My Digital Journey — Roberto Gomez

Most of the blogs i like to write are about film photography, thats probably because the film bug hit me around the time i decided to create this site for myself. But in all the years ive been into photography the majority of the time i would have been shooting with a digital camera. So i thought id share the journey from my first digital camera to my current, and also share some images along the way.

Fujifilm FinePix S5500 - Acquired 2005 - 3935 Images Taken

Lets start with the first camera, the reasoning behind getting my first digital camera was that i wanted to have a camera that took some nice pictures for when my first son was born in 2005. So just before March 2005 i took the plunge and went for a Fujifilm FinePix S5500, thinking back i decided to go with that camera as it was a step under a proper DSLR in looks. At the time DSLRs were expensive and i didnt really know much about them so i stayed away.

Its crazy to think that this is a 4mp camera with a 1/2.7 inch Type CCD sensor, that had an ISO range of 64-400! It did also have a video option which was a max resolution of 640x480. It came with a 37-370mm (10x optical zoom) 35mm equivalent lens which was more than enough. Blows me away that the rear screen is a 1.5”, how could i even see any images on it??

Considering the spec i did manage to document my son and various other occasions so i cant complain. Here are some of my favourites shots with it.

Canon EOS-1D - Acquired Early 2007 - 986 Images Taken

Probably going to be a shock to most but my next camera was a Canon EOS-1D. In late 2007 i got a new job at a media company who have a photography department. Now i wasnt employed as a photographer but i supported them in an IT perspective. As you can imagine press photographers would always get the latest and greatest gear specially because they are used so heavily. With that being said there were older cameras lying around which i managed to borrow for a period. This was my introduction to the world of DSLRs, it was a rude shock into how much i didnt know about photography. I had no idea what aperture, shutter speed or ISO really meant or did.

So if your not aware the 1D series in the Canon range is the professional range, so there are some priority (auto) modes on them but as i was picking up a used one that a press photographer had used it was set to manual and i didnt know how to change it back. The Canon EOS-1D was the first professional grade DSLR, so as you can imagine the spec of it wasnt very good compared to nowadays. Wasnt much better than my Fujifilm FinePix S5500 when it came to resolution with the Canon EOS-1D having a 4mp APS-H sensor and an ISO range of 100-3200. The lens i used with it was a 17-35mm f2.8 which is still a great lens.

This camera opened my eyes to the world of photography and helped cement the fundamentals of how to use a camera and what each of the settings did and affected the image. If you want to learn what shutter speed, aperture and ISO do to an image switch to manual mode and youll be forced to figure it out. It was pretty cool being able to chat with professional photographers about gear and getting some general tips on how to use the camera.

I didnt have the 1D for a very long time but here are some of the pics with this camera, as you will see i didnt figure out how to change colour balance until some time later (i purposely left those with the incorrect colours).

Canon 40D - Acquired 2007 - 14675 Image Taken

So up until now i havent really spent much on photography gear besides the Fujifilm FinePix S5500 (which wasnt much compared to a DSLR), but in 2007 i decided i wanted to buy myself a DSLR i could truly say is mine (not borrowed). I saved enough for a Canon 40D with a battery grip (come to think of it now i dont know why i bothered with the battery grip, if i was buying it now i would have put that money into buying the Canon EF 50mm F1.4 instead) and all i could afford for a lens was the nifty 50, so the Canon EF 50mm F1.8. Doesnt seem like much but that was roughly $2200 AUD back then!

I loved this camera and took it with me every where as it was half the size of the Canon EOS-1D that i was borrowing. On top of that it was a 10mp APS-C sensor so 6mp more than the Canon EOS-1D. The only thing i missed on the 1D was all of the focus points it had, the 40D only had 9 to choose from.

I had this camera for around 4 years before i replaced it so i added to the lens collection, from the beginning i still had the Canon EF 17-35mm F2.8 i was borrowing. I bought a super cheap Canon EF 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS, eventually got Canon EF 20mm F2.8 and then upgraded to a Canon EF 50mm F1.4 after my wife dropped and broke my Canon EF 50mm F1.8.

I have some great memories with this camera, here are some of my favourite images taken with it.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 - Acquired 2009 - 2096 Images Taken

In 2009 i thought i would buy a point and shoot that would allow me to use it in conditions where a normal digital camera would essentially break. What i mean by that is i wanted a camera that was weather proof. So along came the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 shock/dust/waterproof point and shoot camera. Admittedly my wife used this camera most of the time when we would go on holidays while i took the DSLR around but i would take this with me on snowboarding trips etc. So this camera has taken the most amount of pictures of me than any other.

Of course i got it in the orange as i wanted to make sure i could find it if i ever dropped it in the snow or the ocean. It was modestly spec’d with a 12mp 1/2.33" sensor, 80-6400 ISO, 28-128mm equivalent zoom, large 2.7” rear LCD screen and had a modest 1280x720 @ 30fps video option.

Perfect little camera to throw in your pocket and bring out when you needed it, here are some of my faves with it.

Canon EOS-1D Mark III - Acquired 2011 - 12452 Images Taken

So it had been 4 years since i bought the Canon 40D and again i got the opportunity to long term borrow another body from work, so in 2011 i managed to get the Canon EOS-1D Mark III that was in surprisingly good condition considering it had been through a press photographer.

The Canon EOS-1D Mark III didnt have an improvement in megapixel for the sensor, so still the 10mp sensor but there was all the other benefits of having a pro body like auto focus, focus points, button layout etc. Its crazy how quickly you get accustomed to the layout of a 1D camera. Aperture and shutter dials right at your thumb and index finger in natural positions where your hand would be on the camera.

This time around the 1D didnt intimidate me that much as i had the experience from the previous as well as the Canon 40D i had been using which allows you to easily translate across to the 1D.

Looking back at the pictures from this camera i was getting into car photography so you’ll see a bunch of car shots. What made motorsport so accessible now was that i also borrowed a Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8 IS. This lens was tac sharp and perfect for tracking fast cars. Along with the 70-200mm i also managed to swap out the tired Canon 17-35mm F2.8 i was borrowing for a more modern Canon 16-35mm F2.8 which was sharper and in better shape.

Here are some of my favourites.

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - Acquired 2014 - 10161 Images Taken

So much like the Canon EOS-1D Mark III i traded it in for the Canon 1D Mark IV in 2014 through work. Yes im one lucky guy to have been able to get my hands on some awesome gear, i think the photographers at work went through another refresh so there was a bunch more cameras sitting around.

The Canon EOS-1D Mark IV had a jump in megapixel to 16mp which wasnt much compared to some of the other cameras out at the time but it did have 10fps.

So as you can see below the car craze continued with the majority of the pictures being cars, it did help getting the Mark IV with the better focus tracking and higher fps.

Please enjoy some of my faves with the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV.

Fujifilm X-T10 - Acquired Early 2017 - 4391 Images Taken

This is where things get exciting again for me, much like when i first bought my Canon 40D all those years ago. I think i was at a stage where photography wasn’t as fun as it had been when i first started, on top of that i was pretty sick of lugging around a massive Canon EOS-1D series body everywhere when i wanted to take pictures.

So in January of 2017 i was going to be heading to Japan on a snowboarding trip, at this point i said to myself there is no way im going to be taking a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV on that trip with a Canon 16-35mm F2.8 and probably a Canon 50mm F1.4. I wasnt going to take a suitcase, just a large travel snowboard bag with all my clothes and gear in that, and of course a backpack for general carry on stuff. Also i wanted to take something with me while i was snowboarding to document some of that part as well, so no way that was going to be the 1D.

With this in mind in December of 2016 i started doing some research for some mirrorless cameras which was all the craze at the time and fit my need of having a small portable camera. There wasn’t many manufacturers at the time to choose from that had anything worthwhile. But i wanted a camera with interchangeable lenses, had to look good and had decent features. I didnt want a top tier camera at this stage just a mid tier as i wasn’t looking to replace the Canon gear. So after plenty of research i settled on the Fujifilm X-T10 which was cheaper at the time as the X-T20 was just out, although i could have afforded it if i had bought a kit lens with it i decided to stick with the Fujifilm X-T10 body and splurge on a better lens so i picked up the Fujifilm 35mm F1.4. A decision i have not regretted.

The Fujifilm X-T10 is a great little camera with a 16mp APS-C sensor, 200-6400 ISO, 1080/60p video and more importantly its small.

This camera made me want to go out and shoot again, i wanted to take it with me everywhere which is exactly how i felt with the Canon 40D. There wasnt a moment i didnt have it with me.

As for how it went with its intended purchase of using it on my snowboarding trip to Japan? Exactly what i hoped for, it was the perfect size to have around my neck or to put in a small back pack while snowboarding. I was blown away at the sharpness of the lens and the quality of the shots it produced. I was hooked.

Here are some of my faves with it.

Fujifilm X-T2 - Acquired Late 2017 - 23414 Images Taken

From the point i got back from my Japan snowboarding trip i started looking at getting rid of all of my Canon gear and switching completely over to Fujifilm with the Fujifilm X-T2 being my primary camera for all of my fun.

The Japan trip showed me the potential of the Fujifilm X-Series and i was hooked, 100% convinced that it was a good move and i wasnt going to look back. By September i had the Fujifilm X-T2 in my hand and all of my Canon gear gone/returned.

My desire for shooting motorsport had dropped off a bit and the need to replace the 70-200mm wasnt on the top of my list but rather i was interested in prime lenses. So along with my Fujifilm 35mm F1.4 i added the Fujifilm 16mm F1.4 and the Fujifilm 56mm F1.2 over the next couple of years. One of these days i might pull the trigger on a Fujifilm 50-140mm F2.8 although the lens at the top of my list to purchase next is the Fujifilm 23mm F1.4. The only other lens i purchased is the Fujifilm 27mm F2.8 which i purchased to be permanently on the Fujifilm X-T10.

Again much like the Fujifilm X-T10 the X-T2 sparked that desire to shoot again, aesthetically the X-T2 is a beautiful camera to look at, one of the prettiest on the market if you ask me with maybe the Fujfilm X-Pro3 being the only one to top its looks (next body purchase?).

I cant see myself ever getting rid of the X-T2, its got more than enough megapixels at 24mp and does 4k video, those 2 specs alone will make the X-T2 relevant for years to come. Although i do think the Fujifilm X-Pro3 is knocking at the door……

Here are some of my faves with my current go to camera.

Hope you enjoyed my digital camera journey which isnt over just yet.

Thanks for visiting.