The 6 mpx club, CCD vs CMOS and perhaps a nostalgic reasoning
I read a lot about photography and watch videos of photographers on youtube. The other day I stumbled upon one who said he was disappointed with the latest hasselblad, an over-the-top 100 megapixel stuff and a bang to make it yours.
There are those who do not sleep at night for a 50 megapixel camera because radio market wants it so. And then, and then there are those like me, happy with a 2011 camera pissing on the new heads for battery life. There are also those of the 6 megapixel club, lovers of the CCD sensor who forgot great ISO performance and, of course, no video, but what a fucking color rendering.
And what lesson does all this give us? Enjoy your camera, learn how to really use it and don't think that the newest one is better. Buying a used camera even 10 years ago can be a great investment for your photography, and don't forget that, at the base of everything, there is, there must be, the fun, the pleasure of discovery, challenging yourself through an instrument considered obsolete by most.
Today in Japan there is a new trend which is that of the recovery of digital cameras equipped with CCD sensor. There are videos on youtube and people proudly display old cameras that had the difference right in the CCD sensor. We know what is the issue with CCD sensor and it is the reason for its abandonment in favor of the CMOS sensor:
High end medium format cameras still use CCDs as did by Leica until Leica M9: the CCD sensor gives superb image quality at low ISOs, but they don't perform as well in low light and another reason is the video. This easily explains the discontinuation of the CCD sensor for most cameras. But certainly the difference is undeniable, in fact there is an old article that you can read from a photographer ranting about the CCD no more considered for photography:
I don't want to contribute too much to the nostalgic cause but I certainly share its basic thinking. In a sense, the cameras today are a bit 'all the same in terms of aesthetic result. I've seen various tests done and it's really hard to guess which camera made them. Also because most sensors have a single matrix: Sony.
Canon was one of the first to go for the CMOS sensor. Nikon has continued to propose CCD sensors that can be found up to the 200 D. There are many Pentax that can be found and you can take them away for little money. I think this is cool if you want to have with you a camera producing images with a different aesthetic and more filmy.
If you are not one of those photographers looking for the new and super-performing cameras and instead you love the creative act more and yes, even the challenges, then considering an old camera can be an exciting (re) discovery. You know that I am also working with a camera from 2011. But maybe in the future I could buy a reflex with a CCD sensor. In that case I would do it with the intention of putting a manual lens on it that can help make the experience even more analog. To be honest I did already in the past when I did have a PENTAX K-S1 and an old manual lens 50mm. The results can be appreciated on the book LEIJLA still available for sale.
Technology advances inexorably. We nostalgics, however, like to find comfort in something certainly more imperfect but with more soul. The photography I prefer, whether it is film or digital, is the non-HDRized one of our times. If you are here I am sure you are in tune with this post.
