Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/02/02
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]In the old days there were all kinds of people serious amateurs top pro's, effect rich guys shooting pocketable compact cameras and most were full format so a huge blow up might now look all that different from one from a 3 pound SLR. Sure there was Minox and half frame and some used those although there didn't seem to be much point as the full frame film cameras were about just as small. Certainly pocketable. There had to be at least one pro who hung a show or did an important picture story with a smaller than 24x36 format film camera. We just cant think of one. Nowadays with digital we see a compact camera and we think we'll do that too just as we did a film compact the same size. Only the format is way smaller. The size of Minox or full frame or super eight or worse. So you don't see the serious people shooting so much with those yet. They just don't. Unless its a cell phone. This is just about to change with the Sony Sony DSC-RX1 24-megapixel full-frame compact digital camera. In effect a digital Rollei 35. With the release of this camera digital compacts have they have caught up with the Olympus XA, Rollei 35 and a bunch of other famous compact film cameras which made full use of 35mm film and a solid top quality build with impressive optics. And were were not aiming at dads shooting the kids opening the holiday presents with plastic cameras but a more selective serious customer wiling to spend some serious money. We can have that now. And it threatens the buying of toy cameras which has prevailed on the Lug for a few years now. Don't want to shell out seven grand? Well how about this for a couple of hundred bucks we promise its just as good?! Except they they didn't even come close to being as good. Now the writings on the wall that if you don't want to spend seven grand you can get the Sony for three. Three grand. Not three hundred. The days that we can justify buying toy cameras and calling them replacements for a Leica are over. That's bad news for a lot of people I guess who had their head in the sand the whole time anyway. I'm glad there are quality options in compact cameras now. It does not threaten me. It does not threaten my camera buys over the past years. On 2/2/13 10:41 PM, "Gary Benson" <bensonga at gmail.com> wrote: > I don't know what Mark's view is, but I'm glad to see Canon enter the > mirrorless, interchangeable lens, APS-C market. I'm already full > committed to the micro four-thirds system (Panasonic G1, GH2 and > Olympus OMD) with many lenses and adapters to use my manual focus > Leica R and Nikkor lenses, so I won't be buying a Canon EOS-M, but not > because I don't think Canon can build a good camera. I like the Fuji > X system a lot too, but other than my X100, I probably won't be > investing in a Fuji interchangeable lens system. Gotta draw the line > somewhere (but I never say never). > > Unlike Mark, I've owned quite a few Canon cameras and lenses, > including several EOS DSLRs, their last pro level 35mm film camera > (the 1V HS) and even an original F1 (recently purchased). All have > been very good cameras, with some outstanding lenses (the 135mm f2L is > amazing). > > Personally, I don't have a need for a compact full frame 35mm sensor > camera, but hey, if some companies want to built them and other people > want to buy them......it's no skin off my nose. Why should any of us > care one way or the other? That's no reason to say or think that > smaller sensor formats are any more of less worthy of a "serious" > photographer's consideration. There are plenty of serious > photographers here creating outstanding images with every format > camera imaginable.....even camera phones. > > It's not the format or camera that ultimately determines the quality > of an image. Great (or crappy) images can be taken with virtually any > camera. I know that to be true from personal experience. > Unfortunately, my hit rate for "great" images is painfully low, no > matter which camera I am using. > > Gary Benson > Eagle River, Alaska > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information -- Mark William Rabiner Photography http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/