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If you’re anything like me, you love cameras! If you have an interest in Photography then you more than likely enjoy looking at and holding cameras, well at least I do… It recently struck me (after finally receiving a couple of my late night eBay purchases in the post!) that I had covered all the major bases with my camera collection so thought it would be fun to share them and to see if you think I’ve got it right, or I should sell up and start again!

Now this isn’t a flex, it’s not a ‘look how much stuff I own’ kind of thing. This is the result of years of hard work, saving and sacrificing many other luxuries to buy the ‘tools’ that I use on a regular basis. In fact, I have a very simple criteria when buying it camera, it must do one of the following:

• Fill a purpose: Have features and functions that are necessary for me to complete the work that I need to do - basically to be a tool.

• Bring me joy: To make me ‘want’ to go out and shoot with it and therefore to further my photography experience.

Film Vs Digital

Around 18 months ago, when the world was a much brighter place and we could leave the house, I decided to start shooting film again. Like many others, the process appealed to me more than the results and what some would consider a waste of money when digital does everything you need it to do, I threw myself back into the format.

In this list you will see that even in that relatively short time, film cameras seem to be dominating my ‘collection’ - I make no apologies for this and in fact, plan to add many more - more on that later. However, it is worth noting that I do see the digital cameras very much as ‘tools’ and the film cameras ‘things of joy’ - almost like the daily driver vs the weekend treat. With that in mind, let’s start with the digital cameras, smallest to largest…

DIGITAL CAMERA COLLECTION

Ricoh GRiii

This little camera is an absolute street photography beast. The tiny form factor allows you to be stealthy in most situations and the virtually silent shooting won’t draw attention. Most importantly for me, it fits easily in a pocket meaning it is really easy to carry it everywhere - and that means more chance of taking photos!

I’ve owned a few of the older generations and always had issues with the lens motors. The build quality of the ‘iii’ seems a lot better but I do worry how it will hold up over time. It really is a great little camera that produces beautiful images and a camera is very easy to fall in love with.

Fuji X100V

One of my more recent purchase, the ‘V’ comes from a great heritage of Fuji’s X-Series cameras and is pretty much the pinnacle of form and function - I mean, it’s great to use, produces stunning images and look at it! It’s a beauty!

Not quite a s pocketable as the Ricoh, it is still easy enough to carry as an everyday camera and as long as you can cope with a fixed focal length, it has all other major functions covered. If I was being picky, I would love in body stabilisation, but I’m not sure what that would do to the form factor. However, it’s an absolute joy to shoot with and I find myself far more likely to reach for this than all of my ‘better’ cameras.

Canon M50

This little Canon is purely here for one thing, vlogging. The small form factor, great autofocus and flippy screen make it perfect for filming yourself when out and about. When pairing it with the right lens, it produces wonderful 1080p video - though I wouldn’t use it for 4k. Canon’s colours always look great and you really don’t need to do much in post to get a good image.

One thing that I feel always get’s overlooked with these cameras are it’s ‘stills’ mode - it takes pretty decent images. I have been in many situations where I wanted to grab a quick shot and have been perfectly fine with using the ‘vlogging’ camera, rather than unpacking my camera just to get to the ‘big boy’.

Canon Eos RP

Like the M50 - the RP serves a purpose - this is my ‘studio’ camera or B camera on bigger shoots. The RP is the ‘lite’ version of the Eos R but like most modern mirrorless cameras, is very capable in most situations. The video looks good and as with all Canon’s, it’s so well laid out and easy to use that shooting with it is never a chore.

This particular camera is most often permanently mounted to a tripod so that I can quickly go into video mode and start filming. However, it’s smaller form factor also makes it great for pairing with a gimbal and grabbing some juicy B-roll - though many will overlook it due to it’s mediocre 4k and slow motion features. For what I need, it does the job.

Canon 5D Mkiii

The camera I’ll never sell… I class myself as a photographer first, then a ‘YouTuber’ or whatever you want to call me… And this is the camera that really elevated my photography from a hobby to a career. I moved up from my first camera, a Canon 650D to the full-frame 5D and never looked back.

Even to this day, in the right hands this is a more than capable camera. However, I really wouldn’t see the point in picking a DSLR over mirorrless these days and advances in autofocus etc. have left this big boy feeling a little bit like old technology. However, if for no other reason than sentimental value, it will never leave my collection.

Canon Eos R

And finally, the workhorse. This is the camera I do most of my shooting on and really is the camera that pays the bills. Whereas it was pretty much attacked at launch for Canon’s excessive use of the ‘cripple hammer’ on their first venture into the world of full-frame mirorless, it has served me very well with pretty much no complaints'.

The stills look amazing with decent dynamic range, the video is good (if you’re not shooting 4k) and the 60 fps is enough to get some nice cinematic shots. The autofocus is great and as always, Canon colours steal the show. However, I’m not saying I would upgrade to an R5 (or even dare I say it, a Sony!) - but in these uncertain times, I really don’t ‘need’ to spend an extra £4-5k on a camera for features I’ll rarely use.

More so, for many amateurs/semi-pro’s - this is more than enough camera for your needs. I pretty much couldn’t live without this camera and paired with the 24-70 f2.8 RF lens - it’s everything I need… for now.

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FILM CAMERA COLLECTION

Ricoh GR1

Like it’s digital relative, the biggest selling point of this camera is it’s size, it’s tiny! Barely much taller than a 35mm film canister, this is a truly pocketable little point & shoot! To make it even better, it has pretty decent autofocus and ‘feels’ like you are shooting with a more modern camera than it’s age suggests.

This camera is far from without it’s flaws - mine suffers from the most common issue of a faulty LCD screen - so you are never really sure how many shots you’ve taken. The lens motor always feels like it’s about to pack in and it can be a noisy little thing - so not great in quiet situations - but in everything else - it’s fantastic!

Canon P Rangefinder

This is my most recent film camera purchase so I really haven’t shot with it much - so I can’t say how good it is. However, I sent it off to be CLA’d and can’t wait to get out with it. If nothing else, it’s certainly a looker! As Canon’s crack at a Leics M series, it’s got the look, feel and the heft of a Leica - but will it shoot like one?

My biggest fear with this camera is the manual focusing. I have had the patch cleaned and it seems easy enough to use - but I don’t have the best eyesight and I’m not sure I will be very accurate with it - this is very much a ‘me’ issue and certainly no fault of the camera - but I do hope it doesn’t ruin the experience.

Canon Eos 30

This camera was an absolute bargain at around £30 - and paired with a way more expensive EF 24-105mm lens it’s makes for easy film shooting. It is bulky but it feels every bit a professional film camera with snappy autofocus and plenty of features you won’t find on your vintage 35mm’s!

I think it’s size is it’s only real drawback as it is far from discreet. Most casual passers-by will assume it’s a modern digital camera and it certainly handles like one. This would certainly make a fantastic option for anyone looking to get started with shooting analogue.

Mamiya 645 Pro

My first foray into medium format and this was love at first site. A Japanese import that had been well looked after, it feels like a modern camera and shoots like one too. The large 6x4.5 negatives produce great image quality and I quickly added more lenses, an autowinder and a viewfinder to make the whole experience, well, more enjoyable.

It really is like a baby RZ-67 but without the bulk - it’s not exactly small but if you strip it down to the ‘top down viewfinder’ and remove the autowinder, it’s a more than usable little package. This really is a great place to start with Medium Format photography and is a real pleasure to shoot with.

Fujifilm GSW690III

The beast or as it’s more commonly known, the ‘Texas Leica’ - this thing is huge! However, it’s size is it’s main selling point as it spits out incredible 6x9 negatives that are just packed with detail. The camera itself is a rangefinder which is almost comical to look at when someone is using it, it has a real ‘toy’ camera feel to it.

However, don’t let that fool you, it produces spectacular images. I chose the ‘wide’ version (as I a more of a landscape photographer than anything else) and the lens can produce wonderfully sharp images. It’s not without it’s quirks and shooting long exposures with it is a real faff. However, I absolutely love it and is often the first camera I’ll reach for when I want to go and shoot for fun, rather than necessity.

Intrepid 4X5 MkIV Black Edition

The large format camera. This is probably the one camera I would save in a fire (who am I kidding, I’d be running down the stairs with my arms full of cameras!). I absolutely fell in love with this format the moment I first shot it - the slower process, the technicality of it and the enormous negatives - it really is the most fun camera I have ever shot with.

The camera itself is well made, 3d printed and pretty budget friendly. However, shooting large format is a real challenge and not for the faint hearted, in particular due to the cost of film! That said, it is also one of the most rewarding experiences I have had as a photographer and one that I am pretty much hooked on! I will most certainly be adding more lenses and possibly a new large format camera to the collection in the future!

MISCELLANIOUS CAMERAS

There are a bunch of other cameras that I own that have either been donated to me or I have picked them up from secondhand shops or eBay. Most of these will never be used or at least, not on a regular basis, but they still bring me pleasure to look at and just to have around. Part of the experience of owning cameras like these is just simply taking pleasure in their aesthetic.

Conclusion

Overall, I am very happy with my collection and feel it covers everything I realistically need and want to shoot. However, I do wake up some days and think ‘I’ll sell the lot and buy a digital medium format set-up’ - But I still think I’d be a bit short of cash so I doubt that will happen anytime soon!

On the other hand, having the versatility of a collection like this is great. Being able to pick a camera that suits the style if shooting that I want to do on any given day is a real privilege and something that I highly recommend other photographers aspire to have.

Ultimately though, this collection will continue to chop and change, some will get sold on and undoubtedly, new cameras will be added. Please leave a comment below and let me know what you would keep, what you’d get rid of and what would be next on your shopping list.

Thanks as always, Ross.

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