The covid-19 aftermath
Covid-19 pandemic not only halted the economics and human activities throughout the world, but it also forces me to take a step back, pause and think – whether I should or not – continue doing street photography or stop completely.
Years passed. Here I am again. Still alive and kicking ~ alhamdulillah. Even though Covid-19 are not completely gone, we have managed to survive the pandemic and live through it all until today.
Years passed. Here I am again. Still alive and kicking ~ alhamdulillah. Even though Covid-19 are not completely gone, we have managed to survive the pandemic and live through it all until today.
The Rise of Film Prices
If you have been following my blog, you know that I’m a hardcore film shooter. I’ve been blessed with Leica M6 since 2016 and have been using that camera for the past years until the pandemic hit the world that forced me to stop doing street photography for a while.
When the pandemic subsided and the world economics started moving again, the price of film supplies suddenly on the rise like crazy. Within a year (in 2022 specifically), I’ve noticed the film price have been increasing more than four times and it kept increasing until this very day.
Even though I still have several film stocks in my fridge, there is huge hesitation in my mind every time I wanted to shoot with it:
Honestly, I’m starting to feel that it is totally a worthless investment ~ on spending on the film rolls of course. On the other hand, I’m still holding on to my Leica M6, and I did spend some bucks to buy a new Leica M-A. They are still valuable and exceptionally good long-term investment though.
Because of that, I’m saying to myself that I need to have a digital camera. But I’ve made it very clear to myself that the camera must be very cheap and small enough for me to carry. I don’t want to spend on new and expensive digital cameras – knowing that the value will depreciate overtime and causing me to lose money all over again.
One fine day, when looking into camera reviews on YouTube, suddenly I saw this one post from Ulysses Aoki talking about Canon G7x Mark ii. Check out the video HERE.
And I said to myself ~ This camera is perfect for me!
When the pandemic subsided and the world economics started moving again, the price of film supplies suddenly on the rise like crazy. Within a year (in 2022 specifically), I’ve noticed the film price have been increasing more than four times and it kept increasing until this very day.
Even though I still have several film stocks in my fridge, there is huge hesitation in my mind every time I wanted to shoot with it:
- Thinking that within those 36 shots, most probably two images is usable and the rest is a total rubbish.
- Thinking about the cost that I need to spend for developing and scanning those films.
- Thinking of whether I need to spend on buying more film stock for my hobby or should I stop buying it until the price went down again.
Honestly, I’m starting to feel that it is totally a worthless investment ~ on spending on the film rolls of course. On the other hand, I’m still holding on to my Leica M6, and I did spend some bucks to buy a new Leica M-A. They are still valuable and exceptionally good long-term investment though.
Because of that, I’m saying to myself that I need to have a digital camera. But I’ve made it very clear to myself that the camera must be very cheap and small enough for me to carry. I don’t want to spend on new and expensive digital cameras – knowing that the value will depreciate overtime and causing me to lose money all over again.
One fine day, when looking into camera reviews on YouTube, suddenly I saw this one post from Ulysses Aoki talking about Canon G7x Mark ii. Check out the video HERE.
And I said to myself ~ This camera is perfect for me!
Shooting with a Digital Camera Again
Seven years shooting on the street with a film camera, and now I’m back with a digital camera again. Of course, digital camera is not totally alien for me. Before I went full force with my Leica M6, I’ve been shooting with several digital camera brands before such as Fujifilm, Olympus, Nikon and Canon. By the way, my first DSLR camera was a Canon D1000. Now I’m back with a Canon camera, again.
Personally, I’m always find myself bonded with Canon cameras. I love their user interface, the menu systems are easy to understand and very user friendly, and I love the color science that Canon cameras produced - It’s pleasing to my eyes. And this Camera – Canon G7x Mark ii is no exceptions.
Equipped with 1.0-inch type CMOS sensor with 20.1 megapixels, it is more than enough for me. I’m not going to use this camera for filming so the video capabilities never bothers me at all. And I don’t even bothers much about the ISO and dynamic range capabilities because coming from a film users perspective, as long as I nailed the exposure – I can get great images from it. In fact, I can get great images if I nailed the exposures in any type of camera, be it digital or film.
Personally, I’m always find myself bonded with Canon cameras. I love their user interface, the menu systems are easy to understand and very user friendly, and I love the color science that Canon cameras produced - It’s pleasing to my eyes. And this Camera – Canon G7x Mark ii is no exceptions.
Equipped with 1.0-inch type CMOS sensor with 20.1 megapixels, it is more than enough for me. I’m not going to use this camera for filming so the video capabilities never bothers me at all. And I don’t even bothers much about the ISO and dynamic range capabilities because coming from a film users perspective, as long as I nailed the exposure – I can get great images from it. In fact, I can get great images if I nailed the exposures in any type of camera, be it digital or film.
What I Love About this Camera
The size, the flippy screen and fast auto focus – Now I don’t need to put up the camera to my face anymore and nobody would ever notice I’m photographing them while walking in the street – thanks to its size and the flippy screen. As for the auto focus, I always set the focus point in the center and it always locked to the subject every single time I’m pressing the shutter button half way for focusing. Definitely fast for my personal taste.
Another plus point is that, it has built-in flash – which the Ricoh GR Mark iii doesn’t have. So, if you love shooting people with direct flashes to their face, I’m highly recommending this camera for you.
And the most appealing to me is the high ISO noise this camera produces. It really looks like a film grain if you zoom into it. And I love it!
Another plus point is that, it has built-in flash – which the Ricoh GR Mark iii doesn’t have. So, if you love shooting people with direct flashes to their face, I’m highly recommending this camera for you.
And the most appealing to me is the high ISO noise this camera produces. It really looks like a film grain if you zoom into it. And I love it!
Canon G7x Mark ii with build-in flash on
The Dislikes
The only gripe for me is the battery life (sort of). It is small and it can only last approximately up to 700 shots. So, if you are planning to shoot all day, you’ll probably need more than one additional battery for backup. For me personally, one battery is more than enough. All this while I’ve been shooting with two rolls of films a day – which about 72 shots. So, being able to shoot up to 700 shots is definitely more than enough for me. So, technically – the battery life doesn’t really bothers me that much anyway.
Conclusion
This camera is definitely a keeper for me. Check out the images below that I’ve shot with Canon G7x Mark ii.
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