Few cameras: I am 2 weeks into a trip to Italy. I have been to Europe many times before Covid but I noticed the accelerated change in photo taking, as we know. I have seen relatively...

mtcoothaman Loc: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

I am 2 weeks into a trip to Italy. I have been to Europe many times before Covid but I noticed the accelerated change in photo taking, as we know. I have seen relatively few cameras especially DSLRS, more Canon than Nikon, and even a lonely Pentax which I also carry. My wife has an Olympus OM 10 and on a winery tour the guide said to her "you have a real camera and I have not seen one for a while ". Of the 9 in our group doing a tour only one other used a camera-a Canon rebel I think.

Most people use mobile phones (me too on occasion) and they can deliver good images but they are slow to use and I find them hard to use in strong light.

FYI

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I'll stick with my (D)SLRs, and view cameras.
--Bob

mtcoothaman wrote:

I am 2 weeks into a trip to Italy. I have been to ... (show quote)

Lagoonguy Loc: New Smyrna Beach, FL

My wife and just returned from a small ship tour to Italy. I would estimate that iPhones were used by over 95% of our fellow passengers. We use Panasonic G9’s, Sony Rx 100 7s and cell phones occasionally. We attempt to linger until most of the iPhone photo and video takers are done or use our time looking for more interesting views. Overall there seems to be little etiquette displayed by iPhone users and if they are video enthusiasts they act as if nobody else exists. I feel that since they never used cameras they never learned the etiquette thing. Cell phones do take some amazing photos but invariably several people jump out in front of everyone because they don’t have the range that a camera provides. I don’t think the camera crowd will win this battle. Our last trip is leading us to not take tours any more. Who knows, perhaps they would just a soon we aren’t on their trip. Self travel is harder but more rewarding in so many ways.

mtcoothaman Loc: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

agreed

traderjohn Loc: New York City

mtcoothaman wrote:

I am 2 weeks into a trip to Italy. I have been to ... (show quote)

Quite right about cell phones. About 3 years ago our daughter was married. There were 150 guests at the wedding. The only person with a DSLR was the photographer and her two assistants. Needless to say in the following weeks we saw more pictures from the cell phones pictures before the wedding photographer.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Camera companies are increasingly being pushed into a niche product category dominated by an older demographic (of which I'm a part). It seems their strategy is to focus on high-end and more expensive products selling fewer at higher prices.

It doesn't make me happy as I've loved cameras and photography since I was a pre-teen.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

yssirk123 wrote:

Camera companies are increasingly being pushed into a niche product category dominated by an older demographic (of which I'm a part). It seems their strategy is to focus on high-end and more expensive products selling fewer at higher prices.

It doesn't make me happy as I've loved cameras and photography since I was a pre-teen.

I'm with you and have enjoyed photography just as long!
If you really wish to capture good images, a REAL camera is the way!
The Cell Phone is OK if you are caught without a real camera, though. Better some image than none!

mtcoothaman Loc: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

mtcoothaman wrote:

I am 2 weeks into a trip to Italy. I have been to ... (show quote)

I need to update this. I am now in San Gimignano and have seen many "real" cameras, some serious kit with massive lenses etc. Also saw many phones.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Lagoonguy wrote:

My wife and just returned from a small ship tour t... (show quote)

I have never toured and likely never will.
I take the solo road less traveled including avoiding tourist cities like Paris, been around it but avoided it.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

Architect1776 wrote:

I have never toured and likely never will.
I take the solo road less traveled including avoiding tourist cities like Paris, been around it but avoided it.

That's a pity.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

traderjohn wrote:

That's a pity.

Actually I have been and seen the most amazing things that tourists being dragged around never experience.
How many pictures of the Eiffel Tower can one stand?
How many tours take you through the black forest on a village wanderlust along a Roman road and awesome and seldom seen castles hidden in the forest only available after a 1 hour walk? Then a wonderful community lunch?
Or bicycle in the alps or ski the Innsbruck Olympic ski runs etc?

Lagoonguy Loc: New Smyrna Beach, FL

Architect1776 wrote:

Actually I have been and seen the most amazing things that tourists being dragged around never experience.
How many pictures of the Eiffel Tower can one stand?
How many tours take you through the black forest on a village wanderlust along a Roman road and awesome and seldom seen castles hidden in the forest only available after a 1 hour walk? Then a wonderful community lunch?
Or bicycle in the alps or ski the Innsbruck Olympic ski runs etc?

On our recent trip we started on a land tour in Iceland, then The Faroe Islands on our own and finished with the small boat tour from Malta to Venice. The most memorable being The Faroe Isands partially because of our freedom to visit the many beautiful and moody scenes on our own schedule or no schedule. The luxury of taking all the time you want or need to take a treasured photo is truly an exhilarating thing. Even so we have been privileged to see, experience and appreciate more because of our tours than we could have on our own. I think it is time for us to go slower and smell the roses. Happy trails.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Lagoonguy wrote:

On our recent trip we started on a land tour in Ic... (show quote)

That is why I do not do tours.
No time schedule and meet locals who can and will get me into very restricted areas.

mtcoothaman Loc: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

mtcoothaman wrote:

I am 2 weeks into a trip to Italy. I have been to ... (show quote)

I am going to update my comment on this. We are still travelling. I still prefer my DSLR, a Pentax, as it is quick and easy to use , zoom in etc., however my wife, who uses an Olympus OMD 10-iii, and I both use our mobile phones at times. We notice that there are many times that the phones deal better with some situations, such as glare, better than the cameras. Her phone in particular, a good Samsung, is better than my mid range Oppo (which cost about half of hers) and can produce great photos. It is easy to see why phones are becoming the way to go.

William J Cody Loc: Springfield Illinois

hello,and congratulations to you both for using film.
among professional photographers, there has been an increase in film usage. while mobile telephone users are not interested in generating prints, nor are most digital imaging users, film remains the least manipulative medium with the negative to confirm authenticity of the image.

the big surprise for me is the ever increasing cost of used medium and large format equipment; eg, a hasselblad 500cm with the 80mm2.8 zeiss T* planar lens now sells for double what they cost new in the 1970's and 1980's. and these are not collectible by any means, these are being bought by users, along with pentax and mamiya 645 and 6x7 cameras, and lenses.

you probably know about Freestyle Photo in L.A. - great suppliers for film, chemicals and very knowledgeable in custom develop and print labs in the U.S.

so, don't feel lonely - your prints and photo albums will provide years of enjoyment!