Bill Pierce
Well-known
In the message thread of the forum right above this one is a statement from Roger. (It is his forum after all.) It gets my vote for best RF Forum statement of the week. Here it is.....
"This is why I get slightly exasperated with those who start trying to define 'image quality', or to separate it from 'technical quality'. LOTS of things matter, and many of them are all but ignored by most people."
"This is why I get slightly exasperated with those who start trying to define 'image quality', or to separate it from 'technical quality'. LOTS of things matter, and many of them are all but ignored by most people."
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Thanks Bill!
It's all very well to say "It's the glass, so why not buy a Bessa and put Leica lenses on the front?" That's true, in part. There's also some truth in "It's the viewfinder, so why not buy a Zeiss Ikon?" Or in, "A good picture can often survive poor technical quality." Or in Juan's points about learning to watch light and deal with people. Or in the importance of photographing subjects you care about.
Or, indeed, in a point made elsewhere in that thread about subtle differences between different lenses. On this one, though, I'd argue that even though some of these subtle differences exist only in the eye of the photographer, it doesn't matter, because the perception that you're getting slightly better will encourage you to work at getting a lot better, because you can see that you can improve. Do I really get better pictures with my C-Sonnar than with any other 50mm lens I've ever used? Who knows, and who cares? I like them, so I keep trying harder.
This is quite apart from ergonomics, size, weight, ease of focusing...
In other words, there's an awful lot of reductionism when it comes to analyzing both cameras and pictures -- even when it's the simplest reduction of all, "I don't like it" versus "I like it." Of course there's no obligation to think about why you like one thing but not another, but equally, a little thought may lead to a sudden realization: "Ah! This matters to me!" or "I don't give a stuff about that."
Cheers,
R.
It's all very well to say "It's the glass, so why not buy a Bessa and put Leica lenses on the front?" That's true, in part. There's also some truth in "It's the viewfinder, so why not buy a Zeiss Ikon?" Or in, "A good picture can often survive poor technical quality." Or in Juan's points about learning to watch light and deal with people. Or in the importance of photographing subjects you care about.
Or, indeed, in a point made elsewhere in that thread about subtle differences between different lenses. On this one, though, I'd argue that even though some of these subtle differences exist only in the eye of the photographer, it doesn't matter, because the perception that you're getting slightly better will encourage you to work at getting a lot better, because you can see that you can improve. Do I really get better pictures with my C-Sonnar than with any other 50mm lens I've ever used? Who knows, and who cares? I like them, so I keep trying harder.
This is quite apart from ergonomics, size, weight, ease of focusing...
In other words, there's an awful lot of reductionism when it comes to analyzing both cameras and pictures -- even when it's the simplest reduction of all, "I don't like it" versus "I like it." Of course there's no obligation to think about why you like one thing but not another, but equally, a little thought may lead to a sudden realization: "Ah! This matters to me!" or "I don't give a stuff about that."
Cheers,
R.
tj01
Well-known
Bill is right that Roger is right.
Pickett Wilson
Veteran
I think many of us over think photography, any way. Of course there is a time to sort all of these details out for yourself, but ultimately its about the photos and reaching the point where you no longer need to think about such things. Never cared about the "characteristics" of this lens or that in a particular focal length. As long as the lens is capable of reasonably sharp results, it works for me. Those Nikon SLR lenses of the '60's weren't great by modern means, but the photos I shot with them still look great to me. 
semordnilap
Well-known
Yes... I agree with voting it to the top of RF Statements of the Week.
I think that whole thread has been interesting as well.
I think that whole thread has been interesting as well.