on the superior build quality of 50's and 60's cameras

[FrankS]

My brother-in-law's father was a Singer sewing machine dealer back in the day. He also repaired the older Singer sewing machines. He said that the Singer company encouraged owners to trade in ther older machines for newer ones because the older ones could be repaired almost indefinitely and result in fewer sales for the company of newer machines that did not last as long and needed more frequent replacing. Does that sound like the cameras of the 50's and 60's to you too?

 

[wlewisiii]

All too true. One of the real failures of the modern model of capitalism is the necessity of "planned obsolescense" to drive consumption. This is aggrivated by wall street's fixation on quarterly results rather than decade or so lengths of time.

Cameras, autos, computers, firearms (compare a real Browning with what bears that name these days), it's all the same now. Put out what ever the market will bear and hammer them even harder later. Of course, we act as enablers when we buy any of these products... 🙁

William

 

[back alley]

i'm confused.

your brother in law's father uses old cameras to sew?

that just seems silly to me!

😉
joe

 

[aizan]

too true. it's very wasteful, and, dare i say it? unsustainable. but then again, things are still being made to last even if new models come out every year.

 

[Fedzilla_Bob]

Planned obsolescence is key to modern capitalism. The other key is the "Next Big Thing." One example of NBT is digital. There are things about it that are wonderful. But the companies promoting the transition were looking at how homes were saturated with film cameras of various kinds. How to overcome that?... the NBT digital photography.

 

[aizan]

it goes hand in hand with the internet thing, ironically.

 

[Fedzilla_Bob]

Ah, but I think that the Web has helped keep film alive.

 

[nwcanonman]

According to my wife, I'm the one keeping film alive - LOL.
But as long as I keep taking beautiful pictures of her all will be well ~ ; - )

 

[DougK]

There are certainly digital cameras available now which are better than mine, but I see no reason to "upgrade" until it breaks. I've had mine for three years and it's still doing what I need it to do. Now that I've found rechargable batteries with the capacity to give me the shooting life I need, I've overcome my camera's greatest weakness.

They can't force me to buy anything until I'm ready... except I keep seeing these cool old cameras put up for sale by those who have "gone digital" and I wind up saying "oooh, shiny..." and reaching for my wallet. :bang: I guess I can look at it as a historical preservation effort.

 

[aizan]

"Ah, but I think that the Web has helped keep film alive."

definitely. there's no way i'd be able to get some stuff if it weren't for the net. but that's just because digital nudged it off the shelves! =)

 

[denishr]

.... these cool old cameras put up for sale by those who have "gone digital" and I wind up saying "oooh, shiny..." and reaching for my wallet. :bang: I guess I can look at it as a historical preservation effort.

RFF = RHS ? (Rangefinder Historical Society)

😀

We're all in the same boat here.... 🙂

Denis

 

[Heath]

Sometimes I am amazed at how well some of the cameras I have bought have lasted close to and in some cases over 50 years. Can the same thing be said about the newest and best digital slr's? I doubt it. I take great pleasure in using a classic camera and have people come up to me and ask me questions about it. I have struck up many conversations over my cameras. At the mooment my 'carry along anywhere I go' camerais an original model Kodak Retinette. I also sometimes take my Voigtlander Vito CLR too. I love old cameras. It is like a drug for me.

So you can say I am doing my bit to preserve history. The history of photography.

Heath

 

[Solinar]

One of the real failures of the modern model of capitalism is the necessity of "planned obsolescense" to drive consumption.
William

All too true and product cycles get shorter with each passing decade. You can't afford to build heirlooms if each model # will only be manufactured for a year or two.

This is why I still love my mid 1950's renditions of their 1930's predecessors, which are still hand assembled from metal parts. They have just the right number of post war improvements, without loosing that old world craftmanship and should be repairable for many decades to come. The Leica IIIf that Frank sold me is a perfect example of this. My FED 2 and Zorki 3 are basically built in the tradition of those basic Singer sewing machines which were sold everywhere in classic black. My Agfa folders, an Isolette III, Record III and Super Speedex on the other hand are the last of their kind, as they were unable to survive the onslaught of inexpensive Japanese TLR's.

The Bessa R, while a nice rendition of the RFF concept, has all feel and build quality of a early to mid 1980's photo appartus. The compromises with regards to build quality and components definitely reflect a focus on keeping production costs down.

 

[Rob]

Is there anything still around that has lasted 30,40 or 50 years that are still servicable and work as well or better than their modern counterparts? I can think of 3 things, cameras, old tube radios and old tube guitar amps...All easily/cheaply fixed to last another 30 years between rebuilds. Anything else?

 

[FrankS]

While only 24 to 29 years old, my 2 vintage BMW motorcycles where engineered and built to be repairable. Luckily they have a hard core group of followers. (kinda like rangefinders that way) The internet has brought us together and small companies are continuing to supply parts.

 

[supermarcel23]

Know a man and his work is to plan and design new electronic devices, from cameras to mobil phones and other stuff... He explained he can realize some things that are build to last let's say two years, cheaper, and the same machine in "Pro" version that will last four ! The only difference is the price ! and the internal component that is here to fail when the time is due... He told me one of the first consumer camera to have a self destructive electronical component was the Canon AE-1...We are here now to buy, use and throw away !:bang:
I'm thinking this year is the 50 years anniversary of my Kiev ! I think he will have one or two nice rolls of Kodachrome 64 !😛 (They were made to last too... Have you seen this slides with beautiful colors after 50 or 60 years ?)

 

[Oldprof]

The worst examples of planned obsolescence are computers and software. Every two or three years I'm forced to spend thousands of dollars to upgrade my equipment and programs. Old desktops and notebooks are piling up around the house. Word processing was supposed to save time and make life easier, but no typewriter required the constant updating, virus protection, spam control, etc. I now have to do. True, computers can do many things typewriters can't, but I'm not sure computers have made me more "productive."

 

[back alley]

gee, if ya have an old notebook that would be good for writing only (word processing), i can send you my address.

they look at me funny when i haul my home pc into the coffee shop.

joe

 

[Pherdinand]

Oldprof - that "need to upgrade" is a false need. A 10 y old PS/2 computer could do its job exactly the same way as 10 years ago. Update is needed only if you want to use more "user-friendly" software, internet or peripheria that needs better hardware...which needs drivers and faster processor...and memory...and then, but only then, you're in the diabolic circle. If you just keep on typewriting on it, can last 10 more years without a prob.

Sometimes I have the feeling that softwares get so gigantic only because that way they force you to buy bigger storage and memory units...

 

[DougK]

Agreed, Pherdi. My iMac has been going strong for almost six years now, still does everything I need it to. Although I'm considering going back to a typewriter for writing purposes....