Why I Love Shooting with Retro Lo-Fi Cameras
When you enter the photography world it’s hard not to equate expensive camera gear with being a good photographer. We see our favourite photographers shooting on cameras that cost well over our monthly salary, not to mention all the lenses and gimbals and memory cards and data storage and lens filters and … you know. It never ends.
I definitely felt that way at the start. But it’s been a good five years since I started as a photographer, and while it’s certainly true that expensive cameras give you better technology, having an expensive camera won’t inherently make you a better photographer.
In fact, I believe that shooting on old, lo-fi cameras makes you a better photographer.
Two years ago I saw a Ricoh R8 digital point-and-shoot from 2008 at a Hard Off in Akihabara for ¥3,000 (USD$21, AUD$31). I lovingly named it ❤️Enricoh Iglesias❤️. Enricoh shot at 10MP, and had surprisingly incredible zoom capabilities.
At the time I found Enricoh I had been shooting a lot of client work on my Nikon Z6, and I guess as a form of rebellion I was seeking out a way of shooting that was inherently anti-client. It was cheap, it was lo-fi, and it was kinda against the rules of being a “professional” photographer. I wanted to shoot from my soul using something with technology from over 16 years ago.
Shooting on Enricoh made me a better photographer in a variety of ways, and especially when I started shooting exclusively in black and white. I could not longer rely simply on high-quality technology saving the photo. I needed to focus on light, story, composition and feelings. And during that time I produced some of my favourite photos ever.
Sadly, last year, Enricoh Iglesias took his last breath and went to camera heaven. But I’ll never forget the way he taught me to be a better photographer.
If you’re feeling like you’ve lost your way with photography, consider buying a super old lo-fi camera and seeing what you can do with it. Make it your project. I really guarantee it’ll make you see photography in a different way.
