Camera Gear Doesn’t Need To Be Expensive

YOU SAVE SO MUCH MONEY BUYING USED!!! It is possible to get absolutely obscene price to performance value on used gear.

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.

Guide to Used Cameras

Popular Film Cameras

Picking Out Vintage Lens Winners.

All lenses aren’t equal. 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 just aren’t that 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 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.

Camera Batteries

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.

Nothing Depreciates Faster Than A Camera.

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.

List of Film Camera Brands

Nathaniel Stephan published on 2023-04-22

Manufacturers of cameras or lenses and filters ALPA Andor Technology Angenieux apertus° Argus Arnold & Richter (see Arri) Arri Asahi (see Pentax) Bell & Howell Co. BELOMO Blackmagic Design Bolex Braun Nurnberg Bron Elektronik B+W Filterfabrik (owned by Schneider Kreuznach). Cambo camera Canham Canon Casio Century Precision Optics (owned by Schneider Kreuznach) Chamonix Cokin Cooke Cosina Deardorff Ebony (large-format cameras Escura Exakta Folmer and Schwing Formatt Hitech Fujifilm Fujinon (see Fujifilm) Gibellini Gowland Hartblei Hasselblad Heliopan Holga Ikegami Ilford Intrepid IMAX Kaiser Fototechnik Kiev-Arsenal Kino Precision (makers of Kiron and Vivitar Series 1 lenses) Kenko (part of KenkoTokina Corporation) Kodak Kowa Krasnogorsky Mekanicheski Zavod (also known as KMZ Laowa see Venus Optics Leica Lensbaby Linhof Littmann LOMO (Leningradskoye Optiko Mechanichesckoye Obyedinenie) Lytro (makers of consumer plenoptic cameras) Mamiya (part of Phase One) MegaVision Meyer Optik Görlitz Minolta Minox Mitakon Zhongyi see Zhong Yi Optics Nikon Noblex Olympus Panasonic Panon (see Widelux) Pentax Phase One Plaubel Polaroid Profoto Ricoh Rodenstock Ross Samsung Samyang Optics (Samyang SLR lenses are also branded as Vivitar Seagull Camera Schneider Kreuznach Shen Hao Sigma Silvestri Sinar Sirui Soligor Sony Steinheil Stenopeika Sunpak Tamron (Second shareholder is Sony) Taylor Tiffen Tokina (part of KenkoTokina Corporation) Toyo Vageeswari Venus Optics (brand: Laowa) Vivitar Voigtländer (name used under license; original company defunct) Wratten see Tiffen (makes the products) and Kodak (owns the brand) Walz Wista Wisner Yongnuo Y’s (large format camera maker in Japan) Zeiss Zenit see KMZ Zhong Yi Optics Zone VI Zorki see KMZ Zuiko see Olympus Kyocera Polaroid Ricoh Sanyo ADOX Agfa Ansco Atoms (Calypso underwater camera) Beauty (formerly Taiyodo Koki) Carl Braun Camera-Werk Bronica Burke & James (Rembrandt View Portrait Camera; 5x7 plate format) Chinon Industries Contax Corfield Ltd (Early British camera maker Coronet Camera Company Otto Berning Gmbh.

List of Digital Camera Brands

Nathaniel Stephan published on 2023-04-22

Brand Notes Blackmagic Design Digital video cameras, pro and consumer VisionTek IP Cameras. Ranging from various megapixel and types of cameras. Commercial & Small Business cameras. Advert Tech Closed Circuit Television Camera (CCTV) - IP Camera. Ranging from megapixel quality cameras to High Definition Cameras. It also goes by the name of Advert CCTV Aigo Compact digital cameras Akaso Compact digital cameras DJI Drones & Actions Cameras Foscam IP Cameras Insta360 Action cameras, 360-degree cameras Seagull Camera TLR cameras, SLR cameras, folding cameras, CCD and SLR camera lenses, large-format cameras Phase One Medium-format cameras and digital camera backs Thomson Waterproof digital camera AgfaPhoto Compact digital cameras Leica C-Lux, D-Lux7 and V-Lux5 compact Digital cameras, Leica Q2 compact Full Frame camera , Medium Format S-series DSLRs, The MILCs Leica SL system, and the digital rangefinder M Series including the new Leica M11 Medion Consumer electronics digital cameras Minox Compact digital cameras Praktica Compact digital cameras Rollei Compact digital cameras Tevion Compact digital cameras and trail cameras Traveler Compact digital cameras Vageeswari Wooden field camera Canon Ixus and PowerShot compact digital cameras, Vixia camcorders, EOS M MILC and Digital EOS/Digital Rebel DSLRs Casio Exilim compact digital cameras Epson Japan-only digital rangefinder camera; previously offered compact digital cameras Fujifilm FinePix compact digital cameras and X-series MILCs Nikon Coolpix compacts, Nikon 1 series MILCs, and D-series DSLRs Olympus C-, D-, FE-series, Tough and Stylus compact digital cameras; E-series DSLRs based on the Four Thirds System; and two series of mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras based on the Micro Four Thirds System, the PEN digital series and OM-D series Ricoh Caplio and other compacts and the unique GXR MILC Panasonic Lumix compact digital cameras and Lumix DMC-G MILCs (based on the Micro Four Thirds System) Pentax Optio compacts, K-series DSLRs, Pentax Q MILC, and the 645D medium-format DSL Sigma Compact digital cameras and SD-series DSLRs Sony Cyber-shot compact digital cameras, α DSLRs, and Sony NEX MILCs Samsung Compact digital cameras and NX-series MILCs Hasselblad Medium-format cameras (H System); mirrorless medium-format cameras (X System); lenses; multi-shot digital backs; photographic equipment Memoto Wearable lifelogging camera BenQ Compact digital cameras, bridge digital cameras Genius Compact digital cameras Bell & Howell Compact digital cameras GE Name licensed by General Imaging; Compact digital cameras, bridge digital cameras GoPro Highly compact personal-use rugged HP Compact digital cameras manufactured by VistaQuest Corp.

What Does ISO Stand for in Photography? Understanding ISO for Beginners - A Guide

Nathaniel Stephan published on 2023-04-22

ISO in photography is an important setting to understand for every shooting situation. ISO in photography relates to shutter speed and aperture by affecting the camera’s sensitivity to light, allowing for adjustments to be made to achieve proper exposure while maintaining desired shutter speed and aperture settings. What Does ISO Stand for in Photography? What does ISO mean? ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization, and in photography, it refers to the sensitivity of a camera’s image sensor to light.

/most-expensive-cameras/leica-0-series-no-122-small.jpg

The Most Expensive Cameras in the World! Leica, Phase One & Hasselblad

Nathaniel Stephan published on 2023-04-22

There are two things that can make a camera expensive. The first is technical superiority. It is no surprise that the most expensive digital cameras offer the best image quality. The other attribute is collectibility. Leica lovers, are willing to pay for rare cameras. The two most expensive cameras ever sold are both Leicas! €2,400,000 in 2018 for a Leica 0-series №122, topped by €14,400,000 in 2022 for the Leica 0-series №105 “Oskar Barnack”!

Travel Bag

Nathaniel Stephan published on 2023-04-21

I think of myself as a minimalist. I’m writing this after I have been traveling for 10 days. Air travel is a mess, my solution to avoid problems is to go the minimalism route. I never want to have to check a bag on a flight. The goal was less than 20L a bag weight under 7kg (15.43 pounds). This should avoid any problems with low cost airlines in SEA.

Sony ZV-1 Camera Setup

Nathaniel Stephan published on 2023-04-16

Sony ZV-1 Manual The manual should be the first place you look when you have questions about the Sony ZV-1. A PDF version can be downloaded from the official Sony website. It is also smart to have a copy of the manual on your phone or computer. Should you find yourself without internet, you can still use advanced features. Keep this in mind for international travel. Turn Off Focus Confirmation and Shutter Sound Settings 2, 9/9 - Audio Signals shutter/focus confirmation