still true?
Jan 8, 2019 23:50:44 #
rekauff wrote:
I forgot who said this, but the quote is "photographers who compare cameras are like writers who compare typewriters." Is this still true?
Was it ever true? This is a witticism, not a factual statement that can be true or false.
Love is like a rose...a thistle....a bear trap -- pick your favoite metaphor.
But there is a good reason to talk about cameras. Digital camera shipments worldwide have
plungd by over 70% since 2011. Presumably, many former camera users are now using
smart phones to take pictures.
Plus, there are fewer professional photogaphers than at any time since before the US Civil War,
So the camera market is dominated as never before by consumers. (Prior to the founding of Eastman
Kodak in 1881, cameras were rarely consumer products.)
Now the diminished digital camera market is being fought over by Sony, Canon, Nikon, Olympus,
Pentax, Panasonic,etc. -- who are all offering versions of the same three camera designs: mirroless
with screen on back, DSLR, and now mirroless with EVF. Some fixed lens, some interchangable.
Box cameras, folders, rangefnders, TLRs, view cameras -- now are all extinct or rare.
And DLSR may be phased out -- along with a vast number of top-quality lenses: How many F-mount
lenses do you think Nikon made since 1959? How many EF-mount lenses has Canon made since 1980?
How many A-mount lenses did Konica Minotlta and Sony make since 1985? Millions.
The future is very unclear. It's possible that some famous names will either go bankrupt or exit the camera
business (as Konica Minolta did in 2006).
Some people might want to talk about this.
Jan 9, 2019 00:40:10 #
I liked a previous saying - Go get a photo of a bull moose in the wild with an I phone, good luck, AND RUN FORREST! I came from film also back in the day. DSLR and mirrorless whatever is where it's at. Cell phones have come a long way, but can't compare. It's a snapshot, not a photograph. Give me my Canon 80D and my Tamron 150/600G2 and I will get the bull moose photo safely with detail. I know I'll catch crap for this but hey, I can't call home with my skilsaw neither...Yet..! Choose the proper tool for the job/task at hand. With photos, I go with a camera, not a cell phone...Nuff said
Jan 9, 2019 07:45:17 #
The technology of photography continues its advancement, as always. Nostalgia ensues for the past.
So-called professional photographers now appear like an artifact of the time when doing photography required specialized attention, rigorous training, and much experience to perform successfully in this field.
The advent of digital photography has simplified the doing of photography. Now kids can throw a power switch and push a shutter button to take a useful photograph -- no further processing or development needed. In turn, photography has become democratized and popularized more than ever.
An elite no longer controls the doing of photography. This activity has become ubiquitous in the hands of ordinary people. Naturally, this outcome will change the market for photography.
So-called professional photographers now appear like an artifact of the time when doing photography required specialized attention, rigorous training, and much experience to perform successfully in this field.
The advent of digital photography has simplified the doing of photography. Now kids can throw a power switch and push a shutter button to take a useful photograph -- no further processing or development needed. In turn, photography has become democratized and popularized more than ever.
An elite no longer controls the doing of photography. This activity has become ubiquitous in the hands of ordinary people. Naturally, this outcome will change the market for photography.
Bipod wrote:
Was it ever true? This is a witticism, not a f... (show quote)
Check out Bridge Camera Show Case section of our forum.
Jan 9, 2019 07:55:19 #
anotherview wrote:
The technology of photography continues its advanc... (show quote)
So right!! I just knew it. It's those damn bloody "ordinary" people. May a pox be upon them. Then again this level of just ordinary people has kept the camera industry alive. Much more than some pompous ass alleged "Elite" living in a bubble.
Jan 9, 2019 09:06:54 #
burkphoto wrote:
As a writer, I know I can best use a dirt-simple text editor to get my words into the computer. But absolutely, I know that importing that text into a tool that formats it for editors, directors, publishers, and others who expect a standard format is often the next step.
As a writer, I know I can best use a dirt-simple text editor to get my words into the computer. But absolutely, I know that importing that text into a tool that formats it for editors, directors, publishers, and others who expect a standard format is often the next step.
In some cases, if it is not in the right format, it is immediately rejected. It is part of the weeding out process. If a submitter does not care to find and use the right format, then the assumption is made that they have also been lazy in other as yet to be discovered ways.
It is sort of like the crazy demands of big stars who demand only, say, yellow M&Ms. They do not care about the M&Ms. They insert little things for the venue as a check. If the yellow M&Ms are not on the table when they show up, it means they have to run a more rigorous check of everything else.
Jan 9, 2019 11:30:28 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
Photography has nothing to do with cameras.
– Lucas Gentry
Welcome aboard
– Lucas Gentry
Welcome aboard
Legend has it that iconic golfer Sam Snead, known on occasion to place a wager or two, overheard a loud-mouthed Southern golfer boasting that he could beat anyone in the room. Sam proposed to the gentleman that he could go out, cut a limb from a tree, and beat the golfer's best game with that. Well, the story goes that Sam beat the other golfer handily and walked away with a large chunk of the braggart's net worth. Just shows to go ya, it ain't the equipment, it's the player...
Jan 9, 2019 12:17:34 #
dsmeltz wrote:
In some cases, if it is not in the right format, i... (show quote)
Yeah, it means the provider didn't read the terms of the contract! Always, ALWAYS read the fine print of a contract, and take notes of requested deliverables! I've made some people pretty mad because I took an hour to read over a contract they expected me to sign immediately. I walked away from a couple of them because of what I found. Details matter, unless you intend to screw someone over, or be screwed.
Check out Travel Photography - Tips and More section of our forum.
Jan 9, 2019 12:29:34 #
anotherview wrote:
...An elite no longer controls the doing of photography. This activity has become ubiquitous in the hands of ordinary people. Naturally, this outcome will change the market for photography.
It already has changed it for the better, overall. Photographs have more UTILITY now than at any previous point in history. Photography is now a universally accepted visual language that can be used to teach, inform, remind, study detail, and for many more practical purposes than just hanging a print on a wall or sticking a wad of prints in a shoebox 'til you die.
The democratization of photography follows the democratization of ALL the convergence media — text, imaging, computing, video, audio recording, design, telecommunications, broadcasting, networking... As you might guess from the term I used, all these media have converged onto the Internet and into our pocketed smartphones, for convenient use anywhere. We — especially our kids — run our lives with them.
Just as importantly, no longer is ANY of those media the province of a select few companies or well-heeled individuals. We can all participate in the global community. I consider that a check on the abuse of power.
Such is the nature of progress... thankfully!
Jan 9, 2019 14:47:45 #
While photography and photographers can vary widely as can the motivation for taking a photograph, a camera of course can range from just a camera to an art form in its self.
My D7100, to me, is just a camera but my old Leica M3 is/was a form of art, to me, in its construction and appearance.
Part of the reason I saved for so long to acquire one nearly 50 years ago.
Today, my other camera, the little Lumix LX100 I think is another artform. As soon as I saw one, picked it up, felt the weight and shape, I had to have one. Never thought it was going to replace my D7100, but it has.
The bonus I guess is it does take an acceptable photo
Beauty in the eye of the beholder? Part of the reason we replace perfectly capable cameras, cars, etc with the latest model.
My D7100, to me, is just a camera but my old Leica M3 is/was a form of art, to me, in its construction and appearance.
Part of the reason I saved for so long to acquire one nearly 50 years ago.
Today, my other camera, the little Lumix LX100 I think is another artform. As soon as I saw one, picked it up, felt the weight and shape, I had to have one. Never thought it was going to replace my D7100, but it has.
The bonus I guess is it does take an acceptable photo
Beauty in the eye of the beholder? Part of the reason we replace perfectly capable cameras, cars, etc with the latest model.
Jan 10, 2019 06:40:43 #
Fast, direct means of communication in the digital age has empowered the ordinary mass of humans by giving it an uncensored voice along with a potential connection among all others. We may call this outcome progress (meaning "change for the better"), yet it has a dark side, too.
Overall, however, we see the words of the philosopher Spinoza describing free expression as a true force now realized in the human condition:
"In a free state, every man may think what he likes, and say what he thinks."
In practice, censorship has died in our time. Today, the mass of mankind may speak its mind for better or worse.
Inasmuch as photography contributes a visual message to this unfettered human expression, it plays its part.
Overall, however, we see the words of the philosopher Spinoza describing free expression as a true force now realized in the human condition:
"In a free state, every man may think what he likes, and say what he thinks."
In practice, censorship has died in our time. Today, the mass of mankind may speak its mind for better or worse.
Inasmuch as photography contributes a visual message to this unfettered human expression, it plays its part.
burkphoto wrote:
It already has changed it for the better, overall.... (show quote)
Jan 10, 2019 18:20:56 #
ken_stern wrote:
Another way of looking at it is -----
Since they both get you there
Would rather drive a Mercedes or a Pinto ??
Since they both get you there
Would rather drive a Mercedes or a Pinto ??
Being a short person, I would prefer the Pinto (or at least the same size car). In fact, I had a Pinto from 1971 to 1979.
Check out Video for DSLR and Point and Shoot Cameras section of our forum.
Jan 10, 2019 19:16:03 #
hassighedgehog wrote:
Being a short person, I would prefer the Pinto (or at least the same size car). In fact, I had a Pinto from 1971 to 1979.
My 5 speed stick shift 12 year old Saturn has 150,000 miles, has needed no major repairs, gets 40 miles to the gallon, and I bought it brand new - cash and carry.
Mike
Jan 10, 2019 20:00:04 #
I think musical instruments are a more apt comparison to camera equipment than typewriters. Musicians probably compare and discuss their tools as much as photographers. Would a concert violinist sound just as good on a cheap violin as on a Stradivarius?
Jan 10, 2019 20:03:28 #
hassighedgehog wrote:
Being a short person, I would prefer the Pinto (or at least the same size car). In fact, I had a Pinto from 1971 to 1979.
Your RIGHT -- My error --- The Pinto was a totally functional pretty nice auto
Should instead have used the Yugo a truly miserable piece of Croatian workmanship
Jan 10, 2019 21:52:39 #
anotherview wrote:
The technology of photography continues its advanc... (show quote)
Everything always gets continually better and better. Hadn't you noticed?
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