That's like, your opinion man...

[pachuco]

I'm getting tired. I do not feel like I am an "in your face" film rangefinder advocate but I seem to be defending my gear choices to my photog friends more and more often. The reasons for why I use a rf are not crazy or even weird, I just like the damn things! In my collection I also have DSLR's so it's not a film vs digital thing, it's a me thing. Does anyone else find themselves in a defensive position because of the gear they use? I even started hiding my non-rf gear for a while when around the guys but I realized I'm to old for that and I'm going to let my freak flag fly! 😎

 

[Gumby]

Nope .

 

[monochromejrnl]

The only person who needs to understand what I use and why ... is me. It just not worth the energy to defend a personal choice that affects no one but oneself.

 

[drewbarb]

When my non-RF friends start pissing on me about my gear choices, I just tell them: Not on the rug, man. Then I show them some prints.

Don't worry about it.

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

I do get a little tired of explaining myself, and the people that really p*#s me off - are those that assume that as I am an older guy, I'm not aware of the 'benefits' of modern cameras, or perhaps I just can't afford one! :bang:
Dave.

 

[cmogi10]

No, most of my photo friends would trade in a heartbeat.
I get asked if someone can borrow an M8 for a shoot or whatever almost weekly.
I've never had to defend my gear once, but I've certainly had to explain it a couple times.

 

[johannielscom]

The guys and girls here are my only lifeline to the RF world. Most of my friends find RFs quirky, and I'm the only one they see walking around with one.

I feel lonely at times. There's nobody on the streets here who's shooting anything like the cameras listed in my signature.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Just use the simple answer "Because I know more about it than you do".

You should see what happens when someone makes fun of me for using FORTRAN.

 

[pachuco]

Good advice folks! I think from now on, when someone gives me flack I'll just take a toke, drink a caucasian, and say f**k it.

Thanks for your responses! This is why I hang out here on rff.

 

[user237428934]

I regularly visit photo meetings in my town. Only few of the people there know that I have a Leica rangefinder. I stopped talking about it because no one understood it and I don't like to talk about the money I spent for it. One newbie talked about Leica-snobs...didn't respond to that. It's just boring to defend that type of camera.
Btw. if I want to see a rf user in my area personally, I have to look in the mirror.

 

[Warren T.]

I never get any flack from anyone re: my choice of gear, no matter what I'm carrying (MF, DSLR, digi P&S, film SLR, RF, Kodak Instamatic, etc.) 😀

--W

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

No one gives me any problem about using rangefinders but I get constant questions about why I still bother to shoot film. The city I live in has virtually no one shooting film at all. The owner of the local camera shop told me once I'm the only person who buys it from him anymore in large quantities.

One of the guys working there went to art school with me. Like me, he couldn't find a job, so he went out of state to get his MFA and after that came back to Ft. Wayne and lives with his parents while working for minimum wage at the camera store. Doesn't even try to find a teaching job (which is why you get an MFA), doesn't sell or exhibit his work, does no commercial work either. Yet he constantly tells me what a loser I am for shooting film and how much better digital is. Finally one days I just told him: "I sell my work very regularly and am supporting myself with it. I don't give a damn what you think, my customers are happy with me shooting film. i'm the professional, this is my business, and it works for me" He shut up.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

My favorite line, used when "another Dad" at Nikki's school stated "Still using film, huh. I have three SLR's at home." Then he snaps a shot and tells the Kid to look at it on the LCD screen.

Answer, "This camera used to be digital. I converted it to film." Then whipped out the Polaroid SLR680 took a picture and gave it to the Kid.

 

[rpj]

Brian, your example is not quite fair. I only parted with my FORTRAN compiler and manuals recently because I didn't have the hardware that would run it anymore (MS's pc version). And to be honest, writing programs in FORTRAN was a hobby by then, not a work application for me. Still miss it though.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Not a problem here. Most folks just think I'm nuts. 🙂 In this small town everyone knows the town looney sitting in an empty park with a 4x5 shooting photos of benches and playground equipment, or wondering around with a Leica IIIF shooting empty houses, or carrying a honking DSLR around with a huge lens. Doesn't matter what I'm shooting, folks just shake their heads and say "Hi." 😉

 

[Roger Hicks]

I never get any flack from anyone re: my choice of gear, no matter what I'm carrying (MF, DSLR, digi P&S, film SLR, RF, Kodak Instamatic, etc.) 😀

--W

Dear Warren,

Same here. I very occasionally get a 'Wow, a Leica' or 'Wow, a film camera', but that's about it. The latter is quite amusing when it's an M8/M8.2/M9.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Laugh at old programming languages if they want. I made a bunch of money in the old days converting accounting and inventory programs written in COBOL to dBase to run on PC's. And they said I was dumb learning a dying programming language. 😉

 

[Roger Hicks]

No one gives me any problem about using rangefinders but I get constant questions about why I still bother to shoot film. The city I live in has virtually no one shooting film at all. The owner of the local camera shop told me once I'm the only person who buys it from him anymore in large quantities.

One of the guys working there went to art school with me. Like me, he couldn't find a job, so he went out of state to get his MFA and after that came back to Ft. Wayne and lives with his parents while working for minimum wage at the camera store. Doesn't even try to find a teaching job (which is why you get an MFA), doesn't sell or exhibit his work, does no commercial work either. Yet he constantly tells me what a loser I am for shooting film and how much better digital is. Finally one days I just told him: "I sell my work very regularly and am supporting myself with it. I don't give a damn what you think, my customers are happy with me shooting film. i'm the professional, this is my business, and it works for me" He shut up.

Dear Chris,

I can understand asking someone why they use the equipment they do.

Telling them what to use, unless they've asked for advice, is another matter.

A bit like a reply I once gave to a computer nerd who was telling me that I needed a much more powerful computer. I asked why. He replied that all the latest games required that sort of power. "Ah," I said, "That's the difference. You play games on yours. All I do with mine is earn a living."

Cheers,

R.

 

[photogdave]

None my friends are interested in photography. They get kind of sick of me whipping out a camera at every event but they love it when I give them a nice quality print. The time I was borrowing a demo M9 and I tried to explain that the camera was worth $7000 was a good laugh!
The only place I've ever defended my gear is on internet forums. None of this stuff matters in the real world.

 

[gho]

Hmm, I am never getting deprecatory comments when I am in the street with a rangefinder camera. Rather on the opposite, the few comments I got were rather on the curious side.

Q: "Is that a real Leica?" (Bessa T)
A :"Nope, do I look like Croesus?"

(Spotting me with a Bessa R, J8 and metal screw on lenshood):
Q: "What kind of lens is that on your camera?"

"(enthusiastically) This guy knows something about photography, look at his camera" Me: scratching my head. ???

Q: "Can I hold it?" (R and J8)

"Odd combination" (T, J8 and Altix viewfinder)

"I have one too, but no lens" (Bessa R)

"Art." (Photographing bottles with a Olympus 35RC) ????

"What kind of camera is that?" Looking puzzled at the Kyrillic of my J8. Inspecting my settings. "f2 and 1/30 sec? Good luck" A: "Thank you!"

I do not know why someone should be ashamed of using a RF camera. As most here surely know they are just giving a different shooting experience than (D)SLRs with its pros and cons.

Here in Berlin I have seen people with rangefinder cameras at least on 6 or 7 occasions. They were mostly using Leicas. One was shooting skillfully in the park. He was approaching a group as close as about 6 feet, took a picture and went on. He was not noticed. Could not believe that.

Have fun with your cameras and cheer up!