Non-rangefinder pics in the gallery - yes or no?

[photogdave]

I would have never thought it.

Set phasers to stun and get 'em out.

Seriously, I've never seen that and cannot imagine why they come to RFF when there are so many other places out there.

Here is one example:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php?ppuser=3700&cat=500
All taken with DSLR. No replies to comments. No participation in forums.

 

[photogdave]

You do have a valid point Dave, and I agree with you.

I think part of the problem is that RFF has grown so much, so quickly, maybe the admin are overworked, pushed to their limits.

Just monitoring contentious threads keeps the mods well busy.

Those photos you linked to are all pretty old.
Perhaps Stephens ideas for a more streamlined gallery (show-case for recent work) could solve some of these issues.

Well it's all spiraling out of control a little bit (as usual ) so I think I'll clarify my point and get out of here.
I think non-RF photos in the gallery are great - as long as they're from active, participating members.
I really don't want more rules or restrictions in the gallery per se. I think the recent file size restrictions will deter any would-be band-width pirates!
I think Steve's original post was an open honest question and didn't deserve some of the negatives comments that followed.
Any discussion about images on RFF is good discussion. For better or worse I'm glad this thread appeared.
Peace and good wishes to all!

 

[steamer]

This place is rangefinder forum, it's not pictures-that-look-fab-forum or great-photographers- make-fab-photos-with-any-gear-forum. What's the problem with that?

If I want to see digital photos made by "real photographers" I go to flickr. When I make such photos I post them there and don't feel slighted by "elitists or gear heads"

This is a specialized corner or the interweb that has it's own flavor and that's why I like it.

Can't imagine why somebody would want this place to be just another photo sharing site,

 

[Al Kaplan]

I'd say YES, but then I wonder how do you treat cameras such as the Leica I-c, I-f, I-g and the M mount M1 and Md or the Bessa L. The Leica models were all designed for use on the Visoflex or on microscopes, colposcopes, and other duch medical/scientific equipment, but like the Bessa L are sometimes used by scale focusing with extreme wide angle lenses. There are also a lot of good quality scale focussing viewfinder cameras such as my Voigtlander Vito CL, plus all the half frame cameras like the various Olympus Pen models from the 1960's. My feeling is that these should all should be treated like rangefinder cameras.

 

[Ray Nalley]

Why make unenforceable rules? Unless a poster identifies the camera he took the photo with (unless clearly a long telephoto shot, and then he might have used a Viso on an M), how would you know if he used an RF or not? Limiting the gallery to RF images is simply impractical.

 

[jan normandale]

I'm a photograph guy. So I'm interested in images. That said I come to RFF to see RFF stuff including images. I know some members like to "share" their shots that aren't RF shots. That's fair however it's not appropriate to leave the impression the image was the result of a RF. I think the non RF shots should be noted as to what they are. DSLR, SLR, Digi P/S .. you know what I'm getting at.

Quit the pawning of non RF images as RF generated. Live and let live but less fraud is better. My two cents.

ttyl, Jan

 

[Steveh]

I'm a photograph guy. So I'm interested in images. That said I come to RFF to see RFF stuff including images. I know some members like to "share" their shots that aren't RF shots. That's fair however it's not appropriate to leave the impression the image was the result of a RF. I think the non RF shots should be noted as to what they are. DSLR, SLR, Digi P/S .. you know what I'm getting at.

Quit the pawning of non RF images as RF generated. Live and let live but less fraud is better. My two cents.

ttyl, Jan

Jan, that all makes perfect sense to me, and full disclosure sounds like a very good policy for people - including me - to follow, on an individual, "honour code" basis. If people then don't want to comment on a DSLR/digicam pick they can put it on their own personal "ignore list" or even (should they choose) leave an abusive comment .

Perhaps I should have been a little bit clearer in what I was getting at with my original question last night. I'd completely agree that this forum would be worse off if it became a mini-Flickr, and any sign that was happening would (to my mind) require some serious moderator intervention.

What was really underpinning my question was having seen the very welcome return to life of the last "picks of the week" thread and thinking about what would improve the quality and range of images posted by the regular members on here.

I suspect that many people on here, like me, have a range of cameras they rotate between - and it would seem silly to have one of the "regulars" not post a shot for us all to enjoy because they happen to have been out with their D450 (or whatever) and not their Leica when they took it.

Someone mentioned the "rangefinder aesthetic" and I think that's perhaps a valid yardstick as well - a blanket ban on all the flower, bird and insect shots that infect the rest of the net would work for me .

That said, obviously it's a fine line, and of course the focus of this site should remain on rangefinders - perhaps the upshot of all of this is that if we all just use a bit of common sense and keep a sense of proportion it'll all turn out fine!

 

[Ray Nalley]

So ban macro and telephoto shots? What other subject matter is inappropriate for a rangefinder? I've always shot pretty much what I wanted to with a rangefinder (love the dual range 50) and did not know there was a "rangefinder aesthetic" until I read it here. What if I tightly crop a image shot with a rangefinder and the resulting image looks telephoto? Will an image be removed if a panel decides it isn't "rangefinder" enough?

I understand what you are trying to achieve, but I don't think it's realistic or practical to limit the posting of photos to a certain kind of camera. If your interest is saving space on this forum, there are clearly thousands of "members" who haven't posted in at least a couple of years. Delete those accounts.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

My own view is we should allow photos which are made with cameras which embody the feel of rangefinder photography.

Would Oskar Barnack have made it?

Would Henri Cartier-Bresson have used it?


In: any rangefinder camera (obviously), plus close relatives such as Contax G, Fuji Klasse, Olympus XA, and Leica CM and so on.

Out: anything Nokia, Sony, and dSLR and so on.

 

[JohnTF]

Try posting a picture of a Skoda in a Ferrari forum ...
There are enough opportunities all over the web to post DSLR pictures so they don't contaminate this one.
Though I agree that a very special picture by a regular member taken on a non-RF camera is no problem.

Funny you did not mention a 2CV or Renault? ;-)

Perhaps a Lada would be safe?

At least Skoda has automatic choke and door handles, plus a VW motor. ;-)

Well, the current ones. I did see a Skoda for sale in Ville Juif on Impasse Savry, still there?

Regards, John

 

[Steveh]

So ban macro and telephoto shots? What other subject matter is inappropriate for a rangefinder? [....]
I understand what you are trying to achieve, but I don't think it's realistic or practical to limit the posting of photos to a certain kind of camera. If your interest is saving space on this forum, there are clearly thousands of "members" who haven't posted in at least a couple of years. Delete those accounts.

Wasn't the big green smiley enough of a clue that I was joking?!

I'm not trying to achieve anything, I don't have an agenda, and ultimately I don't even care that much. I'm just another punter (are you confusing me with another Stephen??) who wanted to see if the occasional posting of a DSLR shot was offensive to the majority of people here, so I could decide, FOR ME, what to do.

Why am I having positions being attributed to me that are 180 degrees from the ones I actually hold??

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy a day in the sun and shoot some pics (with my rangefinder)!

 

[nico]

Being a rf user and member of a forum focused on rf cameras what usually interests me about the gallery is to see how other fellows member use their rf gear so I can learn from them and see what results I can eventually get form the same kind of gear. IT's not only a matter of good photos, on Rff I'm interested to good photos related to a specific kind of gear; I - usually - have no interest, here, to see what kind of results can be got from 300mm tele lens on a new supermodernautodigiDSRL (for these there are so many other resources on line than Rff).
Anyway, as many members above I have absolutely no problems with few photos took with non-rf cameras posted in the gallery ..."a good photo is always a good photo"...

 

[JohnTF]

Well certain lenses have certain signatures or 'looks' however there are endless combinations of lenses and bodies. So whilst you could identify a lens, you would have trouble identifying which body it was on and whether that body had a rangefinder.

I have a Voigtlander Vito BL and and Voigtlander Vito BR, they have the same lens and shutter and are identical in every respect except that one has a rangefinder. The pictures from either of these cameras though, are also identical.

I like to see great pictures taken with any equipment

A bit pedantic, but my Alpa Mod. 7 has a RF and is an SLR, plus somewhere I have an adapter to put LTM lenses on a Pentacon 6 or Kiev. Inf. focus is not in that picture, but I could use it as a macro.

Certain situations seem to call for RF's and others for SLR, and some situations seem a bit of overkill with a huge SLR, perhaps there should be a size limit on SLR's used, sort of like line strength and rod action in fishing, no 80 lb. test for perch? I think I enjoyed the 150lb. sailfish with the 30 lb. test on a spinning rod more than the second using a boat rod and 80 lb. mono.

I could agree more with, say, an old Pentax, an OM1 or Nikon FM, but less with huge, SLR's.

I have noted that press coverage of a speaker now includes loud machine gun shutter bursts every time the speaker raises their eyes. As I recall, you needed a Leica once to photograph in the White House, and I wonder how much intrusion is felt during events from all the camera noise, when a nice quiet RF might have possibly captured a more subtle and candid image?

I might go more for SLR's in moderation when used at all, light tackle.

Regards, John

 

[Kim Coxon]

There are some members whose main interest is in the galleries and not the discussion forum. As to the example you link to, the photog says they were taken with a Fuji. It may be a Fuji DSLR but I rather suspect it more likely to be an MF camera and could therefore be very relevant to the forum. Oh, there are also some replies

Kim

Here is one example:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php?ppuser=3700&cat=500
All taken with DSLR. No replies to comments. No participation in forums.

 

[gdi]

I'm a photograph guy. So I'm interested in images. That said I come to RFF to see RFF stuff including images. I know some members like to "share" their shots that aren't RF shots. That's fair however it's not appropriate to leave the impression the image was the result of a RF. I think the non RF shots should be noted as to what they are. DSLR, SLR, Digi P/S .. you know what I'm getting at.

Quit the pawning of non RF images as RF generated. Live and let live but less fraud is better. My two cents.

ttyl, Jan

Fraud?

Nonsense.

 

[Silva Lining]

A bit pedantic, but my Alpa Mod. 7 has a RF and is an SLR, plus somewhere I have an adapter to put LTM lenses on a Pentacon 6 or Kiev. Inf. focus is not in that picture, but I could use it as a macro.

Yes, I forgot about the Alpa, there are so many variations of the camera blueprint...

Certain situations seem to call for RF's and others for SLR, and some situations seem a bit of overkill with a huge SLR, perhaps there should be a size limit on SLR's used, sort of like line strength and rod action in fishing, no 80 lb. test for perch? I think I enjoyed the 150lb. sailfish with the 30 lb. test on a spinning rod more than the second using a boat rod and 80 lb. mono.

I could agree more with, say, an old Pentax, an OM1 or Nikon FM, but less with huge, SLR's.

I have noted that press coverage of a speaker now includes loud machine gun shutter bursts every time the speaker raises their eyes. As I recall, you needed a Leica once to photograph in the White House, and I wonder how much intrusion is felt during events from all the camera noise, when a nice quiet RF might have possibly captured a more subtle and candid image?

I might go more for SLR's in moderation when used at all, light tackle.

Regards, John

I agree - I had a nightmare trying to take shots of my kids in the park with my Voigtlander Vitessa yesterday - just not quick enough - an SLR would have been a better choice.. Although using my Leica down by the river this morning was just a perfect choice !

Its horses for courses...

 

[migtex]

Unless the community Owner forbids it.. or specify the rules for doing it... it's your gallery! You put there what you want.
Now.. it's to up to the One to have a community spirit... or not... and reading some answers.. man, there are some people... geessh!
Looks like everybody is pis...sed to everybody!

 

[jan normandale]

Fraud?

Nonsense.

gdi, I know no one has ever put a "non" RF shot in the galleries. I'm just trying to anticipate a fair process when the floodgates are opened to the Nikon D3's or Canon 1D Mark III's ;- )

 

[gdi]

gdi, I know no one has ever put a "non" RF shot in the galleries.

Or you have been already been defrauded and simply don't realize it. BTW, did you check out some of the other Non Rangefinder forums here - like the Evil SLRs, Scale focus 35s, etc? I think you are getting cheated 6 ways to Sunday.

I'm just trying to anticipate a fair process when the floodgates are opened to the Nikon D3's or Canon 1D Mark III's ;- )

The only fair thing to do is to slam the door and lock those usurpers out.

 

[caperunner]

Even a bit of token participation would make it o.k to store these type of pics. wrft Nenadk

Otherwise I see these guys as oppportunist squatters with dubious intentions.