Herr Vogul asked for the type of cameras we use for this blog, or for life in general.

Many years ago, I labored over a tough choice: continue to shoot film, because a negative is a negative is a negative, and if you’ve ever imagined trying to pull a Blow-Up, you know in your heart you’d rather do it from organically grainy film than some seven-year-old 2-megapixel X-Y axis-based image from some early digital camera. But the temptation became that I shot more of life with the smaller, more convenient digital cameras. So I decided to go with the logic of ‘More digital photos of life is better than occasional photos of life on film.’ And you know what? It’s been fine.

Here’s my rundown:

1. What I usually use, 2008 - the Canon SD1100 IS. Love this camera. Great functionality, fast operation, high ‘ISO’, (if that’s even an appropriate term for digital), and image stabilization. They also put the ‘long shutter’ back in that they had taken out of my Canon SD500. Plus, to paraphrase the Clipse, you can “get it for cheap.”

I used to get a lot out of this camera, the Canon SD10 - so great. Small and quick. But I somehow destroyed the screen, and I had to move on to the SD500, which I also destroyed the screen on.

When I shoot my video interviews, I use this - the Sony HVR-A1U. Great size if you remove the XLR break-out box for the discreet “camcorder totin’ fan” look. Today, in 2008, the whole game is different, so there are a lot more options out there than this camera now.

If I have it in me, I shoot on this Mamiya 7. But not often. I’d love to get another lens for it, but I’m starting to think the money would be better spent on a new-generation of DSLR.

I sometimes dash out of the mancave without my camera, and believe it or not, I will often get quality flicks out of my iPhone. I defend this camera - it’s the best I’ve had in a phone, and certainly more acceptable than taking no photo at all.

I have my trusty ol’ Canon AE-1 Program 35mm somewhere, but I couldn’t locate it in time for this post. Got it in high-school and it’s still kickin’. That ad is amazing, right? The photographer looks straight out of Thee Michelle Gun Elephant.

This old Polaroid camera would be awesome to try out, wouldn’t it?

I grabbed it at my friend Phillip Leeds‘ office today and took this flick (from the iPhone, f.y.i.), but he said if I post about it on my blog, the only stipulation was that I also had to post this, in celebration of the name:

And by the way, Don LaFontaine, THE voiceover guy, passed away last week… R.I.P.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 at 12:05 and is filed under weekly question, cellphone, Photography, Film. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.