I'll admit it, I do check out the new gadgets, new lenses, new cameras. I read reviews, watch youtube videos of new products. I enjoy being dragged unconsciously into the algorithm of video suggestions of 'the next best thing' which promises to be so much better that the 'Last best thing'... But sometimes this algorithm throws out a video that jolts me out of unconsciousness and on this occasion it was 'A poor man's Leica'. Yes, I was looking at, dreaming of, salivating over Leicas, knowing it was never going to happen. But what was this poor man's option? I clicked on the video and there it was, a Canon P rangefinder. Small in form, forgiving to the wallet and the Canon P looks beautiful.
The Canon P is a camera that I could carry around without it getting in the way, and if it did get in the way, it didn't matter because the Canon P looks beautiful. Being a rangefinder, it would make street photography, family snaps, abstract photos quicker with the zone focus technique and if I did take that bit longer to nail the focus, it didn't matter because the Canon P looks beautiful. Okay, Okay, yes my Canon P was predominantly bought because it is just so beautiful, there, I said it. But after I used this camera a couple of times I soon became aware that this was function over form. It is a lovely camera to use. And what I said before about it not getting in the way is so true. This camera is with me all the time. As I write this, sitting in a well known coffee chain, my Canon P occupies a proud space next to my coffee. When I finish my coffee I will sling the Canon P around my neck and go for a stroll through Edinburgh city and I will enjoy capturing images, hearing the pleasing click when I press the shutter, then manually winding back the film with the cleverly designed flush film winder. It is what makes this camera and any camera you fall in love with important, the excitement and joy you get when using it. The images happen later but being in the now with a camera you have delight in using is how you get 'that' photo. As I take the last sip of my coffee, the person across from me looks at the Canon P, leans forward and says, "that camera really is beautiful".
