Photographic greed
24/11/08 22:43 Filed in: Personal
The world economy is now officially in a state of recession. Some economists think this is a good event to reduce and at the same time reflect on hyper-consumerism. We have witnessed the magnitude and intensity of this type of consumerism in the speed and introduction of new products in the photographic world. It is futile to wish a return to the times when major changes in a camera product line occurred once in a decade. But the fast pace of product innovations and the short life cycle of even great camera models does force one to think and ask whether photographers really need all these new features. Of course magazine editors and writers of camera and software manuals are very happy with the current state of affairs: every month a host of new products can be reviewed and compared and every six months a new manual can be recycled and upgraded to the new product upgrade.
The quality of reporting and reviewing is at best leveling off and at worst simply deteriorating.
The current financial crisis is partly caused by that unpleasant human characteristic known as greed: always wanting more money and higher mortgages and more cars and more credit to buy still more products. We may feel upset by the stark exposure of the darker aspects of this trait. But to be honest, greed is not an unusual occurrence, restricted to bankers and wall-street-traders. We can see this characteristic in operation everywhere in the photographic world: when we ask for more pixels, more features, more gadgets, more lenses, more zoom range, we are all exhibiting this same familiar trait.
One nice byproduct of the current crisis is an urgency of reduced spending: once upon a time we can resist the drive to buy the newest product and skip a cycle. Why buy the newest D90 or 50D? Wait for the next one or even the next-next one. Let us focus on what we have and settle for an exploration and enjoyment of what we have. A dip in the current consumption level is not bad at all. And it will make us all a bit green-savvy: use less resources of the earth and reduce the waste belt of electronic and plastic material.
There are persons who boast that they take 2500 images in one weekend and assume that this numerical fact elevates them to the status of expert of professional, but they only spend flash cards and energy. With motor driven high speed cameras it is not the issue of taking more pictures, but to restrict yourself to take the right pictures.
As soon as a manufacturer announces a new camera with x-pixels and x-features, the traditional response of all magazines, weblogs and websites is identical: this one is better than the predecessor with x-1 pixels and x-1 features, but we need x+1 pixels and x+1 features. The Leica M8 and M8.2 are hopelessly lost when compared with current full-featured (dslr)-cameras. Even Olympus feels the need to cross the 10 Mp line with the E-30 (compared to the E-3). The E-30 is equipped with a large amount of useless features for purist photography, but the list of features is state of affairs and it does not even offer high quality movie capture (!).
Do we really need a camera with camcorder options in HD quality, scores of format sizes to choose from, picture quality that equals large format AgX photography and can operate at 10 fps to stop motion, hands full of flash options, exposure modes to numerous to sum up and so on.
The basic fact is that the Leica M8(.2) is the antipode to greed in photography and is green: no useless ‘ improvements’ to force buyers to buy the newest model (OK; The snapshot option is in the twilight zone) and you can upgrade the current model with most new features.
The ultimate as a low profile high quality anti-obsoletism product is of course the film-loading Leica MP/M7. This one will last and service you for half a century with the best performance imagery you can imagine when loaded with current state of the art emulsions.
In the past (let us for a moment allow ourselves to be nostalgic) one had a 100ISO film and knew what to do with it and where the limits were: you were forced to exploits the limits, because there was no other option, other than buy a Hasselblad or insert a microfilm emulsion. Now we want it all in one product and as soon as a new product is announced promising to offer all features, we are inclined to buy this one.
Maybe we should be content with what we have and do the most obvious thing: start making pictures that are meaningful and reflect on what we are in this world.
Do we need tens of exposure options? A hand held exposure metering or intelligent use of the TTL meter is all we need.
Do we need all these flash and fill-in options? With some keen insight in basic exposure we can handle all situations.
Do we need all the capture sizes? We only need one size and crop as needed.
Do we need all filters and color spaces and compression ratios? Why not go for the best quality?
Replace greed and herd reflexes/instincts with modesty and professionalism and we may be on the right track.
The quality of reporting and reviewing is at best leveling off and at worst simply deteriorating.
The current financial crisis is partly caused by that unpleasant human characteristic known as greed: always wanting more money and higher mortgages and more cars and more credit to buy still more products. We may feel upset by the stark exposure of the darker aspects of this trait. But to be honest, greed is not an unusual occurrence, restricted to bankers and wall-street-traders. We can see this characteristic in operation everywhere in the photographic world: when we ask for more pixels, more features, more gadgets, more lenses, more zoom range, we are all exhibiting this same familiar trait.
One nice byproduct of the current crisis is an urgency of reduced spending: once upon a time we can resist the drive to buy the newest product and skip a cycle. Why buy the newest D90 or 50D? Wait for the next one or even the next-next one. Let us focus on what we have and settle for an exploration and enjoyment of what we have. A dip in the current consumption level is not bad at all. And it will make us all a bit green-savvy: use less resources of the earth and reduce the waste belt of electronic and plastic material.
There are persons who boast that they take 2500 images in one weekend and assume that this numerical fact elevates them to the status of expert of professional, but they only spend flash cards and energy. With motor driven high speed cameras it is not the issue of taking more pictures, but to restrict yourself to take the right pictures.
As soon as a manufacturer announces a new camera with x-pixels and x-features, the traditional response of all magazines, weblogs and websites is identical: this one is better than the predecessor with x-1 pixels and x-1 features, but we need x+1 pixels and x+1 features. The Leica M8 and M8.2 are hopelessly lost when compared with current full-featured (dslr)-cameras. Even Olympus feels the need to cross the 10 Mp line with the E-30 (compared to the E-3). The E-30 is equipped with a large amount of useless features for purist photography, but the list of features is state of affairs and it does not even offer high quality movie capture (!).
Do we really need a camera with camcorder options in HD quality, scores of format sizes to choose from, picture quality that equals large format AgX photography and can operate at 10 fps to stop motion, hands full of flash options, exposure modes to numerous to sum up and so on.
The basic fact is that the Leica M8(.2) is the antipode to greed in photography and is green: no useless ‘ improvements’ to force buyers to buy the newest model (OK; The snapshot option is in the twilight zone) and you can upgrade the current model with most new features.
The ultimate as a low profile high quality anti-obsoletism product is of course the film-loading Leica MP/M7. This one will last and service you for half a century with the best performance imagery you can imagine when loaded with current state of the art emulsions.
In the past (let us for a moment allow ourselves to be nostalgic) one had a 100ISO film and knew what to do with it and where the limits were: you were forced to exploits the limits, because there was no other option, other than buy a Hasselblad or insert a microfilm emulsion. Now we want it all in one product and as soon as a new product is announced promising to offer all features, we are inclined to buy this one.
Maybe we should be content with what we have and do the most obvious thing: start making pictures that are meaningful and reflect on what we are in this world.
Do we need tens of exposure options? A hand held exposure metering or intelligent use of the TTL meter is all we need.
Do we need all these flash and fill-in options? With some keen insight in basic exposure we can handle all situations.
Do we need all the capture sizes? We only need one size and crop as needed.
Do we need all filters and color spaces and compression ratios? Why not go for the best quality?
Replace greed and herd reflexes/instincts with modesty and professionalism and we may be on the right track.