I currently own five cameras, three film cameras, and two digital ones. I have been interested in photography for many years and have always envisioned capturing moments from my life to share the stories of the places I have been with others. Like many of you, I’ve been around cameras all of my life and have been caught candidly more times than I can count.

My paternal grandmother loved to take pictures. She would take countless snapshots of family dinners, trips, wildlife on canyon drives, sporting events, & beyond. My grandma loved taking pictures and putting the memories together in books. It’s pretty crazy to look back and see all the memories she compiled over the years as we grew. I’d say that my grandma having a camera behind the scenes and taking so many photos influenced my interest in capturing moments from behind a lens.

When I moved to the Philippines I took a Nikon point-and-shoot and used that till it died, then snagged a Samsung point-and-shoot, then a Panasonic point-and-shoot once that one died. I loved the ease of use these cameras had and how easy they were to toss in my bag and go. They always had the ability to capture moments I wanted to remember.

From my perspective, these types of cameras have been replaced by smartphones and the ease of use they offer. Most Smartphone users keep their phones with them 24/7 and the average American takes 20.2 pictures daily from their smartphone. I’m not certain I take that many pics daily, but I definitely count my iPhone camera as my daily use camera just because of ease of access and use.

In 2014, my wife gave me a Polaroid 300 for Christmas and I have had it ever since. I have taken it on trips to Mexico, The Netherlands, and road trips through the pacific Northwest. It’s a fun little camera for in-the-moment fun. I never expect anything extraordinary from these pictures but they capture a moment in time and are unique.

I have two 35 MM easy-to-use cameras I purchased over the past year. The first is the KODAK EKTAR H35 Half Frame Film Camera. Yes, I copied the title right off the Amazon order page, and that’s writing for ya. Anyhow, I really like this camera because it’s a simple half-frame camera that allows you to get twice the pictures per roll of film. You can stage the pics to have stories from the same place or assemble a mix of images that tell a bigger story per capture. It’s not a perfect camera but a fun one to use.

My second 35 MM camera is the RETO Ultra Wide and Slim 35mm Reusable Daylight Film Camera(Same as before, I coped this from Amazon.). This one seems to be a camera that can capture moments with a wide field of view and it does a good job balancing incoming light for such a simple camera. It’s definitely a fun camera to have around the house and on the go.

Finally, we reached the last paragraph about what cameras I own and, coming in last is a Sony A5000. Yes, you read that right I own a very old mirrorless camera. What makes this even more interesting to some of my friends is that I am not the original owner on this one. I wanted to jump into photography but didn’t know where to start and wasn’t in a place I could spend a lot on a camera. So I went to Facebook and found a well-cared-for camera to start developing my camera skills a bit more before shelling out the high costs for a newer one.

Overall I’ve been happy with the A5000 as it’s easy to use and captures images with a bit better detail than my iPhone. I like the interchangeable lenses I have to pull far away things a bit more into focus than the iPhone 11’s tech can do. I’ll just have to keep watching more James Popsys on YouTube to improve those skills.

Are you a photographer or a camera collector? What are your favorites and what are the tips and tricks that you’ve found most useful in your photography journey?

Until next time, Thanks for reading.

Casey