So...why hate SLR's?

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I've really been enjoying the hell out of this forum over the past few months, but I can't quite get my brain around the anti-SLR sentiment. I certainly understand liking rangefinders--they are awesome. But why hate SLR's? They focus better with long lenses, the viewfinders are generally better IMHO, giving you almost exactly what you get on film. And though I generally prefer the engineering and styling of RF's, many SLR's are quite beautiful.

The whole "Evil SLR's" thing seems odd to me--and the absence of the SLR forum from the menu bar on the left is inexplicable. Obviously, this is an RF board, and is overwhelmingly about RF cameras. But almost all of us have and use an SLR, too, and both types of cameras are a part of our artistic lives. So why the hate?
 
i think you are mistaken about us hating slrs.

the 'evil slrs' is tongue in cheek.

and i personally think having a link to the slr forum on the main page of a rangefinder forum would be in bad taste.

joe
 
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SLR's being evil is pretty tongue-in-cheek around here. I'd venture to say that the vast majority of members here also own an SLR.

As for the viewfinder comment, you may want to duck or find some cover from that one 😉
 
Well, I like the finders on my RF's very much. But I don't see them being any better than the ones on my SLR's. It's apples and oranges: one's larger and brighter, but the other is more precise. Though I'm sure people will debate that, too.

Anyway, glad it's tongue and cheek. But, you know--is it really perverse to have the SLR forum listed on the left? You know, along with the scale focus forum? And the...camera bag forum?
 
Ouch....first you attack the disgust for SLRs and now you attack the bag threads link!

We hate SLRs because they chased our beloved rangefinders off the mainstream camera market forever.

<sarcasm alert>
 
Yeah....fie on digital!

And you people and your digital SLRS!!!!!!

Zut alors! Shouldn't those people be out shooting macros instead of putzing around on RF forums?

<alert still on>
 
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mabelsound said:
I've really been enjoying the hell out of this forum over the past few months, but I can't quite get my brain around the anti-SLR sentiment. I certainly understand liking rangefinders--they are awesome. But why hate SLR's? They focus better with long lenses, the viewfinders are generally better IMHO, giving you almost exactly what you get on film. And though I generally prefer the engineering and styling of RF's, many SLR's are quite beautiful.

The whole "Evil SLR's" thing seems odd to me--and the absence of the SLR forum from the menu bar on the left is inexplicable. Obviously, this is an RF board, and is overwhelmingly about RF cameras. But almost all of us have and use an SLR, too, and both types of cameras are a part of our artistic lives. So why the hate?
Click to expand...

SLRs and rangefinders compliment one another's abilities to a nearly ideal extent. Each system's weaknesses almost exactly match the other's strengths. I think you're mistaken about people hating them. I think a really serious photographer would have both systems -- even if it does mean 1,000 years in hell for every SLR he owns.
 
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Fallis - those are my sentiments exactly. The SLR, DSLR in my case, is just another tool with regards to photography. Plus, owning and using two DSLRs makes feel like part of the herd - Moooooo-oooooh!
 
FallisPhoto said:
SLRs and rangefinders compliment one another's abilities to a nearly ideal extent. Each system's weaknesses almost exactly match the other's strengths.
Click to expand...

I TOTALLY agree with that. That's why I love 'em both! And I love digital cameras, too, for that matter. I wish there were more digital rangefinders.

I have no complaints with the bag forum, BTW. That's where I heard about my wonderful Domke F-803! I just feel as though SLR's deserve to be over there as much as bags, or scale focus cameras (of which, yes, I own a couple). It wouldn't water down the "brand"--the SLR forum wouldn't suddenly become more popular and overwhelm the RF discussion. It would just be nice to get to click it from the home page, when I get the Pentax screwmount bug. Discussion of photo techniques, artistic approaches, etc., slops over into SLR's so often that it seems silly to omit it.
 
Also, honestly--how many of us, if we're out shooting with a DSLR, ACTUALLY feel foolish when we're in a crowd of other people doing the same thing? It's hard to imagine this actually matters for most photographers.

That's not to say I don't feel extra hip shooting with a Robot Star. ;-)
 
Slr's are great....they're very useful....really....they make great doorstops....targets for range practice...paperweights....projectiles to throw at my idiot neighbors....dog toys...fishing weights....impromptu hammers...oh yeah, they can used to make images. Sometimes I forget.
 
To admit that you have an SLR is the first step to recovery 🙂

Next thing we know, RF members will be admiting they shoot in auto exposure mode!! Perish the thought, be gone thy auto devil!
 
mabelsound, consider this, there are hundreds of photo forums that are mostly populated with SLR stuff out there, but there is only one RFF.

The "Evil SLR" sub-forum was created to talk about SLR's for those of use who just can't shut up about them 😛

I think there are some RFF-ers who genuinely dislike SLR's because it doesn't fit into their workflow. But for the most part, it's friendly jabbing among friends.

IMHO, in this sub-forum we should talk about SLRs within the context of shooting the types of pictures that RF cameras are designed for. That way there will be a lot of useful comparison and discussions going on, otherwise, it's a bit out of place.
 
shadowfox said:
IMHO, in this sub-forum we should talk about SLRs within the context of shooting the types of pictures that RF cameras are designed for. That way there will be a lot of useful comparison and discussions going on, otherwise, it's a bit out of place.
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That's precisely why I'm glad there's an SLR forum on RFF. I have signed up for, and abandoned, several SLR and DSLR forums over the past few months, and keep coming back to our little Evil SLR corner, because I like discussing these cameras with THIS community. There is no unpleasantness quite like posting your favorite photo of a weird dude on a street corner and having the thread drop like a stone, while meanwhile all around you people are heaping lavish praise upon mountains, weddings, and owls.
 
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