That's like, your opinion man...

[PeterL]

I usually brush aside the arguments against film by saying I can't get a FF camera with a 50/f2.0 lens in a package as small my Zorki+Summitar. Also, if I take a digital camera as small as the Zorki, it won't give me as good a result. That usually ends the film discussion.

Then there's other reactions. I remember a girl of about 10 or 12 who just started photography with a real point&shoot, all plastic automatic camera. Interesting results, too. But I nearly had to pick her up from the floor when I got out my Zorki. She just couldn't believe I was going to use that piece of archaeology for the same purpose. Then she got really confused when I got out my light meter and started pointing at things 😀 No help explaining, she didn't know the concept at all.

Another fun one was when I attended a wedding armed with my Panasonic LX3 and a Diana. It didn't matter that I pointed out that I had a digital compact like everybody else, people wanted to know about that plastic monstrosity. By coincidence, it happened to be world toy camera day, so that was my excuse. People thought I was even weirder after that. Explaining it was a medium format camera made things worse and getting out the same light meter didn't help because nobody understood what it was.

The good thing is that I don't have too many photography friends, and those few I do have are quite litterate, i.e. they understand the different kinds of cameras. In a non-photographic audience, I end up being regarded as *the*photographer* and a kind of weird genius, which I like.


Peter.

 

[shadowfox]

Wow, these are great responses! Some folks have no trouble at all while others are in the same boat as I am. Either way, great advice and a great read to start off the morning!

That's my Ricohflex they were looking at when I took this picture using my M4-P. I told them jokingly that the tiny TLR has a bigger LCD than the girl's DSLR.

I don't defend my choice of camera, I share it.

 

[bo_lorentzen]

Will, lovely camera.

pachuco, stop defending, just ignore the critics, your pictures rocks, what more can one ask for.?

Personally I have not had any issues, for some reasons people seeing me have so far figured the RF were a artistic choice. Funny enough the first week shooting with the M9 I did a job in a area with a lot of motion-picture professionals, I dropped a stack of 8x10's on the table in from the night before, and while I was working I could hear a couple of industry types talking about "how bold to use a old film camera like that" "look at these prints, this is what i keep saying about film" - they were shocked to learn that particular camera was digital, unlike the M6 in my bag on the floor.

People simply don't know... defending is useless, they don't want to know. the important thing is your are a professional and you have chosen your favorite pencil. End of story. if you one day need something else, you will probably pick up a different camera for that job.



Bo

www.bophoto.typepad.com

 

[ARI_1969]

sometimes I am questioned why using film (mainly) but my answer is, that it suits perfectly with my 10.000€ all-hand-made-swiss-wrist-watch......😉😉😉

 

[BearCatCow]

We can't expect people to understand us (regarding rangefinders or otherwise) but if they can not at least accept you, they are not very good friends!

Have fun taking and enjoying your pictures. That's what it's all about! Don't get too hung up on gears and rude people.

 

[Arjay]

Funny idea having to justify one's gear choice...

Recently, I had a nice experience out of using my "oldfashioned" RF camera:

I was photographing people on a big, crowded square in downtown Munich when a group of teenage girls noticed what I was doing. One girl started to scream, calling me names, notably labelling me as a stalker (funny idea) and going after me, demanding to see the pictures she believed I had shot of her, wanting to ask me to delete them.

She asked to see my camera, particularly its monitor. I showed her the back of my camera. Surprised silence - no monitor.

Q: "What's that?"
A: "A film camera."
Q: "Where's your monitor?"
A: "There is none, I shoot film."
Q: "Can I see the pictures you took?"
A: "I don't think that's any of your business. And besides, you're not on my pictures."
Q: "I don't believe you. When can I see the pictures?"
A: "You can't. And anyway not before next week, when they're developed. And as I said, it's none of your business."

She apparently wasn't keen on having a date with me - nor was I. That settled the matter and she walked away in frustration. I think this has been the first time she had seen a non-digital camera.

I had just experienced one of today's big advantages of an analog camera. 😀

 

[pachuco]

Funny idea having to justify one's gear choice...

Recently, I had a nice experience out of using my "oldfashioned" RF camera:

I was photographing people on a big, crowded square in downtown Munich when a group of teenage girls noticed what I was doing. One girl started to scream, calling me names, notably labelling me as a stalker (funny idea) and going after me, demanding to see the pictures she believed I had shot of her, wanting to ask me to delete them.

She asked to see my camera, particularly its monitor. I showed her the back of my camera. Surprised silence - no monitor.

Q: "What's that?"
A: "A film camera."
Q: "Where's your monitor?"
A: "There is none, I shoot film."
Q: "Can I see the pictures you took?"
A: "I don't think that's any of your business. And besides, you're not on my pictures."
Q: "I don't believe you. When can I see the pictures?"
A: "You can't. And anyway not before next week, when they're developed. And as I said, it's none of your business."

She apparently wasn't keen on having a date with me - nor was I. That settled the matter and she walked away in frustration. I think this has been the first time she had seen a non-digital camera.

I had just experienced one of today's big advantages of an analog camera. 😀

Haha!! That is an awesome story! Thanks for sharing that!

 

[Trius]

Arjay: Hilarious example of teenaged self-importance combined with societal-induced righteousness and lack of historical perspective!

 

[user237428934]

Arjay: Hilarious example of teenaged self-importance combined with societal-induced righteousness and lack of historical perspective!

But if he took a picture of her she was right. It's generally not allowed (there are some exceptions) to take a picture of a stranger without permission in public in Germany. We have quite strict personal rights here, even in public. So when you are doing street shooting in Germany then you should know that you may be in trouble. But most people don't care when a picture is taken.

 

[Renzsu]

I had my Hasselblad before I got my M6.. when I had told people about that camera, they were all wondering why the hell I had given up on my dslr.. it only took them a few minutes though to understand after they had seen the camera and had taken a look through the viewfinder.
After that I didn't have to explain myself when I got the Leica.. somewhere they knew it would probably be some obscure but really good camera 🙂
When I'm at a party or with strangers and I have my M6 with me, people are always telling me 'cool camera' or asking if they can hold it for a while.. I NEVER had that with my dslr 🙂

 

[Trius]

But if he took a picture of her she was right. It's generally not allowed (there are some exceptions) to take a picture of a stranger without permission in public in Germany. We have quite strict personal rights here, even in public. So when you are doing street shooting in Germany then you should know that you may be in trouble. But most people don't care when a picture is taken.

Time to change the law.

 

[Incitatus]

Don't worry about it Pachuco - those people who give you a hard time are just nihilists!

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Why? Maybe the Germans like it.

Laura Norder?

I recently had a Bessa III in my hands for two weeks. Generally people (old and younger) were curious and interested by "that big old camera" and some were slightly blown away by the fact that it folded, took film and was actually new.
I only had one (slightly) negative experience when I took it to the beach. Trailing behind my family, pausing at the top of a sand dune to take in the scene, I beheld my wife in conversation with a man at the waters edge. Not being the jealous type I took no notice, but it transpired he was asking her if she "knew who that bloke with the camera is". Apart from that quickly allayed suspicion that I was on the prowl there was no further discussion.
Turns out he is in the Fire service and apparently all service personnel have received some simple training in "spot the pedophile". Nothing to complain about there - it hasn't impacted on my photography and is probably a good idea as long as the training covers things accurately.

Anyway that's a bit off-thread. I use my Bessa R3 & R4 a lot and apart from an occasional quizzical glance, like "what sort of camera is that, I wonder" I get no grief.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

Fascinating thread.

I get different responses to using RFs:

a. DSLR know-it-alls people: Makes harmless but sometimes unkind remarks about my camera choice, makes me think that they are trying to justify their expensive Canon 5D purchase by putting my gear down. (I sometimes carry a FSU camera to work)

b. Friends and collegues: generally okay, they like the fact that I shoot B&W, so somehow they equate monochrome images as Film and by that association, old cameras. A colleague wanted me to show her the LCD back on my FED-2a after I took a portrait picture on my FED-2a, she could not believe that wasn't a preview screen.

c. Camera shops: people are generally quite amused. I was hunting for a 43.5mm thread filter for my Oly 35 (which incidentally fits into the Summicron-R too), and the shop owner found it hard to believe that people still wanted equipment that old. Same reaction I got asking for a CDS battery...

c. Food hawkers, cafes. No one gets threatened by my FED-2 or Oly 35 Trip / RC. RFs are too small for people to feel threatened, perhaps we have to thank Handphone cameras for letting people feel comfortable being snapped. The reaction might be different if a DSLR with a zoom lens was used.

http://retro.ms11.net/kuaychap-small.jpg

Pictured here is a famous "KwayChap" food hawker. Shop opens from 7am to 9.15 ~ 9.30am (!) when the food runs out. The Chinese words are of the various porcine body parts being cooked and sold. I used an erratic Oly Trip and ISO 3200.

 

[DRabbit]

Went to a local photography club recently... everyone there was very nice, but no one shooting rangefinders. A couple of guys during the "show and tell" were really proud of their HUGE rolling knapsacks full of gear and advising the rest of us what we MUST take with us always (pliers? flashlights? 2 camera bodies? 16 lenses? - LOL)...

After, someone asked me what was in my very small national geographic camera bag. I smiled real big and said "would you believe THREE cameras?"... they didn't believe until I showed them. I told one of the big knapsack guys "you have nice gear man, but let me tell you, that *pointing to gigantic bag* is exactly why I've mostly given up dSLRs".

😀

 

[jwc57]

The last time I shot MF at a wedding, a couple of "knowledgeable" shooters checked it out and then one stated...I didn't know you were doing video too.

 

[bo_lorentzen]

Video from a Rangefinder - gotta love that. 😀

I did see some thing on TV where the rangefinder had a small POV cam in the shot-shooe, pretty cool, could see the photographer working and how he re-composed then click to the frame.

 

[Pablito]

Hmm, I never have to defend my gear choices to my photographer friends, It's just not an issue. I use RF, dslr, whatever I need to use, so do they.

 

[gavinlg]

Has anyone else noticed that in the younger generations film is actually quite popular? I use it because I love it (alongside digital) and recently heaps of friends and acquaintances have been buying old film cameras off ebay and scanning the photos because they look much nicer. My little brother has friends that are 15-18 years old and take around old film point and shoots to parties with 800 speed film and onboard flash because digital point and shoots don't have the same atmosphere in pics.

There's a big movement away from digital technology in the younger ages.

 

[TheHub]

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

What if it's a COBOL programmer? 😉

I don't get any rude remarks, either. I get mostly awe from people, as I use (I guess) quirky cameras like half-frame, TLRs or 70 year old Leicas. I find it a breath of fresh air in this sea of black plastic cameras.

The best thing you can say when people start flapping their gums is "What do you care what I use?"