Digital Anusol

[Steve T]

I think lots of modern photography hobyists could do with a few tubes of this. It just dawned on me that I will never be happy with what I have because 'that' new feature they just stuck on the latest model may mean that I am behind the curve and thick. I know I'm thick, but behind the curve is a worry, I just spent all that dough after a lot of research and all of a sudden, bosh, I am behind again. I am unable to enjoy the new ISO capability, the humungus megapixal count....

Film suddenly seems so honest, and attractive if you just want a good camera that allows you to take a picture that isn't life and death critical.

Started with a 1000d (still good), tried a 5d classic ( fantastic), have a 50d (s***) and my best point and shoot camera to date was a sony cybershot phone C905.

Can there ever have been, or will be again, an industry so fortunate as the camera makers of the 20th century.

I bet most pro photographers will agree, the hobby photographer has had a good rogering from an industry that has forgotten quality and just builds to well psyched out 'how can we milk this silly cow' market the digital age has plopped in our laps.

Who now builds a best camera for nobs like me?

For me, all things digital are becoming more and more boring and forgetable.

Mind you, I am 62 soon and a (long ago) apprenticed craftsman trying to catch up.

 

[LCPete]

I know what you mean Canon have rehashed their 18MP sensor to death
I do think we are very lucky with the digital gear we have now though
Im able to do things I never could with film certainly with wildlife photography

 

[Musicman]

I have the same 5D (it wasn't a 'classic' then) that I bought in 2006 and it still takes great photos.

I have been playing around a lot with a Panasonic G2 that I bought fairly cheap for when I wanted something lighter to carry. I do also own rather more than a few film cameras, some of which are past their 50th birthdays.

I'm thinking I may finally replace the 5D this year, though, with a Sony A7 so that I can use all the manual lenses I have with my film cameras. If I do, I suspect I'll be keeping the A7 for a few years.

 

[fifthwheel]

Just like any modern technology.. the only people who make the big money are the ones who sell the equipment!

 

[dinorock]

my d700 is amazing, i'll wait a long time yet before i change. it's my ability. not how great a so called latest model is.

 

[applemint]

Can there ever have been, or will be again, an industry so fortunate as the camera makers of the 20th century.

Not sure about that - us as buyers are fortunate in one sense as we have never had so much choice. As for camera makers, the boom years of digital may be over: "Fujifilm is losing money on cameras. Olympus is losing money on cameras. Panasonic is losing money on cameras. Pentax is losing money on cameras. Sony is losing money on cameras". Source: http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/tough-camera-questions.html

Canon and Nikon are not doing so well either: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304672404579183643696236868

As for the constantly playing catch-up thing - one advantage is that for those who don't have to have (or cannot afford) the very latest and greatest is how much prices drop on older models when new ones come out - so you can pick up a 'bargain' relative to what those cameras cost at launch.

 

[dinorock]

Not sure about that - us as buyers are fortunate in one sense as we have never had so much choice. As for camera makers, the boom years of digital may be over: "Fujifilm is losing money on cameras. Olympus is losing money on cameras. Panasonic is losing money on cameras. Pentax is losing money on cameras. Sony is losing money on cameras". Source: http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/tough-camera-questions.html

Canon and Nikon are not doing so well either: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304672404579183643696236868

As for the constantly playing catch-up thing - one advantage is that for those who don't have to have (or cannot afford) the very latest and greatest is how much prices drop on older models when new ones come out - so you can pick up a 'bargain' relative to what those cameras cost at launch.

i think you'll find nikon was badly flooded by a tsunami a few years ago and are still playing catch-up. so a loss of profits was inevitable.

 

[Musicman]

i think you'll find nikon was badly flooded by a tsunami a few years ago and are still playing catch-up. so a loss of profits was inevitable.

That would not account for the drop in sales across the board, unless manufacturers have been unable to fulfil demand because their production has been constrained, or how sales continued to rise in the year after the tsunami, but have dropped since. Or indeed dthat much of Nikon's production takes place in Thailand, which was not hit by the tsunami in 2011.

 

[applemint]

i think you'll find nikon was badly flooded by a tsunami a few years ago and are still playing catch-up. so a loss of profits was inevitable.

They were (not the Japan Tsunami but the floods in Thailand in 2011) but current profit falls and a drop in future profit forecasts is more down to falls in sales and lower prices (less profit margin on entry level dslrs due to lower prices is the reason provided by Nikon Corp).

2011 Thailand floods:
http://www.nikon.com/news/2012/0203_01.htm
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.u...floods-trigger-faster-dslr-production-update2

Feb 2013: "Businessweek writes that the price drop was the largest single day decline in Nikon’s stock since 1985. It happened after the company cut its profit forecast due to decreasing demand and plummeting prices." http://petapixel.com/2013/02/07/nikon-stock-plummets-19-biggest-drop-since-1985/

Nov 2013: "According to a report by Reuters, the company has its full year sales forecast for high end cameras for the second time in three months due to “a dramatic fall in demand among photography hobbyists.”

Nikon is also posting a 41 percent drop in operating profits for the six months that ended in September, and is predicting the first fall in sales of interchangeable lens cameras since the company sold its first DSLR in 1999."
http://petapixel.com/2013/11/08/nik...et-dslr-sales-stall-df-preorders-come-subpar/

 

[Pookeyhead]

I think lots of modern photography hobyists could do with a few tubes of this. It just dawned on me that I will never be happy with what I have because 'that' new feature they just stuck on the latest model may mean that I am behind the curve and thick. I know I'm thick, but behind the curve is a worry, I just spent all that dough after a lot of research and all of a sudden, bosh, I am behind again. I am unable to enjoy the new ISO capability, the humungus megapixal count....

A camera is a camera. They all take photographs. You have an aperture, a shutter speed, and a ISO setting. How does having a higher ISO setting available to you mean you are behind the curve?

Film suddenly seems so honest, and attractive if you just want a good camera that allows you to take a picture that isn't life and death critical.

Shoot film if you want, but if you're not used to it, I would suggest that's a steeper learning curve than using a new features on a digital camera. If you are experienced with film, then jst use it as if it was a film camera... Aperture, shutter, ISO.. the end.

I bet most pro photographers will agree, the hobby photographer has had a good rogering from an industry that has forgotten quality and just builds to well psyched out 'how can we milk this silly cow' market the digital age has plopped in our laps.

The only thing I think is ridiculous is the consumer market. A 41 mega pixel phone camera? Yes.. that's laughable. Other than that, no.. features are there if you have a need for them. If you don't, ignore them. Why do people feel that they are "behind the curve", and pressured to use every available feature... and that they are less of a photographer if they don't?

Who now builds a best camera for nobs like me?

Take your pick. They're all essentially the same. People take photographs, not cameras.

For me, all things digital are becoming more and more boring and forgetable.

Then just use it as a camera used to be used.... it's up to you. Stop chasing the newest and the greatest... just enjoy making images. You're making a rod for your own back I'm afraid.

 

[Steve T]

Wise words Curruthers, but I did mean ALL things digital, not just cameras.

 

[PMN]

I am unable to enjoy the new ISO capability, the humungus megapixal count.....

Why do you think those things equate to better photos? Until 2 years ago I was still using an entry-level Canon 350D I bought in 2006 and it was still serving me perfectly well. The rubbish photos I took on it were my fault, they had nothing whatsoever to do with the camera not being the latest and most advanced model. My old 6 megapixel Nikon D50 is still perfectly capable of decent results and the rubbish photos I take now on my 7D and 5Dmk2 are still my fault.

I don't really get why some digital photographers feel they're somehow living in the past unless they have the absolute newest gear, it's the least important consideration in getting a good image in 98% of general photography.

 

[jamesoliverstone]

Wise words Curruthers, but I did mean ALL things digital, not just cameras.

I wouldnt call all things digital boring and forgettable... I have no interest in going back to CRT tellies, when I have my plasma, no interest in going back to telephone boxes when I have a mobile... or a library when I have the internet... Todays technology has brought the world to my fingertips in glorious HD and I certainly dont find that "boring"

 

[dinners]

Shooting birds in Scotland - there are plenty of occasions when I just have to accept I'll have to ramp up the ISO to get a anything like a respectable shutter speed.

I still use a 40D and a 1D mark 3 and whilst the 1D3 is no slouch when it comes to noise - I just have to accept levels of noise which I wouldn't necessarily be getting with more recent offerings.

Whenever I'm doubting myself or my gear - I just look at some of the fantastic images taken in years gone by when people could only dream of cameras like a 40D or 1D3

What does irk with me slightly are the people who insist it's the photographer and not the camera - yet always have the latest camera themselves.

 

[chris-red]

I love my 50d, the only upgrades I really want is higher ISO and the feature that automatically sets the top focus port for portrait shots. Which frankly isn't worth the bucks it'd cost.

 

[Nikon_Nick]

If you dont like being 'rogered' by the camera companies....just dont bend over :shrug:

Keep your wallet in your pocket, and learn how to take great photographs with already great/capable equipment you have.

 

[jabbermack]

I think lots of modern photography hobyists could do with a few tubes of this. It just dawned on me that I will never be happy with what I have because 'that' new feature they just stuck on the latest model may mean that I am behind the curve and thick. I know I'm thick, but behind the curve is a worry, I just spent all that dough after a lot of research and all of a sudden, bosh, I am behind again. I am unable to enjoy the new ISO capability, the humungus megapixal count....

Film suddenly seems so honest, and attractive if you just want a good camera that allows you to take a picture that isn't life and death critical.

Started with a 1000d (still good), tried a 5d classic ( fantastic), have a 50d (tummy mud) and my best point and shoot camera to date was a sony cybershot phone C905.

Can there ever have been, or will be again, an industry so fortunate as the camera makers of the 20th century.

I bet most pro photographers will agree, the hobby photographer has had a good rogering from an industry that has forgotten quality and just builds to well psyched out 'how can we milk this silly cow' market the digital age has plopped in our laps.

Who now builds a best camera for nobs like me?

For me, all things digital are becoming more and more boring and forgetable.

Mind you, I am 62 soon and a (long ago) apprenticed craftsman trying to catch up.

50D...Tummy mud....I don't think so!!!:nono:

 

[dinners]

Also - Digital photography has become part of the 'technology' market.

The sort of people who feel the need to have the latest computers, latest iPads, latest phones, latest televisions etc will naturaully (if they also enjoy photography) feel the need to have the latest cameras.

 

[-Rob-]

Digital camera have been improving massively over the last 10 years so there has been a race amongst some people (particularly the pros) to ensure they always have the biggest and the best. Obviously cameras will continue to improve but not at the same rate. We've now got to the point where the enthusiast cameras are affordable to pretty much anyone and take very good photos and even full-frame cameras and good lenses are getting more affordable so any T, D & H can call himself a photographer.

Now that we've got to this stage then people are going to stop upgrading as quickly has they have been because the kit they have does the job as well as they need it to. Where there was a big improvement from the 5D to the 5D MkII, there was probably less of an improvement from 5D MkII to 5D MkIII and there will be even less to the MkIV whenever that's released.

All that means slowing sales, reduced profits and the compaies that survive are the ones that can cater for what the market actually needs and wants.

 

[the black fox]

i,m so grateful for this thread ,i really really am








its made me remember something that in my advancing years i had forgotten .
































so i,m now off to town to visit

































the chemists and get some anusol to cure this itchy bum

 

[Phil V]

Digital camera have been improving massively over the last 10 years so there has been a race amongst some people (particularly the pros) to ensure they always have the biggest and the best. ...

It's not the pro's who are constantly upgrading. Most of them are freelance and they only relpace their cameras when they're worn out or something new comes along that'll give a business advantage. Just like any other business buying expensive equipment.

There are many more amateurs walking around with top end pro gear than there are pros.

 

[Steve T]

i,m so grateful for this thread ,i really really am








its made me remember something that in my advancing years i had forgotten .
































so i,m now off to town to visit

































the chemists and get some anusol to cure this itchy bum

Cheers jeff, out of curiosity, is it irising properly or is your apperture sticky. Both can be devestating and cause considerable focus issues just when you least expect it. I found my shutter speed increased dramatically after just one application and since wearing the neck brace, haven't looked back.
Marvelous stuff.

With regards to to wanting the latest gear, I'm still trying to understand the old stuff.

I merely feel that the photography industry has been the most fortunate recipient of what the digital age has added to products in general. Can anyone think of any other industry that has such a massive collection of must have inventions to solve so few problems for enthusiasts.
There seems to be a lens for everything you can think of and twice as many for things you know nothing about. Shedloads of must have lighting stuff, to do this and that which you can then ponce about with on a computer...

I am knackered with photography, complete waste of five years of my life.

In five minutes everything I have struggled to understand can be an auto setting on a one lens does all communication device.

I bet it is already developed.

Its back to writing, glaze chemistry and split cane for me.