Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-12-05)

YOUR LETTERS

and in this age of so many
amateur and professional
lady photographers. I’m a
member of Woodbridge 
Camera Club where about
50% of our members are
ladies. The atmosphere is
friendly and inclusive, and
in competitions we ladies
always give the men a run
for their money!
J Moore

Make things that last
John Wade’s excellent
article on old digital
cameras (Digital stars, 26
September) included the
statement that ‘older
digital cameras have a
tendency to simply stop
working’. I can con rm
that, with experience of
cameras from three major
brands that have either
died completely or
become unusable – one
at just three years old.
The cost of repair has
been uneconomic.
In contrast, I have
roll- lm cameras over a
century old that still work,
and SLRs, range nders
and lenses that produce
excellent results after 40
or 50 years. The little TLC
they need can be given by
someone with basic
competence and a few
inexpensive tools. Many of
these lenses work
remarkably well on a
digital body and I use
them daily.
Your pages are full of
new products, with every
week a new body or lens
being introduced. We read

about the market not

growing, so it seems likely

that every new camera

purchased must result in

an older one being thrown

away. Yes, there is an

active used market so

some will be sold on, but

further down that chain

another one will meet its

end. This propensity

towards short-term

redundancy affects

multiple victims; not just

the photographer whose

pockets are being

lightened, but the people

exploited and the animals

whose habitats are being

destroyed in the extraction

of raw materials.

Whilst I cannot offer a

solution I can hope that

other photographers will

think hard before chasing

the latest upgrade and

that manufacturers will try

harder to make things that

last. Meanwhile, I’m sure

an article from AP that

looks at the amount of

equipment sent to land ll,

or examines how it can be

properly recycled, would

be of real interest.

Andrew Thompson

Early digital

I was interested to see

the article in AP 26

September about early,

low-megapixel digital

cameras as I have

recently been sorting

through some of my

earliest digital photos

taken with a Canon

PowerShot S30 camera in

about 2006. It had a

proud total of only 3.2MP

but I was very pleasantly

surprised to be reminded

how good some of these

images were, and a

10x8in print looks

surprisingly good. I still

have the camera and I’m

tempted to charge it up

and stick it in my pocket,

as it’s very compact and

shoots raw. So I would

endorse the suggestion of

seeking out some

collectable examples of

these early digital

cameras.

Martin Thomson

Interesting angle

When our local

independent dealer had a

refurbished Nikon D5500

for £450 with just 425

exposures, I snapped it

up. It was the only Nikon

with the side-hinged

vari-angled screen, which

I  nd indispensable for

shooting videos of our

gorgeous young

granddaughter. I only wish

I had such gear 40 years

ago that could switch from

stills to video at the touch

of a button. For my 70th

birthday in 2018 I treated

myself to a D850.

Although it is my dream

camera its lack of a

vari-angle screen

frustrates me when

videoing. Why Nikon does

not include them on all

their models I do not

know. They must be

missing out on a great

deal of business.

John Heywood

Martin Thomson took this photo on his old 3.2MP Canon PowerShot S30 from 2006

© ROBERT PUGH

© JEREMY WALKER

CONTENT FOR NEXT WEEK’S ISSUE MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

A life in ruins

Jeremy Walker talks about his book

that chronicles Britain’s historic ruins

Sony Alpha 7C

Andy Westlake examines a compact-

bodied full-frame mirrorless model

EISA Maestro winners

The winning portfolios from the

International competition

Angela Nicholson shares 20

tips on using manual focus

lenses for superb results

Manual

focus tips

In next week’s issue

On sale every Tuesday