if you were king of the cameras...

[back alley]

...would you design a camera that could do it all or would you design a camera for every application...i.e. street, landscapes, portraits etc?

 

[burancap]

Probably the do-it-all.

 

[back alley]

i started thinking about this as i was thinking about the perfect street camera...what might be different if the camera was designed especially for street shooting...prime, zoom, interchangeable lenses, body size etc...

 

[BlackXList]

I'd choose different tools for different jobs, otherwise you'll end up compromising most.

 

[Roger Hicks]

To sell (versatile) or to use (does the job properly)?

Cheers,

R.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Different cameras for different uses.

That's how I justify having three different camera systems. One for work, one for doc projects, and one for just funning' around.

Could be rationalizing. 🙂

Best,
-Tim

 

[back alley]

To sell (versatile) or to use (does the job properly)?

Cheers,

R.

for personal use...

 

[daveleo]

I am a best-tool-for-the-job kind of guy.
You need to drive nails? - buy a hammer, etc etc etc You need to shoot "street" buy a _____, etc etc etc
The concept of a camera / lens setup that is "all things to all people" comes from the manufacturing / marketing side of the fence. Not that it is a bad concept, it just does not work for me.
(Well, I do own a zoom lens, so that's kind of a compromise.)

 

[back alley]

that big ass sony...the one with the 24-200/2.8 lens would work nicely for many situations...

 

[Roger Hicks]

for personal use...

Leica except where I need an SLR or camera movements or an 8x10 portrait... So I guess, the camera for the job, not the universal camera.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Darshan]

horses for courses..

 

[rbiemer]

Neither: I would decree a manufacturing system to produce exactly what you--the photographer--wanted. Sort of an ultimate A la Carte/print (CNC) on demand.

Rob

 

[burancap]

that big ass sony...the one with the 24-200/2.8 lens would work nicely for many situations...

There you are, or the similar 28-100/1.8-4.9 or later 24-70//1.8-2.8. The answer to this is the same as the answer to your other "pocket" post. The RX100!

 

[Rick Waldroup]

A great, simple, digital camera with film camera controls.

No video, no bells, no whistles, no nothing,

And I want it simple- no diving through menus to find ****. Simple. Direct. No scene modes, no party effects, etc. Simple but useful. Give me a great camera.

Give me manual controls in a bad ass digital body.

And I shoot digital and have now for many years. Give me a digital camera that shoots just like an old fashioned film camera.

 

[michaelwj]

Are you telling me I'm not the king? Damn it, and here I was thinking i was the king of everything...

Tool for the job.

Michael

 

[lynnb]

Porsche built the Cayenne and it makes up half of global Porsche sales - but I'd get a Boxster just for the fun it...

Rob's suggestion might be possible, a limitless variety of custom designs based on the photographer's metrics (hand size, left or right-eyed) and preferences (location of shutter button etc) and 3-D printing at the factory, to order.

Artists don't just use a one-size-fits-all general purpose paint brush.

So I'd always prefer specific tools optimised for specific tasks, with some standard modularity (mount type) where practicable.

And why would one want to create a cure for GAS? 🙂

 

[ninjin]

I have to agree with Rick. Give me a digital camera, the looks and build
quality of an M-series or at least a Bessa, buttons and dials for everything
I care about, ISO, shutter speed, etc. Then a rangefinder patch, M-mount,
full-frame and a crank for that creative pause! The great irony of it all,
it pretty much ends up being what we could have expected from an Epson RD-2...

 

[pyeh]

I quite like the idea of a modular camera with different sensor and film backs and different lens mount modules, like a more developed and smaller version of what Rollei tried to do with the SL 2000/3003. Differrnt optional hand grips and flash mounts too. I think there were some design exercises recently from Samsung(?) or someone. I think the Ricoh GXR wasn't quite there with the modularity idea but could nearly have been. Dials, simplified menus, build quality and all those good things too of course.

 

[Chris101]

A great, simple, digital camera with film camera controls.

No video, no bells, no whistles, no nothing,

And I want it simple- no diving through menus to find ****. Simple. Direct. No scene modes, no party effects, etc. Simple but useful. Give me a great camera.

Give me manual controls in a bad ass digital body.

And I shoot digital and have now for many years. Give me a digital camera that shoots just like an old fashioned film camera.

Have you tried a Df Rick? I haven't, but I must say that I think about it from time to time.

I like your new avatar.

 

[Harry S.]

A Digital mamiya 7.