Photography, at its core, is about capturing joy – not chasing mythical “masterpieces”. Let’s face it: becoming the next Henri Cartier-Bresson requires more luck than skill, and an obsession with gear elitism robs the craft of its magic. True fulfillment lies not in mocking the gear choices of others, but in the thrill of creation itself.
Enter the Sony A300: a humble, outdated APS-C CCD warrior that proves you don’t need a Leica-level budget to taste the sweetness of photography. As the mirrorless marvels of 2025 sprint ahead, this 2008 relic whispers a timeless truth-sometimes imperfection has more soul than perfection.
Let me tell you about my little photography buddy – this Minolta 100-200mm f4.5 lens. It’s not the fanciest piece of equipment out there, but man, does it have character!
The Surprise Performer
I bought this lens used for $30 and thought I’d only use it occasionally, but it turned out to be my go-to lens for landscapes. The 200mm range is like putting binoculars on a camera. It turned out to be my go-to lens for landscapes. 200mm is like gluing a pair of binoculars to your camera. At the lake last month, it captured details the eye could never see! The maximum aperture of f4.5 isn’t super bright, but it keeps the lens tight and works well in daylight.
Leica has brought the rangefinder rangefinder system into the camera world. Decades later, Voigtlander introduced the rangefinder rangefinder system into medium-format cameras. Among them, Bessa II is such an excellent camera.
lens
Bessas II was equipped with a Color-Skopar 3.5/10.5 cm or Color-Heliar 3.5/10.5 cm lens from 1954 onwards. Also available is the rare and popular Apo-Lanthar 4.5/10.5 cm lens.
shutter
The Compur-Rapid shutter installed on early models was replaced by the Synchro-Compur shutter from 1951 onwards. Accessory boots only started appearing in 1954.
Rollei Rolleiflex 3.5 MX EVS Medium Format TLR Camera
It seems that many Leica users also have a Rollei twin-lens reflex camera. And I own a Rollei Rolleiflex 3.5 MX EVS. This is a model with a non-replaceable focusing screen and no built-in light meter. But I really like this kind of fully manual, fully mechanical camera. Moreover, it is smaller than later models.
Any Rollei camera is a high-end camera
Rolleiflex mx-evs uses Tessar lens 75mm f/3.5. Later Rollei used more advanced Zeiss and Schneider f/2.8 lenses. However, in fact, Rollei TLR lenses are very good, and any Rollei is a high-end camera. Also, the quality of early Rollei models was excellent, and since there were no more complex electronic components, it rarely failed. Rollei cameras are as refined as Leica cameras, very good.
Street photography with a Rolleiflex camera
I love the street photography of Robert Doisneau, who uses a Rollei TLR for street photography. There is an interesting story from that year. One day the newspaper published an article by Henri Cartier Bresson about the lightness and portability of the Leica. The next day, the newspaper published an article by Robert Doisneau praising the Rollei camera for being good at capturing photos. Vivian Maier from the United States, she took a lot of street photos using Rollei TLR, which is very amazing. And I like them all.
So, I also picked up Rolleiflex mx-evs and tried street photography. Then I found it really interesting. The image in the viewfinder is opposite to reality, and there is a feeling of being separated from reality and entering a parallel universe.
Medium Format TLR Camera
Square composition and shallow depth of field are the characteristics of 120-frame cameras. Also, 120-frame film is four times larger than 135-frame film, making it easier to scan high-quality photos. It’s easy to get nice bokeh with TLR cameras, and especially with people, there’s a charming kind of bokeh.
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Xpan is an amazing machine that covers two 135 frames. The marriage of Hasselblad and Fuji looks like a Leica. This is a well-received and prestigious camera. Its unique widescreen composition and excellent lens group make it a classic camera in the minds of many photographers. Both the first-generation XPAN and the second-generation XPAN are considered to be excellent cameras.
Reliable
For the same electronic camera, the Xpan body is actually more stable and reliable than the Contax G. Its reliability is comparable to that of Leica’s fully mechanical cameras. Its film mode is even more reliable than the Leica’s. When you load the film into the xpan body, it will automatically pull out all the film, and then when you take a picture, it will put the film back into the film box. This mode prevents accidentally opening the back cover of the camera and destroying the exposed film, which is very clever.
Lens
The Hasselblad Xpan lens is very compact and has very high definition. It is indeed a top-notch lens. However, since the image plant he wants to cover is very large, vignetting will occur. Taking the 45mm f/4 lens as an example, it is best to use a center gray filter.
