they really are computers...

[back alley]

i'd like to say that setting up my xe3 was easy because i had already set up the xt20...except that i didn't really master the xt20 and the over 300 page manual is a beast to wrestle with.
in fact i think it's far easier to cancel most of the functions and just shoot them as simply set up as possible.
i can see why some still shoot film with the oldest of rangefinders...

 

[Keith]

i'd like to say that setting up my xe3 was easy because i had already set up the xt20...except that i didn't really master the xt20 and the over 300 page manual is a beast to wrestle with.
in fact i think it's far easier to cancel most of the functions and just shoot them as simply set up as possible.
i can see why some still shoot film with the oldest of rangefinders...

I think this is why I have stuck with my 240 Joe. Just so damned simple!

 

[Contarama]

Every digital camera I pick up I immediately try to set it up to emulate my meterless F2. Simple. Yes.

 

[Dogman]

I turn off most features. Give me aperture priority with an exposure compensation dial, AF on a center sensor and the ability to set and adjust a few other settings without delving into a menu and I'm pretty much set.

Instruction books? Not much use to me. I just muddle.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Which begs the question...why buy new digital cameras?

 

[BillBingham2]

For some it's the ability get pictures they couldn't with older cameras. Others hope for the qualities that film gave them blended with the speed, cost and usability that digital provides. Others hope for the elegant simplicity so many of us found in a IIIc, S2, F2, or OM-2.

B2 (;->

 

[taemo]

i'd like to say that setting up my xe3 was easy because i had already set up the xt20...except that i didn't really master the xt20 and the over 300 page manual is a beast to wrestle with.
in fact i think it's far easier to cancel most of the functions and just shoot them as simply set up as possible.
i can see why some still shoot film with the oldest of rangefinders...

TBH, this is why I was a little disappointed that the X-E3 did not come with an ISO dial and why IMO X-T2 was almost the perfect digital camera body if not for having a SLR body and APS-C sensor (both factors that others may like, so it is all personal).

anyhow, I loved how you could use the X-T2 without needing to use the menu with aperture, shutter speed and ISO accessible with an actual physical dial.

 

[robert blu]

I bought a D-109 for my wife. The manual is more than 250 pages...
robert

 

[back alley]

Which begs the question...why buy new digital cameras?

for my birthday!

 

[daveleo]

It would be nice to disable (and gray out) Q-menu items that we just want to lock in, and enable only the items we change regularly.
These days cameras need to be "all things to all people". Thus, the complexity.

 

[Contarama]

for my birthday!

Good answer sir!

 

[PKR]

i'd like to say that setting up my xe3 was easy because i had already set up the xt20...except that i didn't really master the xt20 and the over 300 page manual is a beast to wrestle with.
in fact i think it's far easier to cancel most of the functions and just shoot them as simply set up as possible.
i can see why some still shoot film with the oldest of rangefinders...

Working in both film and digital is like living in two worlds. My film usage is primarily just for me. Digital is almost all work related. There is some crossover.

Think about working with to different digital camera systems and having to know the menu BS backwards and forwards. If I rent a camera that I'm not familiar with, I need to add a day or two to the rental to understand the camera. The best solution is finding an assistant who knows the camera well. It's not fun, and gets in the way of making good pictures. Film cameras are all pretty much the same regardless of format.

 

[Axel]

I think this is why I have stuck with my 240 Joe. Just so damned simple!

Photography can be so damned simple. Even with a modern camera.

When I want to take photos I set my camera to complete manual exposure.
Other options can be used. If necesserary.

It´s like real life - so much options... choose all and live short or choose only selected and the quality returns 😉

 

[airfrogusmc]

My M 10 is even more simple than my M 262. I don't eve have to look at the menu or the LCD to see my ISO, aperture and shutter speeds. I think the the simplest Leica digital M is the M-D. No menu at all.

 

[BillBingham2]

for my birthday!

I was thinking "Trickle Down Economics"......

B2 (;->

 

[Godfrey]

My M 10 is even more simple than my M 262. I don't eve have to look at the menu or the LCD to see my ISO, aperture and shutter speeds. I think the the simplest Leica digital M is the M-D. No menu at all.

Yes, the only configuration settings you make on the M-D are the time and date. There's also a simple facility to load new firmware if/when it becomes available. For the rest of its operation, it's like having an M7 with a power winder attached and with a very very long roll of "all speeds" film in it. I love it: it's my favorite M.

By and large, I don't find any camera all that difficult to learn, regardless of how thick the manual might be. But I do find that some are much easier to use than others.

G

 

[back alley]

Yes, the only configuration settings you make on the M-D are the time and date. There's also a simple facility to load new firmware if/when it becomes available. For the rest of its operation, it's like having an M7 with a power winder attached and with a very very long roll of "all speeds" film in it. I love it: it's my favorite M.

By and large, I don't find any camera all that difficult to learn, regardless of how thick the manual might be. But I do find that some are much easier to use than others.

G

but godfrey, you're the smart one in the bunch...i have to read the manual for a new toaster these days...of course the toaster also is an oven, with steam and convection capabilities, self cleaning...

 

[Dogman]

Which begs the question...why buy new digital cameras?

Because the old digital cameras are...well, old.

 

[robert blu]

IMO the problem is not so much setting a camera to your needs (desires): it can take time but when done it (should?) works.
The problems is when by accident you hit a key or maybe a combination of keys and you enable some undesired settings! In that moment it can be very difficult to know how to go back to your previous setting!
And yes, the m10 is much easier...!
robert

 

[Jamie Pillers]

i'd like to say that setting up my xe3 was easy because i had already set up the xt20...except that i didn't really master the xt20 and the over 300 page manual is a beast to wrestle with.
in fact i think it's far easier to cancel most of the functions and just shoot them as simply set up as possible.
i can see why some still shoot film with the oldest of rangefinders...

I have my older XPro1 set up with a manual focus lens, IQ = RAW, ISO = Auto. Now its very similar to the old film rangefinders. To focus, I generally use zone focusing, sometimes EVF with focus peaking. The rear LCD screen was starting to turn somewhat yellow, so I covered it with gaffers tape. Old school. 🙂