Almost like film...

[RichC]

<shrug>
Mountains out of molehills...

1. All the professional or serious photographers I know have the talent to see and capture an event or scene regardless of how much or little they use the features of their digital cameras. That single key ability is what makes them photographers.

2. Digital cameras are of course designed so you can use as few or as many features as you desire. They can be used in exactly the same way as, say, a manual 1950s camera without the "bells and whistles" causing any compromise whatsoever.

I shoot with a Nikon D800E dSLR. Most of the time I use manual-focus lenses with the camera in manual mode with centre-weighted exposure and single-point focus, and typically only two controls: shutter speed and aperture. I rarely change the ISO from 400. (It's a little embarrassing when I lend my camera to friends as they can ask how to set or change something but I often have no idea!)

But I like having the option of more features (I do use my camera in auto mode sometimes, eg on holiday)

As an aside, I see no advantages to a "fully manual" dSLR. It wouldn't be much smaller or lighter or easier to use, but as few people would want it the price would be horrific so as to cover costs and make a reasonable profit. Not to mention loss of versatility.

 

[mich rassena]

I feel like it's all been downhill since people stopped mixing their own emulsions and coating plates...

But seriously, it's amazing how each technical advanced has been greeted with enthusiasm because they solved real problems. Whether it be metering, focus, framing, or whatever, the tools to address these fundamentals of photography have only gotten better. In addition, these new features allow camera makers to continue to sell new models and drive consumer demand. So did it turn out that we didn't really need all these bells and whistles and that a simple box camera is enough? Haven't we gone full circle, and the promise of "You Press the Button, We Do the Rest" has actually been fulfilled?

In a fast-moving business, like photojournalism, where in the early days of digital, with new equipment being swapped in frequently, one has a viable excuse, but these days, why not actually learn how to use one's camera in depth?

 

[Dogman]

Almost all the extraneous buttons on my cameras are set to either "None" or they're locked in the "Off" position. The way I shoot is basic and simple. I don't need most of the stuff camera manufacturers put on their products these days.

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

Bill, I'll give you an example along your line.

I generally set my cameras' options before going out to shoot. So, I'm not thinking much at all about the camera, focusing on the shot instead.

Then, knowledgable photo tour leaders started working on me to ETTR. I'm pliable, and I tried it. Two things I concluded: 1) It was easy to over-do ETTR or to pick an ETTR adjustment in one lighting that didn't work with the light changed. That is, I concluded it would take a lot more thought to do ETTR right. And, 2) all this was taking my attention away from the shot.

I've gone back to basic settings. Take advantage of RAW and dynamic range to handle most exposure issues. Regain mindfulness and focus while making the shot. Works much better for me.

When you start thinking about the gizmos and settings, I think that's working against the mindful focus that makes the best photography.

Thanks for bringing up this topic.

 

[robert blu]

My wife often shoots a DSLR. Desiring a smaller camera, the camera to have always in your hands, I bought for her a small compact, high quality one, m4/3 sensor. It's small, light, photo quality is good for what they are needed.
But the manual is more than 250 pages... and if you hit by mistake the wrong key it's a nightmare....
A few days ago during a family meeting neither she nor I know what happened but we were no more able to find the ISO setting... at the end only switching off, taking out the battery for a few minutes solved the mystery 🙂
robert

 

[kbb]

Like many who have posted, I have no problem with being overwhelmed by choices because I set it up the way I like it and leave it. Shooting 35mm stills film for 40 years and being an occasional cinematographer(in motion picture photography, everything is manual)
I'm wondering if things would be even simpler if I used an external light meter. Hell, if the sun is out you can guess the exposure without consulting a meter.

 

[cz23]

My wife often shoots a DSLR. Desiring a smaller camera, the camera to have always in your hands, I bought for her a small compact, high quality one, m4/3 sensor. It's small, light, photo quality is good for what they are needed.
But the manual is more than 250 pages... and if you hit by mistake the wrong key it's a nightmare....
A few days ago during a family meeting neither she nor I know what happened but we were no more able to find the ISO setting... at the end only switching off, taking out the battery for a few minutes solved the mystery 🙂
robert

It's surprising to me that no OEM has adopted Leica's model of the minimal interface. Even for one model in their line. Fuji gets closest but the computer feel is still evident. Recall the anticipation over the Df getting there, but ultimately not. I think there's a market for that sort of interface.

John

 

[robert blu]

... Recall the anticipation over the Df getting there, but ultimately not. I think there's a market for that sort of interface.

John

I was (and in part still I'm) very interested in the DF but disappointed when I saw they camera in real, too many buttons, took many menus and sub menus.
Since a few weeks I own the M10 which seems to be simple enough for me...

robert

 

[Dogman]

It's surprising to me that no OEM has adopted Leica's model of the minimal interface. Even for one model in their line. Fuji gets closest but the computer feel is still evident. Recall the anticipation over the Df getting there, but ultimately not. I think there's a market for that sort of interface.

John

Same here.

 

[cz23]

I was (and in part still I'm) very interested in the DF but disappointed when I saw they camera in real, too many buttons, took many menus and sub menus.
Since a few weeks I own the M10 which seems to be simple enough for me...

robert

I confess to wishing my MM had a few more features, such as an exposure compensation dial on top, a separate AE lock button, and the option for matrix metering. Blasphemous, I know.

John

 

[Richard G]

One of the great things about a modern DSLR, which I don't have, is presets. If you are in aperture priority and you suddenly see something you want to shoot at 1/30s, you can just press a button. Constantly using a high end Canon or Nikon digital must be great.

Mode problems are a bugbear of any complex system. What ISO is set right now? Is lens selection on Auto or is my 50 Summicron selected? That's not too many mode traps on my digital Ms. When I am out with my M2 or M6 with a 21mm I sometimes have a panic and wonder whether I've selected the correct lens focal length in the menu....No such requirement.

 

[maggieo]

Something to keep in mind, about everything:

I repeat Sturgeon's Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of SF is crud. Using the same standards that categorize 90% of science fiction as trash, crud, or crap, it can be argued that 90% of film, literature, consumer goods, etc. is crap. In other words, the claim (or fact) that 90% of science fiction is crap is ultimately uninformative, because science fiction conforms to the same trends of quality as all other artforms.

 

[creenus]

I hear you. As my father used to say - "Free advice is worth every penny you pay for it." =)

Something to keep in mind, about everything:

 

[shawn]

It's surprising to me that no OEM has adopted Leica's model of the minimal interface. Even for one model in their line. Fuji gets closest but the computer feel is still evident. Recall the anticipation over the Df getting there, but ultimately not. I think there's a market for that sort of interface.

You can get a Fuji to be just about the same. Take an XP2, set it to shoot raw and then put it in a half case that has a full back to cover all rear screen and all the buttons. That leaves you will the ISO dial, shutter dial, aperture dial, exp. comp, VF control and a dial to switch from MF, AFS, AFC and the power switch. The nice part is when you want to do something more advanced you still have those options available such as changing metering mode or whatever.

Shawn

 

[ptpdprinter]

You can get a Fuji to be just about the same. Take an XP2, set it to shoot raw and then put it in a half case that has a full back to cover all rear screen and all the buttons. That leaves you will the ISO dial, shutter dial, aperture dial, exp. comp, VF control and a dial to switch from MF, AFS, AFC and the power switch. The nice part is when you want to do something more advanced you still have those options available such as changing metering mode or whatever.

You can also just turn off the rear screen which is what I do with my XE2.

 

[lukitas]

You can also just turn off the rear screen which is what I do with my XE2.

With the serendipitous advantage of significantly less battery drainage.

Not too happy about the look of the view-finder, especially with peaking on. But that is what I have to do to make my Summitar work at f2.

I avoid chimping. And try to keep the camera set so I don't have to fight it. But the fuji keeps surprising me with unwanted settings changes. If i had my 'druthers, i'd get an M10.

The ricoh GR, even though it has a 'modern' interface, where you can set the front and back wheel to aperture and speed respectively, feels a lot closer to the film camera experience. And that without a viewfinder. But then, I find I often take but the most perfunctory glance at the screen, and stay focused on the subject while pressing the button. I need reading glasses, often it is a bother to put them on; the screen remains in a close-up blur, and I can't do more than a quick and dirty check of framing. One could say I use the ricoh as if it were a rangefinder without a viewfinder.

cheers

 

[KM-25]

Because of the speed of delivery, news photographers were among the first to use digital cameras. While the AP started equipping their staff with digital cameras in 1994 and went totally digital in 2001, they had actually used digitals to deliver the results of the presidential conventions even before that.

Yep, I was one of those, a staff guy at the third paper in the U.S. to go fully digital in 1994.

I beta tested for John Gaps III at AP using NC2000 and eventually Nikon E2 digital cameras...remember the horrible direct flash problems the NC2000 had with otherwise stellar TTL speed lights? I had Mary Ellen Mark look upon me in sympathy when the non-removable battery prematurely died on my NC2000e while coving the Bob Dole campaign trail. She was using her Hasselblad. Thankfully I had an F4 loaded with Fuji 400 press as a backup and got Charlie Riedel at the Hays Daily to soup it for me.

Those were interesting times. But two things that you mention in your blog entry did not happen to me...

1. Digital never got better than film for me, even after some 1,000,000++ exposures on the stuff. I now use film more than ever and find a lot of art directors, editors and art buyers love that I use it, the genuine article.

2. As I progressed through countless pool and personal digital cameras, I never really had an issue with learning the ropes of each. Being more film derived these days, I am less apt to "upgrade" but the song remains the same, I am decades into this digital stuff now and can, like film, do it in my sleep.

I choose intuitive systems to use in terms of learning and leaning on them. For example, I have zero interest in any digital camera system (Sony, Fuji, Phase, etc.) that I can not use a film body or back on. So I use Nikon, Leica and Hasselblad, all with seamlessly interchangeable film and digital components.

This makes the whole operation a lot easier to master because there is frequency, fluency and familiarity in using equipment in that way.

But that is just me, I am the outlier among my peers in this day and age and I am fine with that.

 

[MCTuomey]

I choose intuitive systems to use in terms of learning and leaning on them. For example, I have zero interest in any digital camera system (Sony, Fuji, Phase, etc.) that I can not use a film body or back on. So I use Nikon, Leica and Hasselblad, all with seamlessly interchangeable film and digital components.

Great point!