Is a 10 Year Old Camera Good Enough?
How can a camera be released in 2013 for $600 brand new, then 10 years later be found for $650 second-hand?
It's a story about:
Putting photography infront of photo-gear
Picking the right tools for the job
Understanding there is no perfect camera, and why that helps us find the perfect camera for us
I will be using my experience with the Fujifilm X20 to illustrate a point about how to pick a good first camera.
But first, what is the Fuji X20 about?
The Fujifilm X20 is a consumer grade camera. It has a 2/3" sensor that can capture up to 12 megapixels. Here's a refresher on sensor sizes. On paper, it is nothing to get excited about - in the next chapter you will learn why that's a good thing.
Along with being 11 years old, it also:
Doesn't have a mechanical shutter
Compared to modern cameras - naturally, a slower processor and therefore menu navigation
However it does bring a lot of fun features too:
Optical viewfinder which is so intuitive to use because there is zero lag between putting my eye to it and taking a photo
Flash
Super macro mode that's able to focus up to 1 cm
4x optical zoom
Why is there is so much hype around cameras?
Huge budgets that can make marketing material to grab the attention of even someone with no interest in photography. Maybe it's the idea that we can get better at taking photos from buying a piece of gear (relatively fast), rather than spending years practising and honing our craft (relatively slow.)
Either way, the message here is that most people only care about the end result (the photo) and not at all about what camera you used to capture that image (unless you're among fellow nerds.) Now, some higher models do enable things that make that shot possible > but for most people who are just getting started in photography, the features already available on older cameras, will give you plenty to chew on for the first years.
There is no perfect camera.
There is only the best tool for the job. Let me show you by example of the X20 what I mean.
There are two types of photos (with a lot of overlap.) The first type seeks to record the most real-world-like level of detail. You've seen something that looks beautiful, it's captured your eye and you want to record as close to what you saw, as possible. To do that - image quality is paramount.
The second type is using photography to freeze a moment in time. There is an interesting occurance and it's the fleeting moment which makes for an interesting photograph.
The street photography use case
When it comes to street photography, we are often working more in line with the second type. Image quality comes secondary to capturing an interesting moment.
Street photographers operate on two modes:
Fishing - waiting in one place for the right moment to happen
Hunting - walking around looking for the right subject
I found the (28 - 112 mm) zoom range on the X20 allowed me to hunt really well. If I saw something in the distance, it was no longer a lost chance. Normally, it wouldn’t be a good trade because with the size of a good quality zoom lens, you add bulk which might intimidate others or become annoying to carry for long periods - but the tiny sensor allows for a tiny lens that goes unnoticed.
Small advantages
Size can be threatening. If you are out shooting street photography or even people at a friend’s party - a big, pro-looking camera is more likely to get people to tense-up and perhaps lose the candidness of a moment.
I took the X20 with me to Stag Do (Bachalor party) in Hamburg. I had no problem entering clubs, bars and pubs with the camera over my shoulder because it looks so small and innocent. Likewise, I made little impression to the other boys on the Stag Do, most of whom I haven’t met before. This allowed me to capture some candid moments. I also carried it with me non-stop for four days, without my body getting tired of it.
Because of the recent interest in street photography, the X20 has managed to skyrocket past it's MSRP. I don’t recommend the X20 for beginners. But it’s great for advanced street photographers who need a specific tool to perform a specific job.
Rules for generalists
If you're starting out and not sure what your subject is going to be yet, or if you're looking for a camera that would be good at several things - how can you narrow down your choice?
Stick to a sensor size no smaller than Micro Four Thirds
Essentially the bigger the sensor, the more detail it can capture. This detail is recorded as dynamic range or the range between the darkest parts of an image and the lightest. Sensor sizes come in standards. The recommended standards for consumers are:
Full frame (36.00 x 24.00 mm)
APS-C (25.10 x 16.70 mm)
Micro Four Thirds (17.30 x 13.00 mm)
I would recommend sticking to APS-C or Micro Four Thirds. Why do I recommend against going Full Frame? For beginners, weight is more important than image quality.
Camera & lens combo weigh less than 550 grams
When you’re starting out, you want to get photographing as often possible. To do that, it’s important there is as small of a barrier to bringing your camera on day-to-dayness as possible. If it’s bulky or heavy, then this adds a significant hurdle. This makes growing the photography skill harder - which is one of the best things about photography.
Stick to a prime lens
When we first start off in photography, we more or less have to look through the lens (attached to our camera’s viewfinder) to be able to see what we are taking a photo of.
“Is Steve visible in this group shot?”
“How centred is this close up of this flower?”
“Is the writing on that wall in the distance reabable?”
A milestone of skill is when we are able to predict what the shot will look like with our eyes, before the camera is even up to our face. This is what happens when we get familiar with a lens. That’s great because we spend less energy getting “keepers".
A zoom lens has many more fields of view (here’s a refresher on focal length) than a prime lens, so it makes that familiarisation that much harder. They also tend to be bigger, or if they are smaller - have lacking image quality when it comes to their prime lens equivalent.
“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations”
No fewer than 16 Megapixels
in 2024, you can get plenty of cheaper cameras suitable for beginners with at least 16 megapixels (4592 x 3448.) This is a great resolution as it’s over the 4K standard (3840 x 2160.) This is enough because the 4K standard is the highest quality you will likely see or be in the correct distance to appreciate. Where it comes in handy is that it gives you some room to recompose in your edit by cropping.
The X20 is actually 12 megapixels (4000 x 3000) and it's images also look great on a big monitor. So if cropping is not a priority, then consider it rule broken. Also every image on this blog (apart from the shots of the camera itself) was shot with the X20. At very most they are 11 megapixels to account for the 3:2 aspect ratio, some are even cropped - see if that’s good enough for you.
0-7 years old
Although most digital cameras still use the same mechacism you will find in an analogue camera - there is also, naturally - a lot of digital post processing. This uses the processor in the camera to provide things like crazy-good auto focus, snappy post-processing preview (like filters), and other quality-of-life improvements like:
Fast and accurate exposure preview
More effective auto modes
Higher quality video recording
I find the X20's LCD monitor doesn’t look great but it’s enough for a simple preview and it reminds me that the photos are taken to be looked at elsewhere. It pushes me away from looking at photos I’ve taken and more at looking for a subject to take a photo of. So perhaps you don't need the newest either.
Conclusion
Don't sweat too much about which camera to buy. The images you take are more important than the camera. If you want to get something good at most situations then aim for:
APS-C or Micro Four Thirds (MFT) sensor
Camera and lens combo no heavier than 550g
A prime lens
Minimum 12 megapixels, but 16 is preferred
A camera that is somewhere between 0-7 years old (and fits the budget)
