Working with an analog, fully mechanical camera is something special. 

 

The camera is just a tool that gives you no technical support. No auto focus, no automatic exposure, no motive bell.

 

A good hammer is well balanced, well-built & durable. Same with a good analog camera like my Leica M2 from 1960.

 

A sculptor treats a stone with a chisel and a hammer.

 

I treat a film with a lens and a camera.

 

So, be sure to work with a good hammer and a sharp chissel. The quality of your hammer does not depend on the brand, the optics, the price or the number of functions. It only depends on what you want to do, functionality, quality & reliability. It doesn't make sens to get yourself a steam hammer if you want to do a nice little marble sculpture - even a steamhammer looks real cool, mighty & powerful.

 

A lot of people bought their hammer....äh camera after reading tests, comparing datas and functions.....and then they bought a camera with hundreds of functions. trillions of pixels, heavy as hell and with a manual thick as "Lord of the rings". Just to find out, that they don't use - which means, they don't need - 80% of what they payed for. Ok, it looks real cool & quite professional. We had this procedure in the old, analog times and much more we have it today

 

What do I use after giving you these smart suggestions?

 

Analog - and I still do a lot of analog work - I use the LEICA M2 or a NIKON F2 from 1976  most of the time. 

 

Digital I use a NIKON D3s from 2010 which I bought used in 2015 and a FUJI X-Pro1 from 2013 which I bought used in 2017. I take the full frame NIKON for my portraits or architecture and I don't use the automatic modes - never. But I enjoy the auto fucus.

 

The Fuji is for traveling, street & concerts.

 

The NIKON D3s is the modern equivalent for the NIKON F2, the Fuji X-Pro1 is the equivalent for the Leica M2. Both digital cameras "support" me with a lot of functions I never used and will never use. I just bought these cameras because they came next to my basic needs.

 

By the way: There is one big difference between an analog photographer and a sculptor. The sculptor is able to see the result of every single action immediately - I can see the result after taking 24 or 36 exposures and developing the film. Makes it bit more exiting.....

 

Which analog or digital hammer you might choose, never forget: hundreds of the most important & best photos in the world had been taken with camers without any additional functions......Che Guevara,

Lunch Atop a Skyscraper, Sailor kissing a nurse in NY, 

crying child in Vietnam, James Dean walking in the rain, Flag Raising on Iwo Jima, the burning monk....