Special thanks to Mrs. Pepper who encouraged me to click-and-tell, and share just a bit of humor.
Soon after becoming a professional photographer, I was very lucky that Nikon agreed to my proposal of sponsorship. For many years I chose to remain committed to Nikon and have always been very happy doing so. It didn’t hurt that, during those years, there were fewer fish in the sea compared to today. And even though Canon users attempted to seduce me into using Canon’s also-attractive equipment, the attraction wasn’t strong enough to divide my assets. After all, some of my photography gear could still be used with Canon, should I decide to leave Nikon.
It’s no secret that I did experience Canon’s bodies a few times over the years, and I liked them. But I always returned to Nikon, and Nikon always stood by me.
More years went by and, like many 40-somethings feeling our age, I felt weighed-down. Full-frame cameras have big lenses, they lack touchscreens, and I wanted to remember what it felt like to use the K.I.S.S. Principle.
So without discussing it with Nikon, after all cameras can’t discuss things, I came to the conclusion that I would become polycamerous.
Now I spend much of my time with Olympus. Olympus is younger, lighter and more exciting. Olympus comes up with new features all by itself where Nikon remains wonderful but always the same. I can always count on Nikon to come through for me where sometimes Olympus crashes. But I feel that Olympus only crashes because it’s trying hard to impress me with features Nikon hasn’t even thought of — and apparently won’t try when asked.
Traveling is always an interesting time in the polycamerous life. Should I invite Nikon or should I invite Olympus into my bag. Well sometimes it’s an easy choice such as business trips and I need my reliable partner that has been creating panoramic and other images with me for years. We know how to work together, enjoy doing so, and the results are always excellent. On the other hand, I still want a good camera with me when I travel for personal reasons, yet packing/carrying Nikon is a significant effort. Since it’s extremely rare that I don’t do something photography business related when I travel, bringing Olympus is just right to feel young and wild and free. In fact there are times that I bring both… just to keep my options open.
I probably shouldn’t admit this, but sometimes I’ll even go out in the city with (wait for it) — iPhone. But this is purely because I want a relaxed experience without worrying about either Nikon or Olympus. I wouldn’t really include iPhone with my polycamerous life since I never get to know an iPhone well before it’s replaced about once a year.
But for my two cameras, I love them both, and I think they both love me.
I am glad that we have choices. No camera fits the bill for every situation. I too have adopted mirrorless (Fujifilm, in my case). Also nice to see the innovations brought forth by many mirrorless camera manufacturers. Do you realize you invented a new word? Polycamerous. Love it. I will have to remember to use it in my vocabulary.
While not the first to think of the term (the URL is taken), I’m proud to have thought of it and released it into the wild!
I keep telling people that photography is a series of compromises. There is no such thing as a perfect camera. The best that you can hope for is that a camera system will make the compromises that best fit your needs. In cases where that isn’t possible, going Polycamerous makes perfect sense. Your compromise to achieve your goals is to spend more money, and learn to deal with two different cameras, but you get to have multiple sets of compromises that let you handle many more situations. During my transition from Nikon to Olympus I was Polycamerous, I used the… Read more »
Hi Bob! I see that I missed some snark/innuendo opportunities such as ‘learning to deal with two’ and ‘multiple sets of compromises.’ I also hadn’t thought of the inference with I might also be monocamerous with Olympus. Actually I’m glad I didn’t think of the latter. ;)