Old Tech

I was late to the Nikon party. While my peers were out in the field with F2 and FM units, I was happily clicking away with my pro Canon F-1.

That changed when I was a staff photographer and then a commercial assistant. I had to learn how to “reverse focus” the Nikkor lenses and also become proficient with this industry standard.

It wasn’t until 2008 that I bought my own Nikon. It was a D700 and quite simply the best digital camera I had ever touched.

That unit and a backup twin, hung out in my inventory for about four years until it was superseded by the next digital Nikon, the D600.

A few years later, I was longing for that old beast so strongly that I ordered up a second-hand unit from my dealer in Atlanta. When this marvel of “old tech” arrived, I was excited to renew my love.

However, I soon remembered why I cycled it out in the first place. It was much heavier than I remembered it to be. Then when I triggered the shutter, I was reminded of my biggest complaint. The din of the shutter triggering was shocking.

By the end of the day, it was clear that this camera was going back to the dealer.

The D700 was a great camera and it helped me make some great portraits like this one.

But Time moves forward. Going back doesn’t make sense.

About the author: I am Stephen Kennedy, an experienced photographer with more than 2500 completed sessions in all 50 US states.