Is RFF even relevant anymore?

[Ko.Fe.]

So, Ko.Fe, are you saying that the Lily pictures in the "Lillies,Lillies, Lillies" thread look like badly framed iPhone snap shots?

Or, am I as usual not understanding anything you say?

Please let me know; in the effort of keeping RFF relevant and all that as it may be.

All the best,
Mike

HCB, GW and others I have books of doesn't seems to be into flowers pictures, but life photography with RF.

I have no idea how your flowers pictures looks like. I'm not into flowers photography and threads this much. I'm using RF mostly for street and badly framed snapshots. But I do photograph something like flowers. 😉

I also not sure how iPhone photos could be framed badly. If someone can't frame with wysiwyg device, it is not this device problem.

Take it easy, take flowers pictures. 🙂. Ko.

 

[charjohncarter]

I miss the arguments over which developer is best, but where else could you find a character like KO.FE.

 

[Scapevision]

I miss the arguments over which developer is best, but where else could you find a character like KO.FE.

61.5240° N, 105.3188° E

 

[CameraQuest]

A few key decisions shaped RFF along the way.

1) would RFF remain film only, or embrace digital?
As Leica started making digital cameras, RFF started talking about them.

2) would RFF remain only rangefinders, or embrace other platforms?
As more members requested other non RF forums, we added other camera types

3) would RFF take note of mirrorless cameras that could adapt RF lenses?
any camera that shoots RF lenses is a RF of sorts, so there are many subforums on mirrorless cameras that can shoot RF lenses

4) would RFF remain centered on gear?
Yep, never any maybe on that. I don't see many discussions on Flickr wishing for more gear talk,
so why question RFF is primarily about gear?

Stephen

 

[Axel]

1) would RFF remain film only, or embrace digital?
accept digital, not embrace 😉

2) would RFF remain only rangefinders, or embrace other platforms?
I´d like to see when it stays rangefinder-centered and accepts other platforms like now

3) would RFF take note of mirrorless cameras that could adapt RF lenses?
any camera that shoots RF lenses is a RF of sorts, so there are many subforums on mirrorless cameras that can shoot RF lenses

yes

4) would RFF remain centered on gear?
I`d like to switch the center a bit more to photographing and pictures

Axels 5ct

 

[CameraQuest]

1)

4) would RFF remain centered on gear?
I`d like to switch the center a bit more to photographing and pictures

Axels 5ct

Just start more photo discussions.
There are no rules against it!

 

[Axel]

Not more discussions - making and showing pictures.

The gallery, the pics of the week and photo association thread are my favorite ones.
And I do my very best 🙂

We have so good photographers here and the collection of amazing pictures is a big treasure
in my eyes. What can be more attractive than good photographs?

Btw. - thanks for holding this nice place Stephen!

 

[gnuyork]

As long as this forum is not about pictures of flowers 😉 and HDR,

Yes, but what about HDR pictures of flowers?

 

[Mlehrman]

From this little corner of the Universe, life would be a bit blander without RFF.

I love looking through the random gallery and discovering forgotten gems.

 

[konicaman]

Most of my shooting is done with Fuji gear or the little Pany LF1 that is always in my bag. I still use rangefinders though (there is a Rank Mamiya sitting next to my computer, loaded with Fomapan 100). Even if I did not use RFs this forum would still be relevant as there are so many knowledgeable people gathered here - and they are willing to help (even when clueless newbies ask the most simple questions) . Which brings me to another point: This is a nice and friendly forum - a real rarity these days...

 

[kshapero]

A few key decisions shaped RFF along the way.

1) would RFF remain film only, or embrace digital?
As Leica started making digital cameras, RFF started talking about them.

2) would RFF remain only rangefinders, or embrace other platforms?
As more members requested other non RF forums, we added other camera types

3) would RFF take note of mirrorless cameras that could adapt RF lenses?
any camera that shoots RF lenses is a RF of sorts, so there are many subforums on mirrorless cameras that can shoot RF lenses

4) would RFF remain centered on gear?
Yep, never any maybe on that. I don't see many discussions on Flickr wishing for more gear talk,
so why question RFF is primarily about gear?

Stephen

AS the chief bartender, you said it all. The answer???? RFF is very relevant. 🙂

 

[Richard G]

What's in a name? It's more RFF than Rangefinder Forum sometimes. This forum is one of the miracles of the internet. It so broad, so erudite, so polished and there is such a high quality of contribution and such a high standard of writing. You don't see 'lense' here, except occasionally in the Classifieds by contributors with 0 posts.

The Gallery and the Gallery Picks thread are a great revelation and tutor. Editing of the written content of the forums does not occur and yet it often looks like it must have been edited. Editing of photographs is the great hidden skill of photography and the Gallery Picks teaches you that a bit.

There are wonderful people here, from all over the world.

Would I have discovered, let alone mastered the Fuji X100 in 2011 or ever if I hadn't been here? No.

Would I have forked out for the M9-P and later the Monochrom? No.

Would I have discovered the dreamy C Sonnar ZM 50? Most likely not. And now I have 5 or 6 Zeiss lenses, much cheaper than the Leitz / Leica equivalents and a lot better most of them.

Would I have finally realised the wonders of the Barnacks and tried one, let alone owned three? No.

Would I have bought a Hasselblad 500CM finally? Maybe. But probably not.

Would I have attained my current understanding of exposure and the exposure properties of colour negative film that can be exploited? Most likely not.

It is clear that RFF is beyond relevant: it is a wonder of the age that we are all very lucky to be part of. What is the future? Best not to think too much of that. Value the present: it is precious and fleeting. Hail to the chief (bartender.)

 

[peterm1]

Things either stay the same or they change and adapt.

If they stay the same in the face of a changed environment they dwindle and eventually, most often die. This is perhaps what would happen if the moderators of this forum were to say something like "this forum is for discussing traditional rangefinder cameras only." Doubt that? Well just imagine whether the majority of us would be here if they said something even more restricting like "this forum is only for discussing traditional film based rangefinders" We would already be gone, the vast majority of us at least.

Or the forum adapts. In fact this forum is open ended. People can discuss pretty much most things about cameras and photography. So it will continue to change as people's interests change. And so it will most likely remain relevant no matter what it is called. I certainly have no objections to it being called rangefinder forum (since that is a name already well known and respected) even if I now do most shooting with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras.

We could, I suppose, call it something like the "wheelbarrow forum". That would at least keep most of the riff raff out (except those terrible wheelbarrow riff raff) as Basil Fawlty would say. (Joking, joking please don't take me seriously if you don't know who Basil Fawlty is).

Fawlty Towers Quote: "Sybil Fawlty: [with only four people attending the grand opening of Gourmet Night] I should never have let you write that advert. Fancy putting "no riff-raff."

 

[Baby of Macon]

That which we call a rose would smell as sweet by any other name.


RFF is a convivial community of interest - or at least it is for me.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

Rumor just hit the web that Panasonic is coming out with a full-frame camera. I guess we'll need another forum. 😛

 

[Laterna Magica]

I have been only a "silent reader" of rff for many years.
Now I have registered here to be able to participate.
I think that is a clear statement that rff is very relevant - for me 🙂 .
And with so much postings form all the members each day it is certainly relevant to all these thousands of members participating here.

 

[mynikonf2]

What is irrelevant, IMHO is making an issue out of a non-issue. This forum works for a multitude of people and covers their interests whatever they may be. That is what makes this forum such a good source of information.

 

[raid]

I also don't believe that there was a need for such a thread. I enjoy being here. If I had not enjoyed it, I would not be here. It is that simple. It is mainly about the people here and not about their camera types.

 

[KM-25]

Rangefinder cameras will be a tool I use for as long as I live, so the tool is relevant and therefore the site is relavent.

I shoot both film and digital and after many years of defending my use of film in the throes of Techno-Fantasia-Gasma banter I am seeing far less chaffing of viewpoints on this site so it has become exponentially more bearable on here for me in that regard.

There are issues afoot though and not unique to this site. I know a lot of young photographers who are not “Hipsters” but who will likely be lifelong image makers and often pickup rangefinder cameras and they are not participating on forums for the most part. I used to think it was old guard vs fresh eyes attitudes and friction but I don’t think is it either.

So the place has died down quite a bit in the past few years. I would post photos here but prefer to do that within the constructs of a thread and the 500 pixel limit in a world of retina screens makes it a postage stamp at best so I don’t bother. Hosting and linking to places like Flickr don’t work either because of how I limit my exposure on the web.

I think the bigger question for the future will be how do online forums in general and in current iteration stay relevant? They seem to be a slowly dying breed with an increasing percentage of the content being posts by the “Usual Suspects.”

It’s not a bad thing, just an opportunity in having a voice in reinventing the notion of why Photography is important in the first place....and how to keep it important in a world awash in images.

 

[Out to Lunch]

RFF is relevant to me. I come here often, if not every day. Whether or not a picture is taken with an rangefinder camera or with any other camera, does not bother me at all. Let me turn this around...if RFF would be discontinued, I'd miss it a lot.