Psychological hang-ups regarding cameras - anyone else?

IloveTLRs · Aug 30, 2011

I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity employer when it comes to cameras. That is, I like to think I can use anything without prejudice. However, in practice I've found I have certain psychological hang-ups that prevent me from picking up certain cameras

The best example is the Rollei 35, I think. Great camera (no matter the lens) but I usually get those nagging thoughts before leaving the house: "what if I want to do close-focus/wide-open?", "what happens when the sun goes down?", etc, etc so nine times out of ten I end up taking something else. Which is unfortunate, because I sit here looking at the results, mentally kicking myself for not taking it out more often.

Does anyone else have this problem or is it only me? Or have I just had too much wine with dinner again ...

Grif · Aug 30, 2011

And I usually end up with a whole Nikon F kit in the trunk for just that reason.

I finally got a small lunch box sized cooler, put a hand towel in the bottom, a zip lock with film and a meter and my Rolliecord, and just leave them in the car. Doesn't look like anything valuable, and it's there. When I take it out, I'm always fussing about no filters, need a longer lens and so on,,, but, at least I've got a camera.

Mike Wilde · Aug 30, 2011

I have a small stable of 4 over the shoulder bags, two backbpacks and two rolling case camera bags, that transport anything from my 35mm to MF to 4x5 cameras.

They usually have a given camera in them, with, for 35mm and MF, a few loners that mostly sit on the shelf that can be alternated into a bag.

So the tan over the shoulder os my good for anything that a 35mm slr situation. The blue one is a walk in the country kind of bag. the old leather one is the close up setup.

Artificial lighting is the subject of whole separate cases, altough most of my bags have a smallnon-dedicated hot shoe/pc cord flash, and the MF backpad has a light potatoe masher type as standard equiment.

I do consider the lighting conditions when it comes to packing film and filters, and whether I bring a table top little tripod,or one of the heavier units.

dasBlute · Aug 30, 2011

often, the inner dialog is a hinderance to creative work. It is easy to wear yourself out: I should be... I could be... it can be hard to clear the clutter out between you and the work.

I have two cameras: a big one and a little one, I pick one and walk. There is no wrong one. Depending on your mindset, constraints can be challenging, motivating, freeing. Sure I miss shots - all the time - but invariably it's *not* because of the camera.

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 30, 2011

I used to have this type of angst.

For 2011 and 2012 through July I am committed to the use of one single camera, a 35mm. I put either a 35mm or a 50mm lens on it, and take it to go. The tripod is in the trunk of my car, and I carry cable release and light meter with me at all times.

It forces me to stop thinking about the camera, and only the pictures. And it's a profound revelation.

Grif · Aug 30, 2011

Yea Team!!! somebody actually doing the one year thing What's your film?

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 30, 2011

Grif said:
Yea Team!!! somebody actually doing the one year thing What's your film?

Acros (have a boat load of it, which needs to get used up) and TMY-2. (both in Xtol).
Portra 400 for color, home processed in Rollei Digibase with a modified work flow.

Roger Cole · Aug 30, 2011

The only time I have that sort of angst is on overnight trips where I don't know ahead of time exactly what I'll want. I usually end up taking all of mine - one bag of 35mm gear, one with the Yashica TLR, and the big one with the 4x5 Linhof, plus the tripod, and sometimes (the most likely to be left behind since I also have my iPhone) the small case with the old Nikon digisnapper. It generally amuses my fiance, who already finds it funny that she packs far lighter in the way of clothes and so on than I do. Well she's traveled a lot more and has a better idea of what she'll need. That's my excuse anyway, and I'm sticking to it.

For each outing from base, whether from home or a vacation spot where I'm staying, I can usually pick one bag and go. For walking around doing other things but might need the camera, it's usually the Yashica, unless I expect really dim light in which case it's the 35mm with the 1.7 lens and TMZ. (I always have some Delta 3200 with the Yashica too but the 3.5 lens isn't a 1.7, nor is the Yashica, even with its built in fresnel, as easy to focus in dim light as my Pentax LX. Some day I'll pony up the bucks for a 1.4 or 1.2.) One camera, fixed lens, square format so there's not even a need to choose vertical or horizontal, though I often see which way I'll crop it. It is rather liberating, but I don't think I could ever do the "shoot only one camera all year" thing and certainly not if confined to one film.

Grif · Aug 30, 2011

I always thought it'd be a really good learning experience. I guess the closest I got was a C33 with an 80mm and tri x in Microdol, and (I think?) Kodacolor X. I guess, if I really took a lot of pic's with it, the Rollie and 400 film would be a good experience. I'm getting about a roll every 6 weeks out of it now.

Bateleur · Aug 31, 2011

I'm pretty much of that breed too, take one body and one lens and let the rest happen. Should I have additional lenses one generally stays on the camera, while the other bounces in the backpack. Travel light I have learned, it's better for my back too

benjiboy · Aug 31, 2011

If I want to travel light I just take my Canon EF with the FD 35mm f2, and the FD 100mm f2.

hpulley · Aug 31, 2011

I don't know why sometimes I have a roll of film in one, two or three cameras sitting there that I should really finish off while I'm running multiple rolls of film through other cameras. Makes no sense and is making worse the latent images already taken so I should really finish them off... Sometimes it is the wrong film speed. I like medium format for this with fewer shots on a roll I can always just finish them off (or 828 with 8 shots). 24 or 36 means sometimes I forget about a roll for months at a time.

I too just take a small camera some days for light travel but then wish I'd brought something bigger. I can get a nice print from a 35mm or smaller negative but a better print from 120 film.

markbarendt · Aug 31, 2011

The one I have a hangup with is my 4x5.

Part of that is social. My wife (normal shooting partner) isn't patient enough for me to use it regularly so it rests a lot.

Part of it is that the RB is just so nice.

benjiboy · Aug 31, 2011

markbarendt said:
The one I have a hangup with is my 4x5.

Part of that is social. My wife (normal shooting partner) isn't patient enough for me to use it regularly so it rests a lot.

Part of it is that the RB is just so nice.

I've often wondered Mark if the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel would have ever been painted if Michelangelo would have had his wife and kids with him .

markbarendt · Aug 31, 2011

benjiboy said:
I've often wondered Mark if the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel would have ever been painted if Michelangelo would have had his wife and kids with him .

If he was doing it for free it would have been touch and go but I think he got paid.

When I'm getting paid my wife has a saying, "go farther, stay longer, send more".

MattKing · Aug 31, 2011

I've had a couple of cameras that I've had physiological hang-ups with - I am extremely left handed, and a camera that requires dexterity and strength in one's right hand is just not suited to me.

My Koni-Omegas were that way - in particular the motion required for focussing.

I have a regular problem with the shutter releases on a lot of modern 35mm (and digital) cameras. Some make it easy to release the shutter with my left hand, but most don't.

In some cases, an accessory grip with a second release solves the problem - but unfortunately adds weight and bulk.

All of my remaining Mamiya medium format equipment works well, but I did have to adapt to the release on the C220 that I recently sold.

It may be that some of the psychological hang-ups referenced here have ergonomic or physiological roots.

Jeff Kubach · Sep 1, 2011

Lately I have been taken my RB67 with the 50, 90, 180 and two backs.

Jeff

moki · Sep 2, 2011

It happens all the time, especially when I go on vacation. Of course, I need to take a camera with me, but which one? There's one for versatility, one for great resolution, one for portability... in the end, I take all of them and use none

Christopher Walrath · Sep 2, 2011

I have a 60 year old Zeiss Ikon Contina RF that goes with me everywhere for those times when the spirit moves. Unless the vacation/trip is for a specific photographic intent, that's the camera that goes.

As far as hangups on a certain camera, I had this homemade monstrosity of a 4x5 and I would look at the thing and think to myself, 'is it really worth it?'. Nine times outta ten, it wasn't.

Katie · Sep 2, 2011

benjiboy said:
I've often wondered Mark if the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel would have ever been painted if Michelangelo would have had his wife and kids with him .

That would be a big fat NO! If I want to get anything done, I leave my HUSBAND and kids at home. He is literally the most impatient person EVER. He has pulled over with the family in tow for me to take a shot while driving and is literally sitting there waiting with the truck running ... which is how he seems most of the time. Waiting with his truck running. I took him to an art gallery this year in Houston and he actually slowed down and looked at a few things. It turns out he was trying to figure out why in the world a modern art piece of random found objects glued together would cost $10K. Hehe. Art with him IS pretty entertaining. I usually don't ask why, I just want what I want.

Original topic --
I usually ALWAYS have a 35mm camera with me. I seem to have developed the "I'll save the Hasselblad for important things" mindset lately, and when I finally do shoot with it, I realize that all my 35mm shots would probably have looked better on 120 film. I am kinda cheap, though, and the thought of 12 vs. 36 shots per roll makes me more of a 35mm shooter for casual shots.

flash26c · Sep 2, 2011

I'm always afraid I won't have the right gear with me to take that once in a life time photo. I haul a lot and use very little but, I'm prepared!!

markbarendt · Sep 2, 2011

flash26c said:
I'm always afraid I won't have the right gear with me to take that once in a life time photo. I haul a lot and use very little but, I'm prepared!!

Yeah, that.

Wade D · Sep 5, 2011

I usually take an SRT 201 with a 35mm f/1.8 lens wherever I go. On long trips it gets harder to choose. 6 Minolta bodies, 11 lenses, 120 folders both 6x6 & 6x9, 120 TLR and a Crown Graphic with all the trappings. What do I take or leave behind?

Laurent · Sep 5, 2011

That would be the Rolleiflex for me.

I usually find way too many reasons to leave the 4x5 at home, the Hasselblad with only the 80mm does not really add anything to my photography, and the EOS3 is heavier than the Flex. I like them all, but if I spend some time thinking, the it'll be the Rolleiflex again...

Wonder why I have created my own favourite images with it (or with the Yashica Mat I owned before) ? At 90%, I'd say it's because this is the camera I carry most of the time (including when commuting or travelling for business).

perkeleellinen · Sep 6, 2011

I sort of have this in reverse. My psychological hang-up is weight / bulk. The majority of photos I took last year (90%+) were with a Ricoh GR1s P&S, I had to make a real effort to drag out my SLR. In the end I had to get rid of the Ricoh so I would use my SLR more. The big issue for me was keeping the horizon straight, the tiny P&S viewfinder was useless for that. I still have weight / bulk issues and rarely leave the house with more than one lens which is invariably the 24mm. I suppose I'm doing the one camera one lens thing subconsciously.

Psychological hang-ups regarding cameras - anyone else?

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