First camera

In my early childhood days, my family never owned any camera. The only photos that were captured were those of family or wedding photos. I still remember the old black and white family photo hanging on the wall in my parents bedroom, with my siblings and I crowding around my parents, wearing new dresses/clothes with hair meticulously combed. The photo was taken in a photo shop in town. The other occasions for photo taking was during prize presentation for being the top three students in classes during primary school years. All the students would line up in front of the camera, with headmaster on the extreme end, for the shot. Those photos were again in black and white only.

Family photo

Taken in Primary One

The first time I had a hands-on experience with camera was during Primary 5. For some unknown reason, my sister and I decided to rent a camera from a camera-cum-photography shop in town to try out photography (snapping pictures of ourselves). Needless to say, all of us (the siblings) were very excited. We had to learn how to operate the camera - "always remember to wind the handle after every shot"-  reminded the shop owner. Of course, he loaded the roll of film into the camera for us. We took 24 photos (as we only bought one roll of film) on that day. We took some photos at home, and cycled to a bungalow nearby for shots in the garden.

I bought my first camera (probably the first for the family too, I think) when I came to Singapore with my fellow classmates for the Asean Scholarship interview (after completing Form 5). I bought a simple / compact point and shoot Yashica camera then - nothing fanciful, but I was nevertheless thrill by the thoughts of owning a camera finally. But of course, I didn't make much use of it because the cost of purchasing rolls of films and developing the photos was quite daunting for penniless students. After I graduated and started to work, I bought a Fuji compact camera (took some snapshots of houseman canteen and houseman quarters), and subsequently a Canon DSLR camera (just in time for courtship and subsequently honeymoon). When the kids came along, I found that carrying the Canon DSLR camera with its lens was rather cumbersome, particularly when you had to attend to the kids and their belongings. I eventually settled for another compact Fuji Camera when I was studying in United States. The old Canon camera had been left rusting away in the store room since 1997.

Digital camera begins to rule the world in year 2000. I bought a compact Canon digital camera in year 2000. It worked for about 2-3 years, then the sliding cover for the lens started to cause problem (unable to close and open smoothly, despite replacement). I bought another Canon camera (which is still working to date),  followed by a Sony cybershot (for my daughter Chengyee, but it was damaged by sand particles during our trip to Kangaroo Island, Australia), a Fuji Prosumer camera (given to Cheng Yee) and a Sony Prosumer Camera (used by yours truly). For all intent and purposes, my current Sony camera has served its function very well. It can zoom up to 30x, and does not require any changes in lens. The thoughts of buying a higher end mirrorless camera flash through my minds several times; but ultimately I feel that I don't need a flashy camera to take good photos, but rather the energies to overcome the inertia of venturing outdoors for photography!