I'm sure everyone has heard of the graph from Gartner Group about how
people in an organisation adopt new technology. There are "pioneers",
that love to tinker with every new gadget. There are early adopters,
who quickly learn to reap benefits of new technology. These two groups
more or less make up 50% of the organisation.
Then there are the late adopters who reluctantly adopts the new
technology, convinced by the first 50%.
At last there is a small percentage who refuse to let go of the old
and well-known technology that they know and feel comfortable with.
Any weakness or flaw in the new thechnology will be held high as a
reason to reject it all together, no matter how insignificant the
weakness is. The bottom line of their argumentations is usually fear
of the new and unknown.
Pioneers tend to look at the latter group as walking backwards into
the future. :-)
With photography, however, we all have the option to choose the tech
level we like. I'm sure nobody has a problem with people who like to
do photography the old, manual way. Shel isn't alone with his
preferences.
However, this place is full of people who simply want to be helpful.
To get mad at them just because they're pioneers or early adopters is
almost obscene, IMHO. Certainly below the usual standards of the
poster in question.
YMMV, of course.
Jostein
ps. posts with Masked F***-letter Words will be filtered. :-)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shel Belinkoff" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2005 8:15 AM
Subject: Re: I'm Getting an Auto Focus Camera
No , Boris - now I'm over reacting. Buzz off!
I'm sick and tired of people telling me that I should be using new
technology. That I can learn to love it. That I should embrace it.
That
I'll get used to it. That it will help my photography. I don't want
to
learn to love it. The technology doesn't do anything for me. I
like old
cameras. I don't like fancy whiz-bang features, modes, and
programs. I
don't use flash. I don't give a rat's ass about frame rates or
Hyper this
and Programmable that, as nice as those features may be (BTW, the
Rollei
TLR had a Hyper Mode back in the sixties <LOL>). Leave me the f***
alone
wrt to the stuff YOU like. When I decide I want something newer,
I'll get
it and use it. I will get a DSLR at some point, but perhaps not for
the
reasons others here have.
Y'know, I asked three simple questions about how a specific camera
worked,
and by the time the day was done there were half a dozen people
telling me
what I should do, and that the camera I asked about was wrong or
right for
me. That I'd love or hate it.
I'm borrowing the camera for a specific feature for a solution to a
specific situation because my digi is under the weather with a
wobbly
tripod mount. If a friend on the list didn't offer the loan of her
5n I'd
be using the LX for the project. I don't want an autofocus camera.
Can
you understand that? I don't want a plastic camera. I like the
heavy
metal cameras and the old lenses that I use. When it came time to
buy a
second Leica I bought an old one for about the same price as a new
one.
BECAUSE I LIKE IT. The latest lens I bought for the Leica is
seventy years
old.
Neither you nor anyone will convince me to buy or use something that
does
not give me pleasure and the kind of photographic experience I want
until I
decide I'm ready for it. Don't you think that, after all these
years, and
all the money I've spent on gear that if I wanted something other
than
what I have, I would have already purchased it. So, for the last
time -
F*CK technologically advanced cameras. I don't need them for the
kind of
photography I do. I'm not a macro shooter, I don't make close-ups
of
flowers and rocks, when shooting landscapes or scenics I don't need
auto
anything, just a sturdy tripod, good light, and some film. And just
to put
things in perspective, I also recently purchased a well-regarded
auto focus
lens, because it's suitable to me needs and works great when used
manually.
If you, and others, like your Captain Whiz-Bang cameras that's fine.
They
fill a need for you. They don't for me. I like old things. I like
my
30+ year old, all metal, wood, and leather,
comfortable-for-my-fat-ass
Mercedes and my even older, 100% original Cadillac convertible with
real
leather interior an tail fins. I like my denim shirts faded and
frayed at
the collar. Most of the furniture in my house is antique. My coffee
mug is
almost 40 years old - I don't want a new one, and heaven help the
house
keeper should she break it. I've worn the same belt buckle almost
every
day since 1968. I love it. I don't care for change. I like the
way old
things look and feel. I like how they make me feel. In a word,
comfortable.
And now I'm gonna watch a 1940's movie on my 20+ year old non-cable
ready
TV set, and enjoy some non-microwave pocorn.
Shel
[Original Message]
From: Boris Liberman
> Have you read all the crap that one must consider and go through
> to
> get the 5n to work while using auto focus...
>
> And if I'm gonna do that, why bother with an auto focus camera in
> the
> first place.
Shel, I think you may be somewhat over-reacting...
It is very simple. Each time you are about to use a bit of
technology,
you have to learn its limitations in order to use it to your
maximal
benefit. You know, the RTFM thingie...
I have MZ-6 which is similar to MZ-5n in AF. Sometimes I have to
manual
focus, sometimes I can rely on technology...
Technology comes to help you, but not to replace your brains with
some
electronic appendage...
You would remember to crank the film advance lever each time you
take a
shot with your MX, so that you take the next shot, wouldn't you?
You
would have to remember that your MZ-5n's AF does not work under
certain
conditions. What is wrong with that?
Boris
