Is a certain type of person drawn to a fully manual camera?

"I am really offended now."

Posting tip. Never take offense at the ramblings of anonymous posters on an internet forum. The rectangle you are looking at in front of you is NOT a window on the real world. The words you read are just pixels on a screen. Turning the computer off will make us all disappear. :)
 
I see two ways to control the gear, both calling for basic technical understanding. With the all-mechanical manual camera you control it directly, and this often needs preparation for fast response to changing situations. OTOH, with the automated camera you can achieve full control by understanding how the automation will respond to changing situations, and intervene as needed. Sometimes all-manual is easier, as it's not so unusual for me to get outmaneuvered by the automation!
 
bmattock said:
Welcome to the fun world of online discussion, where we classify ourselves into ever-smaller boxes, and then insist that anyone not in that same tiny pigeonhole with us is 'wrong', or at the very least, 'not like us'. If we find ourselves in rare agreement about anything, it is time to redraw the lines even more tightly, so that the group of 'us' ('us' being the smart ones, the 'real photographers') never becomes more than just a few.

It must be some inner desire that humans possess to create an us-vs-them mentality out of everything. Coke and Pepsi, Ford and Chevy, Canon and Nikon, Film and Digital, Auto-Exposure and Manual Exposure, and etc.

Creatures which overspecialize become extinct when the world changes and they've lost the ability to adapt.
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Hi Bill. When I read this thread, I don't see anyone saying "Do it my way or you are wrong," I just see people saying how they prefer to operate and why. I don't give a hoot if someone prefers to use their camera on manual or program mode or what ever.
 
I had my Leica M4 on my shoulder at a local coffee shop (Yeah yeah, cliches) and someone around my age noticed the camera. He had a Nikon D40x around his neck. He looked like a friendly kid, I was with my girlfriend. He kept eyeing my camera, finally he asked me what kind it was. I explained to him it was a Leica M4 from 1967. He frowned and said "Oh, it's not digital? Why not?" I was startled by the question and said "Not only is it not digital, it doesnt have a battery either, meaning it doesnt even meter." He laughed, almost in disbelief. "Why would you do that?" he asked.
I looked at my girlfriend, who doesnt really know much about photography and thought for a few seconds.

I dont really know why I would do this. I just love it. I looked at him and told him that. I explained that I have a D70s, and do take digital, but I love the film workflow. I feel free, I feel grassroots.

Confused, he left, But it really took me a minute to think why I like using manual more. It tears down the wall thats between me and my photographs in digital. It feels better.
 
Kind of off-topic, but am I the only one in the photo world who cringes at the term "work-flow?" That's what automation and digital mean to me:
Cranking out as much as possible. And when the world is filled with something, whether widgets, music, or photos, that thing gets devalued.

I think the ability of today's photographers to produce such a humongous number of photos will end up devaluing all photos eventually. Another good example: does the world need another watercolor of a barn?

I prefer nice manual cameras because I dislike junk of any kind. And even the best new cameras feel like plastic junk. And I feel no need to crank out photos by the bucket load.
 
bmattock said:
I use everything. New, old, manual, fully automatic, digital, film, point-n-shoot, whatever. I like 'em all. I don't know if it makes me a certain 'type' but then again, I tend to think specialization is for insects.
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What he said. Another good thing to remember is that "progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something. "

I like well made things. That, often, is old manual cameras...

William
 
Cool Avatar!

Cool Avatar!

diagularax said:
When a seventeen year old expresses an interest in manual camaras and old (sort of) cars I find it heartening and proof that there will always be a generation with these preferences.

Now get away from the computer and write us all a letter telling us more about why you feel this way please! :p
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Hey diagularax, cool avatar! And I appreciate your Luddite sensibility also.

(My other keybord is an Underwood portable....)
 
well... first off, if you can't control a modern camera *you* have a problem. Put it in "M" mode and it is fully manual, just like anything else you may choose to shoot.

Why love shooting older manual cameras... it makes you feel special... :)
 
because its an MP! I keep saying after awhile setting controls becomes second-nature and seizes to be an issue. You get used to it.
 
I was thinking the other day of how I enjoy the plastic and synthetic free house of my dad. I also banish such substances, including clothes, from my portraits, as they rob them of atmosphere, partly, I must admit, aiming at nostalgia.

One idea I have had is to remove all electro-tech from the house and relegate it to an outhouse. And that would mean having at least one fully mechanical and therefore manual camera. I'm debating as to whether a batteryless meter would be acceptable. hmmmm

Navel gazing is a lot of fun.
 
NickTrop said:
I just find the simpler - aperture, shutter speed, set film speed, and way more fun to use. Ironic that the manuals for one of these things is a small pamphlet while the digital monstrosities come with a paperback to read while you're on the can.

Prefer a manual transmission too, and wear only vintage spring-wound watches.

The only thing that I don't prefer the old school way is shaving. Electric razor guy. Would never go back to using a razor.
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It seems like you never tried a good straight razor...and never had an assignment where you definitively, desperately need to bring home good pictures! ;)

Autoeverything is not funny...sometimes but some other time it helps a lot!!! Of course, you need to be able to disable whatever auto stuff gives you wrong informations and pass to as manual as you want whenever you want to but that is clear and has nothing to do with heating autofeatures...

GLF
 
to answer your question YES. The type who loves cameras. You cant love cameras and not like the manual ones. I happen to love taking pics as well but I do have a love affair with my cameras. If I ever won the lottery look out. Would have so many I could use different one ever day for at least a year.
 
I rather like some automation, such as auto exposure and auto wind/rewind, as with the Hexar RF. There've been AE cameras for... um, how long?... at least since the early 60's. When they were made of real metal. :D One of my first was an AE-only selenium-cell Petri half-frame. And back then I liked my '55 Plymouth V8 with 2-speed auto. I also like my current Smart car with its weird automated-manual gearbox, traction-control etc.

Anyway, it seems the interface is the main issue for me, and I prefer analog or a close facsimile thereof. A digital interface tends to exclude me from a lot of buried features, but I can be happy with a simple digital interface such as found on later film cameras, and the Leica M8.

I know I'd be at a loss with the fancier Canikon dSLRs, but that still leaves a lot of neat stuff (with some auto features or none) for a gearhead to enjoy. :)

Finally, as an observation, I think we overlook a lot of "automatic" features by taking them for granted. I'm thinking here of, for instance, an automatic frame counter that even zeros itself when the back opens. Automatic film stop at the next frame, film advance combined with shutter cocking, coupled RF, etc. All these can be present and we still think of the camera as "fully manual". On "fully manual" cars we still have automatic choke or electronic control of fuel injection, self-cancelling turn signals, brake lights that come on automatically when you press the brake pedal, and other automated features. Have we gotten soft?:p
 
Doug said:
I know I'd be at a loss with the fancier Canikon dSLRs, but that still leaves a lot of neat stuff (with some auto features or none) for a gearhead to enjoy. :)
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I don't think you would really be. The settings are P, A, S, M, with the obvious meaning, in the worst case you could just put every single deal to M setting and you would have a standard all manual (even the focus) camera which works just as usual. The real problem is with low end cameras where you cannot avoid the camera itself taking some decision.

GLF
 
Certain things in life for me have already reached their peak. I drive an old Landrover, ride a Triumph Bonneville (original not repro) and prefer older cameras (or at least older technology). I shave with an old-fashioned Wilkinson Sword "safety" razor without cutting myself and smoother than a multi-blade razor.
I think cameras peaked with OM2n for SLR and M6TTL RF. Having said that, the Panasonic G1 is a mighty fine camera and I would not turn one down.

As for the other stuff- If I won the lottery i'd be driving a new Landrover Defender, but the Bonnie would get a good fettling and stay with me :) and the razor wouldn't change.
 
The aesthetic quality of an image is completely independent of its medium.

The only people who will be impressed by, or even care about, what automated features were used to produce an image are photographers, and the only photographers who care are those who are more interested in the process than the content.
 
Finally, as an observation, I think we overlook a lot of "automatic" features by taking them for granted. I'm thinking here of, for instance, an automatic frame counter that even zeros itself when the back opens. Automatic film stop at the next frame, film advance combined with shutter cocking, coupled RF, etc. All these can be present and we still think of the camera as "fully manual". On "fully manual" cars we still have automatic choke or electronic control of fuel injection, self-cancelling turn signals, brake lights that come on automatically when you press the brake pedal, and other automated features. Have we gotten soft?
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Hehe - of course you are spot on... There is also automation when developing the film and so on...

Come to think of it, the trams that I drove (designed in the 30-s, built in 52) were almost 100% manual. There was an electric motor driving the switchworks regulating power & brakes, but that was all. You could turn it off and go, but with some sweat. Not allowed in traffic, but we learn how to and I sometimes did it while out of traffic.

Saw an old A-ford on the streets in Oslo today, I have seen it before - it is in used condition, does not seem to be restored! In terms of cars it should be pretty much all manual I guess. Except the ignition, that is probably automatic... ;-)

I feel there is a middle field somewhere - I am very happy with my M8 and the M7 I bought some days ago. It has all to do with handling for me, more hands on and less distractions brings a better result... And less things to break down of course!
 
If I can use a manual camera perfectly well then I have no need for anything else!

If it ain't broke don't fix it!
 
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