My Love Affair with Old Digital Cameras: PowerShot SX130 IS

Todays shoot with a 12 year old Canon that packs quite a punch.

I live in Phoenix.

We experienced Autumn color late this year. Waddayagonna do?

It’s the way things are in the desert, and we are used to it.

My neighbor has this big, beautiful tree just on the other side of the fence. it hangs over our backyard quite a ways.

And in the summer, we welcome the shade. It provides a wonderful, green canopy for sitting outside in the mild 100s.

And this time of year it provides me something to do each Saturday… rake the leaves.

But no problem, the trade-off is worth it.

Yeah… and they have just started.

But this article is not about the stupid tree. Who cares about my tree?

Ain’t nobody sitting around wondering about some random tree in the backyard of some random guy?

Nope. This little article is about one of my favorite little cameras. At least it is now that I have used it.

Backstory. I love old digital cameras because they have a unique, sort of ‘retro’ digital look to the files. JPEGS are the usual fare although I have a few that make RAW images.

Today I used the PowerShot SX130 IS.

A pocket (jacket-sized) camera that packs a punch. Introduced in 2010, it was Canon’s flagship advanced amateur point-and-shoot.

Leaves on the umbrella.

Specs:

12MP. DIGIC 4
Super optical zoom: 28mm to 320mm equiv.
3" LCD
All usual shooting modes, including manual.
Easy controls for manual shooting.
Manual focus option.
Video at 720 (cool old-look video).
Built-in flash.
Image and video stabilization.

Sort of a basic P&S camera that also packs a punch.

I just received the camera from one of my students who knows of my obsess… err… interest in old cameras and I decided to try it out.

The sun played in and out from behind high clouds, so I had a little diffusion with the direct light. It was pretty good overall.

Hey, I gotta say this is not going to be a review of this camera, just notes on how much fun it is to shoot.

We have had a lot of rain in the past few weeks — well, a lot for Phoenix, and that is bringing out some red and rust colors along with the always-appropriate yellow.

These little cameras are very ‘freeing’ to me. So often I am out with the big guns, and this gives me a chance to work with a camera that stows in my jacket, and still delivers a wonderful image.

You may be asking yourself if I have an iPhone. I do. And I use it. I want to use it less, although I have a lot of respect for it, and feel it is a professional camera at this point.

I sort of need to shoot with cameras for the next year. I began thinking I was becoming too dependent on the iPhone, and I don’t want to become disconnected from photography and the experiential wonder that is using a camera.

I know too many photographers who have simply become iPhone shooters when they are not ‘on assignment’. I’ve seen their work and watched their enthusiasm wane.

I ain’t ridin’ that bus.

Super good color, almost no noise, and it’s quite sharp.

All of the images were processed in Lightroom as DNGs, with the RNI Preset of Velvia 50 applied.

I am enamored of these little cameras and am totally cool with those who are not.

Yeah, I love my premium gear, but I also have always loved choosing formats for shooting. Deciding whether the shoot called for 35, 6x7, 4x5, or 8x10 is one of the things I miss. And of course, choosing the film stock for what it delivered was part of the process.

Can’t do that with digital.

But I can choose between my big Nikon, that cool little 8MP Coolpix, the creamy files of a 20-year-old Sony, or even a Canon M10 in perfect condition.

But most of all, I love it because it is a bit of a diversion, a ‘thing’ to do that feels exciting and fresh and fun.

Happy New Year to everyone, especially those who love photography.

EDIT: I received some emails on where to get one of these. They are available on eBay for under $50, and generally around $35.

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I am a photographer, designer, and photo editor. You can find me at my self-named website or at Project 52 Pro System (enrollment begins January 6, 2023) where I teach commercial photography online. This is our tenth year of teaching, and it is the most unique online class you will find anywhere.

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You can find my books on Amazon, and I have taught two classes at CREATIVELIVE.