Hi everyone, just quick posts while we are trying to get through another hot Georgia summer.  These next few posts will be gear oriented, me showing off what has recently been thrifted or gifted! That and finally revisiting camera+lens combos that I’ve had on the to-do list for quite sometime.

The other day (month?) I added a used Canon 20D for $20!  This is in addition to the 10D I got ages ago for $10 and Rebel XTi for dirt cheap as well.  These were the popular cameras from 20+ years ago, and of course they are still great for photos today!  This set was from this Spring, when I thought it would be a fun challenge to shoot all Canon APS-C with nice lenses.  The Canon color, contrast and saturation is still all there, and the tiny raw files just fly by in editing.  That is even if you want to edit them at all.

This barely used 20D was in great shape.  All it needed was a new watch battery for the internal clock/date. All these cameras have a 1.6X crop factor but in using my nicer prime lenses you can kind of work around it.  This would have been an amazing kit back in the day and is still quite viable for portraits and fun outings with friends.  Are they heavy and bulky? Of course! But if you are looking for not so perfect but lovely photos that recall a different time these Canons are great.

The 10D and 20D have slightly different shutter sounds when you take a picture, but I like both of their responsiveness and just the audible “snick” feedback.

Here are some sample photos all from the Canon 20D.  8MP is still plenty if you’re not looking to print a large full page spread in a wedding album.  The sensor size is still the same physically, they haven’t changed that one bit after all these years.  So it still holds an edge visually in my opinion over anything smaller.  It’s ironically gotten to the point where if you want a certain look from modern cameras, you might be better off not buying some creator’s presets and just get an old camera for much cheaper.  The key though has always been lenses.