Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2014/03/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I have no computer with me on this particular trip, just my iPad. The same small charger serves the iPad and the iPhone. The charger for the Fuji X and the two spare batteries for it take up far less space than several rolls of film would have. And guess what--the only cameras I ever have had to send for repair were M cameras: one M7 and one M8 (the one I still have). So for me, the digital "fragility" is a myth. The M8 needed repair after sweat dripping from my face while cycling got into the camera and corroded something inside, but aside from that, none of the digital cameras I have owned in the past 10 years has needed repair. Just because some people use technology in a stupid way does not make technology bad. Cheers, Nathan Nathan Wajsman (sent from somewhere) Den 06/03/2014 kl. 22.41 skrev "Jim Laurel (gmail)" <jplaurel at gmail.com>: > The technology chain for digital photography is very fragile, Nathan. If > you've gone to a lot of time and effort to travel someplace, you are > carrying backups of everything. Modern digital cameras are a lot more > fragile than the mechanical M cameras. Your computer (so you know if > you've got a big dust blob on your sensor), drives to back up your > computer. And a tertiary backup because, you know, if data doesn't exist > in 3 places, it doesn't really exist at all. A power supply for your > computer and a backup for that for when it fails. A charger for your > camera batteries and a backup for that. Backup batteries. Your mobile > phone. And a charger for that. A power strip to plug all this into. And > all this stuff is incredibly appealing to would-be thieves, so you're > always having to look after it, locking it up in your room, etc. It's just > a lot more stuff to manage. > > I'm a technologist, but I am also concerned about the impact of technology > on society and culture. I walked the Camino de Santiago from St. Jean Pied > de Port to Compostella last Fall - 800 kilometers. So many pilgrims with > their faces buried in their iPhones, frantic to find some WiFi. Sitting > together at tables, but isolated, each one in his/her own little virtual > world. Every night in the Abergues, people would be scrambling for the few > outlets to charge phones, cameras, iPads, etc. I can't help but think that > 30 years ago, they would have been enjoying the moment a bit more. > > --Jim > > On Mar 6, 2014, at 1:21 PM, Nathan Wajsman <photo at frozenlight.eu> wrote: > >> Technology moves on. When I was young, when going out, I needed to have >> coins in my pocket and find a pay phone if I wanted to call home. For the >> past 20 years, I have carried a mobile phone in my pocket as a matter of >> course. Initially to talk, now also to browse the web, navigate my way >> through foreign cities etc. Why would that be a bad thing? It's wonderful! >> >> Same with cameras. In my film days, I had to carry three bodies: one >> loaded with slow slide film, one loaded with slow B&W film and a third >> loaded with fast B&W film, in my case ISO 1600, since anything faster was >> useless. Now with the Fuji X I have with me where I am right now >> (Maastricht), I can shoot at ISO 6400 and get far superior quality to >> what I used to get with film at 1600. Again, why would that be a bad >> thing? It is not an "obsession", it is merely a way to expand one's >> photographic possibilities. >> >> Cheers, >> Nathan >> >> Nathan Wajsman >> (sent from somewhere) >> >> >> Den 06/03/2014 kl. 21.57 skrev "Jim Laurel (gmail)" <jplaurel at >> gmail.com>: >> >>> I never will understand all this obsession with ultra-high ISO. Along >>> with bokeh, it has become a fetish in the photographic community. >>> >>> For so many years, we traveled with the Leica M6 and a few fast lenses >>> and 100 ISO slide film, which we would sometimes push 1 stop. Only >>> rarely did I feel the need for ISO 1600. The Leica M8 was already better >>> than 35mm film at comparable ISO sensitivities. The M9 is better still >>> and yet in today's world it is considered woefully obsolete. I can >>> understand that for Chris' wedding work, 12,500 allows him to capture >>> images that were just not possible in the days of film, but few >>> consumers have such a requirement. >>> >>> One thing is for sure. While a few photographers are using the new >>> capabilities of digital cameras to push creative boundaries, most simply >>> inundate us with well-exposed and sharply focused images with crazy >>> bokeh at outrageous ISOs that have little real content. >>> >>> --Jim >>> >>> >>> On Mar 6, 2014, at 11:54 AM, chris williams <zoeica at mac.com> wrote: >>> >>>> No way on the M-AF mount. The M battery is already small, I would not >>>> want another battery drain. >>>> >>>> I just recently shot the M 240 at a wedding. Unless there's a new >>>> version capable of 12,500 iso I don't really see a need for a new >>>> camera announcement.? >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information