Minolta SR-7 35mm film camera (1962)
I have been doing a lot of research on buying a new digital camera for about a week. I consider myself to be what is called a prosumer. Not professional but a high level of technical ability consumer.
I thought people buying machine tools were fanatics about all the details in the search for the perfect machine tool. I have read so many conflicting camera reports, it is hard to draw a conclusion on the proper selection. The fact is there is no universal “best” in either pursuit.
The reviews keep a person away from the absolute dogs, but after that, a lot of personal bias becomes extremely visible. (uh… well I guess it is photography.) I have actually noticed a lot, and I mean a lot of snobbery (I don’t know what else to call it) displayed in some reviews.
A few folks talk (report) more on their favorite personal style and (name drop their) expensive pro equipment. For example, “Now on my Leica I just…” I don’t give a dang about how you use YOUR Leica, you bozo. Tell me how the subject camera fits in it’s own niche. Now if it somehow is BETTER than your $7000 retro Leica, that is OK. (I can be a snob too.)
Actually every little bit of information gathered helps. The old standard, “Believe nothing that you read and only half of what you see.” applies here. In the end it will be a personal choice.
I finally caught on to how some of the example review photos are shown. Some reviewers purposely display worse case examples. Reviewers seem to concentrate on what is negative (no pun intended) rather than best examples. I have noticed in some cases, absolutely no deviation from out of the box, set everything at zero example photo’s. Most prosumer grade cameras have built in tweaks and adjustments to “tune” the camera to personal taste. Some reviews are not aimed to get the best shot, but rather a stock from the box example. This is not a complaint of the style of the reviewer, it just has to be understood by the consumer.
I see much better examples of real (camera brand) photos by some folks on Flicker and other public photography sites. Some of them may be pros but all are usually showing what’s capable rather than what is not.
The camera after all is said, is only the tool. If they (the cameras) all worked totally automatic, there would be no artist in the photographer. Think about that. A good photographer can make a Brownie shot look good, knowing (exploiting) the tool’s capability.
When my pro photographer daughter started her photography studies in college almost 20 years ago, I gave her my Minolta SR-7 (I bought new in 1966-7) totally manual 35mm. I said, “…learn with this and you will be a great photographer.” She is. 🙂