Love or Hate

[Bill Pierce]

When I see digital cameras compared usually at the top of the list is sensor size and megapixel count. No question that this is important, although perhaps a little less important than it was as image quality improves across the board. There are other important differences. What about those cameras that don’t share the inherited form factor of the pentaprismed film SLR? The Leica rangefinder and the Fuji X-100 and X-Pro series with a bright line finder option immediately come to mind. But what about the Leica Q series with its TTL viewfinder screen but an eyepiece at the left hand side of the body much more like those found in a rangefinder camera? If you are a right eyed photographer with anything more than a tiny nose, this is the camera for you.

Even when you look at conventional SLR style digitals, you see important differences. The Fuji T series has the shutter dials and f/stop dials of its film predecessors alongside a few electronic control buttons. There are Sonys that have none of those “manual” controls. The Sony A7R IV has 17 exterior buttons or dials and over 250 menu items and sub items.

As a person with years using film cameras, I’m a big fan of Fuji’s manual controls. And as a person with a nose, I’m a fan of the Q2. As to the Sonys, I mostly use third party manual focus lenses which eliminates the need for a lot of those buttons. So, what are the “non-pixel” features that you have come to enjoy or even rely on (or hate) in your cameras? And, perhaps, equally important, what are the features of film cameras that have made some folks decide to stay with film?

 

[jsrockit]

I prefer a dedicated shutter dial with shutter speed markings and lenses with aperture rings. I also prefer my viewfinder being on the left of the camera instead of being in the middle and do not like huge grips or big lenses. I’ve tried to like Sony… most recently with the a7C and sigma I series lenses… but I just don’t. I prefer my Fuji X cameras. I also bought a gfx-50r and the 50mm. I think the Sony and sigmas will be for sale soon.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Why evf eats battery charge faster than screen? More MPs, I guess.
I like digital cameras with normal battery capacity. Which comes with clunky mirror as downside.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Bill you’re going to be hard-pressed to find a recent digital camera that is so unlike any of the cameras you describe as the Hasselblad 907x.


907x and an Old Fashioned by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

The ergonomics are definitely not for everyone (having had some experience with film Hasselblads helps), but I couldn’t be happier with it. And I’m saying this as someone who was a dedicated Leica M user.

I've come to appreciate touch screen and very simple menus, of which the 907x has both. Although IBIS is also nice, it's not a deal-killer for a camera that doesn't have it. And with the 907x, I appreciate its flexibility -- I can remove the back and attach it to a vintage Hasselblad body, and it works really well as a 'scanner' of negatives and, in my particular case, glass plates. Plus it has such a nice 'heft' and physical quality to it - certainly the nicest-feeling digital camera I've ever owned.

Do I wish it was a 6x6 sensor instead of 33x44mm? Of course that would be great, but then it would likely be 3-4 times the current price. Maybe someday down the line it will happen, but honestly it doesn't bother me one way or another.

I suppose if I could change anything with it, I wish the AF had a bit more zip to it, but not a big deal.

 

[kshapero]

Don't own one but the Leica M10 series comes to mind as the ultimate "lots of controls" camera. Fuji and Nikon have some great candidates in that department.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

The main feature of film cameras that has made me decide to stay with film? Well, film. Duh.

 

[Archiver]

Non-pixel features I enjoy in a camera:


- IBIS - good stabilization changed street and rapid shooting for me
- bright and clear EVF - the rangefinder experience is all very well and good, but for precision shooting where I need to know exposure and framing in an instant, a good EVF can't be beat
- high quality video - in my personal documenting, I shoot video about 35-40% of the time. A picture will tell you something, but it doesn't capture the movement of a loved one, the way their expressions change in seconds
- easy access to key functions - I'm quite adaptable in that if a camera has a dedicated shutter speed dial, I'll use it, but if it doesn't, I'll use the scroll wheels. But having access to those functions themselves is what is important to me.
- comfortable grip - this can be pretty individual, given the size and shape of your hands and the way you hold your camera. Leica M bodies just feel good in the hand. And the very well shaped grip of the Panasonic G9 and S1 feel good, too. I've never been fond of the way the Canon 5D Mark II feels in the hand but the EOS R is a lot better.

 

[JeffS7444]

On the Sony A7R4:
"My Menu" contains 7 items which I use frequently.

Fn serves as catch-all for items not used enough to justify a menu item or button (or am too lazy to come up with a different solution)

Great battery life!

Being able to save camera settings to a file is pretty sweet too.

Film cameras
I'm not a big spender, but this is where I buy stuff more or less on a whim. And why not, it all represents old carbon emitted decades ago. By spending an afternoon or two to bring a Parts/As-Is camera back to life, I figure I'm recycling. Don't need faux-retro digital cameras when I got the real deal.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

Top two: Adjustable ISO (which keeps getting better and better with each generation of cameras); and EVFs (giving me the ability to see what changes in speed, aperture, or ISO do to the final image).

 

[kbb]

Number one: The basic settings and data (ISO/Shutter/aperture/shots remaining) must be visible on the outside of the camera while looking down on the top surface of the camera.
Eg, Visible looking down at the camera whilst it sits on a neck strap.
It doesn't matter if I read the aperture from the lens barrel or from a clear and legible display on the top of the camera. It matters that the info is visible.
The top pro sports cameras (Nikon D3 was the one I had) added white balance and file type on a secondary display on the rear of the body. That's even better.

 

[raydm6]

And, perhaps, equally important, what are the features of film cameras that have made some folks decide to stay with film?

For me, it's the glass and the signature it imparts on film.

 

[Axel]

.. So, what are the “non-pixel” features that you have come to enjoy or even rely on (or hate) in your cameras? ...

- Touchscreendisplay. Place focus and lightspot even with fingertip and forget all wheels and switches (and your nose)
- Compactness. When my camera lives in my pocket and is tiny and small its the real way to live "a photographing life" for me.

 

[Dogman]

I am tempted to say "ergonomics" but it's actually more than that. More like "compatibility and comfort". If I like using it, I'll use it.

My main cameras these days are Fuji X-Pros and Nikon DSLRs (several models). They're both different in handling, size and looks in many ways. But they both fit my way of taking pictures and I feel comfortable using them. I don't think they're better than other cameras. Everyone makes good cameras and lenses these days. They're just the right choice for my uses.

 

[zuiko85]

Left eyed guy here. You learn to live with it. One of my favorite film cameras is the Olympus Pen F half frame with offset eyepiece. So the advance is sticking in my right eye. Simple solution is to move that camera away from your face to advance the film. (Unless you’re in landscape orientation, then the advance is at your hairline above the left eye.)
I also like the fuji cameras with the SS dial and aperture dial, typical with us old timers. Can’t justify the expense though, to much for this retiree’s budget, a used M4:3 mirrorless was only a couple of C-notes and with a few cheap adapters will take any of my old lenses.

 

[dasuess]

Another lefty eye, but right handed - which makes shooting with a right handed bolt action rifle interesting, but I haven’t done that for 50 years. Fuji Xpro-1 with 18/f2 for OC/OL walk around shooting. Like the manual controls, but use the AF for focus (back button). But 90% of my photography is shooting landscapes, with tripod and associated bag of lenses. For that I use a Nikon D810, low ISO, MUP mode, EFCS, shutter delay and other menu functions. Slow work, but I like it.

 

[Pál_K]

A few common attributes are starting to appear in this thread.

Like some other people, things I love are:

* main functions such as shutter speed, compensation, ISO, and aperture being visible and accessible on top dials or rings.

* eyepiece diopter adjustement and nice rubber eyecup, plus a view of the entire frame

* a useful right hand grip for fingers and a rest for the thumb

* simple menus, a customizable menu

The X-100V or X-T4 embody the sort of thing I’m looking for.


Things I hate are:

* clusters of buttons on the back, especially the right side - X-Pro1 this means you!

* poorly organized menus

* poorly written user manuals