Aglet said:
I LIKE IT!
it's be a little like going back to my old A-1
And there you have it in a nutshell...
Not every one using DSL's were born in time only to use DSL's - many of us were around long digital had left the Sci Fi table ad enjoyed film - which in turn left many of us with a favourite "film" camera.
Yes, that's right - "film", capable of no more than 36 shots at a time and requiring no preview until development and needing the use of 'chemicals' to process a picture to look different to what would be produced from the negative (RAW for the younger members of the community :
).
Very often, people fell into a body and hardly changed from it, until it no longer worked and the cost of repair was more than raplcement - for me this was also the A1 - especially with the MD offering 5 fps (can you believe it - 5 fps in 1984?). But the overiding thing with all these camera bodies was their 'retro' look as it is called today.
But in truth - they were all designed to be fully functional and strangely, many of the 'retro' cameras are being picked up by those of us old enough to have used them. Simple truth is - we could set apaerture and shutter as easily as any modern computer controlled light meter can today and we could focus almost as quickly - but i have to admit the ability to 'track' subjects wasn't quite as convenient. Did i also mention that most of these 'retro' cameras could be carried in a pocket and not need a weekender bag to be lugged around in. They did not require a portion of the national grid in batteries to operate, and they did not come with loads of bugs that required multitudes of firmware upon release to put right the constant problems found after development.
That is why the camera in my pocket nowadays is a Fuji X-Pro 1 - in full manual mode. Yes, it really does go around in my pocket with its wonderful 35mm f1.4 lens (soon to be accompanied by the equally amazing 23mm f1.4 lens) and yes, my trips to the doctor with shoulder and back aches have ceased. As much as I love the 5D2, the X-Pro 1 really takes me back to those 'retro' days and puts a spark back into my photography.
It allows me to think, do, and be proud of the finished product - unlike the 5D2 that requires a bit of thought with the A/F - and ends up as not much more than a very large P&S that does everything for you.
Now, if Canon were to release a digital version of the A1 along with lenses of similar size with an A ring on the actual lens - well I'd be getting into fights with other old timers to be at the fron of the queue.
Boys, enjoy your toys - but don't 'dis' us older people who aspired to become masters of 'film' photography and the dark room.
)
