I’ll start this by saying I’m far from a good photographer, I have no clue what I’m doing I just take pictures of things I find pretty. I own a couple of cameras now, 2 film cameras, 3 digital, and 1 camcorder. My favorite is my Sony RX100 Mk3 which I got for 300 bucks used. Its such a simple and beautiful small handheld camera it takes amazing quality pictures, I absolutely love it. But my other two are very old low quality digital cameras and these are nothing short of a total joy to use and have their own time and place for use.
There’s something poetic and beautiful about the poor quality pictures these cameras take, it gives the picture a sense of comfiness and nostalgia. The poor quality makes me feel like these pictures are fleeting, and wont last forever. Every time we take a picture its a snapshot of our lives in the moment and although having some nicer quality pictures is nice, the poorer quality makes it feel more authentic. The small size of crappy digital cameras are perfect for capturing these little cool moments.
Some of my favorites memories to watch have been on my Sony Camcorder, I recorded my last day of class in College, a couple nights out, and some scenic drives. These videos simple quality gives me a comforting feeling that my life although mundane at times should be appreciated nonetheless. Holding a camcorder strapped to my hand feels much more natural than having a phone pointed at somebody’s face, I can passively record and still be in the moment.
The great thing about these low quality digital cameras and camcorders is they’re so abundant. You could go to a thrift store and pick one up now I guarantee it. Instead of letting these little guys rot away and eventually end up scrapped as e-waste, we should try and give them another life! So I urge you if you’ve read this far to go out and get yourself a nice (shit) digital camera or camcorder and start documenting these little moments in your life, it will give you something to look back on 🙂
Some advice if you do end up picking one up, some require specific cables to connect to computers if you would like to access your photos and share them online ( I also recommend taking them and backing them up incase the cameras fail) the good news is these are readably available online. Most are battery operated so all you’ll need most the time is two double A batteries and you’ll be good to go.
Most of all, have fun 😀
