For some reason, I decided that I needed another film camera recently. The Reto Ultra Wide and Slim that I got last Christmas died after one roll of film, jamming another one inside itself and rendering itself utterly useless. So, obviously, I needed something new to take its place.
Be happy with what you already have
And after a couple of days perusing London Camera Exchange, eBay, West Yorkshire Cameras (RIP), Cameras by Max, Harrison Cameras, and of course, the brilliant Analogue Wonderland, I couldn't find anything that jumped out at me that didn't cost a fortune.
Everything was almost £200, except for lots of different 80s and 90s point and shoots on eBay, where it's a bit Russian Roulette-y buying one and seeing what you get. The choice got overwhelming after a short while, and I felt like maybe, just maybe, I didn't need to buy one after all.
I've got a Canon 500 SLR, it's served me well for nearly a decade and only cost £10 from London Camera Exchange. I've also got a Fuji DL-80, which I bought last year (also for a tenner) from The Air Ambulance Charity eBay shop. They're both nice little cameras that work right now. I think my need to get another film camera is driven by a fear that they'll soon stop working - film cameras are old and do break eventually - as I've found out in the past with them unceremoniously dying on me. Coupled with the fact that prices are going up as more people revert back to film, or try it for the first time and fall in love with it, and you've got an anxiety-driven need to accumulate more stuff, just in case you can't get it anymore in the future.
Modern film cameras aren't really very good in my experience. My Kodak M35 and the Reto both broke after one roll of film - and I'm not rough with them at that. They're very basic products, made of cheap plastic, that somehow cost quite a lot for what they are; and they don't last like older film cameras do. The plastic-y nature of them ensures that they're not really built to last. That's why I prefer buying older cameras that have a far better build quality - but it is quite a minefield.
Whenever I want something new, something I've already got, I'll look at reviews of that thing to remind me why I bought it in the first place. I ended up looking on Lomography at sample images from the cameras I have to help me to appreciate them once again. It's a small thing that really goes quite a long way to saving me some money and ensuring that I'm happy enough with what I already have.
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