How do you adjust to new photography equipment?

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pieter

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How do you guys adjust to new equipment?

Not so long ago, I started out on my photography path by buying an Sony Nex camera. I loved it, and I still have pictures that I enjoy looking at. But soon enough, once I had decided this was a hobby I could enjoy, I wanted a rangefinder. Mostly because of the manual focussing aspect.
I bought a really expensive (well after that I got used to spending money on my hobby) Leica M8.2 about a year ago. And I remember that I was actually kinda bummed about it for a while. I had expected it to be much better. But all I noticed was that it had less megapixels, and it had weird colors... and then I tried photographing people inside in a dark house. I remember being quite disappointed.

It took me a while to adjust to every little nuance of the M8.2. It took a while to learn to appreciate the weird in your face colors. I'm glad I stuck with it, because now I dont think there is any comparison. The M8.2 is just soo much better in my eyes.

But that's just it: "in my eyes", and those had to be adjusted.

How do you guys adjust to new equipment. I can imagine even a new kind of film having the same kind of impact if you've been shooting one kind for many years. How do you manage to evaluate the quality of something new?
Do you believe in love at first sight? Should a new camera at least overpower you with a couple of it's first images? Or do you belief it takes at least a month (or so?) to become accustomed to something new, so that you can properly evaluate it?

I would guess some of you have changed equipment so often that it becomes easier to adjust? On the other hand... how do you ever adjust after using for 25 years the same camera, lens and film type to something so completely different like a digital camera?

So.. again: How do you adjust to new equipment? And how do you evaluate something while adjusting to it?
 
Hi,

In a nutshell, I put a roll or cassette of film in it and go and take some pictures. Some of them will be standard shots for comparisons and others will be "normal" to see how it feels when not testing. And I take a notebook and pencil and scribble things down that strike me as odd or worth noting for future reference.

And I do the same with digital but EXIF means I don't need such detailed notes. With either I try to use the thing at extreme settings, ie slow and fast shutter speeds and wide and small apertures.

Regards, David
 
I go use it.
I fell immediately into a comfort zone with my 17-55 Nikkor only this week but I'm still getting used to a D2x, having switched back to an SLR after about a decade of rangefinder use.
Some cameras or lenses just click with me (pun intended) and some take time, still others never catch on and they get sold.
...or dismantled/cut up for one of my homebrewed creations.

Phil Forrest
 
Shoot shoot and shoot some more. I remember when I first bought my 500 C/Ms a few decades ago it took me 6 months to learn to see square. It just takes some time. Thats why I don't think its good to keep constantly changing equipment especially type of cameras that are so different. For me it takes time equipment to become part of me and my vision.
 
Play with it!

For my work stuff I got it so I could change things not looking at the camera! Kinda like speaking, I just say it without thinking how to pronounce each word. But I do formulate what I'm going to say!
 
My first camera was a Nikon F, back in 1963. I'm still using it and 4 others exactly like it.

Additionally, I started using Leicas in the late 1960's. I'm still using them, too - LTM's and M's, the oldest made in 1938, the newest in 1976.

I like them all as much now as I ever did, and after nearly 50 years of continual use I can play these camera systems like a virtuoso plays a violin or a piano.

When your camera(s) capture your vision almost instinctively, with seemingly little input from you, you have truly arrived at photographic nirvana !

All it takes is use, use and more use.

Followed by even more use...
 
After using a bunch of different cameras, you tend to know what you like and how it'll work. Most cameras I buy these days I know will work for my needs before I buy them. The lone exception being DSLRs. Every few years I try them and regret it each time.
 
Depends on what it is. For the M9 and the Monochrom, for example, I first read the owner's manual to gain a better understanding of the camera setup. Then of course, like everyone else, I started using it. There are still times when I need to refer back to the manual just to make sure something is set up properly in the menu, or if there are other settings I can use to perhaps improve either the usage or the end result. Funny thing about the digital M's -- I never did mentally compare them to film M's that I've owned in the past....I've just really looked at them as another M body.

For my D4, I pretty well just started using it out of the box -- it was replacing a D700, so the layout of the menu and features were quite similar. Of course, when it came to using the D4 for video, then I had to refer to the manual. Then I got a D800 and found out that I liked the video output from it more than the D4. Go figure.

One of the most important things I've learned is to not get a new piece of equipment the night before a job, and test it the next day on the job -- definitely a recipe for disaster! Be sure to be fully comfortable with the piece of equipment before subjecting a client's money and time to it.

For vintage film stuff (like screwmount Leicas etc), it's usually more instinctive. I usually dry-test the shutters first to make sure that the shutter speeds sound more or less okay. Then check the other parts of the camera, lens etc to make sure they're all functional. Then I'll run a roll of film through it, see how the film looks, and if all is okay then carry on shooting. The more I use it, the more I'll adjust to its ergonomics, its peculiarities, and decide whether I like it or not. For example, I only found out by owning an Alpa 6c that I don't like Alpas -- Exaktas, however, I do like. But that might be due to having owned Exaktas for over 35 years. Really it's all just personal preference.
 
I have had all kinds of cameras, in fact, I probably go out of my way to get the more unusual stuff. I think the key is to just accept it for what it is. Don't expect the next camera to be like the one before, and before you think something is done in the wrong way, consider why it is like that.

Some design is bad, but some of it is just not what we expect.

Get out there, use it how it's meant to be used.
 
I'm mostly "hands-on" with new kit but my advice for something completely new is to "RTFM" (read the $£%&^&$ manual) as there's probably a short cut to where you want to be. I find this particularly true with digital which, in most cases, I find to be completely over-engineered, with menus for stuff I seldom knew existed.
 
I spend a few nights with the manual while playing with the camera. My user manuals are all very handy in the coffee table, and they are all well worn (and all badly written 😱 ).

Then I shoot tons of stuff and literally study the "look" of all the pictures and form an opinion of how this setup shoots in this light. That gets buried in my head.

I never do get used to the various handling differences of my cameras and it takes me a few minutes before shooting to run through the camera again and mentally lock into it's "process". (This is esp true about the X100, but strangely I consider it my "personal" camera 😕 )
 
Thanks for your replies.

Some nice and helpful considerations. It's funny how obvious some are, but how hard they sometimes are to pull off. Like who hasn't made the mistake of taking the new shiny camera to an event, only to struggle with it more than with the things happening around you. 🙂
Also the idea not to work against the equipment just because you have certain expectations about how something should work. Easier said than done. 🙂
 
Pieter,

I own 11 cameras, and I shoot 35mm SLR's, Leicas, 6x4.5, 6x6,6x7 and 6x9. Most of my gear I've owned and used for a long time, but because of the vast amount of cameras and their differences there are constant adjustments to remember and get reaquainted again and again.

Anyways bonding with gear eventually happens and the camera somehow becomes an extension of myself, but this freshness that prevails I think promotes creativity. I say what you are experiancing is the sweet-spot. Keep it going and keep the experiance fresh. It is a good thing.

Cal
 
I tend to go take a series of test shots of things I am familiar with. I run the lenses and cameras through the assorted paces to get a feel for them. Then look at what I get and adjust my way of using it and then go enjoy.

I almost always do 1-2 rolls of test film for each body and lens that I aquire. And if I've not used a piece of gear in a while, I sometimes do the same for older gear to get my brain wrapped back around it.

I have this issue recently when I go back to my SLR's after using RF so much, and the other way around.

Pretty much what everyone else said more or less. I think we all have our way we form a bond with a new camera or lens or other peice of gear. And we test them in our own ways. I like that though, it can be boring to the average person, all those test shots, but they truly help me understand the new gear and learn how to use it in the ways I want (or the ways it wants).
 
I use the new piece exclusively until it becomes second nature. It in the meantime if I need to shoot something important, I will use another camera that has already become an extension of my brain. If after the extended period of familiarization, I still have not bonded with the camera (i.e. I don't like its ergonomics or IQ), I will sell it and move on.

--Warren
 
I do what others have already stated above; use the new cameras or lenses. With lots of use, I can figure out the new characteristics. I hate reading manuals or any instructions at all.
 
I try to get the basics, then shoot a bit to get familiar with the camera and the feel. Next I go back and walk myself through the manual with the camera in front of me. And then it's back out using it. Seems to be the best way to get used to the way in which each camera likes to be used.
 
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