I still find that to be the worrying aspect of film's revival. Fads tend not to last.
pentaxuser
It perplexes me that what seems to be mostly young folks are not concerned with the film they use, the quality of the gear (especially lenses) or much else, as long as it is film. Unless it is about randomness and experimentation--valid art techniques--it reeks of "shooting film" being a fad.
I still find that to be the worrying aspect of film's revival. Fads tend not to last.
pentaxuser
When she told me it was for a film course I was a little surprised as so many people had said that film course instructors require manual only cameras. She said, nope, all that matters is if it can be controlled manually.
I like that - common sense instead of following a fad.
It’s possible to whip up a demand.It all comes down to supply and demand. Psychological tension and monetary homeopathic nothing both have nothing to do with it. A 60-year-old Bentley could cost more than what it cost when new. It's rare and still desired. How does the cost of materials affect the cost of the Mona Lisa? Why do old Leicas still cost so much? The labor and material costs have long be "used up". Yet a value for the product remains if there's a willing buyer who wants it. More buyers, and less sellers, means more value.
Wait, what? Um, back in '92 (which is right around the time I got started), film was all we had. Granted, I think that was the beginning of the Lomography era, although I don't remember calling it that; I do remember that a local photo store got in some plastic cameras (Holgas, I think) and they were all the rage with the grad students at Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester (one of whom was my Photo 102 prof). But back then, if you wanted to do serious photography, film is all there was.This film revival basically started in 1992 when Lomography kicked it off. Lomography IS the key driving force to the film industry's resurrection.
Or why bottled water is more expensive than gasoline.I long ago gave up trying to figure out how/why people assign value to something they purchase as it all seems so highly individual.
I long ago gave up trying to figure out how/why people assign value to something they purchase as it all seems so highly individual. For example, I guess “convenience” is a biggie and explains why people are willing to pay $3-5 for a cup of coffee they could make at home for 25 cents.
It all comes down to supply and demand.
If every student had a hand-held meter and they were asked (made) to run their cameras in manual mode only, you could teach them all the same. The issue might be more about the school being able to maintain a variety of cameras (if they supply them) or making sure the students' cameras were all working properly.Only true for a "perfect" market - one where everyone has similar access to products and everyone has been fully informed. Otherwise, the majority of buying/paying decisions are skewed by all sorts of other factors.
The used camera market is almost entirely about wants, not needs - so the prices are not logical, so are they much affected by standard supply and demand factors. Or to say it differently, all the supply and all the demand is localized to the particular buyer.
I take at least part of the question raised by the OP "Is some gear so cheap that it is causing harm?"
And I'm not sure that I know the answer, although certainly some very good camera gear is ending up in recycling bins, rather than being put to use.
And as for the need for purely mechanical cameras for students, the reason isn't so much about the cameras themselves, but because of the realities of classroom/group teaching.
Just think how difficult it would be to put together teaching materials about exposure if your students all had different cameras, with different implementation of exposure control, viewing and focusing system. As an example, how would you design a lesson about metering and setting exposure manually to take into account the fact that a student had a Canon A-1, where the meter turns off when you switch the camera to manual.
If every student has a Pentax K1000, or Minolta SRT-101 or Olympus OM-1 or Canon Ftb or (pick a manual metering camera) then with very little difficulty a teacher can teach a lesson and everyone can apply it.
Only true for a "perfect" market - one where everyone has similar access to products and everyone has been fully informed. Otherwise, the majority of buying/paying decisions are skewed by all sorts of other factors.
The used camera market is almost entirely about wants, not needs - so the prices are not logical, so are they much affected by standard supply and demand factors. Or to say it differently, all the supply and all the demand is localized to the particular buyer.
I take at least part of the question raised by the OP "Is some gear so cheap that it is causing harm?"
And I'm not sure that I know the answer, although certainly some very good camera gear is ending up in recycling bins, rather than being put to use.
And as for the need for purely mechanical cameras for students, the reason isn't so much about the cameras themselves, but because of the realities of classroom/group teaching.
Just think how difficult it would be to put together teaching materials about exposure if your students all had different cameras, with different implementation of exposure control, viewing and focusing system. As an example, how would you design a lesson about metering and setting exposure manually to take into account the fact that a student had a Canon A-1, where the meter turns off when you switch the camera to manual.
If every student has a Pentax K1000, or Minolta SRT-101 or Olympus OM-1 or Canon Ftb or (pick a manual metering camera) then with very little difficulty a teacher can teach a lesson and everyone can apply it.
As far as teaching, there are no cameras that can be bought new so every kid has the same camera. So the instructor has to put up with everyone having a different camera. Just tell the students to switch to Manual mode.
What do you mean that "some gear is so cheap it's causing harm"?
As far as teaching, there are no cameras that can be bought new so every kid has the same camera. So the instructor has to put up with everyone having a different camera. Just tell the students to switch to Manual mode.
An astute instructor could probably tell by looking a a proof sheet whether or not Manual mode was used....
An astute instructor could probably tell by looking a a proof sheet whether or not Manual mode was used....
The price is disrupting the formation or maintenance of a healthy market.
It is distorting people's appreciation of value.
It is skewing availability of product, because it depresses the viability and availability of things like new replacements and a healthy repair industry.
We regularly see the recommendation for discarding a camera because it is cheaper to replace it with another example of the same then it is to have it repaired or to buy a new replacement. This isn't healthy, in the long run.
All of which is similar to the effect of things like dumping merchandise into a market at a price lower than the cost to make/acquire it and market it.
How would you write up the instructional materials to do this?
How would you instruct students how to identify and deal with cameras that turn off metering when switched to manual mode? Remember that you may have three or four blocks of students, with 25 - 35 students in each.
You may not have the resources to give everyone individual instruction on the particulars of their camera model - you may not know them yourself.
How would you write up the instructional materials to do this?
How would you instruct students how to identify and deal with cameras that turn off metering when switched to manual mode? Remember that you may have three or four blocks of students, with 25 - 35 students in each.
You may not have the resources to give everyone individual instruction on the particulars of their camera model - you may not know them yourself.
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