I apologise, in advance, for the lack of White Castle content <g>.
On 01 Apr 2000, Frank Ernens wrote:
> The typical snapshooter is *not* gear oriented,
> and will use the same camera year in and year out, until
> she or he has a reason to replace it ... Then they will
> buy what they think is the most reliable camera in
> their price range which produces pictures they can
> still get developed. Not many of them were taken
> in by APS, and when being sold a digital camera they
> are likely to ask tough questions ...
> Furthermore, most existing digital cameras are used
> to get pictures into a computer or onto the net.
> The snapshooter OTOH might own a computer and know how
> to do that, but has no interest in doing so.
I fully agree with Frank. Most people own cameras to record their lives
and those of their families and friends; they are snapshooters, who
take photos of their kids, holidays, parties, picnics, weddings, etc.
Snapshooters use colour print film. They cram their prints into albums
with glossy plastic covered pages and, as long as their photos are
reasonably sharp, clear and bright, they are happy. If they want a
really good result occasionally, such as for a framed enlargement to
hang on the wall, they may use a professional studio.
There is nothing wrong with this, of course, but the fact remains that
snapshooters just want to be able to carry on their photography
conveniently, at low cost and with good chances of success. Most are
not generally interested in the technology, tools or techniques of
photography, just as most car owners are not concerned with the
engineering aspects of the vehicles they drive.
The main rival to the film camera is probably the video camera. These
have improved in leaps and bounds. Videocams are affordable, small, of
excellent quality and a great way to record the development of kids.
However, it's not always convenient to display videos, so the still
camera is "still" useful. Previous abortive and, IMHO, cynical attempts
to peddle alternative and inferior formats (eg. 110, 126, disk) has
left behind a healthy skepticism on behalf of Joe Public towards new
formats. This may be the reason APS has not been a roaring success. The
35mm format, OTOH, is a long established and respected format and, as
long as there is a wide choice of affordable, handy, automatic 35mm P&S
cameras and abundant high street processing facilities for the format,
I believe that's what people will choose [regardless of what kind of
fast-food joints they inhabit ;-)].
Regards to all,
Ray
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