Are we all a bunch of photographic luddites?

I use whatever works best for me.

Sometimes I use old technology; because it works, and there is no real reason to change it.
At other times I use new technology; because it works, and there probably is nothing older that works as well.

Cameras are probably a good illustration.

I use my Contax II and Leica III; because they work, and there is no real good reason to change.
However, I also use a Leica M9; because it works, and if I need to see an image quickly or communicate that image very quickly, there is nothing older that works quite as well.

The fact that the M9 works much like my older rangefinders is a bonus that I appreciate.
 
Peter, me too. I am always on the go and even traveling extensively. The only downside to modern communication is that instead of using it as an aid, people now just wait to the last minute and don't plan anymore. Especially young people like me seem to have extreme difficulty in planning and keeping to the plan. It wasn't like this back in the good-ol-days, because if you missed the plan, well, you had to replan everything.

I am not sure I am so negative though as Randy is. Similarly to the above, the new communication tools seem to allow people to be less disciplined in all activities. And, writing is certainly something you need to devote a fair bit of discipline to. So, it doesn't surprise me, if writing skills are generally lower now than 50 years ago.

And Nick, yes, I agree, reading around here on RF is very entertaining! I think we are all OT though, because the title of the thread referred to "photographic luddites" not "luddites" in general!

John
 
For me, it's a distinction between newer technology and better technology. Technology does not always get better, it gets more marketable. I recently bought and sold a Nikon D7000, it's a great camera, but lacks everything that makes me love cameras. Compare it to my Zeiss Super Ikonta, or my Rolleiflex and you wonder how they sell any of these things. The D7000, again, is a great camera if you're completely into photography but don't care about cameras. I love cameras though, and to that end, the D7000 is hideous and useless compared to any of my film cameras.

Modern technology can be amazing, but we need to get rid of this idea that newer is better. It's not, it's just better for companies to sell you something new rather than recommend you pick up a used Leica M3.
 
thegman said:
The D7000, again, is a great camera if you're completely into photography but don't care about cameras. I love cameras though, and to that end, the D7000 is hideous and useless compared to any of my film cameras..
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Believe it or not, there are plenty of people out there that prefer the ergonomics of modern DSLRs... :bang:
 
zauhar said:
dit-to


It is wrong for old people to disparage the "good old days" by focussing exclusively on the positive aspects of technology. They are old enough to know better.

One of the last independent bookstores in philadelphia closed yesterday - I blame the internet.

The students at my college cannot read and write at the level of a typical high school graduate back when I was a student - I blame the internet.

Political discourse is stupid and coarse - I blame the internet.

People have wasted millions of man-hours building virtual farms instead of growing actual food - I blame the internet (thank God that particular stupidity has run its course)

Many young men find it difficult to have sex, except with themselves - I blame the internet.

Yeah, all these issues are complex, involve multiple causal factors, the internet has exposed so many people to new ideas they would have never encountered before, I have a couple thousand posts on RFF, blah blah.

I blame the internet.

Randy
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😀 best reply so far

me? i like stuff i can fix..or at least attempt to fix - sometimes.
then again, sometimes i like stuff i can take to the dump then replace with newer stuff.
 
... und so weiter

jsrockit said:
Believe it or not, there are plenty of people out there that prefer the ergonomics of modern DSLRs...
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I see this thread is ratholing down the usual paths.

No surprise. I think I'll unsubscribe from it, close the browser, and get to editing the photos I made over the past four days of traveling. Life is too short.


Olmec Head Detail - Tijuana 2012
iPhone 4S​
 
hepcat said:
There's a point in the progression of technology when enough is enough. ... The return value of the gizmo or the gizmo's features is less than the time it takes to learn how to operate them efficiently.
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That about sums it up.
The technological horizon has a dlminishing rate of return. More is not better -at some point its just more. More often still, its just more expensive.

Further, despite the convictions of the blog-o-sphere and modern media, technology is in no way a substitute for knowledge and understanding. At best its a good surrogate, at worst its a meaningless crutch.

These things aside, I like my Braun electric razor, my new Mac and Windows based computers, and how safe newer automobiles are.

L
 
I shoot film and I only drive stick shift cars, but I guess you got me on the straight edge razor thing. Can I still join the Luddites?

318767488_af2f7156c7_z.jpg
 
A big part of my wife's Christmas gift from me was supplies and tools for oil painting, as she wants to start moving on from acrylics and watercolors up to oil paints. Am I just a luddite for staying with my M3 and Tri-X? I'm not eschewing anything.
 
Now that you mention it, I live in a 99 year old house, drive a 13 year old stick shift, prefer rangefinders, vintage clothing, and am intrigued by older cameras. When using digital cameras, find their menu systems irritating!
 
Hi,

It would be interesting to go round a typical house and throw out anything with a basic design more than (say) three months ago. (Even yesterday's newspaper would have to go... ) And then try to live in it.

For a start most of the furniture would go because the basic designs date back hundreds if not thousands of years. And in the kitchen almost everything would be out; knives, forks, spoons, plates and cups or mugs would be out for a start. And when was bread, meat and beer invented?

Of course, the real problem is that we see last week's makeover of something basic as "new" and forget that the prototype might be hundreds or thousands of years old.

Regards, David
 
I love technology, but today we have too much of crappy plastic disposable stuff that is marketed as "must have hi tech"... and therefore I love some old school stuff, especially if those are high quality items, made to last.
 
I have driven stick shift cars, I have used film and have listened to records. Now I am at ease with automatic transmissions, digital photography and music so no I am not a dyed in the wool Luddite. I did regress early this year when I learned how to shave with a straight razor but I won't kid anyone that the results are any better than I get with my old DE razor. When you take a good hard long look at the "good old days" they may not be a good as some believe. Simpler maybe.

Bob
 
I like latest and greatest. In fact, my B&W film of preference is Adox CMS 20, a very new film. If Fuji tomorrow came out with a new slide film, I'd order ten rolls. If Leica released a new film rangefinder I could afford, I'd think about trading in my M6 TTL 0.58x.

If you think I'm a Luddite because I prefer film over a digital sensor, well, digital hasn't caught up to projecting just yet. When it does, I'll probably re-examine my options.

I drive a new car (2011 VW) with a DSG transmission (no clutch), use both Mac and Linux computers with pretty new software though not bleeding edge in my personal life, etc.

Luddite? No. Specific about the tools I work with? Absolutely.
 
NaChase said:
I pose this question in as tongue in cheek a manner as possible, but it makes sense when you think about it. By using rangefinders we eschew all the latest and greatest but, in addition to using these cameras, there are many among us who enjoy nothing more than rhetorically assaulting the great edifices of the modern photographic establishment. However, many of use take these tendencies further than mere photography. How many of you eschew digital music in favor of vinyl; shave with straight razors instead of indulging in safety razor shenanigans; drive cars with old fashioned manual transmissions; and, most importantly, insist on using film. I may be young, but I embrace almost all of these anachronistic tendencies because they evoke memories of the halycon days or yore, a time when photography was done with film and phones were attached to the wall. Then again, my Iphone and this computer are pretty sweet.
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Well, it might be worth bearing in mind that many choose the less technological option for reasons other than nostalgia. Otherwise, the assumption is that newer is always better, which is a very naieve assumption.
 
The first home that I remember when young had no indoor plumbing, outhouse, cooked and heated with wood, water from well with bucket and rope, used rain water for bathing outside in washtub. Use digital for color, film for all b/w, do all developing, two analog watches battery powered, drive 91 Dodge Dakota, have plain jane phone, summer (almost all year) shorts, t shirt, flip flops, sneakers when cold. Was in Army before I slept with A/C, first color tv after got out of service.
 
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