Lenses and gear from Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Minolta, Sony, Panasonic, and Pentax
Vintage Lenses and Beyond

Digital photography image quality matured around 2010-2013. Since then, there have only been marginal improvements.

Manufacturers have made large improvements in video features, resolution, and quality. Around 2016 is when good quality 4k at 30fps was widely available.

The shift from DSLRs to mirrorless cameras also resulted in the discontinuation on the Canon EOS EF and Nikon F lens mounts.

This all adds up to being able to SAVE SHOCKING AMOUNTS OF MONEY BY BUYING USED!!!* It is possible to get absolutely obscene price to performance value on used gear.

If you’re looking for your first dedicated camera, it rarely makes sense to buy new. Spening thousands of dollars on new gear doesn’t mean you’ll actually like using it. My two recommendations for camera shopping are:

  • Don’t discount the importance of size and weight. Smaller and lighter is better.
  • Think about the lenses you’ll want. Don’t spend your entire budget on a camera body to get stuck with a kit lens.

Just like all new tech, camera gear quickly depreciates. Last year’s best in class camera is often this year’s 50% off used deal. That doesn’t even mean it is worth buying because until you have experience, you don’t know what camera features are actually important to you.

The difficulty in finding deals is that there are hundreds of different camera models. Dozens of them might fit your needs. To make your life easier, I’ve been going through series of models to create used buying guides.

  1. Canon AE-1
  2. Pentax K1000
  3. Nikon FM2
  4. Asahi Pentax Spotmatic

All lenses aren’t equal, especially when it comes to vintange and early digital camera lenses. Modern lenses will give you images that are razor sharp corner to corner. Vintage lenses can set themselves apart by how they render, the color you can get with them, interesting bokeh, or other characteristics not valued by current photographers.

On the other hand, many vintage lenses are not good. Their performance may not be good enough to set them apart from other lenses. Worse, as time has gone on some lenses have defects such as haze, fungus, balsam separation, or degraded grease, that will render them worthless because of the difficulty in repair.

I’m somewhat indiscriminate in my purchasing of gear, so I get a mix of good, bad, and average. The lens reviews will help you find a lens worth owning. These are popular film cameras that recieve frequent lens questions.

  1. Canon AE-1 Lenses
  2. Pentax K1000 Lenses
  3. Pentax Spotmatic Lenses
  4. Nikon FM2 Lenses
  5. Nikon FE2 Lenses
  6. Canon A-1 Lenses
  7. Olympus OM-1 Lenses
  8. Minolta SR-T 101 Lenses
  9. Minolta X-700 Lenses

Have you ever been paranoid about the capacity of a battery? Especially if it was from a third party? I was.

I have figured out how ANYONE can inexpensively capacity test camera batteries. I have written a guide on how to capacity test camera batteries. It is a simple DIY project that only requires a screwdriver and pair of wire strippers.

Cameras are the fastest depreciating pieces of photography gear. That’s bad if you buy a new camera. If you buy used, you can get a high-end camera from 10+ years ago for pennies on the dollar.

Being able to use flagship cameras of years gone by is an interesting experience. Medium format in both film and digital become obtainable for non-professional uses. Or owning many cameras is remarkably affordable.

The camera reviews section showcases all of the cameras I have reviewed. You can also find information on camera manufacturers that are no longer in business.

Recent Posts

15 Pro Cameras Under $250 [March, 2024]

Cameras designed for professional use have better ergonomics, built quality, and features. They are often significantly better than newer entry level cameras. Lens costs were not included. A kit zoom, 50mm f1.8, or equivalent standard lens can easily be found for less than $100. Cameras have been ordered roughly in terms of price to performance. Availability can be an issue for cameras lower on the list. This is due to the systems not being supported for very long due to poor sales.

Available Under $200 The Canon T5i is Indistinguishable from other Entry Level DSLRs.

The Canon Rebel T5i is an entry level DSLR that is available for less than $200. There isn’t anything that sets it apart from the other cameras in that price range. You can check the petty camera rankings to see if that has changed, but I doubt it will. The flippy screen and Magic Lantern Lenses Canon EF-S 18-55mm Canon EF 55-250mm Canon EF-S 75mm-300mm Canon EF-S 24mm f2.8 (Pancake) Canon EF-S 10-18mm f4.

Canon EOS Rebel T2i Memory Card and Battery Compatibility

Release Date, Original MSRP, and Used PriceThe EOS Rebel T2i was released in 2010 with an original MSRP of $899.99 with 18-55mm STM lens. The EOS Rebel T2i has a used price between $100 to $175. The lower end of the range is likely missing a battery, charger, lens, and/or memory card. Take required accessories into account when comparing used cameras to buy. Canon EOS Rebel T2i Battery Type & ReplacementsThe Canon EOS Rebel T2i uses a Lithium-Ion LP-E8 rechargeable battery & charger.

Nikon Coolpix Memory Card Compatibility

Multiple formats and specifications of memory cards have been used in the line of Nikon Coolpix cameras. This can cause compatibility issues if a memory card is a generation older or newer than the camera it is being used with. Old memory cards may not have fast enough write speeds. During continuous shooting, this can prevent the image buffer from clearing quickly. Video recording might quickly cut off or video files could be corrupted.

Everything to Know About Camera Lens Fungus

Bad news, mushrooms are growing in the lens. This can also be seen in prisms, viewfinders, digital sensor filters, and other optics. Lens fungus is the mycelium from fungal growth. There are multiple types of fungus that can grow. The optimal conditions for fungal growth are a temperature range of 10C to 35C, relative humidity of 70% or higher, and darkness. For instance a damp camera bag or basement during a period of heavy rain.

Nikon D3000 What You Need to Know for Best Performance

Original Price& Current Used PriceThe D3000’s original MSRP was $599.95 Used D3000 cameras fall into a price range of $125 to $200. The difference will be due to condition and accessories included. Nikon D3000 Battery Type & ReplacementsThe Nikon D3000 uses a Lithium-Ion EN-EL9a rechargeable battery & charger. The battery can not be charged via USB. This means a battery charger will be necessary. Third party battery chargers will be less expensive than OEM Nikon chargers.