I remember getting a plastic toy camera when I was about 8 years old. It used 120 roll film and the black and white photos developed from it were blurry and grainy but boy, what joy it brought me. Fast forward a few decades and that camera is surprisingly still available today. Under the banner of Lomography, this little gem is known as the Diana F.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_(camera)

I moved on to a point and shoot 35mm camera in the 1980s. The little Konica film camera took me through my secondary school days and a little beyond. Film negatives and development were pretty expensive during those days, it did not help that being a student, my intent to capture everyday events was severely curbed by my meagre allowance.

I have since moved on to digital cameras in the early 2000s. My first digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera was the Nikon D70s DSLR and it cost a whopping $1,600 back then. I rationalised the purchase to be a step towards cost savings as processing a roll of 35mm colour film with printing would set me back about $20 each time. Photos taken using a digital camera are essentially “free” if you put aside the high initial cost of acquiring one.

More importantly, digital photography allowed me to finally take thousands of photos to capture everyday life, without the crippling costs associated with film photography. Today, I have amassed a tidy collection of over 30,000 digital photos, neatly filed in my hard disks by month and year.

Since moving to Melbourne, I have bought a few second hand digital cameras from eBay. Obsolete electronic consumer goods generally have low inherent resale value. Because of this, I was able to buy several used digital cameras at a fraction of their original prices.  

If you are into the latest and greatest gadgets, buying them brand new is the only way to go. There are a few well known camera stores in Melbourne, namely Michaels Camera, Ted’s Cameras and Camera House (see link below):

https://t.cfjump.com/74337/t/21198?Url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.camerahouse.com.au%2f

I am a Nikon fan but honestly speaking, most of the major brands (Nikon, Canon, Fujifilm, Sony etc) make very good cameras. The consumer today is spoilt for choice and a decent camera set can be bought for a $1,000 or much less.

I do take out my film cameras to tinker with once in a while. I shoot black and white negatives with them and have had the pleasure of developing my own negatives at home. That would be a blog for another day!

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