Never mind the quality ....

[dee]

It's a touch worrying that I have no aspirations towards a top spec DSLR.

I look around and find myself very much in a minority among true 'photographers ' whereby my sole instinctual and successful ability as a commercial Interior Designer has been to ' create happy/contented spaces which don't agitate my acute ASD sensitivity .

In some respects the inheritance fuelled Leica M8 was an anomaly in that I craved the simplicity and pre-AF analogue experience in a camera which just happened to be a well beyond my modest means , even then , I prefer my Summitar , Fed 50 F3.5 and Contax adapted Jupiters over a modern lens ... and monochrome.

I am quite content with the most basic DSLRs on the planet - Sony A290 and awaited , Sony A390 , plus the most advanced camera I own - Sony A35 with Sony 35mm f1.8.
In a similar vein , i uprated my Pentax K10D with 1990s Pentax silver kit lenses which suit my 125th at f8 mentality.

Much is the ASD comfort of 'several' or 'many' experienced in many fields and hobbies . It may be an anxiety if something breaks or is lost .
i discovered dozens of undeveloped film from over 20 years ago which helped me recognise that the activity of framing and containing a confusing world through a viewfinder was as crucial as the result.

There is reassurance somehow of 5 mini systems each with a selection of lenses in a series of small gadget bags .

I love having my cameras around me with the usability of digital a bonus .

In my dee-fence , this has been a gradual progression - Leica Digilux 3 and L1 with a couple of Olympus lenses , Pentax K10D clinging to manual lenses before capitulating to budget AF zooms, Sony A290 to use old Minolta AF lenses , Sony A35 to upgrade to low light usage and video , and currently a flip screen/waist level finder , A390 body which @£100 happens to have two lenses in tow !

dee

I love considered snapshooting , but the camera collection is embarrassingly crucial to staving off ASD 'lostness'.

 

[Doug]

Dee, I think you're not at all alone in appreciating basic simplicity in operation, and avoidance of the complex and confusing... and falling under the spell of the M8, M9 etc. A friendly user interface has been a major matter in choosing my gear, including computers, for many years.

There may be a touch of ASD in that, but I suspect the sensibility is broader-based.

And I guess Leica has taken note of a certain type of customer who will buy a digital camera with no LCD screen on the back... Back to basics!

 

[peterm1]

One of the things I carried over from my film shooting days is my tendency to set my DSLR on aperture priority/ single shot/ centre weighted average metering and to only use these settings except when they don't work in a given situation. Then I may give it some thought and for example switch to spot metering for a shot with difficult lighting, or if I am shooting a fast moving target change to multiple shot mode. But they represent less than 1% of my shooting. The rest is vanilla flavoured as described above. It simplifies my life a lot.

The other thing that I carried over from film days is my lack of willingness to just blaze away and take dozens of images of the same shot. I tend instead to just set the shot up and when I see it coming together press the shutter button once or maybe twice.

Back in the day how I yearned for a camera with motor drive, spot metering and program mode. But now I have them (or their equivalent) I find I almost never use them. And only then when I really need to. My point is cameras today are complex. But our use of them need not be.

 

[zuiko85]

Sure don't have ASD but have always viewed full manual control and one dial one ring one control as essential which pretty much limits me to film cameras. When people ask me why I still shoot film I tell them it is because the cameras I like use the stuff.

 

[charjohncarter]

Some of the greatest photo ever take were with 35mm film and many are not even focused well: Robert Frank, HCB, Lartique, etc. The worry is are we spending to much time fiddling with the camera (and post processing) and not enough trying to find our voice.

 

[giellaleafapmu]

I understand why looking for semplicity might help producing better pictures but how can any of the functions present in a moder camera be considered complex or confusing? Take the Auto-Iso, for example, if you are taking pictures with a lot of time and you can set manually everything is of no use but if you don't have time and focal length and movements of the subject force high shutter speed and a certain f-stop it is really very useful. I am sure anyone here who toke the time to play a moment with this have learn easily at least the very basics on how to use it. I really preferto have something, even if I seldomly use it, rather than not having an aid when I might need it.

GLF

 

[dee]

Thanks everyone , I feel a touch less crazeee.
I guess i like the historical reassurance of Shutter or Aperture Priority in any given situation-though I would probably set a speed of aperture on manual and just adjust as condition change , it's great , on manual , just to adjust one wheel for backlight etc.
I also tend to stick to ISO 200 as this is my best ' guess ' exposure from ASA 200 film from before
But I am strictly amateur and a few misses are OK.
Sometimes auto provides crazy combinations which I would never set .
dee

 

[dee]

Mild Autism and A290 simplicity .

Mild Autism and A290 simplicity .

I bought a Sony a290 to use with Minolta lenses.

I knew this to be less capable than the contemporary Nikon/Canon - and the K10D Pentax i had at the time.
The photos are OK for me and can be quite good in respect of framing with the 35 f1.8 Sony.

But I could not work out why it works for me , until yesterday .

My ASD mind can't override details , it's like snapshots where 'Now/Memory/Pretend all have equal prominence creating a bit of a dream state . It creates a form of constant mind tinitus .

Like all the cars I have chosen , simplicity rules with the swoops and curves of modern cars creating discomfort - roll on new VW Beetle to replace the Alfa 147.

The A 290 is simply a moulded plastic box with few controls , minimal graphics and discrete graphics .
There are no surface changes , no extra dials etc .
The Pentax K10d bristles with 'artefacts' by comparison .
I guess it's why the Leica Digilux 3 /Pansonic L1 and M8 appeal to me so much - which is weird 'cos they are, or were state of the art .

I am aquiring a Sony A390 for Live view and the 'waist level' screen , but the simplicity continues .

It's a relief to have solved this conundrum and just goes to who that camera choice is not always that obvious .

dee