FanMan
Established
Peripatetic,
when I read this discussion, it remembers me very much to my own decision when I bought the ZI in September 06. In summer 2006 I realized that I had nearly forgotten my hobby „photography“. I woke up one morning and I noticed that I had not taken a photo for months if not for years (except those with my digital point&shoot, which do not count, since it is (a) no fun to use this camera (the time lag between pressing the button and the moment the shutter opens seem to be decades long) and (b) the results are - let‘s say not comparable to the results of a real camera (e.g. the viewfinder does only approximately shows what might be on your photo). And I noticed how many situations were gone, how many opportunities I had lost. It made me nearly cry.
And so I thought about a DSLR and I went to the local photo store and the salesman showed me those. I thought about buying a DSLR and the salesman said that everyone now wants a DSLR and that film is outfashioned and that no-one wants film anymore and I held the 5D in my hands and it felt sterile. He laughed out loud, when I asked for an analog camera and he even laughed more, when I asked for a rangefinder. And I considered the price of a DSLR and that there is today a D200 and in 12 months a D300 and read on the internet about sensor cleaning and I thought that digital is not my way.
The longer I thought about it, the more I realized that I wanted to stay with film. And I was sure that I always wanted to have a rangefinder camera. I discovered that forum here and I liked the discussions and the way the users communicate very much. That together with Mike Eleks blog about the ZI made me want the ZI.
Since I have the ZI I have the photography bug really bad again. Currently I‘m reading a biography about Robert Capa and „Magnum Stories“ and when I see the shots taken with rangefinders I get goose-skin - yes, photography IS strange 🙂. Perhaps I‘m silly. Of course I know that in the end it does not matter if you have a SLR or a RF or a DSLR. And I know that my own capabilities are lightyears away from the shots in „Magnum Stories“, but, who cares? I have fun fun fun using a rangefinder and that is all that counts.
I can tell you: it is so much fun to use a rangefinder camera. Except when going to work, I seldom leave the house without the camera. Some of my friends have bought in the last year a DSLR. They normally do not take the camera with them. When I asked for the reason I got the answer „too heavy“ or „too bulky“. Or „to use it the right way I first have to read the manual and to understand how the camera works, but I had not yet the time for that“. And so there is indeed a difference between the ZI and a DSLR. If you are looking for the decisive moment in photography, you have to have your camera with you at that moment.
The only thing that makes me sad is that I did not discover earlier the path back to photography.
when I read this discussion, it remembers me very much to my own decision when I bought the ZI in September 06. In summer 2006 I realized that I had nearly forgotten my hobby „photography“. I woke up one morning and I noticed that I had not taken a photo for months if not for years (except those with my digital point&shoot, which do not count, since it is (a) no fun to use this camera (the time lag between pressing the button and the moment the shutter opens seem to be decades long) and (b) the results are - let‘s say not comparable to the results of a real camera (e.g. the viewfinder does only approximately shows what might be on your photo). And I noticed how many situations were gone, how many opportunities I had lost. It made me nearly cry.
And so I thought about a DSLR and I went to the local photo store and the salesman showed me those. I thought about buying a DSLR and the salesman said that everyone now wants a DSLR and that film is outfashioned and that no-one wants film anymore and I held the 5D in my hands and it felt sterile. He laughed out loud, when I asked for an analog camera and he even laughed more, when I asked for a rangefinder. And I considered the price of a DSLR and that there is today a D200 and in 12 months a D300 and read on the internet about sensor cleaning and I thought that digital is not my way.
The longer I thought about it, the more I realized that I wanted to stay with film. And I was sure that I always wanted to have a rangefinder camera. I discovered that forum here and I liked the discussions and the way the users communicate very much. That together with Mike Eleks blog about the ZI made me want the ZI.
Since I have the ZI I have the photography bug really bad again. Currently I‘m reading a biography about Robert Capa and „Magnum Stories“ and when I see the shots taken with rangefinders I get goose-skin - yes, photography IS strange 🙂. Perhaps I‘m silly. Of course I know that in the end it does not matter if you have a SLR or a RF or a DSLR. And I know that my own capabilities are lightyears away from the shots in „Magnum Stories“, but, who cares? I have fun fun fun using a rangefinder and that is all that counts.
I can tell you: it is so much fun to use a rangefinder camera. Except when going to work, I seldom leave the house without the camera. Some of my friends have bought in the last year a DSLR. They normally do not take the camera with them. When I asked for the reason I got the answer „too heavy“ or „too bulky“. Or „to use it the right way I first have to read the manual and to understand how the camera works, but I had not yet the time for that“. And so there is indeed a difference between the ZI and a DSLR. If you are looking for the decisive moment in photography, you have to have your camera with you at that moment.
The only thing that makes me sad is that I did not discover earlier the path back to photography.
