damien.murphy
Damien
I like small cameras, but where size begins to compromise ergonomics and handling is where I draw a line. But yes, small for me is the difference between being able to bring a camera with you everywhere, as opposed to just taking it out when photography is the purpose. The former is priceless, but when going out specifically for photography then ounces hardly matter as much when you are willing to lug.
furcafe
Veteran
Indeed, Oskar Barnack's asthma drove him to develop the Leica in the 1st place.
dave lackey
Veteran
You guys got me to thinking....
Maybe I am somewhat obsessed with smallness. I have always driven VW Beetles, small British sports cars like MGs and such, ridden and commuted on motorcycles, enjoyed smaller intimate towns, neighborhoods and spaces, owned small dogs, used the smaller cameras like Nikon FMs, Leicas and point and shoot film cameras, and these days, I spend most of my time talking about important things like the philosophy of life and enjoying beauty with my four munchkins (2 granddaughters and 2 grandsons).
We live in a small cottage-sized house, drive smallish vehicles, eat smaller meals, have smaller aspirations and I am constantly trying to keep my weight down rather than lifting weights and bulking up.
So, maybe I am obsessed with smallness.
Maybe I am somewhat obsessed with smallness. I have always driven VW Beetles, small British sports cars like MGs and such, ridden and commuted on motorcycles, enjoyed smaller intimate towns, neighborhoods and spaces, owned small dogs, used the smaller cameras like Nikon FMs, Leicas and point and shoot film cameras, and these days, I spend most of my time talking about important things like the philosophy of life and enjoying beauty with my four munchkins (2 granddaughters and 2 grandsons).
We live in a small cottage-sized house, drive smallish vehicles, eat smaller meals, have smaller aspirations and I am constantly trying to keep my weight down rather than lifting weights and bulking up.
So, maybe I am obsessed with smallness.
mrrobleyleica
Member
As someone with some years of experience lugging stuff I've gone small too.
The shrinking kit is related to age (and forgetfulness), and the more agressive back pain that comes from a bag of Nikon glass. We've must have all noticed mad trends in size too.
I first shrank systems in the late 70's, from lead lined Zenit to Minolta then impish Olympus OM (via a beautiful borrowed but massive Nikon F). But since then AF SLRs have got bigger and bigger, although slightly lighter now they're bigger than ever. It's crazy.
Is it a marketing thing, bigger = better?
I'm not a pro, so the heavy lugging would usually happen on holiday, maybe twice a year if lucky. Not wanting to miss a picture, the problem would start when thinking about the day ahead. Incapable of deciding what to leave behind, then testing the huge bag and thinking that's totally fine, not that heavy. I would have forgotten that the year before (and the year before that) I did the same thing and it ended with tears and pills. Back ache can lay you up for days. No more please!
Bags don't help that much either, the larger the bag the more inclined you are to fill it. No matter how light a big bag is empty it ends up weighing at least 10kg more than it should. I'm so pleased with my current M set up, with 4 small lenses in a dingy old looking and small Thinktank - I'm taking it almost everywhere I go, and isn't that the point? No need to carry the diclofenac either.
Here in London you see an lot of tourists, some with still stuff and video camera, with tripods and flash guns, who knows why, it's never that dark! We even have street lights here too, about every 20 meters!
The other noticeable minority you see here are the number of trendy younger kids carrying just one old 35mm camera, like a FM2 or K1000. Brilliant.
They've learnt - I didn't soon enough.
The shrinking kit is related to age (and forgetfulness), and the more agressive back pain that comes from a bag of Nikon glass. We've must have all noticed mad trends in size too.
I first shrank systems in the late 70's, from lead lined Zenit to Minolta then impish Olympus OM (via a beautiful borrowed but massive Nikon F). But since then AF SLRs have got bigger and bigger, although slightly lighter now they're bigger than ever. It's crazy.
Is it a marketing thing, bigger = better?
I'm not a pro, so the heavy lugging would usually happen on holiday, maybe twice a year if lucky. Not wanting to miss a picture, the problem would start when thinking about the day ahead. Incapable of deciding what to leave behind, then testing the huge bag and thinking that's totally fine, not that heavy. I would have forgotten that the year before (and the year before that) I did the same thing and it ended with tears and pills. Back ache can lay you up for days. No more please!
Bags don't help that much either, the larger the bag the more inclined you are to fill it. No matter how light a big bag is empty it ends up weighing at least 10kg more than it should. I'm so pleased with my current M set up, with 4 small lenses in a dingy old looking and small Thinktank - I'm taking it almost everywhere I go, and isn't that the point? No need to carry the diclofenac either.
Here in London you see an lot of tourists, some with still stuff and video camera, with tripods and flash guns, who knows why, it's never that dark! We even have street lights here too, about every 20 meters!
The other noticeable minority you see here are the number of trendy younger kids carrying just one old 35mm camera, like a FM2 or K1000. Brilliant.
They've learnt - I didn't soon enough.
More than likely it was their parents camera.
dave lackey
Veteran
NaChase
Well-known
You have captured my initial point perfectly.
DRabbit
Registered
My much younger 25-year-old brother just got a very very clean K1000 at a yard sale for $10 (including 50/2 SMC-A lens, which he gave me! LOL). We had a blast developing his first roll of film together!
Ken Ford
Refuses to suffer fools
I've always liked compact gear, but we've started getting to the point where some equipment has gotten too small IMO. As an example, I briefly had a Fuji X-10 but ended up returning it because it was too small and fiddly for my hands - which was too bad because it was otherwise quite a nice camera. I feel the same way about much m4/3 gear, and my N1 V1 is right on the ragged edge of being too small.
Control density is a real factor. Small with few controls and good design = usable, small and festooned with randomly placed little buttons = unusable.
Control density is a real factor. Small with few controls and good design = usable, small and festooned with randomly placed little buttons = unusable.
daveleo
what?
I like "small" . .
That was my little joke . . . . My Nikon D60 body (APS sensor) is perfect size for me. The full frame DSLR's are way too large (probably heavy as well) for my needs. The problem for me (as was mentioned a few times above) is the size of the lens(es). My favorites are the smaller, no-motor lenses (50mm/f1.8 D is a dream).
My Panasonic LX3 is conveniently small for cafe hopping but really is too small for my hands.
That was my little joke . . . . My Nikon D60 body (APS sensor) is perfect size for me. The full frame DSLR's are way too large (probably heavy as well) for my needs. The problem for me (as was mentioned a few times above) is the size of the lens(es). My favorites are the smaller, no-motor lenses (50mm/f1.8 D is a dream).
My Panasonic LX3 is conveniently small for cafe hopping but really is too small for my hands.
Paul Luscher
Well-known
It's just Barnackism carried to its illogical extreme....
mrrobleyleica
Member
I thought I'd noticed a film trend that the 'young' were grooving to.
That's an idea, my daughter is only 5 - too little - I'll have to do the same one day, can't wait. The magic, the alchemy still amazes me, because I've never understood how it really works (don't want to) and I can't explain digital (who wants to).
Trouble is, the only film cameras I have are a huge Nikon F4, a 6x6 TLR Seagull which smells funny or a Pentax 67! Can't imagine the idea of having less than 200 pics digital to shoot will appeal, or manual focus, reversed VF.
In order to fund the digital M I've purged the old cameras, which I totally regret.
There's a good photo if I can get her holding the 6x7 it would fit with this size related thread.
Findus
Established
I like "small" . .
(...) hands.
I like that Pelikan Souveraen in the background. Is it the "Madrid" model? Sweet!
Back on topic, for me it is not so much the weight of the camera that matters, it's more the ergonomics. I have light cameras and heavy ones. I prefer the Nikon F80 over the F100 and the F4s, but I don't mind walking around with the *very* heavy Mamiya C3 all day long. In fact, i find it easier to hold the heavy cameras stable/still. A neoprene strap (ugly, I know
) helps and so does a monopod - but of course it depends on the things I intend to take pictures of. BTW, I have very small hands.
daveleo
what?
oooo . . . . very sharp eyes you have !
Pelikan M620 "Grand Place" with a medium nib tweaked for added flexibility.
Made me start writing (actually writing !) letters again.
Has also served as a prop in my pictures
whitecat
Lone Range(find)er
My Minox is in my pocket always and just shot a roll with the GT.
dave lackey
Veteran
Whitecat, what are the dimensions of your Minox GT? Is it similar to the other Minox models?:angel:
bojanfurst
Well-known
I am bucking a trend here! Just got a Pentax 67
robklurfield
eclipse
My hands are small. Simple as that for me.
Findus
Established
oooo . . . . very sharp eyes you have !
Pelikan M620 "Grand Place" with a medium nib tweaked for added flexibility.
Made me start writing (actually writing !) letters again.
Has also served as a prop in my pictures
Good taste you have!
I have the 'Athens' model (fountain pen collector here)
My favorite fp however is the Sailor 1911 matte black, gold trim, with Naginata Togi NMF nib. Best writer. Ever. Filled with Rohrer&Klingner 'Verdigris' ink. (wait until you start collecting inks
)Sorry for the off topic
c.poulton
Well-known
Smallness? - I get hung up about the size of the M8/M9/MM's (& to a lesser extent, the M6ttl/M7) compared to the M2/3/4/6 & MP.
The digital M's just look a touch obese to me, they need to hit the gym and tone up a bit!
The digital M's just look a touch obese to me, they need to hit the gym and tone up a bit!