What if you had to use your old camera again?

Recently I used a camera that was about 16 years old. Worked fine, just set it so that it works a bit slower.
But the camera I usually have with me when I go out is also about 12 years old.
(the newest camera I have is also already quite a few years old, it has face recognition, but I have actually never used it).
You could say that I don't really know how all the latest features work

My first camera was a digital Nikon, I don't remember the number anymore. For the first time no rolls of film. So just shoot away. Finally experimenting without having to worry about the costs. Of course, there will be something good among it somewhere. The difference as a photographer was made in the photography club. Then you start looking at your photos more consciously. I see the modern little aids as little aids, nothing more than that. Now a Ricoh GR3xHDF. Fixed focal length. I'm having fun, I think that's the most important thing. The learning curve never stops, not even with all the new gadgets.

Ha, what a coincidence. My previous employer gave me the opportunity to buy back my old "work" camera, an eos5dm3 with L series lenses, and of course I did. I use it again and with pleasure ...

When the Canon eos 350d came out, I think in the year 2000, I bought it because it had no less than 8MP! Had a lot of fun with that camera and despite my limited knowledge of photography, I was still able to take some nice photos now and then. I write "now and then" because that camera was prone to noise and I photographed in "auto" mode.
But, now that I have a Canon R5 mkII and have meanwhile completed 10 years of evening classes + many digital courses, there are considerably more and better photos that I can take. So no, I wouldn't like to go back to my old cameras.

I think I could manage just fine with that old entry-level Canon camera (EOS 550D). I can't test that because I no longer have it. I would miss some of the functions of my OMD EM-1 or my OM-1. But the entry-level camera also took photos in 2016 that I still dare to show. Just take a look at this photo https://gertvaneck.com/zoogdieren/lynx

My first camera was a Canon EOS350D. I still have and occasionally use it. Simply because I enjoy taking photos without all those bells and whistles and then seeing what you make of it. Much more fun than all that super deluxe gear.
And nice to see how you used to take photos and how you do now. Learned a lot during that time

The camera is merely a tool where it matters how the tool is used in a purely craft-oriented way.
I myself use a Nikon D700 (2008 model), which can still keep up excellently and if you apply the right craftsmanship techniques, taking into account the limitations compared to current possibilities, it still delivers excellent performance.

In addition, for the weight aspect, the Olympus PenF, MFT, is used for street life, which incidentally is not much inferior to the full-frame D700 and the current state of the art.
To go completely retro, sometimes the 35mm small-format camera, the Leica Model 2 from 1936. This is to preserve respect for and appreciation of historical technology and also to help preserve the craftsmanship skills, which are partly reflected in the quality awareness of my current photography.

For me, it is about ‘High Touch’ and to a lesser extent about ‘High Tech’. The camera manufacturer only provides a guarantee on the hardware supplied and never on the creative output of the camera supplied.

Fons Bitter, ‘picture maker’

Yes my first camera nikon D60 and the d3000 bought at the end of 2008 ,think that I would still take reasonably good photos with these cameras, because I am still in the D series have the d7000 d7100 d7200 and the d7500 so that's all good they all still take very good photos

Paulussie wrote on Wednesday 17 June 2026 at 12:46  | reply

Nice article again.
I still use my D7000 from time to time, the screen isn't very good anymore, but the photos are fine, I don't miss anything compared to my D500,
But recently I scored a Zenit TTL at the thrift store, which is fully operational (45 years old). Put a roll of film in it, and started taking photos the old-fashioned way, what a difference!
But: if you do it right, the photos, apart from the grain and the unavoidable specks of dust and scratches, are just as beautiful. But you do make a lot fewer. (135-36 easily costs 10 euros)

I still go out every day with the 11-year-old Samsung nx500. Light camera and still takes excellent photos,
for the more serious work I have the Canon r5 and the fuji Xt50

My first SLR was the Olympus OM1. Took a lot of B&W and slide photos, had my own darkroom.
I photograph in the same way, first looking a lot. I can still estimate well which lens I can use to make which image.
Wouldn't want to go back to that time (in terms of the possibilities of film and editing). I still think looking carefully is the most important aspect of photography, I still learn through a photography club.