Author: Yinglan

Nowadays, with iPhones and other smart phones and tablets, 4G web everywhere, and social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), most people can simply tap a button on their phones, snap a picture, and share it with everyone but did you know…

that once upon a time, a camera looked like this? It was bulky and worst of all, it uses film rolls instead of SD cards. Not only were we limited in the amount of pictures we can take (usually between 33 and 35 per roll) but we also had no idea how they will turn out unless we drive to the nearest store and wait an hour or so for the pictures to be printed out.  If the pictures turned out terrible, oh well.

Oh, and let’s not mention if you accidentally open the back cover, all your pictures will go poof. Been there, done that.

Around mid-2000’s, digital cameras came into existence. I remember when my mom bought our very first digital camera and getting extremely frustrated learning to use it. She kept whining about how there was no reason to go digital other than being able to send pictures over email. It was a 3.2 megapixel digital camera with a 512 MB memory card.

Still, it wasn’t much better than the camera that used a film roll. It was bulky and difficult to use. I took the camera to Disneyland for my 8th grade field trip and remember standing in front of the castle, taking picture after picture and never satisfied with any one of them. The pictures were blurry and grainy.

In 2008, during her job training, my mom realized she needed a camera and luckily, it was 4th of July and there was a sale. I still have no clue why she went with this pink 7.2 megapixels Fuji Finepix Z but this camera ended up taking us a long way.

It was with this camera I took my first macro photo and got me addicted to photography. It was with this camera I got interested in learning all about photography and eventually posting pictures on my blog. It’s also the camera that took me on many trips – to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago, and the East Coast.

In November, 2015, however, when we saw a Sony 20-megapixels camera on sale for less than $100 on Amazon, we decided it’s time for an upgrade. My first time to use the new camera was at a Christmas party when I shot a picture of a chandelier. I thought the picture turned out amazing.

This is it, I thought, we’re finally caught up with the trend.

I couldn’t be more wrong. The amount of megapixels for cameras nowadays are way higher than 20. I saw some smartphone cameras are in the 40’s or even 50’s or 60’s megapixels. It’s unbelievable and here I was goggling over a 20 megapixels camera.

Now, of course, a 20 megapixels camera takes a better picture than a 7.2 megapixels or a 5 megapixels (my tablet) camera. Comparing the pictures now, I believe the amount of megapixels makes the most difference in landscape and macro photos. I mean, just compare the left to the right. The left was taken with the pink camera and the right taken with the new camera. Both were taken around the same time a year apart. You’ll see a difference, even if it’s slight.

In conclusion, while I know I’m behind with the trend of digital photography, I realize that I might never catch up and I’m okay with my current digital camera. I also realize that almost everything in the universe evolve whether it’s technology, people, or land. Some just evolve quicker than others like the camera going from old fashion film rolls cameras to digital to digital DSLR and very soon, a super compact camera that is loaded with amazing features.

Originally published on May 7, 2014
Revised and re-posted on September 27, 2016

Image Credit: Google (unless noted)