I’ve dabbled in photography for about 15 years and I’ve tried all kinds of film and digital cameras - as of late I have settled on these two.
The Canon is a surprisingly heavy duty point and shoot digi-cam. So far it’s the best balance of photo quality / features I could find in an early 2000s model. The batteries are rechargeable and still available to buy new, the flash recharges really fast and it has a full manual mode if you want to get more involved with settings etc. Only downside is these shoot compact flash which you will probably need to buy a dongle for. I’m sure you can find a model that shoots SD though!
The Nikon EM is about as basic as you can get with a manual focus SLR. The camera shoots aperture priority auto - meaning you can’t control the shutter speed, however there is a really easy to use built in light meter that beeps if you are at the risk of under or over exposing the image; this makes it really easy to consistently take good photos. Great starter film camera if that’s the route your going down.
With all this being said - the best camera is always whatever you can get your hands on! I have shot great photos on shit cameras and shit photos on great cameras. Ya never know what is going to work for you until you try it. Have fun.
Jan 8, 2025
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When I was in art school I studied photo and found it really frustrating that the most successful photographers had all chosen a camera for themselves that they worked with almost all the time: for Ryan McGinley & Terry Richardson it was the Yashika T4, for Juergen Teller it was the Contax G2, Wolfgang Tillmans used a Leica with a 35mm lens. Something about this felt disingenuous and try as I might I could never find my version of that thing. It hasn’t been since I abandoned and rediscovered photography that I found that my first point-and-shoot digital camera - the 2005 Canon Powershot G7 - is mine. I adore this freaking thing and shoot all my portraits with it. You can get them usually for $50 on eBay, the flash is powerful, and it has a fantastic zoom. There’s also a really nice video feature that can handle low light and somehow translates colors in a way that feels “straight from the tube” - I’ve already shot a short film on it and want to make more videos with it soon.
Dec 21, 2021
Digicam: Canon PowerShot A2300
Can be had off eBay for less than $160. Canon made durable point and shoots in the early 2000’s to 2010’s so this thing will endure whatever you throw at it.
Film Camera: Olympus makes some of the best point and shoot film cameras, in this case, I suggest the Olympus XA. The hype around this camera is mostly justified. Can be had off eBay for around $150-$200. Click the link!
Mar 10, 2025
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I’ve had the best luck with a couple different models of the canon powershot digital cameras! I think they’re great quality and they give that nostalgic look to photos that remind me of when I was a kid. Some have rechargeable batteries and some take double a batteries, you can definitely find one on eBay, depending on the model it might be more expensive than others. I bought myself an sd card reader that I can plug into my phone whenever I do want to upload my photos for printing or posting.
Jan 15, 2025
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to me this is one of life’s most simple joys - especially during the winter.
The combination of not driving + the heat from the pie keeping your legs warm + direct pizza fumes provides a precious and rare sensory experience
Jan 22, 2025
Feat. Weird ceramic Superman and protein granola and yes I had a psychedelic experience watching Star Wars the other night when I was stoned
Feb 26, 2025
Apr 10, 2025