Bill Pierce
Well-known
In the days when mechanical film cameras were dominant, camera repairmen were an extremely important part of the world of the advanced amateur and professional photographers. In many senses they weren’t repairmen, but masters of maintenance. With proper maintenance, with regular cleaning, lubrication and adjustment, your camera would last a lifetime. Nor was there a huge temptation to change cameras with every new model. In terms of features, it really didn’t matter if it was a Leica M3 or M6 or a Nikon F or F4. For the most part the changes were in the form of built in meters which were considered emergency back-ups for handheld Westons, Norwoods, Spectras and Minoltas meters. A sign of pride was a camera where the chrome plating on metal parts had worn down to the bronze.
That’s not so true in today’s digital world. Rummaging through some boxes in my office I came across an “old” digital camera. It was introduced at the end of 2009. Of course, compared to “today’s” cameras, it was sadly lacking in megapixels and mega menus. But what really struck me was the fact that it was less responsive. Auto focus was a little slower. Working quickly, even the release was a little slower. And low light performance could only be described as poor. I didn’t want to use a digital camera that I once loved. How different from the turn of the century when the Leica M3 I bought in 1955, a year after its introduction, was an old friend and the 1998 M6TTL was just a back up for its older brother.
In other words, it can make sense to back up and perhaps replace your digital gear more often. Although gear’s race to obsolescence has certainly slowed down from the first years of digital’s popularity, the significant improvement in cameras is still relatively rapid. (This is particularly true if you are a working stiff who finds it mandatory to provide both stills and motion.)
I think we’ve reached a pixel count, pixel size, sensor size and noise level availability that most conventional photographers can get anything they need albeit those requiring the top end may also be requiring that they give up eating and paying the rent for a while. Upgrade if you should, but beyond that there are specialized innovations always appearing that will be useful to specific photographers. The street photographer may want high enough megapixels to crop, but still want a small, quiet camera. The portrait photographer may want the best facial recognition that can be used with fastest possible lenses and their shallow depth of field. The landscape and architectural photographers may want wide angle lenses that do not depend heavily on in-camera correction. And all of these and others are features that are still evolving. Maybe someday we will get back to those days when a camera will be a lifetime purchase, but for most of us that digital day has yet to come. And it makes me miss the old days when my camera was my buddy, not just a new acquaintance. Your thoughts.
That’s not so true in today’s digital world. Rummaging through some boxes in my office I came across an “old” digital camera. It was introduced at the end of 2009. Of course, compared to “today’s” cameras, it was sadly lacking in megapixels and mega menus. But what really struck me was the fact that it was less responsive. Auto focus was a little slower. Working quickly, even the release was a little slower. And low light performance could only be described as poor. I didn’t want to use a digital camera that I once loved. How different from the turn of the century when the Leica M3 I bought in 1955, a year after its introduction, was an old friend and the 1998 M6TTL was just a back up for its older brother.
In other words, it can make sense to back up and perhaps replace your digital gear more often. Although gear’s race to obsolescence has certainly slowed down from the first years of digital’s popularity, the significant improvement in cameras is still relatively rapid. (This is particularly true if you are a working stiff who finds it mandatory to provide both stills and motion.)
I think we’ve reached a pixel count, pixel size, sensor size and noise level availability that most conventional photographers can get anything they need albeit those requiring the top end may also be requiring that they give up eating and paying the rent for a while. Upgrade if you should, but beyond that there are specialized innovations always appearing that will be useful to specific photographers. The street photographer may want high enough megapixels to crop, but still want a small, quiet camera. The portrait photographer may want the best facial recognition that can be used with fastest possible lenses and their shallow depth of field. The landscape and architectural photographers may want wide angle lenses that do not depend heavily on in-camera correction. And all of these and others are features that are still evolving. Maybe someday we will get back to those days when a camera will be a lifetime purchase, but for most of us that digital day has yet to come. And it makes me miss the old days when my camera was my buddy, not just a new acquaintance. Your thoughts.
