"Does that camera have f-stops?"

[Muggins]

My personal favourite "Is that a Leica?" (same number of letters - it was a Werra), followed by "Is that a sepia lens?" (yellow filter).

Adrian

 

[nikon_sam]

Here's the trick...how many of you could explain to a complete stranger what an F-Stop is...
Without using a lens, your hands or any visual aids...just words...???

 

[tlitody]

Here's the trick...how many of you could explain to a complete stranger what and F-Stop is...
Without using a lens, your hands or any visual aids...just words...???

Piece of cake but is it my fault they mostly wouldn't understand the explanation? 😀

 

[paulfish4570]

my iiif got hit on today by a teen-aged girl waitress; always a variation of: "cool old camera."
if i were a lecherous old man, i think hay could be made of the phenomenon. but i am just an old man, grandfather to a granddaughter, father to a daughter, happy to leave the hay for livestock ...

 

[rizraz]

never on f-stop...... only either "cool old camera" or "you still use film?" or something similar to them.

 

[Pablito]

What are f-stops ?

It's sort of like a g-spot.

 

[robklurfield]

One of the funniest things I ever heard on the topic of f-Stops was from Kurt Olden, one-time owner (founder I guess) of Olden Camera in NYC. When I met him he was well into his 80's (nearly 20 years ago now) and had sold his share of the business to one of his nephews who Kurt told me was killing the company because of his ignorance -- in no particular order -- of business, customer service, money, photography and photo gear.

Kurt said, "That putz nephew of mine wouldn't know the difference between an f-stop and the bus stop if it bit him on the ass. He'll put us out of business yet."

 

[matthewm]

I was at Antelope Canyon today and had my Horizon 202 out. Some lady asked me what kind of camera it was and I tried explaining it as simply as possible. She looked at me blankly and then said, "Does it have a screen on the back?" I told her it didn't because it's a film camera and furthermore there were no electronics in the camera at all to which she replied "So how do you know what your pictures look like?"

And my tour guide said, "There's an easier way to do panoramic images. It's called digital stitching."

Sigh...

 

[cambolt]

This is the funniest thread I've ever seen 😀. I've haven't had any encounters like these yet, (although I look forward to my first) the most amusing I've had is the look of sheer astonishment on someones face when I tell them I use film 😉

 

[cambolt]

http://www.whattheduck.net/home?page=0,4

 

[Richard G]

My friends and colleagues are used to me shooting film, having lenscaps and not using flash. So I took some photos at a work function on Friday with the X100. "The flash didn't go....oh yeah you don't have flash." "You want flash?" I asked. So I took one with flash. Still not realizing what was going on I showed them the pictures on the LCD and they nearly fell over. "It's actually a digital!"

 

[FalseDigital]

Happens all the time!
Examples:

I was eating in at a restaurant with a table against the window in Chinatown, NYC. I had my Bessa-R w/ J8 on the table and I was talking to my friends who were also at the table with me. When I stopped talking and turned the other way I noticed a group of teenagers outside the window all staring at the camera. I just smiled back. Then one typed on her iphone "what kind of camera is that?" and put it up against the window for me to read. So I held it up and showed them, pointed to the logo and they typed it and walked away. hahaha

Today I was walking on the street outside my apartment. (Just moved to Bangkok) and there was a bunch of young men who had their own meat stand. I was just passing by and they stopped me to say "Cool camera! Can you take our photo!?" So I nodded, they posed, and I shot it. They didn't ask to "see the picture" because I think they already assumed it was "old"

 

[FalseDigital]

Oh yeah! Also on a not so fun side.
They thought my Yashica 635 TLR was a bomb at the airport.
I had to get that extra special pat down and all my crap swabbed.
THANKFULLY they didn't make me open it because I had an unfinished roll of film loaded.
When I told the TSA agent it was an old camera. He simply said "Why would you still use one of those?" ALSOO I had 3200 ISO film with me and asked that they hand check it. They said "Sir you can put it in the scanner if it's not past 800" I said...."It's 3200, I can't" and they said "yeah, so you can put in the scanner" Then I was getting really frustrated and talked as if I was writing a check "IT'S THREE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED ISO I CANNOT PUT IT IN THE SCANNER" to which they replied "Oh, ok" and finally agreed to hand check it. I should mention, I didn't mumble the previous times I said it, they really are just that dense.

 

[Peter^]

The most common question I get is "is that a Leica?". When I say no, it's a Zeiss, they then generally ask me if it's antique. when I say no, it's still in production, I have the feeling that they don't really believe me.

 

[FPjohn]

I had my Century Graphic identified as an "analog" camera recently. They asked me where it was made and would not believe that it was American (US).

yours
FPJ

 

[stratcat]

I've never been asked if my camera has f-stops. Nevertheless, yesterday at a family reunion, a young guy in his early twenties asked me about my Yashica Electro 35: "What's with the camera?" I said it's an old film camera to which he replied: "And do you know how to use it?" 🙂

 

[Chinasaur]

"Yo! Dis phone got chirp?"

 

[wolves3012]

Never been asked about f-stops but I've often been asked things like "can you still get film then?", "do you take pictures with it then?" and equally dim questions. I also once got asked why I needed to take pictures with two cameras - after taking a meter-reading with a Sverdlovsk 4 (it's semi-spot and has an eyepiece) - someone thought that was the digital camera.

 

[alistair.o]

Never been asked about f-stops but I've often been asked things like "can you still get film then?"...

This one all the time.