The Introduction
Where it all began. A Kodak Instamatic when I was in primary school. I loved it, except I couldn’t afford to buy film, let alone get it developed and printed. So, I only used it a few times.
Another Introduction
When I was a student, I worked part-time in a gas station. I used the money to buy a Russian-made Zenith 35mm SLR. It weighed as much as a house brick, maybe more. With a bit more money to spend on film and developing, I took a lot of photos with it, and got into using color filters, etc. The 58 mm lens was adequate. Yes, adequate.
Getting Better
The Zenith was upgraded to a Praktic BC-1. A massive leap in terms of portability and ease of use. It had it all. Through-the-lens metering, a 1/1000 sec exposure. A bright, sharp (for its day and my pocket) lens. It was perfect. Until some seawater splashed on it. Electronics and salty water don’t mix. It died a hero.
Digital
Finally, the camera I never knew I needed: a small, point-and-shoot digital camera, the Canon S30. By today’s standard, it was slow. You had to open a sliding door that covered the lens. A few painful seconds later, the lens extended. And after another wait, you could take an image. But there was no need to buy or develop film. It took an annoying number of photos. People, places, pets, you name it.
Smaller, faster, better
One sad day, the sliding door on the S30 broke. Therefore, it was replaced by a much smaller and slimmer Canon S110. A great-looking camera that fits in a pocket.
