Counting down to the final days of cameras

Cellphones now the medium of choice for shutterbugs, Jim Phillipchuk says.

When I was young, my mother had a Brownie box camera. Metal and cardboard construction, no flash, and no adjustments.

You could only take pictures in the daytime and you had to press the shutter release very slowly.

When you were turning the film to the next picture, if you went past the number in the window at the back of the camera, too bad. You couldn’t wind it back, and when the prints came back you would see a blank picture. Yes, they printed a blank picture.

When I was older, our family got a fancy-schmancy plastic Brownie Hawkeye camera that had a large flash attachment. The flash was blinding and we used to enjoy watching people after having their picture taken blink repeatedly to try to get their sight back.

When you were a kid, dazed people with damaged retinas were funny.

When I went to university, I got an Instamatic camera that took terrible pictures, but was easy to load and used funky flash cubes. It was terrible tech but really groovy, man.

When I graduated, got a job and money, I got a 35 mm camera that grown-ups use. It was not an interchangeable lens camera, but I couldn’t believe how good the pictures were. I bought a tripod and flash and I learned about setting aperture and speed.

When I upgraded to a single lens reflex (SLR) camera, I was in camera heaven.

The body and lens fit with mechanical precision and the controls were a marvel. I can still remember the sound of the mirror flipping up and down when taking a shot.

I couldn’t describe it, but I’m sure it sounded like

“Look at me, I’m a serious photographer.”

Our first home had absolutely no furniture for three years, but my wife and I took three- to five-week trips around the world. I bought slide film because it was cheaper than print film. With a slide projector, I could fill the wall from floor to ceiling with my pictures in our empty living room.

By sitting as close as possible to the wall, we felt that we were a part of the picture. I’ve never asked them, but

I’m sure that our parents when they visited thought we were crazy.

I next bought a long 3X lens and a flash so big that you bolted the camera to the flash rather than the flash to the camera. I bought a special backpack to haul all my camera and gear.

And then somewhere along the way, I stopped taking my camera when we went out. It was heavy. We had enough stuff to carry for our kids and ourselves. Switching lenses, attaching flashes, and picking settings was just too much work.

Cameras changed to digital and, for a while, I got by with a simple point-and-shoot camera. I left it on automatic and even the flash went off on its own.

Fifteen years ago, I bought a bridge camera, the same size as my SLR but a third of the weight. It had a nice Leica lens. It wasn’t an interchangeable lens camera but it came with a 12X optical zoom that made other lenses unnecessary. I enjoyed taking pictures again.

Then cellphones came along and started including a camera. Cellphone cameras got better every time I got a new phone. I would take a picture and compare it to my camera. The camera picture was still always better.

And why not? The camera was built for one purpose, while the cellphone was built for a hundred purposes.

But then everyone got a cellphone. Why carry a camera when the cellphone pictures were good enough.

After 15 years, I thought I’d get a new camera. There were fewer places to buy a camera. I remember large camera sections in department stores and camera stores with a bewildering array of cameras. Not so now.

There are few camera stores and mostly they are just another item in electronics stores. Camera salespeople talked about the market for point-and-shoot cameras drying up.

Recently, we took our grandson to a children’s show. Every parent or grandparent was taking photos. I was the only one I saw with a camera.

So, I made a point of asking my son-in-law what he was using to take photos. After all, he was young, making good money and is an engineer, so would understand technical issues. He uses a cellphone.

Very soon, when my inquisitive grandson asks about my camera — and he will — I will have to explain to him what a camera does.

Rest in peace, camera.

Jim Phillipchuk,

St. Albert, Alberta