Smaller Cameras, Clearer Head
Well, I didn’t expect to end up here.
Over the past few years I’ve owned some serious Nikon bodies. The D2X was one of them and if I’m honest, I miss it. It handled beautifully. It felt purposeful. It sat properly in the hand. But the metering was very demanding, fuji velvia 50 demanding, so I sold it thinking I was moving forward.
After that came the D700. On paper it made perfect sense. Full frame and a big viewfinder great for manual focusing. Legendary reputation. Files everyone praises. It was the sensible choice.
But it never quite settled with me.
It was heavier than I wanted to admit. Not unmanageable, just enough that I was always aware of it. It was heavy around the neck and didn’t disappear in use. And I’ve come to realise that when I’m conscious of the camera, I’m slightly removed from what I’m looking at. That matters in my world.
The D60 (and D70 as backup)
What I have now is a D60 with a simple 35mm DX lens. It came free with a 50mm lens, sold as not working, but once the battery was fully charged it resurected itself.
It’s small. It’s lighter than my D70. It doesn’t try to be impressive. And it just works. It has the same Sony sensor as the D200, which doesnt look dumbed down to my eyes. The form factor suits the way I photograph. I can carry it without thinking about it. It doesn’t feel like an event every time I pick it up. With the 35mm DX mounted it’s straightforward and honest, no drama, no excess and its quiet which is a nice bonus.
Back to that 10mp CCD sensor. At sensible ISO it produces files that feel clean, at higher ISOs it has character whoch I actually quite like. I set all my digital slrs to ISO 400, and use them exactly in the same way as I shoot 400 ISO film. There’s less latitude than modern sensors, but you expose properly. You make decisions, and you don’t rely on RAW rescue. It meters like my D70, white balance is very good and the colours do pop. The D70 is the backup to the D60, thats how good the D60 is.
Film Is Still Black and White…for now at least.
Digital, for me, is still colour, and colour belongs to CCD. My heart believes that black and white still belongs on film but the costs are eyewatering!
When the electronics finally gave up on my F3 and FA last year I went back to the Nikkormat EL and Tri-X. It’s not glamorous, but it’s dependable and despite what some may say its pure Nikon through and through. There’s something reassuring about a film camera that does one thing properly. I still shoot film with the fantastic OM1s. I also use my Minolta SRTs and 7000i, plus a host of other small vintage cameras. But I have to admit that I have become too selective, and possibly dont take enough pictures with film, thats something I need to work through or it could be my inner self telling me its time to go full digital?
What I do know is that film forces a pace that suits me. Meter carefully. Think. Commit. No checking the back. Just trust. That rhythm feels right. But, and this is hard for me, the costs of film is becoming harder to justify for me. I have always said that the day Im able to print digital to the standard of a darkroom print, will be the day that I leave film behind. That day came close with the Canon 5D mk1 and closer still with my D2X, so Im waiting to see what the D60 can give me from its RAW files.
What Changed
I used to assume that progress meant moving up, larger sensors, heavier bodies, more capability, but I’m not convinced anymore.
The D700 was technically better than the D60 and the D70. The D2X was more professional and handled like a dream. But I’m photographing more comfortably now. I’m carrying the D60 camera more. I’m thinking less about equipment and more about light and shape and timing. Im even choosing the D60 over the EL!
The D60 fits my hand in a way the D700 didn’t. That sounds trivial, but it isn’t. A camera that fits your hand fits your head and at this stage, that matters more than specifications to me.
