique shutter mechanism with its firm, snappy shutter sound that scares away children. I also love the built-in stabilizer and the seriously discounted lenses compared to Canon / Nikon. My FourThirds fixation has to do with the impeccable optical quality of the High Grade and Super-High Grade lens series, and I find the entry level models the cutest DSLRs ever. Finally, I really like 2/3-inch sensor CCD cameras. I find them quite close to film cameras in feel and limitations (I’ll write a blogpost on this).

4. Landmark cameras, lenses and accessories

We are entering now classic collector territory. I really like to get to know and shoot with historically important cameras. Some of these are unfortunately expensive, and rarely worth the asking price. But many of them are widely available, and can be had for a reasonable price or an outright bargain. For me the landmark camera is not the same as a popular camera, although the two frequently overlap. The Canon 5D and the Nikon D700 are both landmark cameras, and were insanely popular too. At the same time, I consider the Olympus E-1 and the Sony DSLR-A700 also landmark cameras, but neither of them sold very well. The E-1 is well respected, but the A700 never made it to cult classic status. It is a classic in my book, being the first semi-pro Sony DSLR.

5. Interesting components

I am a geek, and can find joy in using gear that has a component I find interesting. These include Kodak CCD-sensors, which deliver a fake, yet interesting color rendition. Panasonic NMOS sensors, which seem to be more color-rich than the Sony alternatives (and noisy as hell!). The 16MP Sony CMOS chip, which was a turning point in APS-C photography with its dynamic range and noise floor. The FourThirds shutter with its lovely, graceful sound employed in many Olympus cameras from the E-1 to the E-450. The Minolta shutter mechanics used from the Konica Minolta 5D up to Sony’s 2010 DSLR-A580. And the list goes on.

6. Technology peculiarities and rarities

Floppy camera? Porro viewfinder? Count me in! Translucent mirror? Ha! A Pentax camera with a Samsung logo? Yes please! The camera market used to be extremely crowded, and companies went over and beyond to gain that competitive edge. Or just tried something different, because they made a fortune every year, and didn’t mind some risk. These are typically not very usable – would have become mainstream otherwise -, but fun gadgets that make you smile if you’re into technology.

7. Personally related

These are the cameras which I had at some point, and decided to revisit them after all these years. Most of them are quite shitty, but mean something to me still.