I began shooting photos with a German made Franka Solida Jr that someone gave me. It took 12 exposures on 120 film in the 6 x 6 format. It was pretty much on its last legs when it was given to me but I still have it. That camera led to the purchase of a black and white enlarger and the processing of my own film and prints. Then I was hooked !

Very soon after that I purchased an Olympus OM-1 with a pretty comprehensive set of lenses. At the time, that camera was state of the art and it prompted me to purchase a color enlarger and all the other paraphernalia necessary to develop color film and prints.

As timed passed, interest in the creative aspect of photography waned. The darkroom became deserted and photography became more of a process to document events such as birthdays, Christmas, weddings, trips, etc.

Then, a few years ago I was given another gift..a 4 megapixel Kodak EasyShare CX7430. This again sparked an interest in photography but only because of the convenience of putting those images on a computer and looking at them on a 17 inch screen. One thing for sure, it made one a more prolific but, no doubt, less creative photographer. Also, the equipment couldn't compare to what had been available for film.

In late January of this, year someone directed me to Newfie Bullet's Lake of the Hills pictures on Flickr because they knew I do quite a bit of fishing up there. I knew before this that Flickr existed but hadn't really checked it out. Well, after looking at his pictures, I did check it out ...thoroughly. I was amazed at the equipment that is now available. So, now, once again, I guess I'll have to purchase a new camera. (All the shots I have here so far have been taken with the CX 7430 )Any advice anyone can give would be helpful but, I am leaning toward another Olympus. I know it is possible to use my Olympus lenses on the new digital cameras(with an adapter) but just what tradeoff in quality and convenience would there be? Again, any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Equipment update:

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm :3.5-5.6 G ED

Nikon AS-S Mikro Nikkor 105mm 1:2 G ED

Sigma 150-500mm 1:5-6.3 APO HSM

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They may not be used or reproduced in any way without my permission. If you'd like to use one of my images for any reason, please contact me before doing so. Thank you.

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jpgmag.com/people/zircon215