Tools of the Trade
Ricoh XR-2s SLR
I can’t seem to remember how I got interested in Photography. Ever since, my family has been fond of photos and we got piles of photo albums and pictures to testify. Maybe tinkering with those toy cameras that my Tito’s (Uncles) gave us also piqued my interest. But what really got me into serious Photography was in college when we had a Photography subject on our senior year. Since I needed a camera badly at that time, I asked my relatives if they could spare me one. My Uncle gave me his spare SLR camera Ricoh XR-2s, since he was now using those early releases digital camera at that time. It was a nice tough camera, but heavy as well. From there, I learned all the basics of Photography from shutter speed to aperture to composition as well as developing. Photography subject was really fun as every week our professor gave us photo assignments to test what we have learned.
Canon AS-1 Underwater Point and Shoot Camera
Since I started on the outdoors back in 2002, I still carry my precious Ricoh SLR, but it’s heavy build is taking a toll at my pack. Soon it was acting up as well, I had to bring it to a camera repair shop in Hidalgo several times due to stock-up. I decided to buy another camera at that time which can stand different weather conditions and fall, thus I decided to get a Canon AS-1. Though it’s only a Point and Shoot, I must admit I like the photo quality of this camera above and underwater. It has been a useful companion in my travel, but it’s fixed lens leaves you only a few rooms to experiment. Even though, I still bring it with me whenever there are beach or snorkeling trips in the itinerary.
Olympus C-750 UZ
Photography isn’t cheap, especially with rolls and rolls of film to spend on and not all the shots are worth developing. I knew Digital was the way to go so with a friend of mine, we marched to Hidalgo and bought ourselves an Olympus C750 UZ. It was a hard choice between a Canon A70 at that time but Olympus won in terms of features versus price. I was very satisfied with this camera and it has gone many places during my travel. A lot of photos from this cam has glossed some print materials. Though during assignments, even if the camera has some SLR controls, it lacks the speed of a true SLR. Burst mode is slow and focusing in dark or lowlight conditions has been a problem. Still I was able to work around it. I still enjoy this cam until now, but it’s internal capacitor has somehow drained that I have to reset the camera’s settings every time I change batteries.
Olympus E-500 DSLR
For the past few months I’ve also been contemplating on getting a new SLR so I can take on some other Photo assignments more confidently. And now to add to my roster of cameras is my recent acquisition, an Olympus Evolt 500 DSLR. I know a lot would ask why not a Canon or a Nikon? I guess I’m just a sucker for the underdog and I’ve grown to love Olympus since using the C750. Olympus has many innovations in the camera industry in the past and now I think it’s heading towards a new direction with the Four-Thirds system and the digital from the ground up build. Olympus has also developed the first Dust Reduction System in a camera called Super Sonic Wave Filter which now other major camera players like Canon, Sony and Pentax are implementing on their new models as well. And as of this writing, the E-500 is the lightest DSLR Camera out there so I can carry it around easily. And best of all I got it for almost half the price it was sold here from a travel buddy of mine who needed the money badly. I was eying this camera for some time as well so I guess it was a perfect timing.
Well as they say, it’s not really on the camera but on the eye looking through it. But I must admit, a bit of technicality helps and I hope to take a lot of picture with this new toy in the coming days. 
Tags: Gadgets, Gears, Photography
Posted on
Tuesday, November 14th, 2006 at 10:05 pm 
Subscribe through 
November 15th, 2006 at 6:45 am
Congratulations on your new Olympus! I’m sure lots of great pics will come out of it.
That Canon AS-1 looks interesting and a must have for outdoor trekkers. I presume it’s film?
I still have my Canon T70, but the battery hatch broke and I have to take it to Hidalgo for repair. It came with a 35-70mm 3.5 - 4.5 Canon lens. I also have a Star-D 80-200mm f3.9 Canon AE-1 lens for it. Wonder if they have any value left?
Cheers!
Eric
November 15th, 2006 at 7:30 am
i was gonna ask this the first time i stumbled upon your blog, but was a bit shy. now, the timing is perfect with this post. i have been interested in photography for a long time, but did not really seriously pursue it for a lot of reasons. now, i’m considering it more seriously. is it ambitious to get an SLR (which by the way, i’m clueless about), or should i just stick with the regular digital camera till i can actually call myself amateur?
hope you don’t mind my asking…thanks.
November 15th, 2006 at 9:19 am
Hi Eric,
Thanks for dropping by again! Yes the Canon AS-1 is one tough “Film” camera, perfect for lugging it around. It’s limit is 16feet underwater but a diver friend of mine managed to get it down to 20 feet and it still survived. It fell quite a number of times but only left some scratches on it.
As for the value of the Camera I let those camera repair shops appraise their value. Sometimes they buy old cams when they see they can still use its parts. Try to ask around there and make sure to haggle for a good price.
November 15th, 2006 at 9:31 am
HI May,
Thanks for dropping by and would be glad to help.
If you are really serious about getting into Photography, an Entry level SLR would be a good start since you’ll have actual “Manual” controls which you can learn more about the relation of Apertures and Shutter speeds. There are a lot of nice entry level offerings out there like Canon’s Rebel and Nikon’s D series and of course Olympus’ E series. It would be good to ask around for basic tips and read about it online.
It wouldn’t hurt to also get those cheaper prosumer/ point and shoot digital with manual controls. You could try to play around those first. Hope that helps
November 15th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
hi ferdz! interesting! dami mo na pala cam, pa-arbor naman ng isa…… LOL.
at maingget na lang muna ako sayo hehehe..
i like photos.. alot. and as what i’ve said on my last comment here, photography is one of my frustrations, i was about to enroll on a basic class about photography and i was asking around where i could enroll yun nga lang hanggang sa naging busy na ako at hinde ko na nagawa yung gusto ko.. well i hope someday kapag medyo ready na ako sana makahanap ako ng school… hmmm meron bang ganun?? im not sure eh… for now enjoy ko na lang muna yung mga pics mo
keep up the good work
November 15th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
kakainggit naman. gusto ko din ng DSLR! hehe. mas madami na naman kaming makikitang magagandang pic from you nyan.
November 15th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
“Well as they say, it’s not really on the camera but on the eye looking through it.” - tama ka talaga d2… dapat lumalabas din ung artistic side mo…
andami mo na ngang toys ah.. sana makasama din kita sa paglalaro ng mga toys… ung cam ko.. kinakalikot ko pa… lam mo naman 1st time ko magkaroon…
paano nga pala ung ibenta sa stock photo?
November 15th, 2006 at 5:33 pm
hahaha interesting choice you got there bro ferdz. ako naman eh to each his own. i’m a nikonian at heart pero there’s room in this world for all sorts, canonian, olympian, etc. the basics are the same. and with technical skills being equal, sa mata na talaga nagkakatalo ang pagkuha. hmmm, minsan, sama tayo nila cruise kumuha ng pictures
November 15th, 2006 at 5:58 pm
hehe, ang cute naman ng post nito, the evolution of ferdz’s cameras. congrats on the newly purchased toy, although i’m not quite sure how your photos will improve further since the c750 has been doing the job very well (naks, libre! libre!)
basta, shoot lang ng shoot! saan na sa dec 1?
November 15th, 2006 at 6:58 pm
Impressive collection of cameras. And you make good use of them!
November 16th, 2006 at 8:14 am
hello there! ty for the comment.
anyhow, ive always been interested in photography (along with film-making and all that.) I want to do it as a hobby. I might… one day take a photography class or something… hehe
and yeah.. you’re right about it’s not in the camera but the eye looking throug it.
ahihi..
November 16th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
Di kaya ng bulsa ko ang ganyang mga cam. Kelangan talagang maginvest sa medyo magagandang aparato noh?
It shows, you do capture moments sealed in the light of eternity.
Keep it up!
November 16th, 2006 at 6:07 pm
i am 100 percent with you FERDZ! i am all for Olympus too. i started from Canon, to Nikon, to Olympus, and then to Nikon…
November 16th, 2006 at 9:11 pm
ey! congrats on your new camera… mas lalong aastig ang mga kuha mo nyan… have fun….
November 16th, 2006 at 11:46 pm
kakaiba ang collection mo
pwede ba akong mag posing at pa shot sayo, hwag mo lang i po post dito sa blog mo, hehe. joke.
sulit naman sayo ang bumili ng bagong camera dahil magaling ka naman talagang kumuha ng pic at magagamit mo sa trabaho at sa maraming gimmick mo
November 16th, 2006 at 11:53 pm
Wow. I would probably just stick to the more accessible point and shoot, run of the mill kind of camera. Although after reading this and after seeing your lovely photos, I’m beginning to think otherwise. You made photography sound less technical and way,way much more interesting. I’d certainly take this up seriously. My days of doodling stuff may then finally be over. Thanks Ferdz. You’re a rock star. I had you in my links. Will certainly check out your latest photos with them cameras…
November 17th, 2006 at 10:24 am
thanks a lot for taking time to reply…i really appreciate it.
November 17th, 2006 at 11:22 am
“Well as they say, it’s not really on the camera but on the eye looking through it. ”
You are so right! I’m sure that if I had your cameras or even if camera/s were better than yours, I wouldn’t be able to take shots as fantastic as yours!
Keep on shooting!
November 17th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
I love photography. It’s not a serious hobby yet though. I’ve been wanting to pursue courses in photography but my mundane routines don’t allow me. *sigh*
I guess my Cybershot will do until I can be really serious. hehehehe
Thanks for all the info.
If I were half as good as you, I’d work for National Geo! hehehe
November 17th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
You well-deserved it!:) enjoy!
November 18th, 2006 at 3:38 am
very impressive cameras you got there! i love posing and collecting pictures but got only the chance to take a lot when i got two last christmas 2005 as a gift from my sister and cousins.
more pictures to view! and kind regards!
November 19th, 2006 at 9:11 am
I wanted to buy a quality DLSR but I’m kinda overwhelmed by the fact that I might be buying something too advanced for my skills so I settled for a FujiS6000fd which is rated best for beginners to serious amateurs. I figure I’ll play with it for a little bit, get some confidence and learn photography bit by bit. The Olympus E500 is a serious camera. In fact I was one of my choices because it uses XD memory which is compatible with my older point and shoot palm sized FujiA320. Good choice.
November 26th, 2006 at 3:52 pm
Ferdz,
This post reminds me of how I became intrigued with the world of photography too. My first camera was a manual Point and Shoot Olympus … It accompanied me for 2 years until someone stole it and I had to change to a better one, a digital version, but still Olympus (C-350 Zoom). It followed me everywhere from the day I bought it when I was still 15 and only this year I managed to use my savings to get myself a decent dSLR … (:
But I’m still waiting to try out manual SLRs though. Hehe.
I guess we all have our own stories of how we decided to take on the route into photography. Hehe.
July 1st, 2007 at 12:31 pm
[...] to visit the underwater world again. I brought along with me my tough and handy 6+ years old Canon AS1 film camera to take pictures of the seascape here. And its a great thing, the water visibility here [...]
September 23rd, 2007 at 5:47 pm
[...] gears do I bring when I travel. Well this post would serve to answer those questions. I posted my Camera History before but this would be nice to explain my current set up. Warning, this could get a bit [...]