Hi there!

Back in 2010, I was gearing up for my first trip abroad, flying from Germany to Hong Kong. As I packed, I realized my little HP digicam had unexpectedly decided to retire for good. Panicking and determined to capture my trip, I dashed to the local electronics store.

I remember there was a sales display for a small, futuristic-looking DSLR that just so fit my budget - the Olympus “Evolt” E-420. To be honest, I knew nothing about its tech and specs at the time and I probably overpaid for what it was, but nonetheless, I made the purchase and as the proud owner of my first DSLR I stepped on that plane to Hong Kong just a couple of days later, the half-read 140 page camera manual still in hand.

This adventure was primarily a work trip, leaving me very little time for personal photography, mostly during evenings and nights. Little did I know about the challenges of low light photography with a slow kit lens and how my novice skills in operating a “real” camera would hinder my image taking. Let’s just say I’m still grateful for every single image I managed to capture and bring home in the end.

Another trip, this time to Istanbul, soon followed, and with me came my trusty E-420. While everyone is talking about magical CCD sensors nowadays, this camera still produces what I can only describe as lifelike images without one. Or maybe it was the mediterranean sun? Who knows. Back at that time, I lacked the post-production capabilities of today. Lightroom 2, however, had been on the market for a while (which is what I used). What I also lacked was storage space and a proper file management system, which resulted in me loosing many of the images I took with the camera at the time (mostly just the Hong Kong and Turkey trips survived).

The E-420 was my companion for almost 5 years, then I sold it off to acquire a newer and in my mind more capable Canon APS-C DSLR, the EOS 50D. Things surely got complicated from there - buying and selling off camera gear in rapid succession to find “the one camera” that would magically make my photos better. We’ve likely all been there.

Fast forward to the end of 2023 when I finally organized my photo catalog spanning no less than 20 years in Lightroom Classic. While sorting through my roughly 100,000 images, I stumbled upon the photos from my old E-420. Perhaps it was a touch of sentimentality, the colors, or just an urge to shop on eBay, but a preowned E-420 soon arrived in the mail, all for less than 100 USD.

Sure, it needed a little TLC - cleaning, replacing a lost eyecup, a new battery and CF card. Now, however, that I’ve taken it for the first few walks, I’m finally getting the nostalgia around old digital cameras that I always was a little skeptical of.

In recent years, I've mainly used cameras with an EVF, staring at screens after working on a computer all day. Right now, I've had my fill of screens, to be honest. Peering through the optical viewfinder of the E-420, however small, is a delight. It even inspired me to ditch my Apple Watch when photographing and go back to wearing my mechanical watch.

And what about image quality? I think it's great. As long as you nail a decent exposure with the relatively slow lenses and stick at or below ISO 400. If you push the exposure in Lightroom more than 1.5 steps, you'll notice loads of grain throughout the picture, not just in the shadows. Maybe flip it to black and white or embrace the limitations and imperfections. Sometimes, you'll need to do both. And I love it.

I can’t suggest you should go out and buy an E-420 if you don’t have the same sentimental attachment that I clearly have to this camera model. Instead, I do suggest you find your special camera, however old and quirky it might be, and go have fun with that. I was skeptical about this whole “vintage digicam” deal, but for me, there seems to be something to it after all.

Thanks for stopping by,

Marcus