Poll: How often do you USE your camera(s)...?

[jacemanuel]

I'm a user - didn't even collect stamps as a kid - I never understood collection mania.
I can't say that I use my cameras every day or every week, but some times I use 5 cameras and shoot 20-25 rolls for a couple of days, and nothing for several weeks.
If I had cameras of value($!) to collectors, I would sell them to get shooters instead.
Some of my Nikons look like the have participated in several of the more violent incidents since the Vietnam war.

BTW * And how about dusting off those unused cameras and embarking on a Picture-A-Week project yourself? Good practice, good discipline, and keeps you "seeing." *

It's not a bad idea, but I noticed that I "see" a lot of pictures when I'm not carrying a camera, and some of them I do return to later WITH a camera.

Jacques.

 

[oftheherd]

MamaMiya_Girl

Welcome to the forum. Is your name a cute takeoff on Mamiya cameras, or are you like me, and that is the first word out of your mouth when looking at the most recent photo attempts? 😀

 

[taffer]

Well, my first PAW roll is now being developed, and I must admit that I've enjoyed my first 2 paw weeks a lot ! Taking pictures and using your beauties, what else could you ask for ? 🙂

BTW, a lot of time has passed since the last time I used one of my non-RF cameras 😛 but they are also fantastic users (a couple of manual focus Minolta SLRs and a Rolleicord).

 

[Rich Silfver]

The result from this mini-poll doesn't really surprise me - it's great to see that so many of us are active photographers!

I am personally now looking for a new 'always-with-me' camera. Not that I really need to replace the XA with anything - it's just that I'm itching for a new, small toy. 🙂

 

[taffer]

I am personally now looking for a new 'always-with-me' camera. Not that I really need to replace the XA with anything - it's just that I'm itching for a new, small toy. 🙂

Something like a voigtlander vitessa or some of the small 35 mm collapsable and pocketable rangefinders ? 🙂

 

[mfs]

I use the cameras about once a week. But like the other posts, the best subjects seem to POP UP when I have no camera handy.
Martin

 

[Oldprof]

Rsilfverberg wrote:

"... it's just that I'm itching for a new, small toy ..."

This is a common affliction among photographers. Sometimes I get the same itch. Logic should tell me I don't need more cameras. But it's hard to resist when something strikes your fancy.

 

[GeneW]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and late to this thread. The weekends are my main photo-taking times but I usually carry an Olympus XA with me during the week to take some shots here and there in the city where I work. The XA is always loaded with HP5+

I sometimes carry an Olympus Stylus Epic, which is not quite a rangefinder, but is a P&S rangefinder-style little cam with a sharp lens. It's usually loaded with Fuji Superia 800.

Gene

 

[ABarGrill]

What is a rangefinder?

What is a rangefinder?

I think we all know what clearly is a rangefinder - the Leica, the Bessa R series, the Kiev 4 the Olympus XA, etc. And I know that many think that auto focus cameras like the Contax G series and the Hexar AF cameras qualify (I hope so because I love these cameras). But what else qualifies? Gene mentioned the Stylus, an auto-focus which finds focus much like the Hexar. How about the high-end autofocus (so called "point and shoot") cameras like the Rollei QZ, the Leica Minilux or the Ricoh GR1 and its progeny? I would be inclined to regard them all as rangefinders, but what do you think?

 

[wierdcollector]

Hi Gene and nice to see another Canadian face in our forum. I like your shot, it looks almost identical to an experimental tree nursery where I walk my dog and take photos in the warmer months. Keep up the good work and I'm sure you'll find everyone here a nice bunch of camera nuts, I mean people. :^)

 

[Doug]

Re: What is a rangefinder?

Re: What is a rangefinder?

I think we all know what clearly is a rangefinder - the Leica, the Bessa R series, the Kiev 4 the Olympus XA, etc. ... I would be inclined to regard them all as rangefinders, but what do you think?

Hi-- I think of them all as "direct view" cameras, as opposed to reflex viewing cameras or others with ground-glass focusing. Three kinds of direct view cameras are those with no focus aid ("guess focus"), those with coupled rangefinders, and those with auto-focus. There are a few other oddities, such as the Leica I and M1, and the Voigtlander Bessa-L, which have neither rangefinder nor viewfinder. And the Bessa-T which does have an RF, but no viewfinder!

So "rangefinder camera" does have a specific meaning that, in my opinion, includes only cameras that have an optical rangefinder. But the term is often used less precisely to mean any non-reflex/direct-view camera.

In this Rangefinder Forum, I have not seen a definition of what's in and what's out, but I think the idea is to be more inclusive than exclusive. Cameras further from what is usually thought a "rangefinder camera", such as a digital point'n'shoot, may be less relevant here, but that's just a guess on my part!

 

[ABarGrill]

Thanks, Doug! A healthy perspective!

Alan

 

[Rich Silfver]

ABarGrill,

Some rangefinder definitions;

"A rangefinder camera is one in which the scene in the viewfinder does not come through the taking lens. Instead, the viewfinder and taking lens have separate optical systems, linked or coupled in a complex fashion.

Traditional coincident rangefinders provide a double image in the viewfinder. Adjusting focus causes the double image to merge into one when the subject is in focus.

Coupled rangefinder cameras are those in which adjusting the rangefinder setting also adjusts the lens focus.

As long as the camera determines the distance to the subject, it is a rangefinder. There are manual focus rangefinders and autofocus rangefinders."

I think most common 'confusion' is rangefinder vs viewfinder since one is a subset of the other: "All rangefinders are viewfinders - but not all viewfinders are rangefinders".

 

[Scarpia]

What is a rangefinder?

What is a rangefinder?

How about split image rangefinders? I know that some SLR's have them, but I have a 35mm TLR (Agfa Flexilette) which has one that is very accurate and which I find more useful than the TLR image for focusing. I will try to attach a picture.
Kurt M.

 

[fcg]

i stopped carrying a camera to my classes daily; when they took away the <my> darkroom. if the school dosnt have a darkroom ; why should i do the work at home on my time and dime.
i think ill get 150 feet to 200 feet of b+w film done this year about 40 feet is 6x7; the rest is 35mm- its all b+w.
i shoot color for others but its sent-out for processing.
my home darkroom is super- i built it in a studio apt ; and sleep in it during the summers.
all the windows are cardboarded and light tight- and the bathroom has a exhaust fan+ window baffled; so its easy to breathe.
i also use a cover on the stop tray - keeps the smell down.
my enlarger a 6x7 bessler with coldlite head;
which is what i use these days ****e others are leitz valloys i rebuilt> they are limited to 4x4cm/with clipped corners- IF you have a carrier; and yes;
i still make most of my own carriers from sheet brass- by hand;+eye; with a jewelrs saw; and a set of needlefiles.it takes me back to my childhood; when stuff was often handmade.
fcg

 

[Rich Silfver]

[bump]

 

[GeneW]

I'd forgotten this poll. Since my first posting I've acquired a little carry-around digital and I now shoot almost daily. Canon S45 -- nice little cam, very compact, sharp lens, and it's more or less displaced my XA and Stylus.

Gene

 

[JohnL]

For a while now, until recently, my only camera was a Canon G5 which I use much as I would a real RF, of which I have had some in the past. I carry this everywhere, except when I am out with the actual intent of taking pictures, when I take a Canon 10D. One thing I am impressed with by this new camera is how quiet it is for an SLR.

 

[Laika]

I find it depends on my moods and subject matter, when I'm in an unfamiliar place or having a weekend away I'll shoot a roll or two a day, more if the trip is for taking photos. On the other hand I have a camera or two in my bag I take to work everyday but at the moment I haven’t taken a frame in the last week or so 🙁 I find day to day routine and home town familiarity kinda kills my thirst for grabbing images somewhat... Its something I'm really trying to break as I feel the day to day stuff is what I'm really living, and I'm passing up good photo opportunities without even really noticing them, anyone can take a half decent photos when away on holiday. My carry everywhere bag has a FED3a/J8 in at the mo. Finding this site has given me a bit of a kick in the pants to get motivated again, maybe I'll hang around in the city for a bit on the way home tomorrow 🙂

 

[Doug]

Laika, as you know, things have a tendency to change from time to time, and hum-drum though they may seem, keep your eyes open for them, take note of them. Having a camera at the ready should help the practice of seeing. This adds to the richness of life, as we otherwise tend not to be as observant of the "ordinary", going about as if with blinders on.

An example might be refurbishing an older building, as a couple blocks from here there's a crew on scaffolding clearing out old mortar from between the bricks preparatory to putting in fresh mortar. Colorful scaffolds, interesting angles & textures, some photo opportunities in the ordinary!