Ah the simple life of a RF shooter

I liked it a lot! Very true...

However, I think I'm an exception (probably the effect of a RF user mind). I've chosen equipment based on my own skill and knowledge, not on the number of features. My first AF SLR was the Nikon F80, not the F100, and my first choice was the N65. I only bought the F80 because a careful exam of the N65 features made me realize I had outgrown it. Also, a look at the F100 made me think I wouldn't know how to use it. Now, after some 3 years of using my F80 I finally moved to an F100.

BTW, who else has been handed one of those small silver thingies with a screen in the back? I've gotten a lot... and I use the viewfinder to take the picture, provided there's one. 😉
 
SolaresLarrave said:
BTW, who else has been handed one of those small silver thingies with a screen in the back? I've gotten a lot... and I use the viewfinder to take the picture, provided there's one. 😉
Click to expand...

I don't know why, but for some reason I seem to be the one randomly chosen from a crowd to be handed a camera (yes, always a {d-word} one) and be asked to take a photo. On the street, in a restaurant, bar, in a Chicago El station, the Conservatory at the Bellagio, just about everywhere it happens.

I think the strangest one was while shooting a floral display at the Bellagio, this older guy asked me to just take the same scene I was shooting with his camera, and not a photo of him and his companions. 🙂 I guess I looked like I knew what I was doing or something. 🙂

Yes, I use the viewfinder if there is one. I have noticed that some of the later Olympus ones do not have them. (How are you supposed to compose in bright sunlight?)
 
See, I'm not too sure that I agree with all of that.
I work in a Jessops, a camera shop, and a large percentage of our customers come in to purchase digital compacts. Now, most of them say they "don't want lots of features", it has to be "idiot-proof". Problem is that none of them are.
The other type of digital compact customer I find come in looking for a certain feature (wide-angle lens, high ISO capability etc.), but again, only the one feature is important.
I must briefly mention the small minority of customers, the type I really love, who know what they want before coming in, enter the store and ask to purchase one. Makes life easy.
 
Great article...confirms I'm not alone in my desire for single-to-minium functions devices. I want a cell phone that works each time/every time, does not have a "camera" in it and does have a screen I can read. Does anyone have such a device????? :bang:

Thanks,

Bob

ps..how about a reliable cell service provider (T-Mobile is out of the running)?
 
dmr said:
I don't know why, but for some reason I seem to be the one randomly chosen from a crowd to be handed a camera (yes, always a {d-word} one) and be asked to take a photo....
... I use the viewfinder if there is one. I have noticed that some of the later Olympus ones do not have them. (How are you supposed to compose in bright sunlight?)
Click to expand...

I think most kids nowadays only take pictures in the car, on the train or indoors (judging from many of the proofsheets I see🙄 )

Sweathog- this may be a more American mindset- we are all about consumption over here (not the 1800's variety!).
 
My observation for many years has been that technology is wasted. Exotic stereo systems that are used to play crappy music and the features never used. High performance cars driven by people that have no idea how to drive. Massive tool kits used to tighten a screw now and then. I could go on and on.
Those that want a simple camera that works all the time are smart. They probably really want to take pictures, not impress their friends.
I love simple, manual cameras. I still believe the computer between my ears is what's important. If I can't get that to work right, all the technology in the world won't help! 😎
 
I think that article is geared toward the masses, who are influenced by advertising and the glory of the latest and greatest.

I would say that most RF users don't fit that marketing mold.

I also buy to skill level in feature sets. If I ever need a Canon 5d or 1d Mk II or III, or Leica M6 or M8, I would hope I am earning money with that equipment. I can't see spending 2k or more on just a body for a non paying hobby.
 
Last edited:
After 30+ years of having a camera in my face, when asked to take a picture with somebody's "D" camera, I have to ask, "Which button??" and then "Did it work??."
 
When someone hands me a digicam to snap a pic of them on vacation, they know the instant I try to look thru the viewfinder that I don't have a clue how to use the thing! Supposed to look at the screen, and only the screen, I gather...
 
sweathog said:
See, I'm not too sure that I agree with all of that.
I work in a Jessops, a camera shop, and a large percentage of our customers come in to purchase digital compacts. Now, most of them say they "don't want lots of features", it has to be "idiot-proof". Problem is that none of them are.
The other type of digital compact customer I find come in looking for a certain feature (wide-angle lens, high ISO capability etc.), but again, only the one feature is important.
I must briefly mention the small minority of customers, the type I really love, who know what they want before coming in, enter the store and ask to purchase one. Makes life easy.
Click to expand...

😀 I know what you mean, but RF and manual cameras are the perfect antidote to working with magic boxes all day.
 
people sometimes come to me and ask to see the picture i have taken of them, and then i would show them the ISO dial on the back of my M4...

and then i got mischievous about it, wanting to see their diappointed/ puzzled expression, now i gesture them to come see the emperor's new picture...

sometime on some tourist spots, i was asked to take pics, i don't know why me, but on a ill mood day i just compose it the way i wanted and, plus a little more hand shake as a gift... even you can tell they are not excactly satisfied with the picture taken; they are embarassed to ask for the same boring picture taken once again,

i don't know why, i just cannot hold the digi camera "correctly," and yes, i too wanted to ask, "where the hack is the viewfinder?"

i share smilar sentiment with the previous poster, i really want a phone that do only what a phone is supposed to do, in fact i am still using a mobile phone i bought some 5 or 6 years ago, and it becomes a topic of discussion.

one time a french tourist ask if i can fix the setting in her newly bought phone because it keep coming up with a pre-set chinese menu....see, people don't just ask me to picture, i wonder what's wrong with my face? and then i just show her my phone, and she understand that i am the wrong person to ask about such things
 
Yeah, I think many of us RF shooters are less likely to go for the 'most features' In thinking about my most used cameras I have how many features?

1) adjustable f-stop
2) adjustable shutter speed
3) adjustable ISO/exposure compensation
4) aperture priority
5) interchangable lenses

That's 5 'features' compared to how many on our Nikon Coldpix?

I also like that all of these features are accessed via a dedicated physical control- again a simpler means of working. But hey, I still use a typewriter from time to time. (1 font, upper/lower case, two colors if I want!)
 
Geeez...

Geeez...

As a marketer, I know all too well what it's like to be caught in the features wars with competitors. Forget electronics, even hand razor technology becomes obsolete every 12 months!!!

Still, I find it a bit hypocritical to think RF users are above all that. Especially with all the hoopla that's made on this very site about having the best lenses, the quietes shutters, the smoothest mechanical operation, the brightest viewfinder and most accurate rangefinder, etc....

And re: small digicams, if some hands you one DO NOT look through the viewfinder...chances are it's crap!🙂
 
Hei Erik - last time I was in Oslo, I also went to the Hohlmenkollen (spelling mistake, probably). Nice view from the top 🙂

I recommend anyone to visit Oslo and Bergen, with the train in between being worth a trip on it's own. It goes over 1200m and passes wonderful scenery. A couple of times I have got out at the top (Finse, a railway station and a hotel) and walked around for five days 🙂 On those occasions my chosen camera specifically did not have the feature-creep mentioned in the article. My g/f took her auto-slr and I took a compact with 35mm lens. I don't think I am biased but the simpler camera was far more useable in snow, sleet etc. so it made most of the photos on those trips. <--- (token attempt at keeping on topic)

I am not being paid by the Norwegian Tourist Office by the way.
 
Not trying to be a contrarian, but folks, let's use the tools for the job.

When people ask you to take a picture, discreetness is not an issue, accuracy is not the priority, you should be happy to use the large viewfinder they call LCD so you can show off your composition prowess,

... the lack of which, makes it a moot point whether you're using an LCD or a viewfinder in the first place, no? 😛
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

lxforrest
A DIY retro digital camera project - Blog #6 detail of screen free camera design
Replies
3
Views
279
lxforrest
lxforrest
lxforrest
A DIY retro digital camera project - Blog #5 China trip + Prototype 1.0
2
Replies
20
Views
930
Richard G
Richard G
J
  • Article Article
The Rise & Fall of the Kodak Empire:Part 2: How the Colossus of Film was broken by a disruptive technology
2
Replies
23
Views
4K
Muggins
Muggins
J
  • Article Article
The Rise & Fall of the Kodak Empire:Part 1: How Kodak came to dominate the photographic industry
Replies
10
Views
3K
rick oleson
rick oleson
J
  • Article Article
What exactly is a point & shoot camera? Glad you asked!The Kodak of 1888 may have been the first, and even Leica got into the act!
Replies
17
Views
1K
Mos6502
Mos6502
Back
Top Bottom