Cameras I Have Loved

 

My first good camera was a Nikon F, the leading professional camera of its day. I used it for a few years before selling it at a time when I was short of money. When I began my own business in 1978 I had a pair of Nikkormats (noisy and clunky, but reliable), and later acquired a Nikon F2, which I did not like. However, I had had my eye on the tiny, new Olympus OM cameras for some time, and my dislike for the F2 led me to take the plunge and buy two Olympus bodies and several lenses.

The Olympus OM2n, pictured at the left front, was the camera that went with me to 28 countries on five continents on photojournalism assignments, including our trip to Eastern Europe in 1990. You can read about it here. It's my all-time favorite camera. Sadly, my original OM2n was sold in 1992 when I switched to Canon because my ageing eyes needed autofocus. The one shown is one I bought out of pure sentiment.

The Canon EOS A2, right rear, is one of a pair I bought while working on the Rock City Barns book. They were great cameras, precise, quiet, and reliable; and served me very well for eight years. When I switched to digital photography in 2003, I kept this one. Again, for sentimental reasons.

Front right is my current love, a Fuji X-T20 which I got in 2017. I had never actually handled one before, and when I unwrapped it, I was surprised at how small it is -- smaller, even, than the OM2n. Although I have large hands, I've always preferred small cameras. But the X-T20 was too small. I had reached my small size limit! A nifty little black half-case fixed that, though, and made it handle just right. This was the camera I used most on our trip west in 2018 and to Nova Scotia in 2019, and is the camera I carry with me most days.

Last, but by no means least is the Fuji X-H1, left rear. A powerful picture-taking machine, it's larger and heavier than the X-T20. I used it for most of the new photography for the second edition of Backroads and Byways of Georgia. Because of its size and weight, it balances better with my large Canon flash unit, and also with my Fujinon 55-200 f3.5-4.5 zoom lens.

I've owned a lot of cameras in my career, but these four stand out. The only one missing is the Canon EOS 5D Classic, which I used for eight years before upgrading to an EOS 6D. It was a great, reliable camera which made most of the pictures in my book Georgia: A Backroads Portrait. (Still looking for a publisher for that one.)

Signed copies of the second edition of Backroads and Byways of Georgia are now available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com. Or, you can mail a check to me at 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Check out the pictures at my online gallery: https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  Looking is free, and you might find something you like.

Photography and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags: photography    travel    Nikon F camera    Nikon F2 camera    Olympus OM2n camera    Canon EOS A2 camera    Fujinon X-T20 camera    Fujinon X-H1 camera    Canon EOS 5D camera    Canon EOS 6D camera    Fujinon 55-200 lens    Eastern Europe    Nova Scotia