Regular visitors will know I have recently bought a number of old digital cameras. I’m happy with every one of them. However, there was a particular kind of camera I particularly wanted. A pocketable, point-and-shoot that took AA batteries and used SD for storage. Why? Well, as all of my cameras are at least 11 years old (19 years old with the A530), the bespoke batteries tend to not hold charge as well after some years. I know that most can be bought from somewhere like Amazon by a third party, but they can be expensive and unreliable. If you can use AA batteries, you can get replacements at pretty much any shop in the world. Another plus was an optical view finder. Maybe I’ll hardly ever use it, but if it’s there, at least I’ve got the choice. SD card is better than Smartmedia or XD cards as it’s the only format that’s not obsolete!
Lucky for me, this A530 came up for £20 and ticked all the above boxes. So I knew I had to have this camera! It looked pretty much brand new from the sellers photos and was still in the original box.
All photos linked to full resolution Flickr album
Shot of my Olympus C4040Z (no flash)
Shot of my Olympus C4040Z (with flash)
Shot using my Ulefone Armor X12 (see below)
Using 4x zoom
Message to Seller
When I went to collect this camera I had a chat with the lady selling it (as you do). She told me it had been for sale for three years! She asked me why I wanted it as everyone just uses their phone nowadays. That is a valid question. I too have been using a phone as my primary camera since about 2005. So why change now???
For me there are a number of reasons:
- A cameras only purpose is to take photos (and sometimes videos but we’ll ignore that here). That’s it. The reason why I like cameras from 2001-2013 (ish) is that there was lots of competition and innovation to make the best digital photos possible.
- Using even a cheap, old camera gives advantages that phones cannot compete with. For example, always better zoom, more control over exposure, white balance, focus etc.
- Price. You can pick up old cameras for next to nothing. I’ve paid a maximum of £70 for the Fujifilm S4800.
- Versatility. You can have different cameras for different purposes. The A530 is great for snaps while out and about. My Fujifilm S4800 with its 30x optical zoom is great for long distance nature shots.
- Design. Related to my first point, a camera has been designed to take photos. Its shape, the position of buttons, the screen (and everything else) was designed to take photos. Phones are not designed to take photos. They also take photos. Have you ever played a Gameboy emulator on a smartphone? You need physical buttons to have an enjoyable experience.
- Redundancy. I have six cameras. If one breaks1, I’m not without a camera. If my phone breaks…
And the most important point for me:
- Quality. The first three photos at the top of this page are of my Olympus C4040Z. I was focusing on the lens. Look at how clear and detailed the photos from the A530 are compared to my phone (you’ll have to click on the full resolution versions on a decent monitor for best effect). The A530 has a resolution of 5 megapixels. My Ulefone X12 Armor has a resolution of 13 megapixels. But, the old 20 year old camera is far better quality. Perhaps if I had a £1000 phone, the quality difference would be less. The problem is that a modern £1000 camera would (I believe) beat any modern phone.
Part 1 Conclusion
This is an amazing camera. I’m going to spend some time attempting to master it and of course a part 2 will be published when ready. For lots of great information about getting the most out of it, see the Ken Rockwell link below.
See Also
Footnotes
1 Sadly, my C4040Z looks like it might be on the way out :( It won’t read the 64mb Smartmedia card. Ugh.
