Don’t worry, it’s only natural. I’ve been obsessed with cameras since I was a small child. At the time, my dad was a professional photographer who owned Rolleiflex and Hasselblad cameras among others, as well as a Sinar large format outfit.
Those cameras used to absolutely fascinate me, even before I was old enough to get some parental hands-on training and find out how they actually worked. Over the following decades, I’ve owned more film and digital cameras than I like to admit to. And yes, I’m still obsessed with them.
Some say that photography is all about the image. Others say that the best camera in the world is the one in your hand. And yes, I’d have to agree that the photograph is the end result and, if you don’t take any photos, your camera is a machine without any real purpose.
Even so, there are plenty of collectors who invest in watches without ever wearing them, or buy vintage cars without ever driving them. I have a motorcyclist friend who’s so obsessed with his bike that he spends more time cleaning and polishing it (in his centrally-heated garage with fitted carpet) than he does riding it.
I get excited about every latest and greatest camera that gets launched. And let’s face it, it’s hard not to feel excited about some of the best mirrorless cameras on the market right now. I study the specs, marvel at the features, speculate on the handling and prepare to be dazzled by its performance. And just once in a while, I might even buy one.
I actually bought a Nikon Z fc just because I liked the look and feel of it so much, and because it so reminded me so much of the Nikon camera of my teenage years. Do I actually use it? Hardly ever, but that’s okay. I’m quite happy to have it as a work of art in its own right, sitting resplendent on the chest of drawers in my home office.
But I’m getting a little less obsessive. I do actually love taking photos, which is just as well as I do it for a living. In my head, I know full well that the image is everything and that any camera is just a tool for capturing it.
In my heart I still love cameras for their own sake, as exquisite examples of precision engineering. For the last few years, my go-to camera of choice has been a Nikon Z6 II, hence the Z fc being mostly left on the shelf. I love the Z6 II, it’s just perfect for me. I also had a Nikon Z7 II for a while but was less enamored – too many megapixels for my liking.
Either way, with my passion for cameras, I was sorely tempted when the Nikon Z8 and Nikon Zf were released, maybe even more so when the Z6 III came along. And yet I’ve not traded in my Z6 II for a newer model. Perhaps I’m finally grown up enough to know that the Z6 II does everything I need and more, and simply delivers sumptuous images that are more beautiful to look at than any camera.
Maybe being obsessed with cameras isn’t so natural after all.
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