Lea & Lens

As I focus on rediscovering my love of photography, I’m placing a high priority on using simple gear. Having sold off all but one tiny point and shoot camera, I committed to cut my G.A.S. (a.k.a. “gear acquisition syndrome”) down by half and also not to purchase anything I won’t keep for at least a year. In keeping with that, I’ve made my first post selling-all-my-gear purchase. And you know what? You can’t go wrong with a classic.

The Canon 5D was my first full frame camera. My first “serious” camera. I had a few Canon APS-C sensor cameras prior to it, but the 5D was the camera I used when my photography really transformed into something that was actually good. Something I was proud of. There’s a definite sense of nostalgia surrounding that camera for me. Along with it, I purchased a 50mm f/1.4 – also a classic. But nostalgia wasn’t the only reason I made this purchase. I also wanted something simple, remember? Something without all the bells and whistles of the newer bodies. Something with less settings to manage and a less complicated menu. Something with an OPTICAL VIEWFINDER that wasn’t a rangefinder. I can’t tell you how over I am staring at screens, let alone putting one (in the form of an EVF) up to my eye continually.

And where did I snag this classic duo? Well, surprisingly, I ordered them both from MPB for a grand total of $378. That’s right. Less than $400 for a full frame camera and lens. If you’ve been around a while, you know that I had a bad experience with MPB last year. Probably one of the worst retail experiences of my life actually. And that wasn’t the only bad experience I had with them. I also know I’m not the only one as I’ve heard from many others in the USA who shared their own tales of woe. But when a few very popular YouTubers were among them, I thought maybe it would get the company’s attention and they’d address some of these issues. I’ll certainly keep you posted about the experience and update my previous review if needed. (UPDATE: I’ve had a few other experiences with MPB since writing this and they’ve been good. I guess the bad press from well know photographers got their attention!)

While I await the arrival this camera and lens, I decided to go back through my archives and pull out some images I previously shot with this camera to share here. There were way too many to go through all of them but here is a small selection of images shot back in 2012-2013, my first year with this camera.