the RF Culture

I'm not sure to see the point of the literature question among the other ones... unless that by "literature" we were meaning "paper books". Lately they are getting also more and more countercultural...

Btw, I love my vinyls and my 80's Porsche Carrera 3.2 even more than my rangefinders! :D
 
FrankS said:
I like old mechanical cameras, rf and SLR and tlr, and old motorcycles.

1975 Honda CB750, 1976 BMW R90/6, 1981 BMW R100/7
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"New and improved" sometimes ain't. There's something to be said for old tech.

Bottom line: If it works, keep using it. That's why I cook in iron skillets and wear a Filson Double Mackinaw Cruiser in the winter.

It's also why I shoot with an M4-P.
 
1989 miata(driven 1st, 2nd and 3rd gen, 1st is by far better)
and a leica m5

the thing about classic cars is that they are usually lighter (although structurally less rigid), more sensational, less precise, and much more feel to it. modern cars are much too precise and too much computation.
actually i have sort of given up photog for a few years after stop doing wedding/portraits. dug up a leica and instantly fell in love with it. will try to develop films again later. i am anxious :)

in a way the leica and the miata is sort of a reborn of appropriation of classic and simplicity of things. being born in the 80s these senses need to be learned. than to see the history progress
 
I hesitated to vote in the poll.

I fully understand the attraction to vintage stuff, and I happen to have an unintended collection of vintage cameras. But I could only check the first box with honesty (Do you own a RF camera?)

Where's the question about loyal Toyota 4x pickup owner? I'm on my 4th, love them. I'm attracted to the beauty of many old things, and I have vinyl, but as said somewhere above, I'm going to use what makes for the most enjoyable life experience. An mp3 player, with no moving parts whatsoever, is a superior portable music device. At home, I can keep a library of music on a hard drive that would fill my spare bedroom if it were vinyl. I also have about 2-3000 CD's in bookshelf style storage. Again, I just can't imagine that much vinyl. BTW, the vinyl I still have all fits in a box in the closet. Early and nice Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Doors, Mamas and Papas, and some punk rock:eek:. Absolutely don't collect this stuff, just residual from a long life. If you're argument is vinyl has superior sound, it might be. But I seem to get better sound and convenience from my digital media. I remain open minded.

I get high performance from my rangefinders. Where it counts, they are equal to what I get from my modern digital gear. So, in that case I get to have a beautiful old thing that is imminently pertinent to my current lifestyle. Lucky me (us!)

Now, I want to know how many RFFers are scientists? How many are artists (as a living)? I often believe the two are more similar than you'd think and I wonder if both are attracted to RF. I'm sure its taboo to ask, but I wonder how many RFFers are "highly educated" with masters or doctorates?
 
Despite having RF cameras I don't seem to tick any of the other boxes. I do listen to some classics but my music tastes are eclectic. I used to drive old British m'bikes but don't now. My car is 12 years old has never been washed but is well maintained and I've owned it from new - it may become vintage by default if its still economic to keep running as I'll run it until it isn't.

I do use a fountain pen (sometimes) though and use a notebook - currently a disintegrating Moleskine (made in China aren't they? so hardly traditional now).

So sorry, don't seem to fit the poll too well.
 
I like lots of aspects of old things, cameras included, such their build quality and simplicty. With the RF I appreciate the quality of the images and the work that needs to go into producing something acceptable. This makes it feel like more of an achievement. I also really like the fact that the hardware is generally obsolete and is chosen and used based on personal preference with no consumer society pressure to constantly up-grade or feel inadequate
 
Yes, I have RF, my family RF, FSU made in sixties.
And I remember old soviet anecdote about literature.
Then Lenin was asked if he likes Pravda newspaper, he answered yes - because it is printed on fine soft tissue.
 
Don't care for cars, cycles or timepieces, but I answered yes to most of the others. I'm 32 but have been attracted to older odds & ends - records, literature, and the like - for at least ten years. For me it isn't a romanticism, more of a reasoned refusal of so much modern culture. The adverts, everything-at-your-fingertips, marketing, specialized commodification, instant gratification culture we live in makes me worry that we're losing sight of life's simple pleasures.

I like to invite people in to my way of thought. Yesterday I handed a coworker my M4 to play around with, and she was so surprised by the way its rangefinder focused. Too bad she refused to take a photo, and missed out on that shutter click and film advance!
 
furbs said:
Don't care for cars, cycles or timepieces, but I answered yes to most of the others. I'm 32 but have been attracted to older odds & ends - records, literature, and the like - for at least ten years. For me it isn't a romanticism, more of a reasoned refusal of so much modern culture. The adverts, everything-at-your-fingertips, marketing, specialized commodification, instant gratification culture we live in makes me worry that we're losing sight of life's simple pleasures.
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I get that. There is so much I dislike I separate from it. I watched TV last night with my wife and was struck by how inane and, worse I think, self-referential it is. TV celebrating celebrity made by TV, ugh...
 
An interesting thread. I guess you really have to have some Luddite tendencies to be into fine old machines such as RF cameras. What I am a bit surprised about is the number of respondents 20+ younger than me who look like they can out-curmudgeon me any day of the week.

Me, I greatly prefer a Leica M4 (which I have) to a m6/7/8/9 (which I don't) None of them is really a practical camera compared to more modern designs, so I go for the wonderful mechanical attributes rather than attempts to make a modern silk purse out of a vintage sow's ear. If I want to enjoy a day of photography, I take one of my too many RF cameras; if I really need to get the shot, I take my D700.

But there's still hope for me as a traditionalist. I ride a 1975 Triumph Trident that I bought as a basket case 13 years ago. I typically manage to get a winning season out of it. (For an old Britbike, a winning season is where riding hours exceed wrenching hours.) I wouldn't have it any other way.





Cheers,
Dez
 
i greatly prefer my musical instruments to be vintage. this is because you can't beat the musical black voodoo and mojo that comes from running a 67' jazzmaster with a vintage big muff through some fender tubes...

i feel like throwing up when i see EMG pickups and floyd roses on modern 'axes'.
 
My RF camera is probably the most modern thing I have.
My watches are old 30-40 year old, usually soviet era watches, cheap, great, reliable.
My LP vinal albums are all in use, never really bothered with CD's...

I don't even use a mobile phone - never did, can't see why I ever will.
 
Yesterday, cycling on the Tweed Run, I saw more Leicas - from LTMs to M9s - than I've ever seen in one place outside of a shop. I guess that's the RF culture nailed, then. ;)
 
semi-ambivalent said:
'77 Colnago Super with 6-Speed Super Record (but only if the ride is for hours).
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interesting thread.

I have a Bianchi, probably from the 1980s with a Super Record derailleur, but I don't use it too much. However, the two bikes I use are somewhat newer but similar in technology (steel, soldered, one by my own hand ;)).

I have a mechnical watch, automatic. My second clock is a pendulum clock that used to control a siren in a factory, or may the bell in a school. 1950s, I would guess.

I do play mostly vinyl. And I develop b&w film myself.

I think these are my most "vintage" things. Interesting to think about it.

EDIT: I forgot to say, I like these things because I have had them for 25 years now. Didn't buy much in recent years. Except my M6, I have if for 2 years only
 
I have an RF camera (Canonet), but I have mainly used it for travel and living abroad. I'm really a TLR user, which is similar, if not even more quirky. :p

I have three vintage pocket watches, two of which are Hamilton railroad watches, and I still have the 17-jewel wristwatch that I got for Christmas in 1962. I shave with a double-edge razor, a brush, and shaving soap; I love European cars from the '60s; and I like electronics with vacuum tubes (valves, in England) in them. I write with fountain pens, too.

- Murray
 
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