Rongnongno Loc: FL

They were simpler to use, were unforgiving most of the time, but when you learned it was they were the best teachers of what to do or not to do to get the proper exposure.

Now we have so many modes to do whatever the need for know how is limited to selecting the 'proper mode'. Learning? Zero. (Don't get me started on post processing learning)

What I would retain on a manual digital camera:
In (my) order of importance)
- Aperture control
- ISO control
- Speed control

Set output:
- raw output
- GPS information (I have issues recalling where THAT was... )

Options:
- Spot Auto-focus
- Spot or generic average exposure

Camera feature:
- Body:
- - Flash wired connection (no on camera flash)
- - Focusing mode BF or tracking when kept pushed down. Release and the camera returns to manual focusing.
- - Timer delay
- - Burst shooting

- Menus
- - Flash options (sync speed, front/rear selection)
- - Grid on/off
- - Time lapse option
- - Lends calibration

Omitted:
- Bells and whistles for whatever...
- Video and all that crap
- Live view
- Image display (that will teach you to pay attention!!!!)

YES, I am in one of 'those moods'.

, no I am not sharing.

williejoha

How do you really feel? Pour yourself a drink to celebrate the season. Merry Christmas
WJH

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

I wonder what question he was responding to.

Amator21 Loc: California

And YES! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

BBurns Loc: South Bay, California

Agreed.
There is a great need for beginners to learn and have a solid grasp on the basics.
Once that point is reached you will begin to realize that all of those other 'Bells & Whistles' are just on board tools to enhance your creativity.
I saw this many times in a photo class I assisted in.
Many beginners are so intimidated with all of it that they just give up and just stay in 'Auto' mode.

In the film days, the craft was complex and required many years of experience before one recognized and had a handle on all of the subtle nuances of the gear and the film.
There is so much power and capability in today's cameras.
We never could have dreamed of all of these features 25 years ago.

bejamin Loc: South Texas

Merry Christmas to all of you hogs. Stay safe and Happy New Year!!!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Your first 10,000 images are your worst. Thank goodness they're now all digital.

Merry Christmas!

Rongnongno Loc: FL

10,000? Wow by that time one had to mortgage the house!
Today? 10k is in the low range.

BBurns Loc: South Bay, California

Agreed. I think we tried to learn faster back then. The incentive was having to pay to see our mistakes.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

If you can get the pictures off the camera card, you're more than halfway to being a photographer.

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

Op, you might want to consider a point and shoot camera. There is very little in the way of a learning curve and if your pictures don't come out the way you want, you can blame the camera. Yes, I'm in one of those moods to.

Merry Christmas.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I envisage three quick access options for making selections "on the hoof" - autofocus mode, metering mode and shutter release mode. As you suggest, beyond these and the exposure settings, very little else is needed. Auto bracketing is useful and would be missed if it was taken away. I agree that with cameras (as with post processing) the let-the-camera-choose options undermine the learning process (dare I mention AI? ).

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Interesting read. Aroused my interest in older cameras and the features they offered. Got my Minolta SRT 102 out to see how it fit your list. I set the aperture and the film speed. Still interested, I dug out my father's Leica pre-war. I think the serial number shows 1936. It has been on for 84 years. It was on when it was made. It is German, and I speak no German. I need a much higher level of photography knowledge to operate this manual camera. 1-DX goes to the shoot tonight. It's battery is 1/2 the size of the Leica.

Bbarn Loc: Ohio

With a shrinking market, the trend will likely be toward fewer cameras with more features to increase sales of a given model.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Video functionality isn't "crap". If you run into a situation where you need to shoot a video clip, it's good to be able to do it with your camera. Of course any modern smartphone can shoot video, but a decent camera can do it so much better.