Gendered Cameras

[modafoto]

Hmmmm... that Freud bloke has a lot to answer for...

Sigmund Freud once said:

Sometimes a tele-photo lens is just a tele-photo lens...

Morten

 

[clogz]

Another riddle Freud's mind was struggling with:

"Was will die Photographin?"

 

[Cheryl Jacobs]

Input from a scrawny female with small palms and long fingers:

I don't notice either Nikon or Canon being unwieldy at all. Then again, I shoot my Bronica a-plenty, have used Hasseys with no problem, and am gradually training myself to use my Speed Graphic without a tripod. I have no issues with cameras being too large for my hands, but do sometimes have to get used to the weight of bigger-than-average cams. I'm getting some great arm and shoulder muscles from the Graphic.

If I had to carry a pink camera, I'd go back to painting.

-- CJ

 

[James Bleifus]

Sigmund Freud once said:

Sometimes a tele-photo lens is just a tele-photo lens...

Morten

Geez, and I would have sworn that was Shakespeare... no, maybe it was Richard Nixon.

Cheers,

James

 

[Nicole]

Another riddle Freud's mind was struggling with:
"Was will die Photographin?"

Nur das aller Beste!!!

 

[k_jupiter]

So why fit a rangefinder you can't see through with you right eye?)

So get a camera with two range finders, one for left, one for right. Works for me.

tim in san jose

 

[Roger Krueger]

Oddly, my wife actually likes the way my 1ds II fits in her hands--she puts her left hand on the vertical grip for added support, and it all apparently fits perfectly.

I was amazed, because she's complained about weight and hand fatigue with everything else I've ever owned, even my little Hi-Matic 7sII and Zorki 3. So maybe it really is well thought out ergonomics, not just raw size/weight.

Doesn't Annie Liebowitz use an RZ handheld? I tried that once and found it the most awkward mess imaginable. Anyone who can do that all day must have high marks on dexterity as well as strength.

 

[medform-norm]

Ohh, c'mon, where are all the women on this forum to say that it is all a matter of experience and getting used to. (And that the discussion is a trifle sexist as well, as it is more of a small hands vs big hands thing than anything else, you caucasian brutes are forgetting the slender hands of our Asian friends)!

I (female) have pretty small hands with short fingers, yet prefer medium format gear. Sure, the Linhof 220 side grip is too big for me to hold the way Linhof intended it, so I hold it another way - equally comfortable, although I bet it looks awkward to outsiders. Optikas and Rittrecks can hang comfortable around my neck on a strap and you can use them as Rolleis. Otherwise, mount them on a tripod and your worries are over! Both my Kiews are fine handheld too. (Unfortunately they don't come in Sanriyo styled patterns...)

When I switch to 35mm cams (like my Himatic 7s or our Canon F1), I always think at first "aahhh, how tiny! They're so cute, can you take real pictures with it?, gosh, I almost forgot! After half an hour of course one adjusts to the size of that camera too and it's fine again. What I personally couldn't stand to work with are those Rollei 35 types, too small, too many dials/levers/etc too close to eachother.

Now I want to hear from all the 8x10 and larger studs on this forum how they shoot from the hip with their ULF gear! That would be impressive - uless your name is Arnold.

 

[arigram]

Am I being sexist for raising the question? I didn't design the cameras.
My hands are gentle and relatively small for a european brute and my wrists are
very fragile, I can hurt them easily.
I would find maybe a bigger camera like the 67 SLR Mamiyas difficult to handle but my Hasselblad fits me perfectly so it came as a surprise to hear two other people having problems with it.
Maybe it was wrong to make the connection of them being women.
So, shoot me.

 

[bobfowler]

My wife likes an FM with a motor drive, but she won't use the F3/MD4/MK1 because of the weight. She also adores the Bronica SQ-A on a Speed Grip and says it's too uncomfortable without.

 

[colrehogan]

Ohh, c'mon, where are all the women on this forum to say that it is all a matter of experience and getting used to. (And that the discussion is a trifle sexist as well, as it is more of a small hands vs big hands thing than anything else, you caucasian brutes are forgetting the slender hands of our Asian friends)!

I (female) have pretty small hands with short fingers, yet prefer medium format gear. Sure, the Linhof 220 side grip is too big for me to hold the way Linhof intended it, so I hold it another way - equally comfortable, although I bet it looks awkward to outsiders. Optikas and Rittrecks can hang comfortable around my neck on a strap and you can use them as Rolleis. Otherwise, mount them on a tripod and your worries are over! Both my Kiews are fine handheld too. (Unfortunately they don't come in Sanriyo styled patterns...)

Now I want to hear from all the 8x10 and larger studs on this forum how they shoot from the hip with their ULF gear! That would be impressive - uless your name is Arnold.

Okay, I (female) have a Hassy that I've used handheld. My hands aren't that big and I don't have particularly long fingers.

The cameras I dislike are these tiny digi compacts. I usually wind up putting my fingers on the lens just trying to hold the camera. The ergonomics are all wrong.

I shoot 8x10 and I am not a stud! My Ansco weighs in at 12 lbs., and the tripod/head combination weighs 9 lbs. Then I have my film holders, lenses and accessories.

 

[zenrhino]

If my Kiev 60/prism/Arsat 80mm combo was made for a woman, it would have been one of those Soviet-bloc weightlifters from the Moscow Olympic Games.

I'm not sure WTF they were thinking when they put that together, but ergonomics and ease of carrying weren't on the list.

 

[medform-norm]

I shoot 8x10 and I am not a stud! My Ansco weighs in at 12 lbs., and the tripod/head combination weighs 9 lbs. Then I have my film holders, lenses and accessories.

Hey Diane,
I wasn't implying that all people who shoot with 8x10 are studs, only those that do it handhold from the hip!

I put that there just to remind people that not all medium format cameras were designed to use as hand helds, so it wouldn't matter who uses them. You and your 8x10 proved the point wonderfully.

And mr. Aristoteles is, of course, (seeing he lives in Greece ) forgiven for making the 'wrong' connection!!

Kievs weren't made for anybody particular, they were made for 'the people', remember?

For me, they work fine, either handheld or on a monopod. I 'm a waist level finder person, and it weighs a lot less without the TTL!

 

[Nicole]

Camera sizes, egonomics, weight, noise level, lens preferences etc... are a very personal thing. It's like trying to generally define art - one can't unless it's just a personal opinion.

I assume most cameras are designed by men and so I'd really love to see a camera designed by a woman and compare differences. It doesn't necessarily mean it'll be the perfect camera for me.

Macho, bruts, whatchamecallits.... who cares, there are plenty of them - and guys I'm not generalising here on APUG, I'm thinking of individuals I know. (avoiding an onslaught here)

I'm still trying to find a camera that feels right in my hands and operates easily for me for the work that I love to do.

Cheers
Nicole

 

[Bruce Osgood]

I'm still trying to find a camera that feels right in my hands and operates easily for me for the work that I love to do.

Cheers
Nicole

For 35mm you might want to consider the Contax Aria. It's got some bells and whistles, none of which are needed to make pictures, but if you wish, they are there.


http://www.kyoceraimaging.com/product.asp?itemnum=132000

 

[gma]

My first 35mm SLR was a Praktica IVF that fits in my large hands perfectly. It is really large compared with Japanese SLR cameras. When I got a Pentax Spotmatic I had a hard time getting accustomed to the smaller size of the camera and the Takumar lenses.