The (Camera) Time’s They Are A Changin’

As the bug said to the car windshield, “Suddenly, it hit me!”

Camera use, as many enthusiasts know it, is going away.  Here’s why.

Photography was invented in the 19^th century. That’s not a typo, I mean the 1800's. Yet, we still take “snaps” they way they did back them.  We wait for the “decisive moment” and depend on correct camera settings, set by us or done automatically by the camera. And this is true of digital cameras, not just film ones.

Many enthusiasts know that, since the earliest days of cameras, the film sensitivity, lens apertures (opening) and shutter speeds have to balance to produce a properly exposed image.

As film improved, there was a greater margin for exposure error. We were given more freedom to point and shoot without suffering the consequences of inexact settings.

Lenses still were a serious limiting factor regarding what could be shot and when. While lenses with large apertures could be made, the demand for much smaller lenses for smaller cameras increased.

Soon, a typical compact SLR zoom lens only had a maximum opening of f/5.6 when fully zoomed, versus a much faster f/2.8 for older telephoto non-zoom lenses.  But the compact zoom was easier to carry than a full bag lenses, and so the compromise of slow lens “speed” was adopted. With tiny point and shoot cameras, the carrot-sized lens often only opened to f/8 or f/11 when fully extended.

Much concern about “slow” lenses was pushed aside as cameras began to set everything automatically. Displays indicated the selected shutter speed and f/stop were removed.  At most, a red light blinked if a flash was needed. Later, automatic flash took care of that little bit of feedback. The machine did all the work and the film covered up any errors. While this lack of information annoyed enthusiasts, those not interested in the technical side of photography snapped away. (Left Photo: While and excellent lens, this model drops to a maximum aperture of F/5.9 when zoomed)

And so, starting somewhere in the 1970's, an entire generation of casual users were unaware of what was going on inside the little camera or what the photo lab was doing to salvage less than perfect shots. Like some obscure oral tradition, knowledge of the shutter/lens/film relationship was becoming lost.

Then came digital cameras.

 Many digital camera makers decided that consumers needed cameras with all kinds of settings, even though the 35mm counterparts that were about to be replaced had few.

What were they thinking? Why give 21^st Century customers features with roots in the 19^th? Why include options abandoned in the 1970’s?  Trust me on this one: casual users don’t want them and are only confused by them. Put them on cameras for enthusiasts, clearly marked!

 
Here is exactly what I mean.  (Go To  Page Two)