Photography is not only the picture but the process as well, and by its very nature a technical process. It involves one or more devices that need to be learned and mastered. Or played around with. And I like to play around with devices.
In 2022, I bought a Nikon D80, which was at that time a 16 years old camera. I read online that there was something called "CCD magic". In the early 2000s digital cameras came with two different kinds of sensors. CCD and CMOS. I won't go into the technical details, let's just note that CMOS quickly became the standard and CCDs are very rarely used today.
At some point people began to discuss CCD sensors, comparing them more to an analogue, filmlike look and CMOS more with a digital quality that was superior but somehow supposed to be too "clinical". The older CCD sensors were supposed to have nicer, more rounded or nuanced colors or what would be called "magic". There is no such thing. Both technologies would eventually produce a digital file, and the way the camera software (or computer software) would interpret and create an image from millions of pixels had way more influence on the look of the final result.
But I was curious and this camera was cheap so I wanted to see for myself. The Nikon D80 is perfect for trying out "CCD Magic". It is one of the last cameras using this technology (except for a stupidly expensive Leica), it will fit a large array of lenses and already uses SD cards for storage, which are still in use today. But the D80 is also a terrible camera in actual use. Nikon puts the buttons all over the place, you have to keep them pressed and then move dial to change something. It won't show you your ISO, you have to reset the meter (by half pressing the shutter) to be able to change the aperture or shutter speed after a shot and so on. I could clearly see and feel that this camera still had the design paradigm of film SLRs which Nikon had been making for decades.
But the D80 is a well-built camera that feels nice and hefty compared to modern cameras. The shutter and mirror make a satisfying clack when pressing the shutter button. It is a much more physical process and as such enjoyable. I also found the colors it produced quite pleasant, with a slightly reduced vibrancy rendering skin tones especially beautiful. And I used the D80 mostly for portraits, thinking that this must be the CCD "magic".
Until I bought a Nikon 1 V1. An old and cheap mirrorless camera that I wanted my daughter to use because as much as she liked the D80 it was simply too big and heavy for a kid. The V1 came with a CMOS sensor of course and to my shock and surprise the colors were almost identical. I made test shots between both cameras and couldn't discern any larger color difference. It was in the software after all. No "magic" or other special properties. And then I sold the D80 because the supposed "magic" was its only reason to be. Without, it became a large, cumbersome and outdated camera. I still enjoyed my time with Nikon D80 though and got some nice photos and memories out of it.