Being a Nikonite in a Canonite house wasn’t easy, I’m telling you… My father initially was shooting with a Canon F1 (with an assortment of lenses, including a 55 mm f/1.2 and a 20 mm f/2.8) and he then switched to the EOS 5 film camera with what was a full arsenal of lenses and accessories. I decided to join the bandwagon in order to piggyback on this whole system, so around 1996 I switched to the Canon EOS 50, which sported “Eye AF”, i.e. it focused when you raised it to your eye. Yes, it was an innocent time back then and gadget freaks could be easily entertained. I heard that there is a lens that does it all and it was pretty small and inexpensive, so I slapped a Tamron 28-200 on my Canon and I was off to the races. Needless to say, the old Canon system (F1 with lenses and EOS 5) is alive and kicking, thank you very much!

The year was 2005 and we were already into the digital era so my next camera was my first of the kind. I was sold to the “Zeiss optics” mystique and I thought that since electronics were increasingly of the essence, one could not go wrong with Sony. This was a “bridge” camera, i.e. with a lens permanently attached to it, and what a lens it was! A 24-120 Zeiss T* lens at f/2.8-4.8 that was a gem at the time and certainly much better than the Tamron all-rounder I had before. A large sensor (APS), 10 megapixel and a tiny little screen (articulating though) was the rest of the package. I loved that beast of a camera but I eventually got tired of carrying around all that weight and bulk, just to make sure I had a lens that could cope with anything that I stumbled upon.

By 2011 I knew that (a) small(er) cameras are a blessing, (b) megapixels are overrated, (c) I am not the long tele guy that wants to capture things a mile away and (d) electronics firms partnering with optics legends are a marriage made in heaven. I had no troubles with the G10 but I “needed” a change (it is called GAS, you know…) so when I laid eyes on the Lumix LX5 I was overjoyed because it ticked all the aforementioned points: even smaller than the G10, 10 megapixels, 24-90 lens, made by none other than Leica! Sold. The only thing missing was a EVF and I was not (still am not) used to shooting with the rear screen and the camera so far away from my body. I fixed that by attaching an add-on EVF by Lumix (DMW-LVF1). Problem solved and there was another camera I had tons of fun with. I took it to trips as my sole camera, shot macro with it (especially capable in that department!) and it soon became an extension of my hand and my eye.

So, back to the drawing board… It was 2012 and I would have one camera with a good lens (preferably a 35) and I would again trust the electronics – optics marriage of Sony and Zeiss. The top of the line NEX camera at the time was the NEX 7, a 24 megapixel APS-C camera of simple beauty; it was small, easy to use, articulating screen, ergonomics to my taste, so I was ready to pull the trigger if only I could find a lens. Enter the Zeiss 24 mm f/1.8 (a 24 mm on APS-C sensor is close to a 35 mm on full-frame). And what a lens it was! If you have heard the term “3D pop” for Zeiss lenses, this lens is what they had in mind (well, not really as this is a much newer lens than the term, but you get the point!). Again, I was happy with my choice and for a while I thought that I will be the Sony-Zeiss guy, investing in this ecosystem and growing with it.

… they came up with the a7Rii in 2015! With 42 megapixels and a large FF sensor there was no limit to what you could with it. IQ was excellent and the ability to crop as aggressively as one wanted meant that you could get sloppy with composition and still have an image left in post; what I meant is that you could use cropping in an artistic fashion… Well, back to the camera! This second series improved on the ergonomics and infancy issues and Sony introduced many new lenses to beef up the system. Given that, I got the 90 mm macro and the 70-200 mm, both Sony G series. So this was now a system indeed, into its second generation for me and nothing would get me out of this, right? Well, read on!

I liked that little X100F so much that it reminded the joys of not having to lug around all the weight associated with system cameras, just to be ready for “the” shot, if and when the mythical creature appears before your eyes. So, in 2019 I sold my Sony-Zeiss gear and got the Leica Q2, a full frame compact camera with a 47 megapixel sensor and macro capabilities that were further enhanced with the addition of Leica’s Elpro 52 close-up (add-on) lens. The camera has a fixed prime lens on it and it is a Summilux 28 mm f/1.7 with options to use it with a digital zoom for 35, 50 and 75 focal lengths (with the apparent drop in megapixels). Is this the end game? Is this the perfect camera? It looks like it, but if you have read thus far, you probably know that this honeymoon is eventually going to be over, like every one before it! But for the time being, the Q2 is perfect for me! I am learning to use the 28 mm, getting out of my (35 mm) comfort zone by avoiding to use it as a 30 megapixel 35 mm lens. I simply love the simplicity of it and its minimal nature, not only in aesthetics but also in use. It is not pocketable, but it is not hard to carry around all day or have it as your sole companion on a trip. If you need to reach farther than 75 mm, you need to look elsewhere, but if you don’t, this little fellow has you covered. Finally, in early 2021 I found the nerve to sell the X100F and keep the Q2 as my only camera. Maybe the Holy Grail for me is one camera – one lens (and a fixed prime at that)! We shall see…

Not talking about my past here, since I did that extensively above, but rather the past of photography. There are cameras I would like to get for collection purposes (check the museum page on this site!), though I am much inclined to shoot with them as well. Some of them are below.

Contax G1 or G2

Canon AE1 Program

Contax RTS III

Leica M3 – M6 – M7

Leica R4

Hasselblad 500 C/M

Mamiya 7

Rolleiflex TLR (any variant)