My cousin took his old Canon 40D on Safari. I nearly fainted when he told me that he was toting that old dinosaur on his trip of a lifetime. His images were beautiful, and had amazing quality. It goes without saying that it's not the camera, but the photographer who takes the picture.
Absolutely it’s the photographer. I shoot with digi cams, to semi professional cameras. Yes I’m some cases there are limitations however once you understand that and your composition skills are strong you can make 90% of the images outstanding.
Canon 5d Classic is amazing! Such a pure photography experience for very little money. Slap on a 40mm 2.8 or 50mm 1.8 for amazing photos and bang for buck.
I really loved the video; I have a soft spot for old cameras as it shows you don't need a huge amount of money to enjoy photography. Some of the old cameras are built beautifully with proper buttons and dials and not an awkward touch screen menu in sight. I found the speed and tone of the video really relaxing too. I hope you contue making videos as they are very good and I’ve subscribed.
Happy that everyone is figuring out that the camera doesn't matter as much as the final image. I've always shot both, but the Olympus EP-1 with the Panasonic 17mm pancake lens I used to shoot with over a decade ago is a golden setup I wish I still had. My current setup is a Ricoh GR IIIx for street and a Fuji GW90ii medium format film camera for landscape. But, just recently bought a new battery to bring my Contax i4r back from the dead.
I got a 20D from my father-in-law as a Christmas present. A little background: I've been a professional photographer for over 5 years at this point. I have all the latest and greatest equipment, and I love the cameras that I use for professional work (Canon R6 Mark II's) But the images and colors out of that 20D... man alive... they are MAGIC. The B&W shots straight out of the camera are gorgeous! There's just something about those older sensors that's special!
I bought an e-pm2 for just 10£, and with a 28mm vintage lens is my favorite combination. I love it, light, compact and walking around makes me easy to make pictures.
Man I would love to see more videos like this if i'm being honest. I notice a lot of older cameras have a classical film look.. fuji is probably the only modern camera you can get this look out of just by playing with the camera. Would love to see more videos on older mirrorless cameras with sweet color science. Whats your thoughts on the pentax Q?
Nice video! getting my 5D tomorrow. last time I used that one was when it was released. Nikon D700 have character too. I got that one too looking forward to compare it to 5D
Great video Oliver! I recommend you look into the older Olympus E-series. Esprecially the E300/400/500 have the older Kodak CCD sensors and they have that particular film look. I have an Olympus E500 myself, paired with the pancake 25mm f2,8 and the 50mm f2.0. Love it!!!
hey Mark..if you can locate the e1 i recommend you buy it...because you wont be disappointed.. i to am a big fan of the old Olys kodak KAF- images..i also shoot with the 500 and 400 but that big canons full frame sure looks tempting..that sensor pixel area is immense...
Omg I started with an E-1 when I was 12! My parents weren't using it anymore since our 50mm 2.0 was partially broken (aperture stuck at widest, I made do by using paper cutouts stuck in front of the lens if I ever needed to use a tighter aperture). I still used the cam for a decade (paired with the 50mm 2.0), and my pics eventually got featured in a magazine as part of a series they did on still life + miniature-based photos 😊. The camera had extremely amazing colors! I'm so happy to see people embracing old digital gear 😊 its the best. The other camera I used was a small Sony point and shoot (the Sony cybershot dsc-t300 I think).
I have an old Fuji X-E1 which has a great black and white film simulation. Bought it for 150 euros. Made a complete art book with this camera. Love the film look!
Great video! I miss my Olympus Epl-6. I also had the Canon EOS 100D. Older cameras do make you focus more on creating than about all the “bells and whistles” with current cameras.
I hope this video inspires people who feel that "real cameras" are too expensive, to go out and find one from a previous generation. I am a great fan of the X-trans II sensor in the Fuji X-T1 which has its own colour palette. Love it or hate it; it stamps its own personality on the images it captures. You have included some superb sample images, I especially like those coming from the Olympus EP-2.
I look back at the 3MP photos from a Canon Powershot A430 and they still look great - and thanks to software like Topaz Gigapixel you can boost them 3x or more if you want to do big prints.
The 5d ii stayed in my bag till '22 just something special about how you can emulate film with those colors. Olympus lens have a beautiful film like texture as well.
Hi, I just found your site and you said you like the character of a camera. That statement just clicked with me. Right after, I went on eBay and I bought a Canon 5D! Thank you for reminding me of what photography should be for me. Would you mind sharing your setting on this camera?
Wow ... Why didn't I saw this video early? You have such a comfortable voice and the way you're explaining everything, my brain melted. The pictures were fantastic. That's where the nostalgia rises. Keep it up!
I got a good condition e-pl5 + lens for 200€ as my frst "serious" camera and if I don't tell people it's a 12 years old camera they would never guess from looking at it or the pictures. =)
Older cameras rock because nobody talks about the sharing medium which today is just our phones and computer screens. All you need really is 4MP and you would be hard pressed to tell which came from which because we view stuff 90 percent on our phones. Especially if the photo was treated with modern photoshop and digital noise correction then I guarantee you would never know even more.
Silent shutter mode is the one I deadly wish that old camera has, but yeah it s pain and bitter that we have to upgrade to new body at least to have that feature. This is actually very important in street photography, if not the most useful feature, rather than that, all old camera are far more capable than what we need
I don't know anything about cameras or photography, but even to an idiot like me it's very obvious that companies love to advertise megapixels like their cheap 48MP cellphone is automatically going to take better pictures than cameras like these, just because the number is higher. I hate trying to figure out what to buy for these reasons. It's like a I have to do hours worth of research just to buy the right phone or so many other everyday products these days.
Totally with you! I migrated from older Pentax full frame digital to micro 43 a couple of years ago and love it. My first M43 was the Olympus e-p1, the first flagship M43 commercially successful camera, and I still have it as a backup. I subsequently bought an e-p3, and found a great deal on an OMD e-m1 mk1 for less than $200. They are all fabulous cameras. My favorite is the e-p3, because of it's size, ergonomics, build quality and image quality. I do have the EVF for it, which is a big help in bright outdoor light. The em-1 is a great camera, but not as compact, and I do use it regularly as well. I am actually thinking of acquiring either a Panasonic Lx3 or an Olympus XZ-1, even smaller cameras with Leica wide angle zoom lenses and a smaller CCD sensor, but great quality images in a camera that will literally fit in a pocket. Thanks for confirming my thoughts! Great video!
Excellent video! Hope that the mayority of photographers keep buying the new cameras that have no soul. So we the wise photographers, keep enyoing the low price of the old cameras.
Agree with you totally. I've been through countless "latest and greatest cameras" and went what some may call backwards with my digital cameras setup. I now have the Canon 5d mark II and Fuji X-T2, X-E1 as my cameras of choice. I can adapt all my old Minolta MC/MD lenses onto all 3 cameras. I also have a cheap speedbooster with Fuji system to get closer to the full frame look should I choose. As you say, the newest cameras can be very exciting but there is just something lovely about using older cameras.
Olympus colors baby! And it helps that even their more modern cameras look retro too! I'm using an Olympus M10 MK IV and it's a real joy to use. Small body, small lenses and excellent quality.
great video and love those Olympus colours (as well as the Canon's). Are these jpegs from the Olympus or Raw....and do you edit them to get that film look? Thanks and keep up the good work and it is refreshing to listen to your calm voice!
Thanks very much! These are raw images that I've edited using a film emulation I've been working on over the last year or so. I plan on sharing this soon!
Hi! Great video and amazing shots! Which Fuji cameras did you try? Have you ever shoot X-pro1? Lot of people say it has similar qualities to Canon 5d classic. Do you still use 5d classic or have you already upgraded to different camera? Thanks a lot!
Hey, Thanks very much! I’ve owned a few Fuji cameras over the years including the Xpro1. Being completely honest, I absolutely love the feel and design of the Fuji systems but I really struggled getting the images to look the way I wanted with them. It was probably my lack of experience with the x trans sensor so I should give it another try sometime soon! Yep still use the 5d classic, I’ve also been testing the 6d which I’ve been enjoying using.
A calming video. No loud music, your voice is soft and great to listen to. I use older digital/film cameras too. My favoutites: the Sony Cybershot dsc R1/F828, the Olympus E20N, and the Sony Dimage A1 & A2. Fim wise my goto is the Canon EOS ELAN 2 (Silver/black body) and the Canon EOS 300V. Regards Rob.
Hey I know im super late to this but I love this video and actually just picked up an olympus ep2 myself. I was curious what lens do you use for the photos in this video? It looks very film like. Thanks, huge fan! :)
Hey thanks so much for the comment! My favourite all around lens has got to be the 20mm 1.7, I think it just renders so nicely and amazing to have the fast aperture. 40mm is also one of my favourite fields of view
Excellent video. I have a lot of used cameras, but the 5D classic is my favorite. Along with the old 2004 1D mark ii. Newer gear is great, but I always find myself using old stuff.
Great video, I agree completely. My cameras are all micro four thirds Olympus. An E-P3, an E-M5, an original E-M1 and my “new” camera is an E-M5 mark ii (not a big fan of the fully articulated screen however). The newest is three generations old. All purchased used of course.
Also, Canon EF lenses are maybe the cheapest ones still available in stores. Cheap and high quality. I recently started using the 50mm STM lens on freshly purchased EOS7 and I'm enjoying it.
Hey, I am absolutely amazed by the picture at 2:27 :0 I currently have a Fuji X-T4 but I would love a smaller simpler camera like the olympus e-p2. Did you only shoot jpeg? Maybe I just need to learn more about Fujis settings and then I can also achieve shots like at 2:27. Just seems a lot nicer to have an old school camera that fits into the pocket of my jacket :) thx for this video
Nice video - thank you. The most filmic digital experience I have is with using my Olympus E300 (which I bought new in 2005) - 8MP Kodak CCD - tiny LCD only good for menu functions. I shoot it manual with vintage glass. Maybe you've tried the CCD sensors? I've several 4/3 bodies, and those with CCDs come closest to film in every way excepting the costs involved in film. The CMOS ones - the most competent I have are E-620 and E5 - have a distinctly different look to the images and, having Live View and flippy screens, are far less challenging to use with vintage glass. All, however, have OVFs, which is one less screen between me and the world. Cheers - Lkd & Subd.
Any good photographer can create beautiful images with any camera that works.....any bad photographer will do lousy with the most expensive camera you can buy......but....newer cameras have better auto dynamic range, and really crazy high ISO's which are very helpful, just those two things are a good enough reason to upgrade....of course, if you can.
I do have fuji xe2 that i've paired with some old manual m42 lenses + the fuji recipes. The experience and the results are amazing, I enjoy it more than any other camera that i've held.
Amazing pictures. Film like. In today's world a anyone who shoots for himself with a device except a smartphone looks a weird man. I don't like that feeling about myself and rarely shoot among people.
Yeah so uhm I am just gonna go out on a limb and say "DUH". People don't honour what they're worth. The newest shit isn't gonna make you feel good, it's not gonna make you feel accomplished. It will do all the work for you. It's always been that way, it's always felt that way. The thing is what you do with the gear and doing it on older gear is going to make you feel accomplished.
Well, Oliver-thank YOU. I have been a film shooter (and film maker) for more time than digital has been around, and I have been thinking about getting an older digital body for stills only (we mostly do video these days). After I watched your video, I went to my travel program-making box (we are living on a boat at present) and retrieved my G85. Larger and heavier than your EP2, but excellent viewfinder (the lack of one is what put me off the EP2). I will pair this with the excellent 20/1.7, set up the look I want, and a-shooting I will go! Sincere thanks.
I have a 5D, broken currently, and I'm dying to fix it to be able to compare it directly to my RP, same settings, same lens. I can tell you one thing already though. 5D's greatest flaw, as far as I'm concerned, is it's focusing system. If you're using fast lenses wide open, nailing the focus precisely can be a problem. It is known, that (D)SLR's and lenses are calibrated to let's say -3/+3 value. Obviously if you had a -3 calibrated camera and a -3 calibrated lens, you have a problem, while in mirrorless focusing systems there is no camera camera focusing calibration and lens calibration is irrelevant. And while I like the handling of 5D more than RP, I've been appreciating less bulk and I have to admit, RP's party tricks are very useful.
Just got an E-P1 a few days ago w/ 20mm 1.7 for $150 like brand new. My other 2 cameras are X-E1 & X100 original. The E-P1 is every bit as good. What a great inexpensive camera
Yup, totally agree. I had a bunch of Z cameras, the 7 and 50, they took good pics but I love using a EPL1 I recently picked up. Some of the pics are like paintings with the correct exposures. A lot of fun to shoot.
I recently bought canon eos 350d just to slow down my "photograph". A lot of brand new camera makes photography trend really fast and makes me didn't enjoy my photograph again. I like this content! Good job! I'm sorry for my bad english.
Thank you for the video. 100% in agreement. I use five older model DSLRs including 5D Classic, all Canon. They talk to the native lenses beautifully and produce mind-soothing images. High pixel count annoys me. Also, not interested in mirrorless models. Thanks again.
Loads of them have unique batteries with peculiar form factors. You go to try to get it replaced and they just say you’re cheaper buying new. So they don’t stock them.
The best camera is always be yourself, I hand my old iPhone 6 to my 4 years old daughter. And we are surprised she took good pictures from her height, refreshing point of view.
nice video. i totally agree. i have both of those cameras. if you can get a ep1 at a good price grab that camera! its the most amazingly built camera body and the same sensor as your epl2 :)
I have a em5 mark I and a 5d markii. I shoot a lot with my em5 due to the size and weather sealing. I need to take my 5d out. Thanks for this video 🙏. Oh have you ever looked at the Panasonic 25mm f1.4? I’m currently saving up to get one for the em5.
cool video man .. I like your style and I like how you filmed yourself with the different lighting on each side of your face .. a dark side and a bright side ;) I agree .. I love older cameras .. I have the canon classic... something about it man.. every time I look at picture taken by it I just feel comfortable looking at those photos. I do have a mark 2 canon 5d... I like the video it records but I like the photos on the classic better... I'm starting to think that the manufacturing companies are doing that on purpose by not making a perfect camera with the perfect lens ... thats how they stay in business right ... thanks man.
Great video! I see things about the same. I have several manual lenses from analog times adapted to two older EOS APS-C cameras and a Sony NEX3 for photographing with two of the "modern" China made manual lenses. With these combinations I'm much more aware of the process when taking (or "making" 🤔) pictures. EOS 5d mk 1 sounds nice too. 🙋♂️
i have the same body of Olympus and i pair it with cheap cctv manual lens. At first im a bit negative before i start using but as start capture few photo i realize how filmic that photo i take and when i bought my second lens an f8 holga lens it resonate so much and early 90s and 2000s photo that i use to take with point and shot film camera. Now im in love with it.
I do agree I own a canon 5D and a Nikon d200 both cameras take old manual lenses and offer you plenty of scope for fantastic pictures with good detail and which can blow up pictures to A4 without any problems 👍🏻
