A few years ago, when I was with some of my friends, one posed a thought-provoking question to the group: “What is the best gift you’ve been given?” After a few minutes of thought, I had my answer: my first serious camera.

My first camera was an insufferable digital Polaroid point and shoot with few features and an LCD screen that was unusable in bright environments; my second camera was a Toshiba point and shoot that offered one real improvement over the Polaroid: the screen was usable. But as limited as those cameras were, I do have to give them credit for piquing my interest in photography.

Fortunately, my father took notice of my interest in photography, and he took pity on my point and shoot plight. He had an old camera — a Minolta X-370 — that was lonely, so, in a bit of generosity that now seems prescient, he handed it to me and told me to take good care of it.

Prior to that, practically all my photographic experience was with the small digital point and shoots, so my knowledge of photography was minimal. Modern cameras — particularly point and shoot models — are remarkably simple to use, requiring only the ability to press a button. So, thanks to the thorough helpfulness of such cameras, I knew precious little beyond aiming the camera and pressing the button. And that is one reason my father’s gift was so significant.

The X-370 was a mostly manual camera, so it was a stark contrast to my first two cameras; where those cameras would do all the work for me, the X-370 made me think. It was able to suggest shutter speeds thanks to its light meter, but that was its only helpful feature; the rest was up to me. I could operate the camera simply and with only a little thought, but I knew my progress would be limited unless I learned the fundamentals of photography. So I did just that. Exposure by exposure, roll by roll, that camera helped me learn how to use aperture and shutter speed to my advantage.

The X-370 saw me through a great deal of learning, including a basic photography class at the local community college, and it gave me some images I still rank among my favorites. But change was inevitable; sooner or later, it was bound to become a stepping-stone.

When I began to think of buying another camera, Canon and Nikon were releasing capable and affordable digital SLRs, and they caught my eye. I knew I was going to move back into the digital world sooner or later, and finally, it happened: Canon reeled me in with the release of their Digital Rebel XTi. When I acquired an XTi, I planted both feet firmly in the digital world, and the X-370 once again was retired.

It has been retired for a couple years now, but I still fondly remember the X-370 as the camera that helped me learn photography. And for that, I consider it the best gift I have been given.

(Some of you may correctly observe that the newer camera in the picture is not an XTi. That is my current primary camera, a Canon 30D. The XTi was busy taking the picture.)