The Most Important Ability A Camera Should Have
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
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The one thing I love about photography is that the less you have the more you think! It’s the person behind the camera that takes the picture! The camera that puts a smile in my face and gives my hands a feel good vibe is my Fuji X100. Great video! Thanks!
Well said sir! And you’re not the only one judging by the enormous demand for the new Fuji X100VI. My pre-order is in. I was wondering what Alex would think of the X100 cameras. I’m hoping to really enjoy mine too.
Dear Alex. Yes! Finally someone said it out loud - you need a camera that makes you smile. I totally agree! For me it's my Yashica 12 and my Rolleicord III (I love TLR's). Every week I just wait for my free time to use it again. When it's on the shelf I like to look at it. Sometimes I just take it for a second in my hands to hold it for a moment or to look through the WLF. I really hope that you will find a camera that will make you want to use it with a smile. All the best!
When I'm between rolls I hold my Canon F1 and just fidget with it. The all mechanical sounds are wonderful and the feel of just holding it makes me want to go out and use it.
Out of all my film cameras, my Yashica-12 might be my sharpest 3.5 lens. I love that TLR
Years ago I had a cheaper Chinese twin lens reflex and I absolutely loved taking photos with it. It was so basic and yet so cool. Today I have a Nikon D810 which has been out for years but the quality of this camera, the feel of it, make me love holding and using it. I bought it new, 4 years ago and still love it. Thanks Alex.
Agree! I bought my D810 new when it was first introduced in 2013. Eleven years later, I still love the gorgeous images it produces and I have no desire to replace it anytime soon.
@@n1k1georgeVery Cool. I just watched a video where Steve McCurry used an 810. It's funny that it's not so popular. All the best.
I regret selling my nikon 810😢
I had one of those, a Seagull TLR, it cost me £22 used, a year after my first SLR, a new Pentax ME Super that cost £125 but the image quality of the medium format over 35mm, was leagues ahead and I never looked back.
Best Gear Review I've seen yet.
(After a few hundred reviews I've recently seen, oriented around vintage digital. (Nikon d200, 300, D3, 700, etc.)
I have a d300 that I have lived a LOT of life behind. Getting back into photography for the joy, after 6 years out of it, I considered buying new gear (more mega's), mainly to run 2 bodies, one for my Nikon Glass, and one to run all of my Takumars from back in the day before I finally went digital.
After weeks of agony, I bought another D300, which I already have ....
Because it makes me want to go take pictures.
I walked into ‘Arthur’s Photography, Belfast’ in 1981 and bought my first slr. He sold me a Pentax K1000 and replaced the kit lens with a 40mm prime. Naturally over the years I wanted more, bigger and better but the truth is that the best camera I ever owned was that one.
I recently bought the Canon AE-1 Program with couple of lenses all for under $200; and I couldn't agree more with you; the way it feels in my hand, and how it makes me want to pick it up and go shoot photos is just incredible for me. I really do not get that feeling with my amazingly beautiful high-end camera. I thought I was crazy until I saw this video. I AM NOT ALONE! ;)
35mm ?
Since I started to get into photography, I am using Fujifilm cameras. I have to thank the seller in our local store, who recommended me that system. I am still using Fujifilm cameras without exception and always enjoy going out with my gear. Sure there might be more capable cameras for certain situations, but I never came back from a trip or shooting disappointed about missed opportunities due to my gear. I now spend every free minute with photography and own a couple of bodies, even a medium format GFX 50R. But I also still have my first X-E1 here.
My first camera was an A1 as well (when I was in the Navy in 1981). And it was stolen a few years later as well :(. After shooting with Canon for decades, I bought a Leica Q2 last year. This camera is the best thing that’s ever been put into my hands. I’ve never looked back and have never been happier. For me and my street photography, it’s all I e ever needed or wanted.
I can't afford leica
It's interesting timing for this video. I've seen a couple of similar videos in the past couple of days about the non technical aspects of camera gear.
For me the digital camera that suits the way I work and I just want to hold off the Olympus E-M1 mk ii. I've recently got a Yashica 635 that I'm film testing. I enjoy the experience of the waist viewfinder and different way of working.
I think that cameras (like cars) have a specific way they like to be used. It's just finding the 1 that works your way, does the job you want and feels good.
@@d.k.1394 I can't afford a Sony A1 or Canon R5. They are almost as expensive as a Leica M. But.... a used Leica Q or M is actually ok. A used Q is right now cheaper than the new Fuji x100vi. So its a matter of choice.
The good thing with used Leica, is that they hold their value so much better than a new Sony, Canon or Nikon. I bought a used Leica M 50mm Summicron a year ago. They are still selling to that price. I sold some Fuji lenses. They sold to half the price compared to they price I bought them for. a couple of years ago.. Go figure...
@@andystiller3793I sold the em1ii for the Canon r6. It never puts a smile on my face like the Olympus.
Agree so much, I love shooting with my 62 year old Hasselblad SWC and my Canon F1, both clunky cameras that make a lot of noise. I have a smile on my face when I use them. Love your analogy to cars 😀
It's very reassuring to find people who think alike. I myself regret selling my Sony a37, which is very far from today's standards, but I liked it. I happen to be a moderator in a Facebook photography group, so when someone asks, "what camera should I buy?", I tell them "the one that feels right in your hands".
The instant I held the Leica M6 back in 1987, and the Mamiya 6 in 1990, I knew those were the cameras for me at that time.
I currently shoot with a Canon 5D SR, because I project my images at 6’ x 8’ and the 50 MP sensor allows me to do that. I don’t see myself buying another dSLR ever again, unless this one breaks or gets stolen.
But… the camera I got on a whim about 4 months ago, the Polaroid I-2, is the one that gets me excited to work with. Not so much because of the camera’s features or ergonomics, but because of the images it makes!
That’s where the excitement, the quickening heart rate, the anticipation, the sense of wonder comes into play for me: the photographs I’m getting.
They are unlike anything I’ve ever gotten from any camera I’ve ever used (and I had a SX-70 back in the early 80s). Regardless of make, or format, all the different cameras I’ve used over the past half century created variations of a theme: high image quality that faithfully record the world in front of my camera.
I wanted something different. And boy does this camera deliver that! It was the only camera I took on my recent trip to Japan. The photographs I took with it are not at all what my dSLR would have given me.
So, yes, that is an essential quality - use what gets you up and out, making photographs!
Ive owned a lot of cameras over the last 5 decades, from large format, medium formats, film and digital, but for the four digital cameras I currently own, its my old Fuji XPro1 that gives me pleasure whenever I pick it up. Good video today, thank you
Same here. My X-Pro1just feels great to use, even compared to newer, much more expensive options.
My favourite camera of all time was the Olympus E-1, the DLSR. Great to hold in my hands, feels very reassuring, good ergonomics.
In the seventies, thats when I started photography, it was the competition between Nikon and Canon. It took me literally ages to understand, that a film camera is only a black box and picture quality depends on the lens and the film only. And as today, the picture was finalized in the development process. Its almost never depending on the black box itself (technical problems aside) which is just letting the light fall on the film for a defined time. Tools must fit into your hands, they must do the job, they should be fun to use. The rest is personal choice😊
Every time I get my old MX and old box cameras down from the shelf I smile , can I afford film and developing if I could I’d smile more 😊. Thanks for the take on this aspect we all forget ,picture taking should be fun
Yesterday, I just took out my Canon FT from high school, cleaned it up, put new batteries in, and some color print film. It was so fun to take a couple pictures, but I am being more careful with my selections.
My favorite camera. It's got simple controls without being overly complicated. I've put hundreds of rolls through mine.
Here's a strange and surprising thing that has happened to me. For Christmas, my son gave me a Camp Snap digital camera. If you're not familiar with it, it's an EXTREMELY limited camera. Two buttons, no screen, absolutely no control over exposure, aperture or shutter speed, not a great dynamic range. It has a most satisfying "click" when the shutter is released. But I have had the most fun keeping it with me wherever I go and freely shooting for the absolute FUN of shooting. It reminds me of when I first got interested in photography and just shot everything everywhere for the joy of shooting. When converted to B&W, the images can be quite striking and exciting to look at. These will be my next book project. I have been a long time film photographer, primarily B&W film, for over 60 years. And this camera reconnects me to those early days.
I sold my old Nikon D7000, because I didn't enjoy photographing with it anymore. I now have a Fuji X-T5 with those glorious SLR dials and lenses with aperture rings and now I enjoy photographing again!
Alex, great video and I loved the car analogy. Another valid comparison, at least to me, is audio equipment. Many people think the most important aspect of the equipment is the specifications while others point out the specs don’t necessarily tell you if something sounds good. Similarly the music source is debated and many love albums because they think the analog sound is more pleasing as well as the tactile experience. So, those emotional responses are true in many of our hobbies.
BTW, I own a 2023 Camaro SS convertible and it does put a smile on my face!
I have changed from full frame nikon to fujifilm crop . I did not gel with the nikon , and i am happy with the fujifilm now. I really like your vlogs😊
So much of what you say in this video resonates with me Alex. I have the Canon A-1 and I cannot quite bring myself to sell it because of what you describe here. It just feels good. This is also the reason why I enjoy shooting my D500 over my Z6II - because of that "mechanicalness" you describe. It feels like a precision mechanism that is gratifying to operate. This is way my Olympus M-1 (not OM-1) feels - like a jeweled mechanism. I could go on to compare and comment on other cameras I have but I won't bore you. I have to say that your reference to the BMW resonates with me too. My first one was an E39 manual transmission car that just transported me to another realm while behind the wheel. Failed miserably at trying to explain this to my wife since to her these are all just tools to get from point "A" to "B" (her words, not mine). For her it is a chore, for me (with the 525) it was a joy. No other vehicle (other than another E39) makes me feel this way. Yours is the first video that I have seen commenting on this. I see from some comments below that it strikes a cord with many. The fact that you touch on areas and topics like this that others do not is why I will subscribe as soon as I complete this comment!
To some degree, this seems a function of age. I have not felt excited by a car since my 1983 Z28. Also, I keep thinking I’d like to buy back the 1960 Austin Healey I had in college - but not enough to actually do so.
Spot on. I started taking photography more seriously 10 years ago, when I dug up an old Olympus Trip 35 and from the first roll I was hooked. I quicky "upgraded" to a Canon FT QL SLR and many other film cameras since. Eventually, I thought that I needed a modern Sony, but never got on well with it. There was nothing wrong with the camera, but I just didn't like it. After it broke, I never replaced it and have only got film cameras now. Even printing was converted to a dark room. However, it's not just digital vs film as there are film cameras which I don't like that much. I've got some of the last film cameras from the early 2000's and don't really like them much. It's all about what you enjoy and gets you excited about taking photos.
Surely this is pure nostalgia taking hold here? I remember being a teenager and buying books or records and the sheer excitement that brought. The excitement of paying £25 for a Thomas Joshua Cooper book, I'd never spent that much on a book before and the joy in looking at the images but no longer. I enjoy reading, I enjoy music I still buy photography books but I no longer get the same fission of excitement. And the same surely applies to the first cameras we ever used?
The most important attachment for a camera is the photographer. ;-) There is something to be said about being excited by equipment. If you feel joy and satisfaction from using a piece of equipment then that equipment is likely to get used. Personally, I like variety. I like digital cameras and film cameras, but not just any camera. I like medium format TLR cameras. The feel of winding the film and the sound of the shutter. The look of the waist level finder. All very nice. I like 35mm SLR cameras that are capable. So Nikon f100, f4, f5. Canon 1N HS. I can use lens stabilization. I can auto-focus. Or I can tell the camera to do exactly what I want it to do. I have big hands and for whatever reason I feel much more comfortable with a battery grip. I also like Nikon and Canon full frame cameras (all with battery grips). I have Nikon d800e and D610, Canon 5D Mark II (regular and infra-red) and Canon 5Ds. I have no current desire for a mirrorless camera. Maybe some day in the future. I like special lenses. Vintage lenses, new lenses, telephoto lenses, portrait lenses. I like funny/unusual film like Lomo Purple, Ilford Delta 3200 and Adox II along with the more standard fare. I guess the bottom line is that I want to have fun when I am photographing. After a few years of experimenting to find out what I like, now I know. All that having been said, I think that equipment is the least important thing in photography. The most important thing is the light, and the eye of the photographer.
Thanks for the video, Alex! My first decent camera was an Olympus OM-1 that I got in 1977, used, when I was 16. I loved that car=mera but gave it to a charity shop about 10 or 15 years ago, when I went digital with a D40 and now a used D700. But now, I'm thinking of dabbling in 35mm film again and I absolutely kick myself for ever giving away that beautiful OM-1. I could operate the controls instinctively and felt it was a little jewel. I love my D700, but it doesn't bring me the same level of joy the OM-1 did. Cheers!
I am I Nikon shooter and have had 8-9 digital bodies over the last 11 or so years, but the one film camera was an ae1 program found in a relatives basement. Shot my first roll of film on it. Learned a lot about photography in general. I bought a zf but I would absolutely buy a canon digital ae 1 retro camera in a heart beat as well
Shot my first wedding on a Minolta Autocord..always my “ go to” two and a quarter square with the lovely slide focus on the front and a joy to use.
Hi Alex, for me it's lenses that make me excited to take pictures rather than cameras.
1:30 „I don't really talk about equipment too much…” - and that's why I watch your channel. For example: one can find a whole lot of videos „why Panasonic Lumix GX9 is your best next camera” (a recollection of some campaign paid by Panasonic some 5 years ago?) - and indeed it is very fine camera, but how many times we'll be persuaded about this? Once-twice is enough, no need for more!
I think there's more to this than ever mentioned.
As humans we developed the ability to manipulate materials using our opposable thumb, amongst other things: we grasped things, we held things, we turned things.
For older cameras (being largely mechanical) this was the only choice, and rightly so. We twisted the film speed knob, we turned the aperture ring, we turned the shutter speed ring (both of which were on the front, either on the lens or around the mount.
We pushed the shutter released with a satisfying pressure feedback and sound.
We cocked the lever to advance the film...and so on.
Now it's all poking with a finger or sliding across a screen. this is about design principles and camera manufacturers have (with the exception of the Fujifilm X-T series) have lost the plot.
Of course it is not just cameras: it's way more satisfying to turn an audio volume knob then poke a stepped volume button.
Most cameras are not 'fun' or satisfying to use as they break fundamental rules of human design.
Excellent, excellent video. My camera has to make it a pleasure to take pictures. I have to feel a connection with my camera. It needs to be a partner with me not something that gets in the way. It is an important observation. It’s an observation that counters the often repeated fact that “the camera doesn’t matter”. If considering technical spec then no, the camera doesn’t matter. But how the camera fits your personal style, your methods, your emotional response…..then it does matter.
My Nikon collection is my film nostalgia. When I get tired of pure digital, I reach for one and go out with a few rolls of film and remember my first years with an SLR. It's all subjective.
This is very odd, as a coincidence. Back in the day a group of friends I used to hang with were into photography in a big way, and after months of pontificating I went for the Canon A1 too. I used that beautiful thing for many years until I sold it. There was a good 15-20 year gap in my interest and the Canon lay idle for months, years at a time, until the kids got older and I had more time. I revisited photography and it was a horror show. Software editing, raw files, and camera settings drove me crazy but I followed the Nikon path. I had 4 different APS-C models, the D5100 being my favourite of them all, and later, I sold my D5500 to dip my toe into full frame. The D810 was a camera that finally made my heart sing again. It was like revisiting my A1 days all over again. By now I had become proficient in post processing and had a very good grasp of everything, the timing was great, and I love that camera. Then the D850 came out. I live in a rural spot so trying cameras out is well nigh impossible, unlike a big city like London or Birmingham etc. I did manage to try one breifly, and decided to make the change. Its been 3 joyous years with the D850 and, I have looked at the mirrorless range, but they just leave me cold. I have no doubts that the amazing images I have managed to nail on the D850 are for the very reason I stopped considering any more upgrades. This one is the one they'll be prising out of my cold, still hands when I expire one day. If I had stuck with the D810 the same thing could be said, it, too, is a marvellous camera and the resolution on both is more than most of us would need. How odd we both started on the A1. I thought i would never find another camera that made me feel like that did, but after many many years, I found two that do. Great idea for the blog, really enjoyed it, thanks.
Great video Alex, I know exactly where you are coming from, I only bought my first camera in July last year. It was a Canon 1300D, I upgraded that to a 70D in January, and now I know more about photography. However, I've always wanted an analogue camera, I now have a few including a A1, EF & AV1 but I get more pleasure from my EF than anything and when it stops working I can use it for hammering nails into walls. it's built like a tank and nearly as heavy, but I don't see any sign of it stopping working, I've dropped it once and it works fine. I could not imagine dropping my 70d and it not falling to bits.
As some here say, a camera changes the way I photograph. I work differently with an optical view finder as opposed to an electronic one, to a screen, to a display, to a 6x6 cube. Also the max aperture, the max ISO, the size of the cam, the weight, interchangeable lenses - they all influence the pic I take. Walter Schels, I believe, had more than 100 cameras... it's not if it makes you smile but if it inspires 😎
It's how i feel about books vs ebooks, nothing can replace that old tattered smell of a used book...the feel of the rough paper between your fingers, the knowing feeling of seeing an old book that youve read over and over again...the stains, the folded corners. Technology offers us ease of use but no passion, everything feels cold and easy...convenience...but soul less.
Interesting discussion. When I got my MX it was a camera that I had been dreaming about. I read brochures and reviews and played with them on shop counters. When I passed my exams, my dad bought me one and it came with its 50mm f1.7 and I was off. It became something I carried all day and I enjoyed. I discovered Pentax Spotmatics and they had a magic and m42 Takumars were cheap and made great images. The Spotmatics have a feel and a sound and are really zen like photographers cameras. They made me want to take pictures and immersed me in the craft. The Pentax bodies were great in the field and in the studio. I discovered Pentax SVs and these were cool. I made exhibition prints and exhibited work I produced with them. They felt good and the controls were in the right positions. I could operate them without looking. New cameras are less friendly and you have to come to them on their terms. I don’t pick one up and wander about collecting images. I need a reason to pick one up and, I end up being purposeful and then I put it down. It demands charging and negotiating menus and thoughts about whether what I shot is good enough. I can make great images with it but the personal connection is less.
Pentax rivals the Nikon F4 for reliability. SMC focal lengths are affordable & diverse.
It's a relationship, like a friendship. A camera has to 'share' your interests, passions and feelings and reflect them back to you in image form. It's a chemistry of ergonomics, reliability, durability, subtleties in technical elements. Lens combinations do play a part in that. I spend months researching new cameras exactly because I know how important it is to get that right. I have a new camera at the moment which I'm just not jelling with and it's reflected in the images. It's only a minor upgrade but, something is not right. I will persevere because sometimes it is just getting to know a new tool. It is similar to a hand made black and white print you have made vs a digital print, in the former you put in energy and time and there is a tangible energy difference between the two even though visually at a distance they are almost identical to look at.
Getting the best deals and getting a camera that I like is why I have the Canon SL2, a EOS-M and the M6 mark II. I overcame my need for expensive cameras. I learned to get a lens system. Mainly Canon EF lenses. Canon has left me behind but MPB makes me happy.
I definitely feel both sides of this. I have held on to my Nikon D5600 DSLR despite the introduction of mirrorless technology. Partially because I don't have the money to upgrade, but also because before I invest in a camera system and lenses I want to have them in my hands and see if they feel right. I'm afraid if I just order one from the internet that I won't spark that joy that my D5600 does. I love the way it feels in my hand on a photo walk.
I also appreciate the flip side of the argument though. I've definitely felt the urge while in a rut to buy a new mirrorless camera and try to jump start my photography again. Not that new gear would instantly make me the perfect photographer or anything of the sort. But there is something to be said about being excited to play with your new toys!
This is spot-on! I got my start as a kid with an old Minolta Super 'A' that my dad handed down (unless you count an old Brownie box camera that my mom had) which I had packed away with slides, negatives and old contact sheets until losing everything in a fire over a decade ago. I recall well spending hours loading film on racks for processing when he opened up a photo lab in the early 80s (funny how one remembers the smells of film canisters and chemicals) before he moved on to becoming an accomplished professional photographer. Now my perceptions have changed, for even when I buy a new body or lens, I might get excited briefly, but they've become tools and a means to an end. It really IS about getting out and shooting, for when I buy the gear, it's not for pixel peeping or "wow-value" (I shoot Olympus, just as my dad did for years, and chuckle when I see the "mine's bigger than yours" arguments at times lol), it's about being creative. Do I neeeeed an old 911 to go shoot my landscapes and wildlife in the middle of nowhere in western North Dakota or eastern Montana? Probably not (though it would be fun! lol)... My old GMC is probably the more logical choice. :) Thanks for sharing the creative philosophy that exists once one gets beyond the gear comparison and actually gets out to shoot what they envision.
Hi Alex, For me, the enjoyment of actually taking photos emanates from the analog controls and having to think about and adjust the settings to try to capture the desired result. Manual focus is more satisfying than auto-focus. A tripod helps me slow down and gives me time to think. I don’t want to take snaps and super sharp images will never be a Monet. Fujifilm’s X-T & X100 series have been a winner for me. Thanks for a lovely coffee-break type ‘chat’ video.
Totally agree, I shoot with 12 year old Fujifilm A1 and a cheap 7artisans 35mm 1.4 and Im happy as I can be :)
"A camera arms race," yesssss! Gear envy is real, man. There's the full-frame crowd and their whole "full-frame is better than crop if you're a REAL pro" trope that messes with me. And don't get me started on my conundrum over all the great, lightweight, high ISO-shooting mirrorless gear taking over the market, urrrgh. I'd love to hear a follow-up video specifically for when you are ready to upgrade your camera body. I'm shooting with an old Canon EOS Rebel SL1 crop sensor camera, and I can get some great images on it (due to my investment in lenses, but I'm sure if I bothered practicing with the kit lens I'd get some there too). I have a definite preference for low light and nighttime photography, so fast glass is essential for me. I find myself getting frustrated with the lack of wifi on this camera because it makes it harder to transfer images, but most of all the non-tilting LCD screen and the 9 autofocus points get to me. Otherwise, the camera's functions serves me fine. I've now dropped a bundle on not one, but two Sigma Art series f/1.4 prime lenses, some fun Lensbaby fx, and traded my Canon 18-35mm kit lens for the slightly better 18-135mm superzoom. I also have the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. Is it time to swap out the body? I'd have to sell off lenses to do it right now.
With quality glass I can take the same stunning picture whether it’s my first camera a Pentax K1000 or my Nikon D70 or my Nikon D3X or D3S. Photography is and always will be defined by the skill and creativity of the photographer behind the lens. You can have the newest 400mp camera and if you don’t have the skills or the eye for creativity you’re going to take crummy photos no matter what kit you have. I love the feel and function of all my cameras and I only purchase new ones after feeling and using one first to make sure it feels right.
Spot-on! I'm a person who rarely has the chance to pick up cameras in person, while getting all my info (and excitement) from the web and its data hype. How many times have I finally gotten into a store to handle my dream choice only to say, "Meh." There's no knowing what machine will click for you until you pick it up in person.
I know how you feel about that older car, I bought an old pickup truck 1971 GMC. I love it and although it's not like the new ones at all, I love my old pickup truck. I just feel good in it.
Camera wise I have always used Nikon cameras. I was using a D5200 but my friend moved onto Mirrorless and had a D7100 for sale so I bought it. I like both so I will keep them. Shooting mostly with the D7100 and getting great shots, So much of this older gear is at a low price and I'm loving it, buying lenses at half the cost for them because they are used. Enjoyed your video again, thanks!
Perhaps it's a function of aging and getting nostalgic about the good ol' days. Don't get me wrong - I'm in my mid-60s and I feel the same way. I still have my Canon AE-1 Program and it's currently sitting a few feet away with an FD 50mm 1:1.4 lens attached. Boy, those days were the best! But were they? Memory has a way of emphasising the good times and forgetting about the shitty things that happened and what you'd do differently if you only had a way of reliving it all over. I often get tearful watching old archival films about where I grew up and what it was like in the 60s and 70s, about old cars and motorcycles from that era and thinking about how my life would be different if I only knew what I should have done. Probably the best way to deal with these feelings is to realise just how lucky you are to have been born at all and that it's actually a beautiful world that you should be embracing. Make the most of what time you have left.
For me, it isn't how a camera let's me feel, it's how it allows me to be. The reality is that the features in the camera move me to bring those features forward creating an image I might not have without that particular feature. For the first time I have been using in camera HDR in the rainy old growth forests of British Columbia. Or, using Velvia sim produces a vibrant JPEG. Film sim bracketing challenges me to experiment. Active tracking encourages and informs my bird photographs, high ISO improves night time drama in street photography. Having a camera simple, light, small physical footprint, fixed lens, encourages me to a quicker "vision to image" with street photography. For me it isn't the feeling but the chase, the convoluted experimentation, the unlocking of a feature in my photographic skills vocabulary that brings a camera to life for me. Some have felt like an old friend, others have been a struggle and others I've been slow to warm up to but all have brought their own unique vision.
A learning experience for me was when I changed camera brands! I am happy, but realised that this is a tool for expressing my vision. After 20 Years being loyal to one brand, I realised that it is a tool and the image is what is important and the process of making a photo! Thanks for this video Alex!
Good points! My R3 makes me smile, probably because I'm such a geek and love the technology side of it. The car analogy is good, some will like a Mini, others a Ferrari, others a Bentley. If you put 5000 people in a room and asked them what car makes them happy, it would be a huge range of cars, some old, some new, some fast, some luxurious, some classic, some out there. Camera's in general have lost their personality and become very clinical, possibly because the designs are being developed more by technology people that are used to designing laptops or mobile phones, but there are some retro designs around like the Olympus and Hasselblad that have a bit more personality.
I like to use my worn-out Canon EOS Rebel T3. it's the 1st camera I paid for, I bought it from another college student who realized they didn't like photography it had less than 1000 photos taken, and sitting here with it now it's at 73,268 shutter count its not used for wildlife anymore but when I do street photography or anything that won't be cropped I like to bring it out, its 12mp and most smartphones today take just as good if not better photos then it if you go around the 24mm focal length.
I know what mean, I went professional, Canon F1, in 1971, just after it was released, I had an A1, the wife had an AE1, I loved the T90 because of the feel, and sound. I will admit, as someone who used medium format on weddings I tried, once, to do a motorsport event with a Mamiya C330f with a waist level viewfinder. I use an R5, but recently picked up a mint 5DsR. Using it with a Sigma 150-600 and 1.4x is brilliant, when I look at the images I feel good. A camera should be an extension to your body, you produce images almost without knowing it is there. It shouldn't matter what it is, as long as you feel it. There isn't such a thing as the best camera, only the best for you, technically you probably could not put a cigarette paper between most of them. Good video, your voice has a reassuring quality. I do feel a little jealous sometimes, my latest wildlife video so far has less than 30 views!
Yes I think I know what you are trying to say. As I am in the digital world an in awe of their capability I still think of the first good camera I owned. It was a MINOLTA SRT101. It opened the whole world of photography to me. Remembering the feel and glee makes me happy!
The struggle is real for so many artist. What kind of photographer am I? So many choices. One month I'm a fitness photographer, next month it might be fashion, the next it might be fine art and on it goes. The same with my cameras. Canon 5D MKIV, Sony A7, Mimiya RZ67, Leica M3, Leica M6, NikonF3, Rollieflex 2.8. Trying to decide between digital or film. The truth is at one point or another I love them all. I can't seem to settle with one camera or one style of photography. That may be the reason I've never experienced much success in photography as a career. In the book, The War of Art, Steven Pressfield writes "Its more about the act of doing it, than the result you are getting from it" more or less. It tells me, I'm a photographer, and I must take photos. It doesn't matter of what, or with what ultimately. That need to have a camera in my hands is real. True photographers will understand. Sorry for the long comment :). I love your channel.
Hi Alex, thank you for bringing this topic to the fore, 26 years ago I started with the famed canon A1, yes it did make me smile and with it I became a prolific photographer, snapping everything in sight, it cost me an arm and a leg in film and processing costs, but I had a lot of fun learning about photography. A few years later I got caught up in the digital age, and the ensuing "Camera arms race" and went through digital cameras like they were going to go out of fashion, always looking for the camera or lens that was going to make me a 'better photographer', well, that didn't work. 18 months ago I sold all my camera gear and decided I was going to re-learn photography and bought myself a Nikon D300, this camera has made me realise just how lazy and spoilt I had become from using digital cameras with all the bells n whistles. The Nikon D300 is a 12mp beast (with attitude) in my book. At first, it scared the beejeezus out of me, but it also forced me to 'think' about the technical approach to photography again, in much the same way that my Canon A1 did. Now I smile, and once again I am enjoying photography.
Alex,
What a great video! Finally,… someone has the balls to tell it like it should be. Photography, and capturing images should not be drudgery.
The camera(s) that got me really excited about photography turned out to be the first Fuji X100 (and I’ve owned every iteration since then). I loved to hold it, look through the viewfinder, and find and create images. I nearly wore the damn thing out. And then I purchased the next X100 series model and the excitement continued.
I love its apparent simplicity, as I do not have to worry about carrying lenses, choosing a focal length, and wasting time NOT capturing images.
Keep up the great work.
Cheers!
Perceived quality is very much about materials, haptics, sounds/noises, vibrations, designer’s attention to details. That‘s why some products from yesterday seem to be far superior to today‘s products. Electronics eliminate a larger part of it (no noise, no vibration) and the obvious differences between high quality products and low quality products become less.
I personally like products with very high quality. That‘s why my last acquisitions were a Hasselblad 503, some Nikomat bodies and several Leicaflex cameras. For me, they are much more appealing than the latest digital cameras.
My first "real" camera was a Zenit 12XP and I hear many people say here that's not a real camera. But I bought it soon after my elder daughter was born and I still have it now and when I pick it up it makes me think of the moments I caught with it through my young adulthood 30 or more years ago. Holidays, climbing events, family gatherings all with that cheap SLR and two lenses. I had it CLA'd once which was not that expensive and it works fine and I know I need to shoot it more again but it's a heavy beast so I find more often than not an excuse to grap a different camera. But I agree you need a connection with your gear you need to become a unit and if you pick it up after years that je-ne-sais-quoi is still there and wants you to shoot, just shoot and shoot.
Thanks for another great insight and maybe my avatar puts a smile on someone's face whose camera does not 😇
Analog cameras & lenses have a distinct personality. Pentax MX, LX + SMC 40mm, 50mm, 135mm, 200mm. Hasselblad 503CX+ Carl Zeiss CF 50mm, 80mm & 150mm.
fuji gs645... I love this camera
A camera has to feel good in the hand. When people ask what camera to buy I always suggest they go to the camera store, it has to feel right. You only know that when it’s in hand. It needs to feel natural.
Yes! A good camera feels like a good pen. You just want to use it.
In my years as an amateur I tried a few cameras and I have to say this: I mainly use an x-t30 because it's a swiss army knife: for my video work, for street, for aviation, and it's also good looking, and it's impossible to mess up a shot with it. But it took me so long to get used to it and I don't care about it. Before Fuji I had a d3200 which introduced me to the technicalities of photography, and I sold it because of many issues by I loved it so much, it was really like driving a reliable car. Then recently, after I gave my film camera to a friend because I can't afford film😢, I decided to get a photo-only dslr, with no fuss, and I went for a d200. Now I know what mattered for me, the optical viewfinder, the simplicity and straightforwardness of photography with no distractions, so that I can focus back on it! Even with some point and shoot cameras I get the same feeling: no fuss, you're free to make mistakes and enjoy yourself.
I agree to a point but for me the excitement is in the finding, taking, reviewing and editing of the image. I had only been used to a Canon in the DSLR category so recently bought a newer one of the same style. It works and doesn't feel like a hindrance, it's lighter and technically better, and so on. I'm excited because of what it allows me to do, not because of what it is in itself. Maybe that puts me in the minority, I don't know. It's not a particularly beautiful camera, but then it doesn't need to me for me. It doesn't look bad, it's compact, and each time I use it, it feels more intuitive.
I shot a Sony a6000 for a couple years and always loved it but was looking to spice things up so I got a D800 and I couldn’t stand how big it was! I returned it and got a little Olympus and that was great for a time but I could never get over the image quality. I’m a proud pixel peeper.
So now I’m jumping back to the D800 and I can have enough fun with it until I can afford mirrorless FF or maybe medium format! I’m excited for the future.
I love my Mamiya 6x6 waste finder view. Its awesome but very heavy was made before plastic cameras came out.
Being a short bloke with small hands, it seems to me that most cameras have their controls in the wrong place! Compounding this, I don't take photos of people or do street photography. I'm more likely to be found laying on the ground getting shots of insects and small plants, although as I get old I get asked by strangers if I'm OK and need a helping hand. And in reality I'm not far off that. My Olympus EM5III fits my hand best, but of course I read that OM System are on the decline so I suppose my photos will get worse from year to year. But I still get excited as the seasons change and I find time to go out and record all of this.
I have large hands and my Canon R3 feels so good in my hand, dial/button placement is perfect for me, I am nowhere near good enough to do it justice but I don't care I love every second I use it 😁
My first camera was the canon ae-1. Also long stolen. Sadly. I ended up with Nikon when I jumped back into photography 10 years ago. I find your videos excite me about wanting to get out more than gear. If gear was my primary motivation I’d have a “new” Nikon zf retro body. But I accept the limits of my budget and my current gear
Thank you for that wonderful video. I think that any outcome centric activity having of course a competitive bias or mood will disintegrate anybody from the process of creativity. Only the stale lust of having outplayed somebody will remain instigating for another stale round.
I remember hours on a canal when I was so engaged in looking and photopraphing that I missed to recognize that I had forgotten to put an SD-card into the camera. But it was one of my most beautiful time taking images....
Bang On! Well said Alex.
I just bought a Nikon F4 for $140 shipped from Japan and I am amazed. I am smiling!
In my case, I have 50 cameras that make me happy, and am paralyzed by an abundance of options
My Canon A-1 is sitting on a bookcase where it serves an objet d'art. It would still run, but for not having a battery in it. I bought it to replace an AE-1, which failed in the cold on the way up Mt. Blanc in the French Alps, an unforgiveable sin. Two other cameras, both Canon FTbns, also sit on bookcases as pieces of engineering art. They are shot out, meaning they broke, were repaired, and broke again, such that after repairing they won't run very long before breaking again. So they were retired well before the A-1 was retired. I love them all so well, I could not part with them (even though I'm now running a Sony A7RIV).
I totally hear you and you're so right! A Camera or any other product you buy with the intention of using it often should put that smile on ones face. I Used to love Nikon Dxx cameras but when i switched to Sony it won't leave my hands (I Still fiddle with it while i'm in my home office even if I'm not taking pictures). Fun thing for me is that it's the same with computers and keyboards, I'm currently writing my second novel and for some reason I can't write a single word on my desktop computer but the words fly through my fingers on my old second hand laptop that gives me the freedom of writing where ever I am (as long as there's a power outlet close buy) :D
Alex, my first thought after cameras was cars. I haven’t owned a car with personality since I wore out my 1965 Volvo 122S. I owned a Sony R100 Mk2 for three years and used it twice so I sold it. The pictures looked great but whenever I wanted to carry a compact camera I grabbed an old Powershot or Lumix.
The Mamiya RB67 is the camera that does that me.
My first was the Canon AE-1
Get a Yashica Electro. The most inspiring rangefinder ever. Such a charm.
You really nailed it. I have many favorite cameras and I never go anywhere without one of them. Believe it or not my Crown Graphic is one of them. Even shooting cheap Chinese Black and white film it makes me feel like the Great Weegee whenever I carry it. The other is my Canon AE-1 program. I have had this camera since the 80s with it's 50mm 1.4 lense. The latest favorite that makes me smile with all the good vibes is my Zorki 1. For digital my favorite is a Canon 40D and 90D. The 40D for everyday fun and the 90D for business. The 1st 3 are my favorites. Yes the camera must have soul and feeling and when you look at it, it says let's go and play!
Yes my Fujifilm XPro3 has that effect😊
When I want to take pictures, even if I'm not feeling any inspiration, I grab my camera drive somewhere, turn on some music top ease my anxiety, go for a walk and eventually document the world how in conjunction with how my brain works
I think I've bought half a dozen Nikkormats in the past, I just love them. The camera bodies are cheap, incredibly well made and discovered they're relatively easy to service as well.
have a Z8 now but still very fond of my D750 ... first of all I like an OVF but beyond that something just right about it for me ... great sensor that I trust ... quick focus, meter is so good it can nearly be ignored ... I put it in full screen average ... Not a video camera by modern standards which suits me ... lovely to hold and just the right size ... I have a 700 too, but it's the 750 that sticks with me.
I bought a Leica M10-P a couple years ago, that camera made me smile just looking at it. Also when picking it up. But I am just not someone who enjoys using a rangefinder system, sadly. So I had to sell it. I do also enjoy my Canons very much, but if there is a future in which Leica makes a non-rangefinder digital M, I will be back!
In recent memory the only cameras that were tools while being fun to use were any of the Fuji X100 series I owned. Pragmatically, I now use a camera that creates the output I like most.
Great Video. The Canon FT QL is the camera that does it for me. it was my first, a hand me down. Loved that thing
I think choosing a camera that is really engaging is a very personal choice. I for myself found that camera in my trusty Fujifilm XPro2 and Fujifilm X100s, Both give me that enjoyment and mechanical feel I really miss from my old cameras like the Nikon FE2. But as I said it's personal and everyone is different. I tried a Leica M10 for a day and it didn't connect with me. The comparison is like: Does a Porsche 911 is giving you more joy and excitement to drive it then a Mazda MX5 Miata? Two different people have two different answers.
Alex has raised a very interesting point - the smile factor. Back in the analog days none of my SLR system cameras had this for me. However, a few of my lenses did- There was this 500mm f/8 reflector lens - a sort of lightweight pancake telescope. And then I had this Tamron something-to-300mm f over something zoom. I loved just holding them.
Somewhere along my journey I had a very compactly built MINOX 35 EL KB in a Bordeaux red leather case. As a backup. That had a smile factor.
In my digital days I was on compact cameras. I hated them all. The last one I hated was the ingenious, technically absolutely perfect Sony RX100iii which produces technically equally perfect pictures. The only thing I have ever hated even more is my smartphone.
But then I purchased a Sony RX10iv. Really, not quite the latest cry and rather clunky. Just picking it up makes me smile. I do not even have to switch it on!
(Quite apart from the fact that the battery could very well be drained. An hour spent in the menu maze suffices to suck it dry. A vampire could not do any better.)
😁😁😁
I really liked the last section of the video. Just like your channel, I follow another one called ‘the photographic eye’ which focuses more on the art of photography than on the technical part. I would very much like, if possible, for you to talk a little about photographic composition, the photographers who have inspired you, and what your creative process is beyond the technical aspect, please. Thank you very much.
For me, the two cameras that inspire are my Nikon FE and my Fuji XE-2. There’s just something about those two cameras that gets my creative juices flowing.
Love the feel of organic leatherette.
So true.
I love my Canon 1D Mark IV. It’s such a strong body. Sturdy tough as hell.
My fist two Range Rovers had me very excited and I really enjoyed driving them. Subsequent vehicles including Range Rovers have never got me excited. Basically I’m older, been there, done that, got the experience and nothing of the same genre gets me going these days. Same with cameras. Early ones got me excited and proud. No camera is ever likely to make me feel that way again. Something else might though, but probably something I have never experienced before. I’ve concluded that it is a symptom of age and experience. The results from using things still has the ability to excite.
Easy choice -- Wehman 8x10 view camera. I no longer have it but it was, hands down, my favorite camera from 30-ish years of photography (I was a late starter.) Just the memory makes me smile. It did everything I want a camera to do and it did it in a way that makes me happy. I would have been happy with just that camera and the two lenes I had.
There are other categories. I have an old Burke & James 5x7 tailboard camera which I absolutely hate. No, I despise it. If anyone asks,, "is that your camera?" I disown it.. I pretend not to see it. It's crude, it's primitive, it's been ridden hard and put away wet -- but most of my negatives from the past two years have been made with this camera and I don't think I could do without it. My 35mm and medium format cameras are all great cameras and work perfectly well, but most of the time they stay on the shelf. I look at them regretfully while picking up that old 5x7 monster, but it's the one I take. Psychologists probably have a field day with stuff like that.
I loved my old Rolleicord IV, hard to beat the image quality for film. The Fuji X100 cameras are so popular, but I use the X70 with the 28mm equivalent lens. It's so small, quiet and easy to use. I love the touch focus. I can hang it around my neck all day for street shooting, no problem. I like to set it up for square and black and white. Terrific image quality if increased sharpness in the menu.
I have a Canon A1 in lovely condition and lenses if you are interested. Yes, they are lovely cameras, a real pleasure to use.
Jeremy Parr this video has inspired me to go out and take photos I am have a canon A E 1 35 mm film I just love it thank you for sheering this yours truly Jeremy 😁📷