So (..a sample of..) Dunk’s camera would have been baked in Boots’ test oven for over an hour, frozen in Boots’ freezer, and had its strap – if it came with the plastic case and a strap – minutely examined with an electron microscope(!) – incredible, huh? – to make sure that it wouldn’t snap or fail! ..No wonder that it’s “..occasionally still used..” as that Beirette will probably still be going well for another 50 years! And there are some other cameras to talk about, but also for another time, or this will be a longer article than the main story!

Camera for Kids - myFirst Camera 2 Waterproof Camera for Kids - myFirst Camera 2

There’s no need for glue or anything else – like an Ikea table, everything’s in the box, and there are a few extra screws for the inevitable moment one disappears through a gap in the floorboards. Be aware, though – this is not a simple Lego set. It’s pretty complicated and will take a long time, and we wouldn’t recommend it as a project for kids younger than mid-teens. Professionally, I worked with both Nikon and Canon later, by deep in my heart the small and beautiful OM lenses and cameras were what I liked most. Today, I would consider them design icons; the old Olympus OM system and the Leica M system have more in common that many may assume – I wrote about it here: https://www.macfilos.com/2021/11/19/om-system-old-memories-optical-masterpieces-and-obscure-mistakes/. https://www.macfilos.com/2015/02/23/2015-2-20-the-1940-super-baldina-for-nine-guineas-and-red-sails-in-the-sunset/A great all-round choice is the EOS Rebel SL3/EOS 250Dwhich boasts great autofocus and 4K video. It also features some grown-up specs, namely a 24.2MP sensor and a 3in vari-angle touch screen. Canon sees this as a way to tempt smartphone photographers to step up to their first proper camera.

Camera for Kids | myFirst Camera Insta 2 Video Camera for Kids | myFirst Camera Insta 2

I think our age is showing here; it may be that in a few years. ‘first camera’ will be digital for most readers! Its proportions make it perfect for smaller hands while the menus are nice and clear. The picture quality is very good too, with accurate white balance and well-saturated colors. It's not the cheapest Canon DSLR but it's our favorite for size, features, and long-term usefulness and the best camera for kids starting in college.

I couldn’t wait to return to the office and load that first film. And that was the start of my photographic career. For those who are looking for a little more of a project, it’s worth looking at the Lomography Konstruktor F - a fun build-it-yourself kit that gives you all the parts you need to assemble a fully functional 35mm SLR film camera in a matter of hours. A couple of years later, I had to return the camera as Kodak lost a lawsuit against Polaroid for patent infringement. In exchange, I received a Kodac Disc. When I look at the pictures now they look extremely soft and grainy but I still enjoy watching them as they remind me of my childhodd. I offered him a little compact Cosina CX-1 – which had auto-exposure, and would have saved him carrying around the light-meter – but he preferred his completely manual Beirette, which didn’t need any batteries. I was very much into model railroading as an older teen, and wanted a camera that would permit me to photograph both real railroads and model ones. Like everything else I am interested in, I thoroughly researched the subject matter and concluded I needed a 35mm SLR with interchangeable lenses. Further research indicated the Nikon F was the pinnacle of the type.

My First Camera and how I chose it. What was your first camera My First Camera and how I chose it. What was your first camera

In college, I was in a program to go from high school to a PhD in six years (The Ford Foundation felt not enough PhD’s were being produced and jobs were going begging. By the time I graduated, the situation had reversed 🙂 As as early as 1973 I replaced it with my first Nikon, a Nikkormat FTn. It was 1980 before I finally got my first “real” Nikon, an F2 Photomic. I still have two F2 bodies. We test camera resolution, dynamic range, and noise under scientifically controlled conditions using two key testing tools: Imatest Master and DxO Analyzer. All DSLRs and mirrorless cameras are subjected to these tests and, in some instances, high-end compact cameras. Dynamic range (DxO Analyzer):This is a measure of a camera’s ability to capture detail in the highlights and shadows. We use DxO’s transmissive chart, which enables us to test a dynamic range of 13.3 stops.Nice topic, Mike. My father’s camera, a Balda Super Baldina, was probably the first one I ever used. He bought it for nine guineas on 30th January 1940, over 83 years ago, and I showed the receipt, complete with a stamp, for that in my first article for Macfilos, just over 8 years ago. I don’t recall having a camera of my own in my youth, but just after I got married in 1974 my father bought me an Agfa 110 camera. It broke down after a short period and had to be repaired. The photos I got with it, mainly of my older daughter, were OK, nothing spectacular. My first 35mm camera was a Rollei 35 and the improvement in quality was astonishing to my eyes. I paid about 60 quid for it in 1981, but a year later I sold it and bought a Nikon SLR and from then on I was on the slippery slope, although I did not have multiple cameras until the 2000s. In 2019 I bought another Rollei 35 at Photographica. To bring the thing full circle, I still have and use my father’s Super Baldina and another article I wrote for Macfilos gives details of that.

myFirst Camera 10 - Mini Camera for Kids in the UK | myFirst

The digital cameras I used were Canon until I changed to the Lumix, much more compact and now for the past three or four years I almost exclusively use just my iPhone which is now the 14 Pro, a superb camera capable of 48M pixels, never have to worry about white balance and it’s always with me.

Amateur Photographer‘s offices were just two floors below my lair at Motor Cycle, and I was always popping in for a bit of advice from the legendary technical editor, Neville Maude. Watching the professionals from the photographic department at work spurred my enthusiasm, and I lusted after a “proper” camera. In a way cameras have lives too and have seen a lot of things in those lives. Mike might recall how, as part of the Swiss Photos research, I found the details of the early life (in 1935) of one of my cameras written in Swedish inside a box which came with the camera. Mike and others helped with translation from Swedish. I later found a photo of the Crown Prince of Sweden which may have been taken with the camera as the writing inside the box lid mentions that it was at the event where the photo was taken.