Still functions

Saw some Etsy sellers today selling old cameras today. There are some really classic ones for sales, even some really desirable ones, too. A very clean Polaroid Land Camera with the pretty brown leather on it + carrying case. I have a collection of old cameras, and sad to say, most are in a box. I bought them for decor, but loved when I could still shoot with them. Need a medium format camera? Shoot an old Kodak brownie from early 1900s. Takes 120 film. I have some shots I took in Florida with one, they are all rough and rusty in their look and feel.

Some of the other cameras were not that old. Not sure if I personally would call a Nikon N70 a "vintage" camera. Can still shoot with it. But to each his own. I even entertained the idea to sell mine, too, but not sure if it is worth it for only $10 or $20. I suppose I could use that to jump start my own Etsy page. I would rather get my images up there. Who knows. If only there was more time in the day.

But this brought to mind something unique. If these cameras still function, aren't we in essence tossing out the potential for art in exchange for knick-knacks? What do photo students shoot with now? Remember when everyone had a K-1000? Mine was the Canon AE-1. And as I have mentioned, some of my favorite shots were with that. Oh, and let's not neglect the way my Minolta Hi-Matic (when it functioned) shot black & whites. Oh so crisp. That camera was meant to shoot b&w. No matter how I try to manuever photoshop and lightroom to adjust my shots to get it to appear b&w, it never looks the same. I am sure part of that is user error(if you want to call it error). It begs that question though.