The psychology of 'junk' cameras.

Perfection is boring... I've gone back to shooting point-n-shoots mostly for film. Yashica T-3 (LOVE this camera!), Pentax 35AF (great camera), Ricoh FF3 (anther great one...), and the classic Oly XA (but I don't include this as it's a rangefinder...)
 
Got many camera's including M8, when I want inspiration I get a cheapo vintage and start looking for fun shots. Develop them in Caffenol and feel always very chuffed with myself.

Cheaper is better just as fun is nicer....

Here's one taken with a Olympus trip 35 :

OlympusTrip35025-Edit292-Edit325.JPG by pietjs©, on Flickr

Go on get out there and shoot a few!!!
 
jsrockit said:
Always? Come on... that's nonsense. Most people who view photographs could care less what you are using.
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Nonsense to you :) To me it's perfectly true. There is definitely something that reveals itself when the shooter was totally care free. And that only tends to happen with stuff you don't care about.

Same with riding motorcycles. You are much better on a cheaper bike.
 
I would actually take it a step further - I think different cameras put me in different frames of mind, and this affects the pictures. Sometimes the effect is just different, not so much better or worse. But I would imagine that it may not be "cheapness" as much as the amount of intellectual "filter" we place between ourselves and the photo when the camera we hold carries a certain weight of expectations in our minds.
 
_larky said:
Nonsense to you :) To me it's perfectly true. There is definitely something that reveals itself when the shooter was totally care free. And that only tends to happen with stuff you don't care about.

Same with riding motorcycles. You are much better on a cheaper bike.
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Eh?

I ride best on the bikes I know best, regardless of price, and I tend to get the best pictures with the cameras I know best. This is because I can take the mechanical operation of both for granted, and have a good idea of how they'll perform in a given situation, which leaves me free to concentrate on riding or taking pics, as the case may be.

Even if I don't know the bike, I'd say I ride better on a Hesketh than on a Water Buffalo (Suzi GT750).

Cheers,

R.
 
In my case it's more of a self-fullfilling proffecy. Historically i have taken more pictures that i like with a Zenit than with a EOS 5 so i do expect (in an unconsious level maybe) for this to repeat. And of course it does.
 
maybe this is as much to do with ones affinity to the particular camera as it is to do with perceived value? Years ago I used to take much better shots with my Rolleicord Vb than with my Nikon FE. later I took far better shots with a Nikon F2 than with anything else I had ever used. My M2 beats my CL. I used an Exakta VX for the first time a few weeks ago and it was like driving a foreign car - everything round the wrong way. Plus it had a waist finder with an impossible-to-see-screen. Still managed to take (somehow) a nice image of my daughter, but wouldn't reach for that one again in a hurry.
 
It's just a question of how they "fall in the hand."

Worn tools, even if worn by others, can feel like they have a patina that makes you more at ease with manipulating them.

In contrast, new tools make you anxious of using them because they don't belong to you, yet. They still belong to the company that made them, and they don't have the polish of your hand grease.

I say: use the new stuff more often.
 
Keith said:
I'm mystified by this rather strange phenomenon that goes on with my photography ... it seems that the better the gear I use the less I like my output a lot of the time.

I honestly can't remember in the time I owned my M8 that I took any photos that really grabbed me ... the D700 has much the same effect on me, everything just seems OK and undeniably it is a great camera as was the M8! It's not a film V digital situation either because my M3 and M2 along with my Ikon are pretty much in the same boat. I haven't taken a photograph with any of these incredibly good cameras for ages that has really, really pleased me!

I've just put a couple of rolls through my rather supect Kiev ll (FSU Comp) and as annoying as the camera is with it's incredibly bad ergonomics, awful viewfinder and occasional mystery light leak, the pics from these two rolls of film have given me more pleasure than anything I've taken for a long time. The framing of many of the shots is definitely not quite what I was seeing in the viewfinder a lot of the time, which is typical FSU I guess, but that seems to matter little ... I love the results, more so than anything I've shot for quite a while now.

What it is about these 'junk' cameras ... does the diversity of the design just encourage you to 'imagine' you've done better than you actually have or is there something going on here that I don't understand ... has anyone else experienced this?
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Never had the experience with cameras, but I enjoyed the MGTD far more than any modern car I have ever driven.:)
 
I think that it's the extra work involved in getting the image that enhances the experience and the results. I had the same experience a week ago with a Nikon f that somebody gave me - with no meter and only the f1.4 lens, it was very different than my other cameras. Results quite good but even better, it was a very enjoyable day out.
 
KenR said:
I think that it's the extra work involved in getting the image that enhances the experience and the results. I had the same experience a week ago with a Nikon f that somebody gave me - with no meter and only the f1.4 lens, it was very different than my other cameras. Results quite good but even better, it was a very enjoyable day out.
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Then why stop at a Nikon F? Why not REALLY stretch youself and rebuild a 12x15 inch field camera? Note: 12x15 because the film is hard to get...

Sorry: from my standpoint, the purpose of photography is to get good pictures, not to purify the soul through suffering.

Cheers,

R.
 
Well, aren't we all using junk cameras. The rumor says film is dead. Olympus Trip or Leica M7, who cares! It's all junk.
 
This same phenomena happens in other activities (for me it was bicycling, motorcycling, drawing/art, wood working, etc etc...) as well.

I chalk it up to a # of factors.

1. When you're new into something you're more effusive and excited about doing it, so the passion comes out. You want to immerse yourself in the culture/activity.

2. The older you get the more distracted you become with other things, sure you still love (insert photography here) an activity but it's not the same as when you first fall in love with it. A good analogy is when you first date and court someone, you certainly try harder than when you're settled and living together.

3. The better the equipment the more you're likely to rest on your laurels (what is a laurel anyway?). You're less apt to take risks with the new equipment because suddenly people who may be watching your progress are starting to look at you more seriously/critically. And that in turn makes you more cautious. When I rode old crappy motorbikes I did crazy stuff, and got away with it. Now the equipment is too expensive to take risks (a whole other dynamic) like i did with the beaters.

I don't know if any of this is true but it sounded right to me. I agree, my best shots are my old shots. But 15 years ago i was taking a lot more shots, and had a lot more free time to do so.
 
Thardy said:
My professional opinion is that it's all in your head.
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Yes, and it is in my head too. Those slight lens imperfections or poor design, do make a difference. And Keith I've thought about this many times, so thanks for starting this thread.

I even sometimes think that different films that are not high quality (expired, some Eastern European films) add to the special effects that I like.

In fact, recently a photograph sold for $3.9 million, and to me it has many of the qualities that Keith is expressing: color negative, C-print, and maybe a high quality camera but some minor focusing error:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2011/05/13/136273419/meet-the-worlds-most-expensive-photo

And Dave, my MGTD taken with a junk camera:

2392386961_e8824c2b99.jpg
 
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Keith: I'm mystified by this rather strange phenomenon that goes on with my photography ... it seems that the better the gear I use the less I like my output a lot of the time.
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Just venturing a thought: I think it has to do with your overall exact state of mind when you are tripping the shutter. Perhaps in a split second you shift your attention from the essential ingredient mix, to some peripheral detail or thought. I've noticed some people mention that they get pictures they like better when they are just testing equipment or fooling around—somehow trying too hard interferes. And I think it has more than to do with higher expectations with the better gear.

Overall, it just sounds like something upon which to reflect as you enjoy a sip of Red Dot Wine, as you meld into one your gear, your vision, and yourself.
 
One mans junk is another man's treasure they say. $1.50 at the Goodwill. I'm having a blast with this camera.
 
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