Canon to abandon film cameras?
A good photo buddy of mine, Kevin, sent me a Reuters press release yesterday about how Canon is considering stopping production of film single-lens reflex (SLR) and point-and-shoot cameras. I think we can drop the "considering" from that statement. There's little question that Canon will abandon film - it's not a question of if, but a question of when. The company has not released a new film SLR camera in years, and it's not going to start now.
Nikon's recent big announcement that it would abandon film cameras, save its flagship pro SLR, the F6, set the tone for the rest of the industry. Nikon was the long-time king of film, but Canon is, so far, the king of digital. Of course, that can change quickly - in the digital world, things move pretty fast. But, Canon has been on the cutting edge.
Anyway, the announcement had me in a very reminicent mood, and I began to think about my days in film. In some ways, I really miss it. I have always been and I'm almost certain I always will be a "Canon man." It's the only make of camera I've ever owned (as well as scanners and photo printers).
A trip down memory lane...
My first Canon, the T-50. My Dad gave this to me for Christmas when I was 12. It got me started, and I'll forever be grateful to my dad for getting me interested and started in photography. This was simply a point and shoot, but Dad started me right. This one familiarized me with the basics of SLR photography - knowing how to load film, compose, and just take care of a camera! I soon outgrew this one, and moved on to a camera where I could control the exposure. Incidentally, this camera lives on in my family, nearly a quarter century after my Dad gave it to me. "That's my camera," e-mails my brother Todd. "And it still works great." The good old T-50 continues to chug along, with the speedlite 244t flash. Proof positive that Canon makes one helluva good camera.
This one really was one of my favorites, but I didn't have it long, for reasons I can't fully explain. The Canon AE-1Program is one of the best selling cameras of all time. It gave me full manual control, as well as full program when I didn't feel like thinking about exposure; when I just wanted to click a candid. However, this was right around the time when highly electronic cameras started to make their debut, with bells and whistles like liquid crystal displays, etc. So, I traded this beauty in for a T-70. Kind of a confusing upgrade. It was right around this time that I became a "tech whore," a personal trait I've previously discussed at length on this blog.
I had my T-70 for a few years, until Minolta released the Minolta Maxxum, the world's first autofocus SLR. I got caught up in the autofocus SLR craze, too, but only when Canon caught on. Surprisingly, I didn't jump ship and get a Maxxum. I'm glad I didn't and that I've stuck with Canon all of these years.
I passed on owning Canon's first attempt at an autofocus SLR, the T-80, which was a true piece of garbage. When Canon released its next attempt at an autofocus SLR, the EOS 650 (its first EOS), I got one. I had this camera for many years, but I didn't use it a whole lot. I was a junior and senior in high school, and I was busy with other things and forgot about this camera for months on end. (I'm not proud of the fact that I didn't always stick with photography, but what can I say? I was a teen with attitude - photography wasn't fun for a while. I look back on that now and laugh. Oh, the pictures I could have taken!) I paid so little attention to the camera sometimes, that, in fact, my brother Matthew borrowed this without asking, left it out in the rain, and I didn't discover itwas missing until the camera was in Japan. The camera was never the same after it was, "repaired." Thanks Matt! Ahh, sibling rivalry. Anyway, when I was in college and needed money one weekend, I got rid of this for a little over a hundred bucks at a local camera dealer. This began my wilderness years - I actually didn't own a camera for several years. It always bugged me - I hated not having a camera at the ready.
Once I received my bachelor's degree, I got a decent paying job and decided to jump back into the world of photography. This led me to the purchase of my favorite Canon film camera of all time - the Canon Elan 7E. An akward name, but truly a great workhorse. ...
This baby got some serious miles - I took a few hundred rolls of film with it, at least. A pro would laugh at that number, but that's a fair number for an amateur. I kind of regret selling it, but once you go digital, film just looks primitive. For a while, I owned this along with my first digital SLR, but I never used the Elan once I started digital. The lure of digital photography was just too strong. Anyway, here are a few of my favorite images that I took with my Elan in grad school:
Kimmel Center, Spring 2003.
William Penn on the top of City Hall, taken from the 53rd floor of One Liberty Place. What office did I take it from? Canon, of course! Anyway, I moved on to my first Canon digital SLR after getting my master's, in the summer of 2003.
My first digital - the Canon EOS 10D. This one will always have a soft spot in my heart - my first digital. (And you never forget your first!) A pretty good camera, but slow start up time, and good but not great images. I didn't have it long, though. I hit some financial trouble, going to school full-time as I began a Ph.D. program at Temple U. So, I sold it, figuring I wouldn't have much time to take pictures, anyway. However, soon I realized that particular Ph.D. program wasn't for me, and I began working full time. My hankering to own a digital SLR soon returned.
My current baby, a Canon EOS 20D. I LOVE it! Very few complaints about this camera. In fact, the only one I can think of is the relatively small, 1.8" viewing screen on the back. Canon has adequately addressed this in the 20D's successor, the 30D, and my dream camera, the EOS 5D. But, I won't be getting a new camera in the foreseeable future. This is all the camera I need and it takes great pictures and has great resolution that allows for fantastic prints. It's getting a good workout, too, and with the wedding and honeymoon coming up, it will earn its pay!
I miss a lot about film, including creating in the darkroom, but there's so much to love about digital. I have a great deal to learn, but that's half the fun.
Nikon's recent big announcement that it would abandon film cameras, save its flagship pro SLR, the F6, set the tone for the rest of the industry. Nikon was the long-time king of film, but Canon is, so far, the king of digital. Of course, that can change quickly - in the digital world, things move pretty fast. But, Canon has been on the cutting edge.
Anyway, the announcement had me in a very reminicent mood, and I began to think about my days in film. In some ways, I really miss it. I have always been and I'm almost certain I always will be a "Canon man." It's the only make of camera I've ever owned (as well as scanners and photo printers).
A trip down memory lane...
My first Canon, the T-50. My Dad gave this to me for Christmas when I was 12. It got me started, and I'll forever be grateful to my dad for getting me interested and started in photography. This was simply a point and shoot, but Dad started me right. This one familiarized me with the basics of SLR photography - knowing how to load film, compose, and just take care of a camera! I soon outgrew this one, and moved on to a camera where I could control the exposure. Incidentally, this camera lives on in my family, nearly a quarter century after my Dad gave it to me. "That's my camera," e-mails my brother Todd. "And it still works great." The good old T-50 continues to chug along, with the speedlite 244t flash. Proof positive that Canon makes one helluva good camera.
This one really was one of my favorites, but I didn't have it long, for reasons I can't fully explain. The Canon AE-1Program is one of the best selling cameras of all time. It gave me full manual control, as well as full program when I didn't feel like thinking about exposure; when I just wanted to click a candid. However, this was right around the time when highly electronic cameras started to make their debut, with bells and whistles like liquid crystal displays, etc. So, I traded this beauty in for a T-70. Kind of a confusing upgrade. It was right around this time that I became a "tech whore," a personal trait I've previously discussed at length on this blog.
I had my T-70 for a few years, until Minolta released the Minolta Maxxum, the world's first autofocus SLR. I got caught up in the autofocus SLR craze, too, but only when Canon caught on. Surprisingly, I didn't jump ship and get a Maxxum. I'm glad I didn't and that I've stuck with Canon all of these years.
I passed on owning Canon's first attempt at an autofocus SLR, the T-80, which was a true piece of garbage. When Canon released its next attempt at an autofocus SLR, the EOS 650 (its first EOS), I got one. I had this camera for many years, but I didn't use it a whole lot. I was a junior and senior in high school, and I was busy with other things and forgot about this camera for months on end. (I'm not proud of the fact that I didn't always stick with photography, but what can I say? I was a teen with attitude - photography wasn't fun for a while. I look back on that now and laugh. Oh, the pictures I could have taken!) I paid so little attention to the camera sometimes, that, in fact, my brother Matthew borrowed this without asking, left it out in the rain, and I didn't discover itwas missing until the camera was in Japan. The camera was never the same after it was, "repaired." Thanks Matt! Ahh, sibling rivalry. Anyway, when I was in college and needed money one weekend, I got rid of this for a little over a hundred bucks at a local camera dealer. This began my wilderness years - I actually didn't own a camera for several years. It always bugged me - I hated not having a camera at the ready.
Once I received my bachelor's degree, I got a decent paying job and decided to jump back into the world of photography. This led me to the purchase of my favorite Canon film camera of all time - the Canon Elan 7E. An akward name, but truly a great workhorse. ...
This baby got some serious miles - I took a few hundred rolls of film with it, at least. A pro would laugh at that number, but that's a fair number for an amateur. I kind of regret selling it, but once you go digital, film just looks primitive. For a while, I owned this along with my first digital SLR, but I never used the Elan once I started digital. The lure of digital photography was just too strong. Anyway, here are a few of my favorite images that I took with my Elan in grad school:
Kimmel Center, Spring 2003.
William Penn on the top of City Hall, taken from the 53rd floor of One Liberty Place. What office did I take it from? Canon, of course! Anyway, I moved on to my first Canon digital SLR after getting my master's, in the summer of 2003.
My first digital - the Canon EOS 10D. This one will always have a soft spot in my heart - my first digital. (And you never forget your first!) A pretty good camera, but slow start up time, and good but not great images. I didn't have it long, though. I hit some financial trouble, going to school full-time as I began a Ph.D. program at Temple U. So, I sold it, figuring I wouldn't have much time to take pictures, anyway. However, soon I realized that particular Ph.D. program wasn't for me, and I began working full time. My hankering to own a digital SLR soon returned.
My current baby, a Canon EOS 20D. I LOVE it! Very few complaints about this camera. In fact, the only one I can think of is the relatively small, 1.8" viewing screen on the back. Canon has adequately addressed this in the 20D's successor, the 30D, and my dream camera, the EOS 5D. But, I won't be getting a new camera in the foreseeable future. This is all the camera I need and it takes great pictures and has great resolution that allows for fantastic prints. It's getting a good workout, too, and with the wedding and honeymoon coming up, it will earn its pay!
I miss a lot about film, including creating in the darkroom, but there's so much to love about digital. I have a great deal to learn, but that's half the fun.
Labels: Canon Camera, Digital Camera, Digital Photography, EOS 10D, EOS 20D, EOS 5D, Film Camera, SLR
posted by RJ at 6:32 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home