Full Circle

Do you remember the time digital cameras first came out? I sure do. I had one of the first ones around. The Sony DSC-S50. It was a 2 megapixel camera (that was a high number at the time) with no viewfinder, just the LCD screen. When I bought it 5 years ago, it cost around $500. It was bulky too, but I wanted to bring it everywhere. Back then, I knew the value of taking pictures and the advantage of it being in digital format.

When I went to the Philippines with my digital camera, people were not used to taking pictures using the LCD screen. People would still put the camera close to their eyes before realizing that they could hold it at arms length in front of them. It was funny but at the same time forgivable because it was new technology. People weren't used to it.

That was before.

Now, digital cameras have become so small and slim that it can be considered a regular accessory beside the cellphone. Heck, even cellphones have digital cameras which have higher megapixel counts than my Sony.

A few months ago I decided it was time for an upgrade, so I purchased a Nikon D50. It's a digital SLR, which meant that I reverted back to looking in a traditional viewfinder to frame my pictures (you cannot use the LCD screen to take pictures; you can only use it to view pictures you have already taken). It's fun taking pictures this way. There are so many settings that can be changed and since I don't have to worry about film, its easy to keep on taking pictures until the perfect shot is taken. It makes me wish I got into photography earlier in life. I sort of regret not taking my dad seriously when he wanted me to learn how to use his old film SLR camera years ago. But, better late than never, and I am learning.

Here is the funny thing: Once again, I am having difficulty telling people how to use my camera. Almost everyone is so used to looking at the LCD screen that they have forgotten how to use a viewfinder anymore! When I hand my camera over to people to take my picture, they expect the LCD screen to show the image so they hold the camear out in front of them. I have to tell them to look in the viewfinder when they start looking confused. I just tell people I have a low-tech camera than to tell them that its a digital SLR. It's easier that way.

As technology moves ever forward, it's easy to forget where we came from, so its fitting that something as high-tech as a digital SLR still goes back to its roots.

La Vita e Bella!