Why I Finally Bought a Digital Camera

Yes, you read that correctly. I now own a digital camera. Yes, I, who extolled the virtues of real film photography in blog posts here and here, am now the proud owner of a Sony a77 (I had to go with Sony because they make a line of cameras which are compatible with my Minolta lenses).

So why the switch? Remember that, not too long ago, I also wrote about the fact that cameras hate me? I concluded that post by telling you my trusty Minolta Maxxum 5 had begun malfunctioning. Well, I couldn't go without a camera for too long, so I went on eBay and bought a Maxxum 7. Still a film camera, but an upgrade from the Maxxum 5.

I was wary of the Maxxum 7 for a while. I tend to have a lot of anxiety where cameras are concerned. The thing is, I'm so passionate about this photography thing that if something goes wrong, it can put me in a foul mood for a week. So I didn't want to do too much with the Maxxum 7 because I didn't trust something that old, and from eBay, to do what it was supposed to do. So it sat in its case for a few months before I worked up the nerve to get it out and load a roll of film into it.

The thing shot exactly two rolls of film before breaking.

And it broke exactly a week before we were scheduled to leave for vacation. A vacation that was supposed to be, for me at least, all about taking pictures.

I can't tell you how depressed I was.

The first thing I did was go on eBay to look for another Maxxum 7. I found a few that weren't too expensive, but when my husband walked by and saw what I was doing, he pointed out that I've bought too many old cameras over the years, only to have them fall apart. He suggested buying something newer. Something that would last more than a year.

So I, begrudgingly, shifted my search from Minolta to Sony. I did a lot of research and determined that the a77 was the camera I needed. And I just happened to find one in a store not too far from our vacation destination. If I could arrange to pick it up in the store instead of waiting to have it shipped to my house, I'd get to use this camera on vacation!

Once I got over the guilt about how much money this camera would cost, it was an easy decision. Yeah, I had something of an identity crisis. I was a film-only photographer, after all. Switching to digital felt like giving up a piece of my soul. And I had just purchased a couple of rolls of professional black and white film that I was looking forward to using on my trip.

But what we need is not always what we want, and my photography career needed that digital camera.

And as far as cost is concerned? Well, I compared the cost of the camera to the cost of film and processing and calculated that once I've shot 1000 pictures, the camera will have paid for itself. And I've already shot over 400. Give me another week, and I'll break even.

Here are a few photos I took with my new toy:

And then, well, I won't attempt an explanation for this one. I'll just let it speak for itself: