Two really neat bits of camera writing

[Jock Elliott]

This one I discovered a couple of years ago:

Guest Post: Robert Plotkin on the X100

And this one, just today:

Candid Camera

Views about the cameras may differ, but the writing sure put a grin on my face!

Cheers, Jock

 

[Luke]

I don't have time to read the 2nd one right now, but just read the first.
I loved it.

I especially loved how he spent most of the article complaining about it and then ends with "No, mine's not for sale."

It's still my favorite camera, so while I disagree with some of the faults he sees, our conclusion is the same.

 

[Jock Elliott]

I don't have time to read the 2nd one right now, but just read the first.
I loved it.

I especially loved how he spent most of the article complaining about it and then ends with "No, mine's not for sale."

It's still my favorite camera, so while I disagree with some of the faults he sees, our conclusion is the same.

The second one is equally good, and longer, an ode to the "romance of the Leica."

Some years ago I was the CB editor of Popular Communications magazine. Tom Kneitel, arguably the dean of radio writers, was the editor. We would chat from time to time.

One time he told me: "Our job is 10% telling our readers how to do a thing and 90% selling the romance of doing it at all in the first place."

Cheers, Jock

 

[Petach]

Great find. Really enjoyed the 2nd article. Thanks for the post.

I discovered this "The New Yorker" a few weeks ago on Amazon Fire stick. There is some really interesting and quirky content to be seen.

 

[Steve Noel]

The second is more than just a story about the brand. It is a vivid slice, of the history of a sub culture, of the world's history, Photography. Great read.

 

[lenshacker]

I kind of like them.

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J-3Plus, Optimized for Each by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

[Luke]

If I were man enough to shoot film, I would own a Leica.

 

[Biro]

Some years ago I was the CB editor of Popular Communications magazine. Tom Kneitel, arguably the dean of radio writers, was the editor. We would chat from time to time.

One time he told me: "Our job is 10% telling our readers how to do a thing and 90% selling the romance of doing it at all in the first place."

Cheers, Jock

I remember your columns and pieces in PopCom, Jock. I wrote a number of long letters to the magazine that Uncle Tom used as the basis for some of his editorials. I miss PopCom. But, as the years passed, there was less and less to write about in the field of radio.

 

[tonyturley]

If I were man enough to shoot film, I would own a Leica.

Ahhhh, nothing difficult about it. I like to shoot film every now and then, but I don't have pockets deep enough to justify owning a Leica. I'll have to make do with my little Olympus 35RC.

 

[Luke]

Ahhhh, nothing difficult about it. I like to shoot film every now and then, but I don't have pockets deep enough to justify owning a Leica. I'll have to make do with my little Olympus 35RC.

well I only take about 3 frames a month, so I'd need to wait a year to develop the film.

Also, I would want to do it "old school".... no light meters or modern cheats.

Nope, cool as shooting film is, digital is for me...the lazy photographer.

 

[tonyturley]

Although I have a printed pocket exposure guide in my camera bag, I usually just guesstimate the exposure on the 35RC using Sunny 16 as a rough guide. I'm down to the last 3 exposures on a roll of 24 exposure Agfa 200 I started back in the Spring.

 

[drd1135]

There is a tinge of sadness about the Leica article, at least for me. I've shot a lot of film in my life, but now it feels weird to pick up my carefully preserved Spotmatic and shoot a roll. Sure, I used to do it just for fun and the results were very nice. Still, I know its time has passed. The real attraction of cameras like the Pen F and Fuji XT10 is they are an attempt to make the old feeling relevant again for people like me. The article about the X100 says that so honestly. How you react to the flaws of a camera is a very personal response and can endear that flaw to you. I think the real reason that we on these forums feel some animosity toward the smart phone is that it represents the ultimate anti-Leica, doing the job with none of the craftsmanship. At some point, folks our age saw the transition from gadgets to devices and a little part of us mourns how the role of the mechanical has diminished.

 

[Biro]

Remember, the Kodak Brownie and later Instamatic were the phone cameras of their time - bringing "good enough" photography to the masses.

I suspect the real resentment I feel about the smart phone is the existential threat it brings to the traditional camera makers. They've destroyed the consumer camera market for just about everybody. And a lot of that profit funded the development of more serious cameras for everybody else.

In fact, if one is honest about it, the entire digital revolution has run roughshod over virtually all forms of media and many other industries. We've all heard about "creative destruction." Well, we're still in the destructive mode. With only rare exceptions, no one has been able to make the shift to digital and still make enough money to thrive.

 

[lenshacker]

I worked in camera shops from the mid/late 70s- when many people bought SLR's after getting a start with instamatics decided they liked photography enough to upgrade. The SLR manufacturers had many good advertising campaigns to help this transition.

Today- as stated before, cell-phones are "instamatics" that are good for most people. What is required- wanting those people to move to the next phase. Some never will, but I see a lot of young families with good DSLR's at family-oriented events. What's is needed- show more people the possibilities.