"An Appeal for Divergence and Simplicity" by Mark Dubovoy

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eoeaa

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http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/an_appeal_for_divergence_and_simplicity.shtml

I am surprised I am not seeing a thread about this yet.

A good quote among many:
"Dear camera manufacturers, there are 3 ways to change exposure: Shutter speed, aperture and ISO setting. So why don't we get cameras with 3 controls, one for each function?"​

+ I would add, why not a good old (non-moterized / manual) focus ring with scales in feet or meters and depths. That would really make a lovely camera (and it does not have to be full frame!).

Anybody else?
 
Ditto, ditto and ditto. I do like having an exposure compensation button I can adjust while I actually have my eye on the finder. I can adjust back lit subjects ect.
 
I have traditional Canon DSLRs and like how it is done on their consumer cameras.
Only one dial. And two buttons.
 
Epson R-D1 already had an ISO dial, much due to its Bessa heritage. It's an excellent solution that would also allow easy access to both real manual and auto-ISO "manual" operation. I would like to have the dial on every (real) camera. It might take one of the big DSLR cameras having this feature to really catch on. Perhaps it's just not seen as a professional feature. I don't really understand.
 
Hi,

Leica Digilux 2 has dials and rings and EVF. The Leica Digilux 3 has them as well but is a dSLR.

And many dSLR's have the shift function available in "P" mode and so you can see the speed or aperture changes in the VF...

Trouble is, the two Leicas were made a few years back and so don't count. The reason for this escapes me at the moment...

Regards, David
 
Nice: Thanks for the link: I couldn't agree more.

I've also pressed Leica on occasion for "disable" functions. Fortunately they've already put in the "zero second delay" for the self-timer: all that damn' switch needs now is a "disable continuous" so you have a simple choice of OFF or (three positions of) ON. Video disable on the M Typ 240 would be good too.

But I couldn't disagree more with those who argue that inside every 48-mode camera there's a fully manual camera. Theoretically it's true of course, but in reality, you have to piddle around with a load of arbitrarily placed dials and switches all over the camera.

Cheers,

R.
 
And people bash Sony camera operations...
The NEX7 is aperture, shutter speed and iso on three dials in manual mode. So far it is the only camera that I can fully set while bringing it up to my eyes, using both E mount and manual lenses. Yes, the menu is a mess, but with buttons mapped out I dive into it maybe once per day.

As for focus by wire, it is supposedly a measure to keep lens size down. It also helps when the focusing elements are too heavy for smooth manual focusing. Totally agree on the DOF scale, though. Never understood why modern lenses don't have them.
 
eoeaa said:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/an_appeal_for_divergence_and_simplicity.shtml

I am surprised I am not seeing a thread about this yet.

A good quote among many:
"Dear camera manufacturers, there are 3 ways to change exposure: Shutter speed, aperture and ISO setting. So why don't we get cameras with 3 controls, one for each function?"​

+ I would add, why not a good old (non-moterized / manual) focus ring with scales in feet or meters and depths. That would really make a lovely camera (and it does not have to be full frame!).

Anybody else?
Click to expand...

+1 here !
robert
 
I think people are forgetting that the market for most of these cameras is populated by people who will buy a camera for it's ease of use and they don't necessarilly understand how ISO, apertute and shutter speed work and they don't really want to learn .... they just want to take photographs.

The fact that they can set the camera on P or A and it will give them a perfectly exposed sharp image nearly every time is why they'll buy it.

Leica are happy to build cameras for a minority market ... few other manufacturers are.
 
Unfortunately, or fortunately, however you want to look at it- I bet I do not use 90% of the functions on my digital cameras. I still shoot like I did back when I first got started in photography, except that my chosen medium is now digital.

This is one of the main reasons I recently acquired an Epson RD-1.

Roger is dead on about a disable function being made available on a lot of digital cameras. That would be heaven.
 
Rick Waldroup said:
Unfortunately, or fortunately, however you want to look at it- I bet I do not use 90% of the functions on my digital cameras. I still shoot like I did back when I first got started in photography, except that my chosen medium is now digital.

This is one of the main reasons I recently acquired an Epson RD-1.

Roger is dead on about a disable function being made available on a lot of digital cameras. That would be heaven.
Click to expand...

I have to chip in here Rick - I use Nikon D's (I use the name just for reference) and use the whole of it's 'arsenal' all the time. It makes a big difference when you get to using all of the functions.

My opinion - that's all.
 
:confused: If you like simplicity . . .

Buy a common DSLR and install a microprism focusing screen ($100)

Set ISO at 320 (or whatever) when you get to the scene , like using a roll of film - leave it set there.

Attach your very favorite manual focus lens with the lovely focus ring and distance and DOF scales.

Set the camera on "Manual".

Use the thumb wheel to adjust shutter speed and the lens ring for aperture.

Make pictures.



EDIT: but maybe we all have different definitions of "simplicity" ?
 
Alistair, I understand exactly what you are talking about. Something I did not make clear in my original post was that I was mostly talking about my personal shooting.

For years, working as a photojournalist, I used Nikon cameras, both film and digital. On the digital side, I shot D1x's and a D2H. I used just about every available function the camera's offered. However, for my personal work, I did not need near as many of these functions and I kept using rangefinder cameras long after I had gone digital for my work. Eventually, I went all digital and now shoot a m4/3 system, along with the Epson.

I still do a bit of PJ and event work, and for that I recently purchased an Olympus OM-D, which is a great camera for this type of work, but I hardly ever use it for my personal shooting. Instead, I rely on a Lumix GF-1, with a set of nice prime lenses and, of course, the RD-1 that I mentioned before.
 
alistair.o said:
. . . It makes a big difference when you get to using all of the functions. . . .
Click to expand...
How and why? Which functions do you find especially useful, and why? I've no doubt you're right -- for you. But it would slow me down terribly, trying to guess what the camera thought it ought to tell me to do, instead of doing it for myself.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
How and why? Which functions do you find especially useful, and why? I've no doubt you're right -- for you. But it would slow me down terribly, trying to guess what the camera thought it ought to tell me to do, instead of doing it for myself.

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...

Hello Roger.

If i have understood you correctly, my answer is that I do not use auto on anything. I set the camera up for different scenes and times. I also, readliy adapt those settings. My shooting is done in manual and I adjust focus and shutter as I go along, together with white balance and ISO et al.
 
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