Why I Decided to Keep the Canon M200

I wasn’t supposed to still have my Canon M200. I had put it up for sale, someone bought it, and the story seemed over.

But the camera came back to me because of a tiny mark of nail polish I had once made on the dial. In that moment, without overthinking it, I realized the answer had been there all along. This camera wasn’t meant to leave my hands.

Over the years I used it in a hybrid way, mixing video and stills. It even became my third camera during an important assignment, the kind of job where you don’t take chances with unreliable gear. The M200 handled it without complaining, quietly doing what it had to do. Today its role is even clearer. It will be my street photography companion. Again.

There’s something special about this little Canon when paired with the 22mm that I did forget. It becomes a sort of Ricoh… but better than a Ricoh. Ultra-compact, silent, discreet. It encourages that instinctive Moriyama-like approach that allows you to move freely, without filters, without hesitation. You shoot from the gut. Those who use a Ricoh know exactly what I mean. Except here, I get all that freedom with a lens that is anything but a compromise.

The 22mm, equivalent to a classic 35mm, covers everything I need for the way I work in the streets. It fits perfectly with my visual language. Wide enough to get close without distortions, normal enough to keep things real. There’s no fight with the tool. The camera gets out of the way and lets me stay inside the moment.

Sometimes change doesn’t come from switching gear. Sometimes it happens by staying with what you already have, by understanding it again, by letting it surprise you. The M200 was supposed to be gone. Instead, it’s back where it belongs, ready to walk the streets with me.

This blog is experiencing another boom period (direct visits and not referral). Thanks to all of you for your preference. It means a lot to me.