Taking photographs has been part of my life for a very long time. I must say that I am not claiming to be a great photographer but there are a few of my attempts to capture places I have been fortunate enough to visit in a gallery on this web site. To have a look click here or on the previous link.

This piece is not so much about the art of photography as the tools used to create them – cameras and lenses. Although I used to use Canon camera equipment when the company changed from their FD mount to another version (the EF mount) in 1987 all my equipment became obsolete. Oh, I could have carried on using the equipement but over time I would have had fewer and fewer options. So… I took the plunge and swtiched to Nikon and have never regretted it until recently. Nearly all Nikon lenses will fit the latest digital camera bodies albeit with varying degrees of functionality. That means that I can still use quality manual focus lenses that I purchased 20 years ago.

My ‘best’ camera was a D2X which I purchased new in 2006 for £4000. It is a professional camera – that is one designed and build to be used day in day out in every conceivable situaltion. It was a superb camera but like all cameras it has its limitations (high ISO speeds resulted in very grainy images for example). However, I as do not need huge enlargements and usually have pleanty of light this was never a problem for me as a semi-pro. Until, that is, one night in 2010 whilst on assignment the camera just froze. The last image was stayed displayed on the screen but nothing would work. Switching it off and on again just make the image disappear and changing the battery for a fully charged one had no effect. I had to resort to an older D1X (which still delivered acceptable images) but it was not a good experience in the middle of a photo shoot.

The camera body was taken to the camera repair shop, Cameratiks in Edinburgh, whom my wife and I have used for years. They could not diagnose the problem it and so it was sent to Nikon for an estimate for repair. That came back at £350. Hmm… but as I like the camera so much and eBay were selling second hand D2X’s in the region of £500 – £600 I went for it and asked Cameratiks to inform Nikon that I accepted their estimate and to proceed with the repair. Then woe, Nikon explained that whilst carrying out the repair had discovered more problems and the estimate was now £950! That was just too expensive. Having had a professional camera for four years during which time it only had light use that meant that it had cost £1000 per year to use. Was it worth another £1000 to repair? I decided not and bought a second hand one from eBay. But I am still wary of sudden failure. Should I get the new second hand one serviced? How much would that cost and would it be worth it? When the estimate for £950 came back from Nikon and was rejected I was then asked – ‘Do you want the camera back?’ Given the high annual cost of using the camera (£1000 per annum) and high repair costs I wonder if there is something fundamentally wrong with this particular model and Nikon wants them out of circulation? It is probably my suspicious mind but I can’t shake that nagging feeling…

Just to make things worse I had decided that as I was happy with the DX format (the FX is superb but I cannot justify the cost) I invested in a variety of DX lenses and so I am stuck with DX bodies of which the D2X is my favourite. Ho hmm…