Cameras
FirstCam - (Vivitar Mini Digital Camera*)
2007
As the name would suggest, this was the first camera I ever owned. My dad bought it for me on a whim one day, and I was instantly mesmerized despite the awful quality of the photos (it was only $20). There was no zoom feature, the viewfinder was basically tacked on top, and you had no way of knowing what your photos looked like until they'd been uploaded. It was essentially a film camera without the high quality. However, it was the only camera I had, and I couldn't have cared less. It was the camera that set in motion the years of photography to come.
EarlyCam - (Canon Powershot A420*)
2007
I can't really remember what happened to my first camera, but you'll begin to see that these disappearances become a trend in my early career. I still had a lot to learn about being responsible with equipment. EarlyCam was another camera lying around for some inexplicable reason (it may have been my mother's). With my photography obsession slowly growing, I took ownership of it and was pleasantly surprised with the upgrade. It was also a cheap camera, but it had a screen and zoom and all of the standard features you'd see in $100 back in the day. In retro fashion, it even had the time stamp at the bottom left corner of every photo. What I distinctly remember most about EarlyCam was that there was no video sound, but that was probably because the feature must have been turned off and I was still too young to understand the menu. The camera broke when I got it stuck in between my bed and a wall and the lens jammed.
AllisonCam - (Canon Powershot S50*)
2007
After EarlyCam broke, I needed a replacement for a school field trip, and I borrowed my sister's cheap camera. It was virtually the same, but I did end up using it much longer. I left the camera outside one day and forgot about it. Only after several days of rain did I realize my mistake, but by that time it was completely trashed. My sister still demands that I pay for it to this day.
NewCam - (Canon Powershot A570 IS)
2008-2011
This camera was the first major improvement and probably what convinced me to continue pursuing this hobby for years. The Powershot was a very user-friendly, versatile camera, and I learned much of photography's nooks and crannies from experimenting with it. I also remember it being quite a popular model back in the day. NewCam would be the camera that I would film "hilarious" sketches with my friends, and over the course of a few years, photograph the entire landscape of California from San Francisco to Catalina Island. It broke my heart when I left it on a beach towel and a particularly nasty wave managed to reach up shore and drench it in salt water. In a couple years, still displaying the camera as a reminder of my defeat, I used a knife to remove some of the sand stuck inside the lens and voila! the camera snapped to life as if I had just zapped it with a defibrillator. I used it religiously for a few more months before it finally gave up, but as I write this, it's still on my shelf.
BlackCam - (Panasonic DMZ-TZ3)
2009-2010
During the brief absence of my Powershot, I used another family camera that my father purchased. At the time, his hope was that I could take photographs around Los Gatos for a chance to win a contest since I had recently just come off of a few other wins. I was tragically outmatched by much more experienced photographers. It was a bit of a spirit-crusher to know that I was good but not that good, but the experience was fun, and I kept the camera even after I fixed the Powershot. Truthfully, BlackCam was much better in quality, although the photos always came out at such a cool temperature (as in they looked a bit blue-ish).
ClassicCam - (Nikon F-801S N8008S*)
2010
I can't really claim ownership over this camera since I only used it for a week or so, but I have yet to use a model that was nearly as good. The Nikon belonged to my big sister (not to be confused with the last sister I mentioned), and she had left it at the house while she was off in England. Once again, my dad offered it to me, and I was more than enthusiastic, despite how little I knew about film cameras. At this point, I was still a bit inexperienced. I understood basic composition and lighting, but things like exposure and saturation were a bit too complicated for me (I almost never used the Manual setting). I was also aware of my lack of knowledge, and so it came as a great surprise to me when I got my photographs developed and they turned out so spectacular. To be fair, the Nikon did most of the heavy lifting, which was yet another reason why it was so good. It was because of that camera that I understood just how superior original film was compared to its modern counterparts.
SFCam - (Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717)
2010-2013
This was another transitional period in my career. At this point, I was under the assumption that once I got a "professional" camera, my photographs would just burst with artistry. My wish was granted to me in the form of the unusual Sony Cyber-shot model. It was given as a gift to me by a family friend while I was in San Francisco (thus the name "SFCam"). I practically rubbed my hands together and saying, "Great, now I can 'git gud'". But I learned an important lesson that it wasn't so much the camera that made the photo as it was the cameraman. The Cyber-shot had so many unique features that I almost didn't know what to do with myself. It took a considerable amount of time before I even remotely knew what I was doing. And the quality of the photos didn't change much for a while. Of course, it wasn't a nightmare. I quite enjoyed the challenge. I eventually figured it out and got some of my best shots. Looking back, it was a dated camera, but time doesn't matter much when it comes to this hobby (people still use Polaroids after all). After a few years though, the bulky charger and the damaged memory cards took their toll and I was ready for an upgrade.
EliteCam - (Nikon D3100)
2013-Present
Now we come back full circle to the present. I got the D3100 as my sixteenth birthday present, and it's been with me ever since. Like SFCam, I had to learn the ins-and-outs before I was even a little good with it, but the learning curve was much less severe. I'd been put through the ringer and cameras didn't seem to overwhelm me like they used to. The D3100 was versatile, sturdy, had an awesome micro setting (I'm always a fan of close-ups); there was a reason I call it "Elitecam." It wasn't without its short comings. The lens was fairly standard, but I finally had a model that I could mix and match with. I ended up buying a 55-300 mm Nikkor lens that did the job much better, and I still use both to this day. The video was also an issue, which was especially hard when I became invested in filmmaking. It had no external microphone option so sound was a pain to manage. But the beauty in these modern cameras is how easy they are to modify. Anything Elitecam failed to achieve could easily be compensated with external hardware.
SmartCam - (Samsung Galaxy S6)
2015 - Present
I'm sure you know plenty about smart phones so I won't bother too much with a detailed description. I was never an advocate of smart phone photography, particularly because it was so easy and it felt cheap for those of us who had spent hundreds on complicated equipment. But since I got my Samsung Galaxy S6, I was pleasantly surprised at how great the photo quality was compared to other smart phones (what an endorsement). Nowadays, high quality has become a standard feature (just look at Apple's recent ad campaign), but it threw me off guard at first. If you've looked at any of my recent posts, you probably know how much I use "SmartCam." Wherever I go, I always see photo opportunities, but I can't always lug around my bulky camera equipment, and so the phone becomes the easiest way to get in those quick shots. Phones still have a long ways to go in some respects (don't even get me started with night time photos), but I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually reached the level of quality associated with professional cameras.
InstaCam - (Fujifilm Instax Mini 90)
2016 - Present
The most recent edition to my collection, the Instax has become fairly popular with the artistic crowd. It's a cheaper, modernized version of a Polaroid camera. I see most of my friends using it for parties or cute couple photos, but it's actually quite capable of artistic shots given the right circumstances. I can't say too much about it yet since I'm still figuring out the kinks, but needless to say it is a very fun camera to use.
*exact model has not be determined for certain
2007
As the name would suggest, this was the first camera I ever owned. My dad bought it for me on a whim one day, and I was instantly mesmerized despite the awful quality of the photos (it was only $20). There was no zoom feature, the viewfinder was basically tacked on top, and you had no way of knowing what your photos looked like until they'd been uploaded. It was essentially a film camera without the high quality. However, it was the only camera I had, and I couldn't have cared less. It was the camera that set in motion the years of photography to come.
EarlyCam - (Canon Powershot A420*)
2007
I can't really remember what happened to my first camera, but you'll begin to see that these disappearances become a trend in my early career. I still had a lot to learn about being responsible with equipment. EarlyCam was another camera lying around for some inexplicable reason (it may have been my mother's). With my photography obsession slowly growing, I took ownership of it and was pleasantly surprised with the upgrade. It was also a cheap camera, but it had a screen and zoom and all of the standard features you'd see in $100 back in the day. In retro fashion, it even had the time stamp at the bottom left corner of every photo. What I distinctly remember most about EarlyCam was that there was no video sound, but that was probably because the feature must have been turned off and I was still too young to understand the menu. The camera broke when I got it stuck in between my bed and a wall and the lens jammed.
AllisonCam - (Canon Powershot S50*)
2007
After EarlyCam broke, I needed a replacement for a school field trip, and I borrowed my sister's cheap camera. It was virtually the same, but I did end up using it much longer. I left the camera outside one day and forgot about it. Only after several days of rain did I realize my mistake, but by that time it was completely trashed. My sister still demands that I pay for it to this day.
NewCam - (Canon Powershot A570 IS)
2008-2011
This camera was the first major improvement and probably what convinced me to continue pursuing this hobby for years. The Powershot was a very user-friendly, versatile camera, and I learned much of photography's nooks and crannies from experimenting with it. I also remember it being quite a popular model back in the day. NewCam would be the camera that I would film "hilarious" sketches with my friends, and over the course of a few years, photograph the entire landscape of California from San Francisco to Catalina Island. It broke my heart when I left it on a beach towel and a particularly nasty wave managed to reach up shore and drench it in salt water. In a couple years, still displaying the camera as a reminder of my defeat, I used a knife to remove some of the sand stuck inside the lens and voila! the camera snapped to life as if I had just zapped it with a defibrillator. I used it religiously for a few more months before it finally gave up, but as I write this, it's still on my shelf.
BlackCam - (Panasonic DMZ-TZ3)
2009-2010
During the brief absence of my Powershot, I used another family camera that my father purchased. At the time, his hope was that I could take photographs around Los Gatos for a chance to win a contest since I had recently just come off of a few other wins. I was tragically outmatched by much more experienced photographers. It was a bit of a spirit-crusher to know that I was good but not that good, but the experience was fun, and I kept the camera even after I fixed the Powershot. Truthfully, BlackCam was much better in quality, although the photos always came out at such a cool temperature (as in they looked a bit blue-ish).
ClassicCam - (Nikon F-801S N8008S*)
2010
I can't really claim ownership over this camera since I only used it for a week or so, but I have yet to use a model that was nearly as good. The Nikon belonged to my big sister (not to be confused with the last sister I mentioned), and she had left it at the house while she was off in England. Once again, my dad offered it to me, and I was more than enthusiastic, despite how little I knew about film cameras. At this point, I was still a bit inexperienced. I understood basic composition and lighting, but things like exposure and saturation were a bit too complicated for me (I almost never used the Manual setting). I was also aware of my lack of knowledge, and so it came as a great surprise to me when I got my photographs developed and they turned out so spectacular. To be fair, the Nikon did most of the heavy lifting, which was yet another reason why it was so good. It was because of that camera that I understood just how superior original film was compared to its modern counterparts.
SFCam - (Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717)
2010-2013
This was another transitional period in my career. At this point, I was under the assumption that once I got a "professional" camera, my photographs would just burst with artistry. My wish was granted to me in the form of the unusual Sony Cyber-shot model. It was given as a gift to me by a family friend while I was in San Francisco (thus the name "SFCam"). I practically rubbed my hands together and saying, "Great, now I can 'git gud'". But I learned an important lesson that it wasn't so much the camera that made the photo as it was the cameraman. The Cyber-shot had so many unique features that I almost didn't know what to do with myself. It took a considerable amount of time before I even remotely knew what I was doing. And the quality of the photos didn't change much for a while. Of course, it wasn't a nightmare. I quite enjoyed the challenge. I eventually figured it out and got some of my best shots. Looking back, it was a dated camera, but time doesn't matter much when it comes to this hobby (people still use Polaroids after all). After a few years though, the bulky charger and the damaged memory cards took their toll and I was ready for an upgrade.
EliteCam - (Nikon D3100)
2013-Present
Now we come back full circle to the present. I got the D3100 as my sixteenth birthday present, and it's been with me ever since. Like SFCam, I had to learn the ins-and-outs before I was even a little good with it, but the learning curve was much less severe. I'd been put through the ringer and cameras didn't seem to overwhelm me like they used to. The D3100 was versatile, sturdy, had an awesome micro setting (I'm always a fan of close-ups); there was a reason I call it "Elitecam." It wasn't without its short comings. The lens was fairly standard, but I finally had a model that I could mix and match with. I ended up buying a 55-300 mm Nikkor lens that did the job much better, and I still use both to this day. The video was also an issue, which was especially hard when I became invested in filmmaking. It had no external microphone option so sound was a pain to manage. But the beauty in these modern cameras is how easy they are to modify. Anything Elitecam failed to achieve could easily be compensated with external hardware.
SmartCam - (Samsung Galaxy S6)
2015 - Present
I'm sure you know plenty about smart phones so I won't bother too much with a detailed description. I was never an advocate of smart phone photography, particularly because it was so easy and it felt cheap for those of us who had spent hundreds on complicated equipment. But since I got my Samsung Galaxy S6, I was pleasantly surprised at how great the photo quality was compared to other smart phones (what an endorsement). Nowadays, high quality has become a standard feature (just look at Apple's recent ad campaign), but it threw me off guard at first. If you've looked at any of my recent posts, you probably know how much I use "SmartCam." Wherever I go, I always see photo opportunities, but I can't always lug around my bulky camera equipment, and so the phone becomes the easiest way to get in those quick shots. Phones still have a long ways to go in some respects (don't even get me started with night time photos), but I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually reached the level of quality associated with professional cameras.
InstaCam - (Fujifilm Instax Mini 90)
2016 - Present
The most recent edition to my collection, the Instax has become fairly popular with the artistic crowd. It's a cheaper, modernized version of a Polaroid camera. I see most of my friends using it for parties or cute couple photos, but it's actually quite capable of artistic shots given the right circumstances. I can't say too much about it yet since I'm still figuring out the kinks, but needless to say it is a very fun camera to use.
*exact model has not be determined for certain
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