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Re: [OM] XA problems; Why can't digital cameras be more like film came

Subject: Re: [OM] XA problems; Why can't digital cameras be more like film cameras?
From: "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 23:25:25 -0500
At 20:23 10/29/02, Dave wrote:
Well, it all depends ...

One of the charms of my E-20 is that it can function as an AF wonder, or I
can take complete control of Shutter, Aperture, and focus manually.  I can
decide what color temperature I want.  I can decide to use full or retarded
flash.  I can bracket.  I can control when the flash fires, doesn't fire,
etc.

Dave,
My semi-rant was directed more at the marketing and the marketing-driven design of consumer cameras in general. It applies whether the light recording device is film or a CCD (although CCD's have their own issues).

I'm a Luddite with a jaded view of Corporate Marketing. They devise a dream to sell to the consumer (the latest snake oil that cures all ills) and then influence the creation of a product that can be touted as fulfilling that dream. Variations of this theme rearrange the exact sequence of events. Their objective function is maximizing revenue stream by convincing the consumer to chase technology at breakneck speed. What was new this afternoon is touted as worthlessly obsoleted tomorrow morning, and deserves to be heaved into the trash along with yesterday's newspaper.

The fundamental technical principles of making a photograph have not changed since the inception of photography, whether it's a glass plate with a collodian emulsion painted on it or a CCD making the light recording. It boils down to light, Optical Physics and artistic composition. The photographer needs to take ownership of the entire process and control all three in reliably creating visualized photographs.

I pick up a current automagical plastic brick and do not feel in control any more. If you feel you're completely in control of everything that makes the photograph and you're reliably realizing what you've visualized for your photographs, then keep doing what you're doing.

-- John


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