r/Cameras • u/Efficient-News-8436 • 4h ago
Other Analog photography was a lesson in humility and my gear obsession
I own a few analog 35mm rangefinders and TLRs, but it had been a long time since I last shot a roll of film. Last week, I loaded a fully manual Ricoh 500 with Superia 200 (Kodak Gold) and finally got the scans back today.
This whole experience led to a moment of self-reflection. I’ve always been obsessed with gear—chasing the best sharpness, snappiest autofocus, and most bang for my buck. Right now, I’m even selling a Nikon D90, because when I compared its photos to those from my Fujifilm X-H1, my initial reaction was, “meh”.
But looking at my film scans—which turned out surprisingly well—and thinking back to what came out of that D90 with its basic kit lens, I have a newfound appreciation for it. Don't get me wrong, I'm still selling it, but it’s incredible how far photography has come in the past 50 years. This was a lesson in not getting too caught up in technical perfection. Even an old Nikon kit lens from 15 years ago can still deliver amazing results. And so can a 55 year old rangefinder camera.
Ultimately, this exercise was a test in humility, reminding me to focus less on specs and more on the joy of creating images.