overrated equipment

removed account4 · Jul 16, 2021

I saw bluechromis's thread is about underrated cameras ...
I searched here to see if there was a thread about over rated cameras, you know the ones
the stuff made by the Keebler Elves and they give you a lifetime supply of ...
what's your short list of over rated cameras
f you bypass the typical you know plastic, and German and Swedish boutique- stuff, is anything left that is over rated ?

j-dogg · Jul 16, 2021

Yashica T4 and T5, only popular because Terry Richardson shot one

eddie · Jul 16, 2021

I think every camera is capable of making great images, in the right hands. It's the people who think a certain camera will make them better photographers who are overrated.

cjbecker · Jul 16, 2021

eddie said:
I think every camera is capable of making great images, in the right hands. It's the people who think a certain camera will make them better photographers who are overrated.

Nailed it.

Peter Schrager · Jul 16, 2021

fancy tanks and apparatus to make negatives when a tray serves the purpose and gives better results

Andrew O'Neill · Jul 16, 2021

Peter Schrager said:
fancy tanks and apparatus to make negatives when a tray serves the purpose and gives better results

Those without darkroom or light tight space would beg to differ.

4season · Jul 16, 2021

michael_r said:
When I was a kid in the '80s we couldn't get Keebler stuff here, which was annoying because there were so many Keebler commercials during Saturday morning cartoons. People always had to stock up on a bunch of Keebler crap on every trip to Plattsburgh.

I'll trade you Keebler stuff for Kinder Eggs USA customs confiscate intact Kinder Eggs.

BrianShaw · Jul 16, 2021

When I was a young man we had a Keebler factory nearby. The elves baked, day and night, with the windows open and oh, what a sweet smell it was. Directly across the street was (and still is) a beer brewery. Oh, what a sweet smell that was. I think the Air Quality Management enforcement made both of them contain their scented effluence, though. Keebler shut down. The brewery still brews but it doesn’t smell good anymore.

Not too far away was a very famous lens repair shop. It was not over-rated.

mshchem · Jul 16, 2021

Cedar Rapids Iowa has the original Quaker Oats plant, on the days they make Crunchberries the fragrance is amazing!

Arthurwg · Jul 16, 2021

j-dogg said:
Yashica T4 and T5, only popular because Terry Richardson shot one

Terry Richardson proves that mental illness can thrive in photography.

Sirius Glass · Jul 16, 2021

Peter Schrager said:
fancy tanks and apparatus to make negatives when a tray serves the purpose and gives better results

Not only would most disagree with you, a tray cannot give as consistent results and many film processors.

eddie said:
I think every camera is capable of making great images, in the right hands. It's the people who think a certain camera will make them better photographers who are overrated.

I agree, however if a camera has inherit limits, those cannot be overcome by the best photographers.

eddie · Jul 16, 2021

Sirius Glass said:
I agree, however if a camera has inherit limits, those cannot be overcome by the best photographers.

The best photographers know how to work with, and exploit, a cameras inherent limits.

Chan Tran · Jul 16, 2021

Pentax K1000. I think it was fine back when it was introduced. It works and cheap. Nowaday people think so highly of it. It's a bottom of the line camera.

eddie · Jul 16, 2021

Chan Tran said:
Pentax K1000. I think it was fine back when it was introduced. It works and cheap. Nowaday people think so highly of it. It's a bottom of the line camera.

You'd feel differently if you ever taught high school photography in a district which supplied cameras to the students. Not being their own, students were rather sloppy in their treatment of the cameras they were given. Nikons and Canons were constantly in for repairs. Our K1000's kept on working.

Chan Tran · Jul 16, 2021

eddie said:
You'd feel differently if you ever taught high school photography in a district which supplied cameras to the students. Not being their own, students were rather sloppy in their treatment of the cameras they were given. Nikons and Canons were constantly in for repairs. Our K1000's kept on working.

Yeah I heard people say it's tough. It's not any tougher than cameras in its time.

eddie · Jul 16, 2021

Chan Tran said:
Yeah I heard people say it's tough. It's not any tougher than cameras in its time.

My experience as a teacher says otherwise.

Chan Tran · Jul 16, 2021

eddie said:
My experience as a teacher says otherwise.

Is it tougher than the Minolta SRT series? The Nikon FM? The Nikkormat? And for that matter Pentax brothers and sisters the Spotmatic, KX, KM and the little MX?

BradS · Jul 16, 2021

I remember when all the Keebler elves were rounded up and shipped off to the re-education camp deep in the bowels of Kellogg's headquarters. Too shocked to protest, we stood by speechless and terrified. Many of the elves were never seen nor heard from again. A couple decades later, I see Keebler graham crackers on the shelf at the local supermarket - which is an ironic twist of history considering Kellogg's origins.

BrianShaw · Jul 16, 2021

eddie said:
The best photographers know how to work with, and exploit, a cameras inherent limits.

Even mediocre photographers can and do, that... just need to be smart about the limits of photography and interested in learning them.

Mike Lopez · Jul 16, 2021

Sirius Glass said:
Not only would most disagree with you, a tray cannot give as consistent results and many film processors.

This statement is just wrong. If Pete is using a tray to develop his film by inspection, that offers the ultimate in control and consistency.

BradS · Jul 16, 2021

Chan Tran said:
Is it tougher than the Minolta SRT series? The Nikon FM? The Nikkormat? And for that matter Pentax brothers and sisters the Spotmatic, KX, KM and the little MX?

The K-1000 was simpler, more reliable, less expensive, more readily available and had a much longer production run than the others.

eddie · Jul 16, 2021

Chan Tran said:
Is it tougher than the Minolta SRT series? The Nikon FM? The Nikkormat? And for that matter Pentax brothers and sisters the Spotmatic, KX, KM and the little MX?

They survived the abuse of teenagers with no ownership interests in the cameras better than the Nikons, Nikkormats, and Canons we had. I don't believe we had any Minoltas.

Vaughn · Jul 16, 2021

eddie said:
My experience as a teacher says otherwise.

And as the technician for a university photo program, I agree. Simplicity helps to makes equipment more durable, especially in the hands of students. The fanciest cameras in the world won't help the students if they are non-functional. We had a new instructor who wanted us to buy 4x5s that had too many plastic parts...no way. Even the Tachaharas we had were lousy student cameras. Too weak.

eddie · Jul 16, 2021

I remember we'd be happy if, at the beginning of the semester, there were fewer students than K1000's. When that happened, the Nikons and Canons would get locked away.

Cholentpot · Jul 16, 2021

Soviet lenses.

They're crap. I love using them and the quirky results that they give but lets call it what it is, they're horrible. If I had only those lenses to use use I'd be tearing my hair out.

I only use them because high quality lenses are cheap and available.

Also, I've yet to use a Soviet camera that did not break or had some sort of major flaw.

overrated equipment

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