overrated equipment

[BradS]

^ reminds me of an article I read some years ago. The author was writing about the third tier 35mm SLR and lenses...
"They were crap then and they are still crap today".

 

[Don_ih]

We had a new instructor who wanted us to buy 4x5s that had too many plastic parts

Should've bought Graphic View cameras - those things are tough. (I realize they would have been long out of production - but I think they're all still around.)

 

[MattKing]

I've been waiting for the Canon owners to post "Nikon" and the Nikon owners to post "Canon" to this thread.
And then to have both of them post "Leica".

 

[BrianShaw]

I've been waiting for the Canon owners to post "Nikon" and the Nikon owners to post "Canon" to this thread.
And then to have both of them post "Leica".

Tommyknocker. LOL

 

[removed account4]

I see Keebler graham crackers on the shelf at the local supermarket - which is an ironic twist of history considering Kellogg's origins.

I think you are confusing Sylvester Graham with the sanitarium guys. Graham was a 7th day adventist ...

 

[Pioneer]

There are many examples of simple, well-built cameras lasting far longer than their original designers and manufacturers intended while surviving pretty amazing abuse along the way. The K1000 is only one example. If that is what makes those cameras over-rated then I can live with that.

 

[BradS]

I think you are confusing Sylvester Graham with the sanitarium guys. Graham was a 7th day adventist ...

or perhaps, I've remembered the Kellogg story erroneously.

 

[removed account4]

or perhaps, I've remembered the Kellogg story erroneously.

all those breakfasts, exercise, health lifestyle and sanity people were running amok back in the day, who knows they all might have
come up with something similar all at the same time, there were a lot of impure thoughts back then

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

that's cause that little toy is a "choking hazard" and the egg is a nomnomnom hazard

 

[bernard_L]

Canon AE-1 Program. Inflation fed by hipsters and their advisers.

 

[Helge]

Holga? Manufactured to be crappy (at least for the majority of its life), 90s sham authentic, commoditized, generic whimsy.
There are so many cameras out there, that will give you much more authentic “crap” artistic results

The Holga, Diana, Lubitel etc. are bottled “art” photography for the masses.

Lomo, bless their little hipster hearts for keeping interest in film alive during some difficult years, but could we please steer them in the right direction by voting with our wallets?

 

[eddie]

Holga? Manufactured to be crappy (at least for the majority of its life), 90s sham authentic, commoditized, generic whimsy.
There are so many cameras out there, that will give you much more authentic “crap” artistic results

The Holga, Diana, Lubitel etc. are bottled “art” photography for the masses.

Lomo, bless their little hipster hearts for keeping interest in film alive during some difficult years, but could we please steer them in the right direction by voting with our wallets?

I think you have a very closed-minded view of what a camera is, and what it is capable of achieving.

 

[Chan Tran]

Maybe not tougher than those, but I think the K1000 was a lot cheaper.

The key word is WAS a lot cheaper. At the time of introduction the K1000 made sense because it was significantly less expensive than the others I mentioned. But in the 21st century on the used market it's often more expensive. It may not fetch more money than a Nikon FM but would fetch more than an SRT and even a Pentax KX or KM which are similar but just better.
Back round 2009 or so I guy had a K1000 and a 50mm f/2 and a KX and a 50mm f/1.4. He wanted $100 for each camera. A guy came first and happily paid $100 for the K1000 and the 50 f/2. He offered $50 for the 50mm f/1.4 but didn't want the KX. The owner didn't accept it so he sold only the K1000 and the f/2 lens. So I offered $70 for the KX and the f/1.4 lens so if I were to sell to the other guy the lens for $50 the KX is only worth $20 a lot less than the K1000 in that guy opinion.

 

[removed account4]

The Holga, Diana, Lubitel etc. are bottled “art” photography for the masses.

are they ?

 

[faberryman]

Holga? Manufactured to be crappy (at least for the majority of its life), 90s sham authentic, commoditized, generic whimsy.
There are so many cameras out there, that will give you much more authentic “crap” artistic results

The Holga, Diana, Lubitel etc. are bottled “art” photography for the masses.

Lomo, bless their little hipster hearts for keeping interest in film alive during some difficult years, but could we please steer them in the right direction by voting with our wallets?

I like Michael Kenna’s Holga work, although I realize that people appreciate different aesthetics.

 

[eddie]

... I realize that people appreciate different aesthetics.

True, but that's no excuse for being dismissive of the tools, as so many here seem to be.

 

[faberryman]

True, but that's no excuse for being dismissive of the tools, as so many here seem to be.

Certainly. It is about the resulting image. Show me the prints.

 

[Robert Maxey]

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.

To some extent, i agree. That said, what make a camera/film/etc great for me, you might not give a flying Whiffle Ball about. For me, it is sharpness. Not every camera can give me what I prefer and a few cheap cameras manage to do a great job, too.

If you like what you see when printed, it does not matter what you use.

Bob

 

[Robert Maxey]

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.

Yup. My last photo gig was running a lab that was in business since 1890. No automation at all. Prints were made by contact, and film processed in large tanks and hanging racks (some small roll tanks). Enlargements via large enlargers, a 45MCRX and Focomat. All prints were tray developed.

Bob

 

[alanrockwood]

For most photographers I would say any high-end SLR is over-rated, mainly because a medium- to low-end SLR from the same manufacturer will do 99% of what 99% of most photographers want to do 99% of the time. This is not to say that high end SLRs don't have their place. They do, especially with professionals for whom that 1% difference truly makes a worthwhile difference, or perhaps a few non-professional photographers as well, and it's not to say that I would not like to have a high end camera (like a Canon 1v for example). It's just that most of us can get by just fine with a lesser camera. A case in point: I have a Canon 7ne (which itself is more mid-level than high-level) that I seldom use because in my hands my lowly Canon T2 is easier for me to use, and it's smaller, which is something I like.

 

[Helge]

I think you have a very closed-minded view of what a camera is, and what it is capable of achieving.

How’s that?
You could say the same thing about people insisting on Holgas.

 

[eddie]

How’s that?
You could say the same thing about people insisting on Holgas.

I say that based on your post #38. You were extremely dismissive, and condescending, towards Holgas/Dianas/etc.
And, where has anyone "insisted" on Holgas?
I stand by my statement.

 

[faberryman]

How’s that?
You could say the same thing about people insisting on Holgas.

No one is insisting on Holgas.

 

[Helge]

True, but that's no excuse for being dismissive of the tools, as so many here seem to be.

Look, I’m not dismissive of the photos taken with a Holga (of course not).
I’m apprehensive of the cult surrounding the camera. And the marketing used to sell it.

 

[Helge]

No one is insisting on Holgas.

Insisting can be many things. It doesn’t entail exclusiveness if that’s what you think.
It’s when you hear photographers declaring it as their favourite camera, or the one where they feel the most free.
The basic Brownie is a better and far more flexible (as in modable and durable) photographic tool.
Same goes for the standard Nettar.

 

[eddie]

The basic Brownie is a better and far more flexible (as in modable and durable) photographic tool.
Same goes for the standard Nettar.

For you, maybe, but possibly not for others.