the best camera

Sometimes I'm amazed at just how many ways there are to get at an image. How many different types of cameras, lenses, films, techniques and processes there are. It's endless. Considering choices can be as exhilarating (and overwhelming) as a trip to the art supply store. If you don't know what kind of art you want to make before you walk in that front door, you could spend hours and hours contemplating the possibilities. And perhaps leave a little more confused than when you first came in.

Like so many, my roots are in film photography. Then, somewhere along the way, I fell down a lovely digital hole. Then rediscovered 35mm film, dipped my toe into medium format before falling completely head over heels in love with instant photography. These days, my appetite for different cameras and processes is nearly insatiable. I want to know more, I want to try everything. Everything. I see a photograph I love, research the camera it was taken with and often fall down a rabbit hole so deep I have trouble finding my way out. It's like learning bits and pieces of a hundred different languages. I'm fluent in a few but have only picked up an occasional word or phrase here and there from others. I speak the languages I know with confidence but hold the new ones just under my tongue and savor the possibilities.

This means I am almost always traveling with a small army of cameras. Which is as challenging (and as comical) as you might think. Packing for a big trip means figuring out just how many cameras will fit in that carry-on suitcase. It means foregoing an extra pair of shoes (or okay, maybe clothes and shoes altogether). It's a commitment. But for me, choice is paramount and rarely have I regretted the packing of any extra camera or lens, any surplus packs or rolls of film. However, the whole scenario can also be a little crippling. Sometimes, when you have so many different tools at your fingertips, you fumble when it comes time to choose. The more I shoot, the more I realize just how important simplicity is, how choosing a particular camera is as much a part of the artistic process as composing an image. It's as essential as choosing the right words, the right language for what you want to say. Choose wisely, choose thoughtfully and accept the fact that you can't speak seven different languages at once.

I will probably always travel with a small ever-changing gaggle of cameras. But when it comes time to shoot, I'll choose just one and commit. Whether it's an unwieldy polaroid pack film camera, a DSLR with a monster lens or something that fits in the palm of the hand (hello, iphone), I'll choose just one and commit. Because while a world of choice is a lovely thing, everyone knows that the best camera is the one you have in your hands.

What cameras best speak your language? Is there a camera or technique that you're dying to try? Please do share your thoughts and images with us today.

Comments

[Col]

I know what you mean but always take just one camera with me.
My own li'l darlin' is a Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim
I would post a picture here but don't know how
Regards from UK
And thanks for a daily dose of inspiration

[Marcie]

What an amazing collection of vintage cameras! I was once like you - taking too many cameras with me. Now - it's just my digital SLR with a couple of indispensable lenses:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/home/2012/5/22/the-prize.html

[Gabriela]

Only have my Minolta SLR, my iPhone, and my DSLR. My Minolta was my introduction and she come out here and there. In a recent took trip, I took this shot with my DSLR and love that I got to capture her hanging from my neck, ready for the next shot:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gamaraca/6923002002/in/set-72157629431910076

Lately, I'm in love with so many iPhone apps that make me loose track of time :). Love your analogy of languages!

[Panasonic DMC-FH25K]

Ohhh thai vintage camera

[Heather]

I was born for digital photography. http://joyfulwise.com/2012/05/18/found-mandalas-project/ I loved the Instamatics and Polaroids of my childhood, but when I got my first Fuji Finepix digital point & click several years ago, I was done for. I've craved art my whole life, but live in a rural area with limited access to traditional venues, so digital literally opened up the world for me. Being able to share/experience art, discuss and learn, all with just a couple clicks of my mouse, has been like a miracle. I alternate between my Canon Rebel DLSR, Power Shot, and iPod touch camera.

[damiec]

I've observed this in my own photography - the world is limitless - and if I have too many choices at hand it can be crippling to my creativity. That, and the lighter I travel, the easier it is for me to enjoy the experience.

I love my parents old nikkormat, and have a few projects I've been shooting with it since the start of the year. I love my dslr, and recently got myself a new lens - a 90mm - because I was in desperate need of a change of perspective - I'd been shooting exclusively with a 50mm since getting the dslr over a year ago. And I love my inherited polaroids, but the film is too precious for me to go wild with them. They come out on special occasions. And I've always got an iphone on my person.

I prefer to choose my weapon for the day, and work within the limitations of one camera (+ phone). Because even then the options are still so vast. Lately I've been having fun with the multiple exposure function on my dslr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22487105@N06/7249295784/

[Mariella]

I am right in the middle of this process...choosing the best camera for me. I think I have found the right partner in my Nikon D700, but since I lately rediscovered film photography I am exploring the possibilities and there is so much out there to know, to try. Just like you say Andrea. It's a process,a really fun one

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nyaniaa/

[Vanessa]

my husband was just teasing me about this very thing. "exactly, what are we going to be doing all weekend long?" "eatting (because we packed a ton of food for our getaway) and taking pictures (because I had no less than 4 cameras in the car)." I answered him without blinking. We both started cracking up...

I love my digiSLR and my Polaroid 100 that you helped to show me that it still had a beautiful life ahead! shooting with that thing really is magic...

[Debra]

Oh I know the camera packing dilemma well. I traveled most of February this year, often carrying my DSLR and 2 Polaroid cameras with me. In an effort to save my back (and to focus on Polaroid shooting) I took a photowalk with a friend in London, packing only my Polaroid SLR680 and my iPhone. While I was a little jealous at times of what my friend might be seeing and capturing with her DSLR and 50mm f1.4 lens, my (relative to my usual) lack of gear made me focus in on capturing what I was seeing in a way that celebrated the lovely tool I had with me. This is my favourite shot of the day.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/manifeisty/6824115932/in/set-72157629555630629

[Christine Hickey]

I *love* film! And because of that fact, I have multiple cameras. I usually choose two or three for any given trip and always have my iPhone and Holga with me - ALWAYS. For me film is very organic and hands on. I'm just starting to delve into different processes - cyanotype, tintype, etc. Its great to know that there are so many film lovers on Shutter Sisters!

[suzie]

Pentax Spotmatic loaded with a roll of Ektar, no question!

[christy harper]

I love your post!!! Your camera image is inspiring! Thanks :)

[christine]

I love the comparison of walking into an art supply store :) I'm a mixed media painter, I could not settle for one kind of paint. I fell deeply into photography when I started blogging a couple year ago, but the techie side still overwhelms me. I love my Nikon CoolPix100. I can't believe how good it is for macros. I'd love to get one of the new mirror-less cameras with a good macro lense, if anyone has recommendations, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for the inspiration Andrea, your collection is so cool!

Here are some iris macros I had fun taking http://christinecreate.com/4255/

[Joelynne]

I have this same passion and my first though was: what do you carry them in when you shoot!? My interest in multiple cameras has led to an obsession with a way to hold them all!

[Holly {Soupatraveler}]

i've been lusting over the polaroid 600 SE ever since seeing this set of "polaroid people" from photographer James Bowden, http://www.jamesbowden.net/polaroid.html I've yet to win one on ebay, but its been close and i'm sure my muse will come to me soon enough. in the meantime, i'm so obsessed with my iphone, that i rarely shoot with my DSLR these days! Here's a recent iphone shot from my Good Morning series that's one of my favs...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/soupatraveler/7152150039/

[andrea]

loving all these responses, ladies! totally making my day!

joelynne-- I have to admit, I haven't totally figured that one out just yet. I have a variety of bags that I use, depending on what I'm shooting with, how many cameras I'm shooting with for the day/outing/trip. I have an actual camera bag that I outfitted to carry all my polaroid cameras, then I carry my digital gear in my own giant purse. sometimes I carry my cameras in an old smallish vintage suitcase. just depends on my situation (and mood). haven't found the perfect bag just yet, though-- also officially obsessed!

[Jeanne]

Great post. I fall down the rabbit hole all the time, too! I just recently bought my first DSLR so I've been learning that language. My native language is Canon AE-1. But instant photography is still one of my favorites! Here's a recent image shot with my Polaroid Spectra camera:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeamac/7246629546/

My fiance's mother just dug a Polaroid One Step camera out of her basement and gave it to me, and I'm anxiously awaiting the film that I have on order so that I can try it out! :)

[superdewa (Deirdre)]

Wonderful post -- this is something I've been thinking about a lot.
I honestly didn't enjoy photography much until digital came along. I have very few photos of my children when they were little, and most of those were taken by other people. When I got my first digital camera, I fell in love.with taking as many photos and making as many mistakes as I wanted to on whatever ISO I wanted to. I loved that I didn't have to worry about the cost of each photo or the timing of getting film developed or organization of negatives and prints, and I loved playing around with post processing.
But in the last couple of years, film started calling me. I saw friends using it and started appreciating the differences between photos taken with film and with digital. I was lured by the idea of choosing one's film ahead of time and having minimal processing to do afterward. I was drawn to the challenge of taking fewer photos because of the cost, which meant having to plan ahead more. And the fact that film is now scanned and can be shared and stored digitally helped a lot. So for the last several months I've been playing with a few different polaroid cameras, my father's Nikon F, and some other SLRs friends have passed on to me.
I don't own an iphone and don't like most of the photos I see taken with them (with some major exceptions), so I'm not that tempted. What I do want is a medium format camera, and I want a good pinhole camera (probably zeroimage). I also want to learn how to develop my own film, and I am finding myself drawn to alternative printing processes (gum bichromate especially).
I still always carry my DSLR. I wear it over my shoulder -- it almost never goes in the bag. My bag (lowepro passport sling) holds an extra lens or two and a film camera (I try to pick just one each time I go out).

[Meghan @ Life Refocused]

Oh you are speaking my language here, Hula! I often am fumbling over all my cameras in my bag, and often shoot the same shot with 3 cameras! It gets to be too much and I love the advice to pick one and go with it. xoxo

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