When I started photography, I had an old canon pellix QL camera from my father. Canon was and is, of course a fine brand of cameras. But I wanted a Nikon, because that was what all the reporters used, because it was known to be very sturdy. Much later, in 2004 I got my first Nikon, a FE2, an excellent camera which I used to make many great pictures. In those days, Nikon was a great brand, but the ultimate (and expensive) brands where Leica and Hasselblad. In 2008 I bought my first Leica, a Leica CL. Wonderful small, quiet RF camera. In 2009 I bought a Leica M6, which is now my main camera. I made a lot of great pictures using my M6. Then, a few weeks ago, I bought a Hasselblad 500CM. And it's lovely.

Both the Leica and the Hasselblad show why they are such great cameras. Not just that, having a rangefinder camera, and a mediumformat camera is quite a different experience from using a normal SLR, and certainly much different from a dSLR.

When I started using my M6, it was not so that it was superior to my Nikon, but it was different, and handling it resulted in a slightly different character and images. The lens had different qualities, but it being a very small and quiet camera also influenced my photography. In some ways it was more limited, but I started to appreciate those limits. It also meant that it was easier for me to always have my camera with me, which I did not have with my Nikon SLR.

Now with the Hasselblad, things are also quite different. It is a professional system camera. You really have to know what you do. Make a mistake, and you can jam your shutter, miss a shot or waste film. I found out this the hard way, as the first four rolls I shot where all blank: turned out I had loaded the film the wrong way.

In that sense I have been going back in terms of comfort: from a Nikon D200 dSLR with autofocus, autoexposure, autowhitebalance to a Nikon FE2 (MF, A mode) to a Leica M6 (manual focus, manual exposure, manual film wind) to a hasselblad (manual everything, no lightmeter). It takes more time to take a picture and I love it. It brings with it quite a zen quality: I only have 12 frames on a roll. I have to measure with my lightmeter, enter LW value on the lens, choose time/diafragma combination, make sure the shutter is cocked, open the viewfinder, open the magnifier, focus and then take the picture, then cock the shutter. The fact that I use a lower perspective thanks to the view finder hood, and that I look at the composition on the focussing screens makes it quite a different experience in composing my picture. I also have a polaroid back for it, using it with fuji colour and black and white instant film is also quite fun.

In any case, thanks to everyone going digital, I could get the Leica and Hasselblad for reasonable prices. They still are wonderful cameras and it is like driving a rolls royce and a bentley. But I bought these cameras to take pictures, not for collecting and not for status. I remember this friend of my father, who was quite rich, who owned a Hasselblad and two Leicas, but he did not take pictures. He also had a Steinway grandpiano and he did not play it. I find that nauseating. These fine instruments should be used. So I am using them.

Tags: photography