I’ve been interested in trying out CCD sensor cameras. Old compact cameras, or digicams, became my gateway to CCD photography. Here’s how my first photowalk with them went.

Recently, I picked up 3 old Canon PowerShot cameras. I got a G5, G11, and S50, all for less than the cost of a pro-pack of Kodak 35mm film! The G5 and S50 arrived before the G11, so those are the cameras I took with me for a day out on the town with my wife.

Compact Cameras: The Specsheet

These compact cameras don’t look like much on paper. The PowerShot S50 is a 5-Megapixel CCD sensor camera with a 35-105mm f/2.8-4.9 lens (in 35mm equivalent focal length). The PowerShot G5 shares that 5MP CCD sensor, but features a faster 35-140mm f/2-3.0 lens.

My poor PowerShot S50 has seen a tough life. It came in with a top plate that is barely hanging on, a zoom rocker that worked most of the time, and bumps and scrapes that tell the story of a lifetime of usage. It still works like a champ, though! All of that for a little over $6.

The PowerShot G5

The PowerShot G5 came to me in much better shape. For the premium $10 price tag, I was surprised at how nice it is. This little camera feels great in the hand and offers excellent control. It’s also funny to me that big mirrorless cameras are just now getting articulating screens and this little guy came with one back in 2003!

Anyway, this story is about the photowalk and the photos, not just the gear. I’ll be writing reviews of the PowerShot S50 and G5 at a later date, so keep your eyes peeled!

An afternoon in Bentonville, AR

My wife and I decided to wander around downtown Bentonville before going out for dinner for once. I figured that would be the perfect chance to play with these compact cameras. Point and Shoot cameras are practically designed for this kind of thing!

This was where the retro clamshell design of the PowerShot S50 really shone. Not only do I love the film camera look and feel of it, but it made the camera super small and convenient to use. It was also funny watching a photographer look at me as he walked by with his clients while I was trying to get starbursts of the sun behind the Christmas tree.

Compact Cameras and portraits?

I was somehow able to convince my wife to stand in for a few portrait shots when I found a cool spot. Both cameras allow for flash compensation, so I dialed in some negative compensation for fill light and grabbed these shots.

I’m super happy with how these photos turned out. The G5’s faster lens even gave me a little bokeh! How’s that for a 2003 1/1.7″ compact camera? Also, the color is lovely. The skin tones these little CCD sensor cameras put out are spot on.

What the photos don’t show

I’m sure my friend Brett (who has an amazing blog, btw) is tired of hearing me talk about how much fun I’m having with these cameras. He picked up a Ricoh GRIIIx not too long ago, and I totally get why he fell in love with it now.

Having an actual camera that can be in hand at any time is great! Photography with my phone just isn’t the same. I also find that phone images still look weird and smeary, even with the latest and greatest models. Meanwhile, these old CCD cameras deliver plenty of detail and a natural, organic look for web and modest-sized prints.

With these compact cameras, I also get the tactile joy of ergonomics meant for photography. With a smartphone, I get a fingerprint-covered, slippery slab of glass with no soul, no fun, and no pleasant physical interface. There’s just something about these little cameras that bring the fun and makes photography such a joy.

I found myself just enjoying the day out with my wife. I took photos whenever my eye was caught. There wasn’t a need to be concerned about being serious or wasting film. 5MP photos don’t even register in my library of photos. The feeling of freedom I got from these compact cameras was certainly inspiring.

Operating within the limits of compact cameras

Right away I noticed that my thought process was different with these compact cameras. First, I rarely considered the depth of field. It made me realize that I often start thinking about a scene in terms of the aperture with my big cameras. With point-and-shoot cameras, it takes very specific shots to achieve much background blur.

Second, I noticed that I looked for subjects much the same as I do when using black and white film. I found myself looking for contrast. Whether that was contrasting colors or light, I was much more drawn to subjects that were interesting on their own.

Lastly, I feel like the compact cameras really piqued my creativity. I felt much more open to experimenting with compositions. Being limited to a deeper focus depth opened up some creative possibilities as well. Shooting telephoto for the compression effect while also getting everything sharp is something tough to do with a full-frame camera. On the compact cameras? Not a problem, even handheld!

Time for dinner

We ended up driving down to Pedler’s Pub for dinner. This place is the best pizza in town, at least that we’ve tried. However, it’s a popular spot and had a wait time. Of course, this meant I had time for a few more photos!

While we waited for the message that a table opened up, we wandered around the immediate area and snapped a few more photos with my compact cameras. The light was amazing all afternoon and finally climaxed with a soft sunset. About the time we were losing light, we got the text that our table was ready.

However, I did have to take a few photos inside. I mean, what good is a point-and-shoot if you don’t get a photo of your food!? With bellies full of pizza, we left Pedler’s Pub and headed home satisfied with the food and the photowalk.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and the photos at least a fraction as much as we enjoyed the day out. Hopefully, between my writing this and you reading it, I will have got out again with one or two of them. I’m hoping to start reviewing them soon and doing some more digicam-based posts!