The rest of The Phoblographer team and I are going to take a trip down memory lane. We have decades of combined experience in the photography industry. However, all of us started somewhere. And of course, there was a time where we each had our first camera. But what did we use to begin the most influential journeys of our lives and careers? Let’s take a look.

First Camera: EIC Chris Gampat

As well as founding The Phoblographer, EIC Chris Gampat also has a background in photojournalism and wedding photography, and he focused his lens in a host of other genres. But where did it all start? And how does he feel about that early camera now?

“My first was a little Keystone point and shoot film camera. It was crap. It was really, truly utter garbage. But for most of my life, I grew up pretty poor. Add onto that that my mentally abusive mother was super technologically inept. We had an old Olympus film camera that she broke, and that she kept around in hopes that it would work one day again. And that leads me to my first digital camera, which was a struggle. How would I feel about it today? Well, there are crappy cameras, and then there are CRAPPY cameras. The Keystone was the latter. It’d make a nice doorstop.

“The first digital camera in our household was a small little HP Point and shoot camera. It had 8MP and a zoom lens. I was the reason for the purchase. I needed it for photojournalism class. My mom made such a fret over it and it became basically the household camera. So too did the Canon HV20 that I needed for class. It took a while for me to save up money for a Canon SX10. And then, when I got a job at PCMag, I went for the Olympus E510 two-lens kit. The HP camera served its purpose, but man, was it limiting. And my teacher was brutal. The SX10 let me do a lot more. And when I got the E510, I was shooting really solid photos.

“I kind of wish that HP had stayed in the photo world, actually. HP’s cameras weren’t bad. They were well built and made of metal. And they probably could’ve really helped to save printing. The Canon SX10 was a great camera that served its purpose. Even today, I still yearn for a good point and shoot. There are lots, but none are perfect for me personally. As for my first DSLR: well, I think I’m the Editor in Chief that’s biggest on the “DSLR Is Dead” slogan. I’ve been told my entire life that I’m too young for this or that. Even at 34, this is subtly pounded into my head, and I’ve started to get sassy about it.

“But the camera that I started this site with is the Canon 5D Mk II: the camera that revolutionized the entire industry. That camera stuck with me for a while. And ever since then, I’ve never had a sole, primary camera. There’s just anything that you put in my hands.”

First Camera: Ellyn Kail: Photographer Interviewer

Ellyn Kail delivers top class stories that cover the world’s most challenging and important stories. She cares deeply about wildlife and you will see that as a theme in the photography articles she writes. Of course, when she’s not helping to shape the world, she’s investing in her passion for photography. On where it all first started, she told me:

“My first camera was a Pentax K1000. I think I used Ilford 400 film and an old nifty fifty to start. I don’t use it anymore (partly because film isn’t vegan), but I loved it dearly and still do. I know it’s predictable; this is the camera everyone learns on, but that’s for a good reason. It’s super easy to use. I only had to worry about the very basics, but at the same time, this camera taught me how to shoot in manual. Using it became second nature in a way that I’ve never had with any camera since.

“Of course, I also loved the darkroom, and the K1000 allowed me to basically live in one during college (shoutout to Sarah Lawrence!). I’ve kept the camera as a reminder of that time ever since.”

First Camera: Brittany Smith: Reviews Writer

Brittany Smith is The Phoblographer’s Reviews Writer. When she’s not testing kit, she out shooting ...