A Tale of Two Cameras

My “first” and latest cameras

Let’s admit it to ourselves. Photography gear is fun. It doesn’t make one a better photographer, but if it makes your photography more fun, enjoy it.

Along those lines, I bought a couple of second-hand cameras recently. 

The one on the left is a Minolta Hi-Matic E. My dad’s Hi-Matic was the first camera I used seriously. We were on a family vacation in the summer of 1978. I wanted to know what each dial did, and I couldn’t wait to get the prints back to see what I had made. I don’t have either that camera or those prints, but having this one brings back great memories.

The camera on the right is the Fujifilm X100S, which I just added to my kit. If they look alike, it’s likely because both Minolta and Fujifilm were inspired by the classic Leica rangefinder design. Like the Minolta, the Fujifilm has an optical, rangefinder-style viewfinder. Unlike the Minolta film camera, it saves photographs as RAW or JPEG files and lets me control the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Since I have the choice to let the camera do all the thinking, I’m finding it to be the perfect camera for family trips and everyday carry. My family doesn’t have to watch me fiddle with those dials, but when I want to, I can take back control. I haven’t made any portfolio photographs with it—yet, but I’ve already used it to add this photo to my Instagram.