My girlfriend bought me a present for Christmas at a camera market in Canada before returning home to Ireland. A Minolta Hi-Matic 7s. This is a rangefinder camera from the 1960s and I love it. She, being deep down inside a true photographer though these days she hides it well, said I should learn to use a real camera and not always use my modern DSLR.
I have to admit it has been a struggle. First of all it uses 35mm film and it's been a few years since I even loaded film. Two wasted photo trips around Dublin taught me the proper way to load film. Unfortunately my third trip started well but ended badly when I realised that the sprockets in the camera chewed the film. Also the exposure settings are fun. I'm so used to the camera guiding me to a correct setting and then using the screen to examine the results that the first few clicks on the Minolta and I was looking at the back of it's leather case wondering where the photo was. The battery in is drained, probably since the 1970's :-) so I'm still using my DSLR to meter and then try to guess myself. It's harder work than I would have thought. I'm probably learning more in an hour than I learned in months before hand.
I'm determined to keep trying. Its hard to explain but this old camera really appeals to me and to others. It's a proper old camera. People don't mind you pointing it at them. A big DSLR with a pointy lens poked in their faces seems offensive but a 50 year old silver camera with half the photographers face still visible draws more curiosity than annoyance. As I walked down Grafton St one guy stopped me and asked me about the camera. He was a pro that uses Leica and other range finders for proper Street Photography. A long chat ensued and I realised that there is a whole side to Irish photography that I never really see.
I love the click it makes when I press down the shutter release. It's not a button flush with the body as we have today, it's a rod that sticks out of the top of the camera. I love the the feel of the film advance lever. I've taken shots just to wind on the film. I'll continue to work at it and, hopefully, eventually I'll get a roll of proper B&W photographs which even if they don't meet the grade technically will mean a lot more to me than my gigabytes of digital photographs because they required more time investment, more effort and more thought. Thanks Lauren :-)
I have to admit it has been a struggle. First of all it uses 35mm film and it's been a few years since I even loaded film. Two wasted photo trips around Dublin taught me the proper way to load film. Unfortunately my third trip started well but ended badly when I realised that the sprockets in the camera chewed the film. Also the exposure settings are fun. I'm so used to the camera guiding me to a correct setting and then using the screen to examine the results that the first few clicks on the Minolta and I was looking at the back of it's leather case wondering where the photo was. The battery in is drained, probably since the 1970's :-) so I'm still using my DSLR to meter and then try to guess myself. It's harder work than I would have thought. I'm probably learning more in an hour than I learned in months before hand.
I'm determined to keep trying. Its hard to explain but this old camera really appeals to me and to others. It's a proper old camera. People don't mind you pointing it at them. A big DSLR with a pointy lens poked in their faces seems offensive but a 50 year old silver camera with half the photographers face still visible draws more curiosity than annoyance. As I walked down Grafton St one guy stopped me and asked me about the camera. He was a pro that uses Leica and other range finders for proper Street Photography. A long chat ensued and I realised that there is a whole side to Irish photography that I never really see.
I love the click it makes when I press down the shutter release. It's not a button flush with the body as we have today, it's a rod that sticks out of the top of the camera. I love the the feel of the film advance lever. I've taken shots just to wind on the film. I'll continue to work at it and, hopefully, eventually I'll get a roll of proper B&W photographs which even if they don't meet the grade technically will mean a lot more to me than my gigabytes of digital photographs because they required more time investment, more effort and more thought. Thanks Lauren :-)
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