Newer Isn’t Always Better – Vintage Gear

There is no doubt that I’m an old school guy. I prefer vacuum tube audio compared to the harsh sound of transistors. For me there was a golden age of most devices. Vacuum tubes ruled the audio world in the 50’s, 60’s, and into the 70’s. Conversely, I think the golden age or cameras was 15 -20 years ago. Heck, to be honest I actually prefer film cameras to digital cameras. But I never got into film.

The world famous landscape photographer, Ansel Adams once said this, “It is the photographer, not the camera that is the instrument.”

And that leads me to this statement: I am NOT a professional photographer. I’ve been a camera nerd for over 20 years. I don’t make a living with my cameras. So anything I say should be taken with a grain of salt. These are MY opinions. And I can guarantee that if I posted this on a camera forum I’d get raked across the coals. And that’s okay. This is my blog.

Cameras

I own a lot of cameras. And I try to use them all at least occasionally. While I do have several newer cameras I find myself grabbing my older cameras most of the time. There is one exception to that. I live in a heavily wooded area and have a creek on the property. There are birds galore here not to mention every other critter that roams Eastern North Carolina to include black bears. For my quick wildlife photos I keep my Canon R10 with a 100-400mm zoom lens nearby.

Another possible exception is that when I make YouTube videos I typically either use my Canon R50 V or my Nikon Z30.

However, when I take photos for this blog they are usually taken with a Canon A640 which is an over 20 year old compact zoom camera. There is something magical about the CCD sensor in that thing. When I tether the camera to a computer the results can be stunning. Additionally, the camera is small, lightweight, easy to move around, has decent zoom, and uses AA batteries. There is nothing worse than running out of battery during a shoot.

Costs

Camera costs have gotten ridiculous. And even worse the Memory card costs are as high as the cameras now. Some SD cards can cost more than this camera easily. Buying a decent older camera that caught a little magic in a bottle can save you a ton of money and still provide you with great photos.

Back To The Sony a5000

The Sony a5000 can be had on the secondary market these days for about $200 and that 16mm 2.8 lens can be had for about $80 making this combination one heck of a budget pick. And it uses an SD card, which hopefully you have laying around since the cost of them has skyrocketed.

The rear screen rotates up making it good for Vlogging, however, the video specs are a little bit dated.

Because of that you’ll likely want to use this mostly for still shots.

Tethering

I really don’t like cameras that will not tether to a computer. Fortunately, the a5000 DOES tether. I confirmed it by using CaptureOne Pro. Oddly enough I couldn’t get it to tether with Sony’s own IEDT software. I guess they can’t support every camera forever.

Tethering allows you to position something just so, make adjustments to lighting and to blow the dust away that is on your subject. I can usually get pretty great results just by taking a few photos until I get one that meets my standards.

Sample Pics

Click Pics to Enlarge

Just a few snaps around the backyard, but the colors are nice, the focus is great and I just plain old like the Sony a5000

Closing Thoughts

If I were just getting started in the hobby and had a small budget I think you could be best served by spending $300 and picking up this camera and lens. Brand new cameras are ridiculously priced and anything else in this price range is going to be a compact zoom or pocket camera. Nothing wrong with that but you’ll get a whole lot more camera this way.