I recently went on a 9 day tour of Costa Rica. There were 42 others on that tour. A fair number of them had DSLRs. The rest had small point and shoots.
Being a photography buff, I engaged some of those with DSLRs askng how they like their (different model) cameras, lenses, etc. and what they liked to do photography wise.
I was surprised to hear from a majority of them (this is a paraphrased summary) “Oh, I don’t do much. It sits in a drawer most of the time. I never bothered to read the manual and I’m not sure what most of the buttons do, and I don’t get very many good pictures”
That just surprised me. Spending $$ and carrying around a DSLR that you are not going to use to anywhere it’s full capability is a waste.
So I just said OK. But I would have loved to have convinced them to want to learn more and use the cameras as they were designed to be used. Didn’t want to cause problems.
Speaks to the power of advertising, as well as the "status" of owning expensive stuff - not just cameras.
If a trip to Costa Rica wasn't motivation, unlikely any advice from you would have helped.
takes too much time! Unless one enjoys the learning otherwise learn so that you can use the camera would be too much of a hassle for many.
Most people don't know how to use the 100 features on their microwave. Reheat coffee and make popcorn about it
was_a_guru wrote:
I recently went on a 9 day tour of Costa Rica. There were 42 others on that tour. A fair number of them had DSLRs. The rest had small point and shoots.
Being a photography buff, I engaged some of those with DSLRs askng how they like their (different model) cameras, lenses, etc. and what they liked to do photography wise.
I was surprised to hear from a majority of them (this is a paraphrased summary) “Oh, I don’t do much. It sits in a drawer most of the time. I never bothered to read the manual and I’m not sure what most of the buttons do, and I don’t get very many good pictures”
That just surprised me. Spending $$ and carrying around a DSLR that you are not going to use to anywhere it’s full capability is a waste.
So I just said OK. But I would have loved to have convinced them to want to learn more and use the cameras as they were designed to be used. Didn’t want to cause problems.
I recently went on a 9 day tour of Costa Rica. The... (
show quote)
It's their life and their camera. Why do we want to change people when they are happy doing what they are doing and it's not affecting or harming others.
It's easy to forget that very few people actually practice photography as a pastime. If this forum is an example, when you look at the information about how many people are logged in at any given time, the number is very few. Hardly ever more than a couple of hundred people at any given time.
alby
Loc: very eastern pa.
back in the film days, probably mid 70's i was on an evening scenic boat ride. two women had a brand new ae-1 and not a clue. i asked them if i could take their picture and they jumped at the chance. took maybe half dozen pics and gave it back to them. asked if they read the manual, replied "no it's just a camera." i am pretty sure they were the only pics they got from that roll. nice camera but no clue.
was_a_guru wrote:
I recently went on a 9 day tour of Costa Rica. There were 42 others on that tour. A fair number of them had DSLRs. The rest had small point and shoots.
Being a photography buff, I engaged some of those with DSLRs askng how they like their (different model) cameras, lenses, etc. and what they liked to do photography wise.
I was surprised to hear from a majority of them (this is a paraphrased summary) “Oh, I don’t do much. It sits in a drawer most of the time. I never bothered to read the manual and I’m not sure what most of the buttons do, and I don’t get very many good pictures”
That just surprised me. Spending $$ and carrying around a DSLR that you are not going to use to anywhere it’s full capability is a waste.
So I just said OK. But I would have loved to have convinced them to want to learn more and use the cameras as they were designed to be used. Didn’t want to cause problems.
I recently went on a 9 day tour of Costa Rica. The... (
show quote)
I actually have a very LARGE number of customers who have never taken their DSLRs out of the green AUTO mode and are still quite happy with their results. When customers like that ask about upgrading their cameras I almost always steer them towards better lenses rather than better cameras unless the really feel ready to explore other camera features.
Sidwalkadtronomy wrote:
Most people don't know how to use the 100 features on their microwave. Reheat coffee and make popcorn about it
That is what I meant in the above post. I wouldn't know how to use the microwave oven right but I do know how to use my cameras. Is the camera easier? I don't know but the camera is interesting to me so I read the manual and learn how to. The microwave oven is too boring I don't have time for that.
BebuLamar wrote:
...The microwave oven is too boring I don't have time for that.
There's a big incentive for those who burn popcorn for the first time - it's
nasty!
Linda From Maine wrote:
There's a big incentive for those who burn popcorn for the first time - it's nasty!
I would burn popcorn too because my interest is only in making the popcorn and not the microwave oven. I know about the cameras because I am interested not only in taking the pictures but about the cameras themselves. So I do understand people who have cameras and don't know how to use them and I don't think they waste the money or did I waste the money buying the microwave to make popcorn?
BebuLamar wrote:
...or did I waste the money buying the microwave to make popcorn?
Such a personal and important decision, I'd never attempt to advise 😄
Sidwalkadtronomy wrote:
Most people don't know how to use the 100 features on their microwave. Reheat coffee and make popcorn about it
I would gladly pay double for a microwave with just one button - 'Start'
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