Simpler Cameras

ColColt said:

...I remember the advent of transistor radio, color and solid state TV, the pill, panty hose and the demise of the drive-in theater ...

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The girls in my Jr. High in California wore nylons with garter belts (1964-1967). Not sure when pantyhose arrived.

Theo Sulphate said:

The girls in my Jr. High in California wore nylons with garter belts (1964-1967).

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Everyday I get a little more convinced that I was born at the wrong time, in the wrong place...

fdonadio said:

Everyday I get a little more convinced that I was born at the wrong time, in the wrong place...

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I don't think so - women of all ages everywhere are far more attractive these days. :-;

Theo Sulphate said:

I don't think so - women of all ages everywhere are far more attractive these days. :-;

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Theo Sulphate said:

I don't think so - women of all ages everywhere are far more attractive these days. :-;

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Maybe it's just a matter of taste or opinion. You lived it, so I won't disagree.

As I grow older (I was born in '77, so I am below the average here), I find older women more attractive.

One of these days, my wife warned me: "if you leave me for a 20 year old, you'll lose something!" I told her: "if I were to leave you, be assured it would be for a 50 year old!"

She has a good sense of humor...

I remember hot pants and film labs. What a combination!

blockend said:

...but unlike film there's little opportunity to get off the bus and stick with one camera.

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blockend said:

The underlying problem is that creativity has become the servant of technology, which may suit manufacturers and geeks, but does little to inspire confidence in anyone hoping to invest in a long term set up.

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ongakublue said:

I like this Very true.

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I used to think this too but I have a Nikon D200 that turns ten next month...

Been years since I bought a major upgrade to PS...

And I actually think that history demonstrates over and over that creativity isn't the slave but actually the master.

Take for example the early big leaps forward in photographic resolution with say the advent of wet plates. The resolution available was suddenly too damn good for portrait photographers. That darn new fangled high-res medium spawned the soft focus lens movement and photo retouching industry because the middle aged women of means who were driving the portrait market didn't necessarily want to show off their imperfections.

If you want the advantages of a breakthrough like wet plates or VC paper you might need to change something else in your process.

As a tech matures changes slow and the tools can become stable and usable for years.

The thing that does concern me regarding all this though is the move away from owning tech to subscribing to tech.

markbarendt said:

The thing that does concern me regarding all this though is the move away from owning tech to subscribing to tech.

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Absolutely. In the case of Lightroom, the digital post processing and editing program, it's become a subscription service locking the user in permanently! As I said earlier, printing digital photographs would remove much of the mystique behind pixel proliferation. On a screen 100% or 200% magnification is available at the touch of a button, showing any flaws, but who is going to regularly print at 60" x 40" and gain the benefit? There are already indications that sensors are out-resolving the lenses, making a mockery of the "glass lasts" rule, meaning lenses are as subject to the upgrading cycle as camera bodies.

For people interesting in image making, as opposed to the mainstream hobby of camera swapping and oneupmanship, this is all good news. We can pick up bodies that were cutting edge three years ago for a fraction of the price as the juggernaut rolls on, and lose nothing in image quality at any size we're likely to print. My manufacturer refurbished and warrantied Fuji X-Pro1 cost less than one-tenth of the new price at launch and will fulfil my digital aspirations until it dies.

blockend said:

People want to remember their youth. A 50cc sports moped from the mid-1970s can cost £5000, whereas a superbike from the same era can be had for a few hundred, in spite of costing five times the amount at the time. It's a desire to turn the clock back to a time when things were simpler and you didn't need 200 mph or 40 megapixels to be cutting edge.

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100% blockend; Wonder if I could find a purple 'Fizzy' for the price my 16th birthday present cost my parents; after a year of subtle and not-so-subtle hints my oldies presented me with a small box saying sorry it wasn't what I'd hoped for........ Inside however was the keys to a Yamaha FS-1E, and they had paid (I think) £159 from Comerfords in Thames Ditton; there was a little 'squadron' of us, all on fizzies and Suzuki AP-50's; you had to feel sorry for the poor guy whose parents bought him a Honda SS50, which being a 4-stroke was desperately slow compared with the 2-strokers.

And that sound when there was a few fizzies together; like angry wasps in a coke can!

They do go for mad money - I've just seen a 1300 miler on the bay of E for 4 grand!!!!!! And you are correct - my next bike was a Suzuki GT250, and there's a couple of minters for 2.5k......

I remember the 250 cost £549 new from West London Motorcycles in Acton.

You never forget your first bike/car/girlfriend/camera! It must be that first summer of adulthood when you finished school and started work; I've some very special memories of the summer of '75; they say that 1976 was the best summer in the UK on record, but 1975 was also pretty great too, managed to pass most of my exams, had a choice of jobs to choose from, AND managed to persuade (with the help of my mum and dad) my first girlfriends parents to let her join our family holiday in Split, Yugoslavia! RESULT! Strictly chaperoned by my mother of course; after all this was the 70's.......

Armed with my trusty Praktica LTL I must have gone through a dozen rolls of film - I wish I still had those photographs..... However; my dad was a cine freak - he always had been what today would be described as a tech-head - and had captured their honeymoon (Brussels, 1958), my early days, my kid brothers arrival, and all family holidays from the year dot until video arrived. Initially on regular silent 8mm and ultimately with a rather brilliant Bell & Howell Filmosonic Super 8 camera with sound which was amazing. It was this cine camera that came to Yugoslavia; many years later after dad had died, and mum was clearing the house pending moving, she came across a huge box of cine reels in the loft, which my bro and I went through systematically - they were all meticulously labelled (South of France, Summer 1962, Costa Brava August 1967 - you get the idea?), some film was a bit decayed, but the majority was ok and we had the best of it transferred to VHS - ostensibly for mum, but we also had a copy each - I've watched myself grow up from toddler through pre-teen, to rebellious spotty teenager. The last reel was dated 1979 and that would indicate the transition to video was about then.

It's a very eerie feeling seeing and hearing yourself and family 40 years younger; there's about 40 minutes of 'Split Yugoslavia, July 1975' and when my wife first watched it she laughed - apparently I still have no dress sense, still have a bad haircut (although much less these days, and it's grey) still got great taste in pretty blondes......... AND the girl always gets stuck with the camera bag.

Some things NEVER change.

On a lighter note...

The girls in my Jr. High in California wore nylons with garter belts (1964-1967). Not sure when pantyhose arrived.

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I can't recall either...maybe '68-'69. I was in high school 1961-1964 and don't remember them.

As I grow older (I was born in '77, so I am below the average here), I find older women more attractive.

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I never have found older gals more attractive. Even at near 70 now I still prefer those in their 20's and 30's. I sure don't lust after those in their 60's! A man's mind never gets past 25 or 30 despite his body and mug telling him he's not anymore. What hurts is those 30 year olds that use to smile at me don't eve look back anymore.

Technological charges can be good, up to a point. Who knows what lies down the road for film-if it's even here by the time your kids/grand kids become interested.

ColColt said:

I never have found older gals more attractive. Even at near 70 now I still prefer those in their 20's and 30's. I sure don't lust after those in their 60's!

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Maybe it's a local problem, but I don't think the girls in their 20's are "classy" enough. I think the "sweet spot" is in the 40's.

Just like cameras, I think...

ColColt said:

A man's mind never gets past 25 or 30 despite his body and mug telling him he's not anymore.

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That's the good part of the story. If it wasn't this way, most of us wouldn't be "playing" with cameras and dark rooms and the world would be a worse place.

Trabant Dave said:

...
we had the best of it transferred to VHS - ostensibly for mum, but we also had a copy each...

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Do you still have the 8mm film? I have about 25 (?) rolls of 8mm that I made as a kid from 1964-1971. My last (half finished from 1978) Kodachrome II roll is still in the camera... : -(

About 16 years ago I copied many of the rolls to Video 8mm, but the film is still perfect and will probably outlast the video tape.

I remember my first film camera, a new then Nikon FE. It took days for that grin to leave my face. I didn't get excited over the first digital I bought. I had to try one to see what all the hoopla was about...still ain't excited over them. The simplicity of older cameras will never be exceeded in todays cameras.

I get the "I don't know how to use that thing" when I show people things like the Mamiy RZ or Bronica SQ. I tell them. It's really easy, there are only three things you need to change. Focus, Shutter Speed, and Aperture. Of course, I get blank stares.

And that's such a shame. I talk about that to my kid brother and he knows what I'm talking about. His wife is a different story. They don't even know the basics.

My first camera was a black Nikon FM. I still have and use it today. How many cars, girlfriends, etc have we seen come and go. But the simplicity and sturdiness of that fully manual camera, is something to behold and enjoy. It just invites and dares you to "see and create..."

I am waiting for (pick a name) .....Monsanto to buy out Ilford for some reason (maybe for some chemical patent) and 6 months later one of their accountants will realize they can save more money by shutting down the business, than the business would net them over the next 10 years.
Oh Man...the digital people will have a filed day with THAT.
"OK you snobby film guys.....I'll give you 200 dollars for all your gear."

.......I do not own a digital camera, but I would imagine you can set the thing (a DSLR for example) to manual, and it would basically be about as simple as a circa 1975 film camera.?

CMoore said:

.......I do not own a digital camera, but I would imagine you can set the thing (a DSLR for example) to manual, and it would basically be about as simple as a circa 1975 film camera.?

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Pretty much. You'll be looking at an LCD and turning a thumb wheel, but the principle's the same.

CMoore said:

.......I do not own a digital camera, but I would imagine you can set the thing (a DSLR for example) to manual, and it would basically be about as simple as a circa 1975 film camera.?

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Well, on the Fuji X-Pro1 it's very simple; the controls are traditional. Choose from:

1. Fully manual: set aperture ring on lens, set shutter speed on body - same as a Leica
2. Aperture priority: set aperture on lens, set shutter speed dial to A
3. Shutter priority: set aperture ring to A, set shutter speed on dial
4. Fully auto: set aperture to ring to A, set shutter speed dial to A

That's simpler and more elegant than on the Nikon FA, F4, or Canon F-1N. The traditional controls are why I bought it. Well, that and the customizable hybrid viewfinder.

Theo Sulphate said:

That's simpler and more elegant than on the Nikon FA, F4, or Canon F-1N. The traditional controls are why I bought it. Well, that and the customizable hybrid viewfinder.

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Sure? Besides the obvious fact the F-1N doesn't have a program mode, I find using it in aperture or shutter priority very simple.

CMoore said:

"OK you snobby film guys.....I'll give you 200 dollars for all your gear."

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How times change. Now it's snobby, it used to be pity from D2X owners bragging about their pixels. Everyone is buying their old vinyl back, too.

blockend said:

How times change. Now it's snobby, it used to be pity from D2X owners bragging about their pixels. Everyone is buying their old vinyl back, too.

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Oh Man...this thread could go on forever.
I have about 400-500 records. Mostly of the "classic" Blues/Rock genre. About 5 years ago, I had considered selling them and replacing with CD's, but most are not worth too much money...better to keep them and I am glad I did.
Anyway.....I raised this topic on one of the guitar amp forums I belong to. I was Very Surprised when several of the members responded with.....CD's...!!??. Who buys a CD anymore. That is obsolete technology.!
Good Heavens...CD's are now (5 years ago mind) obsolete.?
I suppose I am turning into my Father. No wonder he was so happy as he got older. He was ALMOST oblivious to all the new electronic gadgets and technology. He was very happy with vinyl records, 25" tube television, percolator coffee pot, rear wheel drive cars, and I imagine.....the missionary position.
I guess ignorance is bliss

cuthbert said:

Sure? Besides the obvious fact the F-1N doesn't have a program mode, I find using it in aperture or shutter priority very simple.

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The reason for me is that in order to get all that with the F-1N you have to have both the AE prism and the winder. In use, yes, it's fairly easy.

CMoore said:

... percolator coffee pot...

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Because my grandmother used one, I deliberately sought out and bought a percolator coffee pot. It is my only coffee pot. There's something soothing about the sound, the percolating in the glass, and the coffee smell.

CMoore said:

Oh Man...this thread could go on forever.
I have about 400-500 records. Mostly of the "classic" Blues/Rock genre. About 5 years ago, I had considered selling them and replacing with CD's, but most are not worth too much money...better to keep them and I am glad I did.
Anyway.....I raised this topic on one of the guitar amp forums I belong to. I was Very Surprised when several of the members responded with.....CD's...!!??. Who buys a CD anymore. That is obsolete technology.!
Good Heavens...CD's are now (5 years ago mind) obsolete.?
I suppose I am turning into my Father. No wonder he was so happy as he got older. He was ALMOST oblivious to all the new electronic gadgets and technology. He was very happy with vinyl records, 25" tube television, percolator coffee pot, rear wheel drive cars, and I imagine.....the missionary position.
I guess ignorance is bliss

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I'll take an old VOX tube amp any day