Guth
Appreciative User
I joined this forum almost one year ago. I ended up here because I bought a rangefinder camera over 18 years ago and was thinking that I was finally going to sell it. This seemed like the best place by far to gain some information on the current marketplace for such cameras. Fast forward to last month and instead of selling the camera I finally loaded it up with film and starting using it again instead.
I've been hanging around here a bit more as a result and have found a number of the conversations to be interesting. I've noticed a few things over the past few weeks that have lead to this post. Back when I bought my camera I don't think anyone noticed it or cared about it in the least. I've now had multiple people (all younger individuals) ask me question about it. More than once this has happened when someone saw me changing out film. I'm also surprised that random people actually know about Leica cameras. Like I said, back when I bought my camera nobody paid any attention to it.
I'm chalking some of this up to the "analog revolution" as I like to call it. I've noticed more and more young people embracing older technologies. Please bear in mind that I'm not talking solely about hipsters. On a recent trip to Victoria B.C. I lost track of how many shops (retail shops, coffee shops, etc.) were playing vinyl records and I saw other people out on the streets with film cameras. Here in Portland where I live it's just more of the same. I also see lots of young folks around here riding older motorcycles with carbs that need to be adjusted and tuned. I can't quite put my finger on why this is. For example, I think it's funny that people are willing to spend as much as they are on new vinyl LP's that were recorded digitally to begin with. So it would seem that there is something to do with the process or rituals involved in vinyl playback that appeals to many younger individuals. I would imagine that the same might be true for film cameras (all this aside from what film brings to the photos themselves).
What's surprising is how this has impacted the marketplace when it comes to vinyl. The number of companies now producing turntables is mind boggling. I'm watching my local music store evolve as records consume larger and larger amounts of the store's footprint. (I'm one of those guys who never gave up on playing LPs.) I checked in with my local camera store to see if they had received any Ektachrome and they answered yes of course. That was followed by the fact that they quickly sold out their allotment.
I do not think that these things are unrelated. I believe that there is a growing segment of the population that are finding greater appeal in a variety of analog technologies and it would seem that the number of people involved are growing at a decent clip. Sort of like the rise in the popularity of micro brewed beer if you will. As I write this, I wonder how long it will be before we see new film camera designs sitting on camera store shelves. I imagine that most will laugh at this, but that's exactly what happened when people used to talk about turntables a number of years ago as well. Interesting times.
I've been hanging around here a bit more as a result and have found a number of the conversations to be interesting. I've noticed a few things over the past few weeks that have lead to this post. Back when I bought my camera I don't think anyone noticed it or cared about it in the least. I've now had multiple people (all younger individuals) ask me question about it. More than once this has happened when someone saw me changing out film. I'm also surprised that random people actually know about Leica cameras. Like I said, back when I bought my camera nobody paid any attention to it.
I'm chalking some of this up to the "analog revolution" as I like to call it. I've noticed more and more young people embracing older technologies. Please bear in mind that I'm not talking solely about hipsters. On a recent trip to Victoria B.C. I lost track of how many shops (retail shops, coffee shops, etc.) were playing vinyl records and I saw other people out on the streets with film cameras. Here in Portland where I live it's just more of the same. I also see lots of young folks around here riding older motorcycles with carbs that need to be adjusted and tuned. I can't quite put my finger on why this is. For example, I think it's funny that people are willing to spend as much as they are on new vinyl LP's that were recorded digitally to begin with. So it would seem that there is something to do with the process or rituals involved in vinyl playback that appeals to many younger individuals. I would imagine that the same might be true for film cameras (all this aside from what film brings to the photos themselves).
What's surprising is how this has impacted the marketplace when it comes to vinyl. The number of companies now producing turntables is mind boggling. I'm watching my local music store evolve as records consume larger and larger amounts of the store's footprint. (I'm one of those guys who never gave up on playing LPs.) I checked in with my local camera store to see if they had received any Ektachrome and they answered yes of course. That was followed by the fact that they quickly sold out their allotment.
I do not think that these things are unrelated. I believe that there is a growing segment of the population that are finding greater appeal in a variety of analog technologies and it would seem that the number of people involved are growing at a decent clip. Sort of like the rise in the popularity of micro brewed beer if you will. As I write this, I wonder how long it will be before we see new film camera designs sitting on camera store shelves. I imagine that most will laugh at this, but that's exactly what happened when people used to talk about turntables a number of years ago as well. Interesting times.