Still Shot

Seems like an appropriate place to post: This Thread Is Worthless Without Pictures.

 

My wife loves taking pictures but the Canon AE 1 that I bought her years ago just doesn't cut it anymore. If I could find a digital body that would accept all her lenses, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Glad you got something to work with, now let's see some results

 

Man well said. There were a shit-ton of words but no pictures.....I scrolled a few times looking. I'm simple....I need pictures

 

Yep, could have include some “practice” shots!

 

Old photos that are some how still around,having not gone the way of mass of many,seemingly the lost one I know I had,but now can't find being often the one I now want the most! But it's now only is in my head an can't show it off. Is a hole I can't fill,an more then just I have that !
Yes there are those that take skilled photos an vid's,an then the rest of us,who just grab a pic anyway we can.
Some come out amazing,an other fill the trash,but should of been kept!
So as for the tech used,for me,ya a Browne Box,an then what ever popped up.
The shock for me is that now days,most cell phones seem to me too take better photos an vid's then all the limited ways I did in the 50's an 60's< the time I should of taken n kept a lot more.
If there any point to my lines here,is that so much more of the times now is recorded in pic's,but how much in 50+ years will be lost also in the mess of tech.
Just take it! Don't get bogged down in over arts.

 

I'll be staying tuned.....

 

I think I could really get into this, as I love photography and cars, and I'm sorry to say there are a lot of 'pro' photogs that should have their cameras taken away. However I'm lazy so I have no interest in developing film. What would be a good beginner digital camera and lens you'd recommend for a vintage feel in the digital world? I say camera because I really want to get away from a smart phone altogether.

 

Ture,for sure have fun,I think I was trying to say,don't let trying for the prefect shot stop ya from taking other shots. Today we're not buying rolls,it's now near unlimited for new tech,an can dressed up or out. I do understand at least part of the old tech an the fun of using it,for those that are in that.
Thanks to anyone that post pic's,love"Is wroth a 1000+ words"aplys.
We get too see what right away now, old habbits,parts of may be good and bad.

 

I don't know Ryan. The pics i see you take look damn good to me. Keep in mind i know nothing about taking pics that are worth a damn. i never took pics until i got my first iPhone 14yrs ago. That is all i use. Compared to what i see on here from you and others mine are garbage.

 

Still shot

 

The best pictures I've ever taken are by accident. Every time I try to get artsy.........ugh!

 

So what'd ya get @Ryan ? A Leica SL2-S as outlined in your Gear Journal post?
https://www.gearjournal.com/2021/09/leica-sl2-s-2/

Love+Hate = Leica Ha, ha

 

I purchased a totally manual 35mm Yashica camera and spent several years back in the 70's trying to learn how to use photography as a medium, I failed miserably but a friend of mine who was a outstanding portrait art's & a photographer in the Army suggested I buy a Nikon FM 35mm camera and offered to teach me how to use it, I took him up on his offer and my work did improve.

that was in the late 80' & 90's, but I layed it down and bought a cheap point and shoot digital camera and I still use it to this day, creativity has taken a back seat to ease of use, quality has also taken a seat to quality.

My wife expressed interest in wanting a better camera for photographing floral arrangements she made to post on her web site for the flower shop, I shopped around and found a another artist friend who was now using his phone for taking pictures and no longer needed his Canon 6T/1300D camera , I talked to a couple of photographers here on the hamb that are known for their work and with their knowledge I purchased the camera at a give away price and bought a additional 55-200 lens they both suggested.

My bride is really learning fast. HRP

 

It used to be Leicas were expensive, but not out of reach for a non-professional photographer.
Would love to have a Leica S, but I can't justify the money (well maybe if it was my only hobby).

I'll just stick with my Leica R series cameras and lenses.

Happy for you! That's really cool of your buddy!

 

Hi Ryan,

I do quite a bit of photography from business, street scenes, cars, models in Dubai and numerous Africa safaris. I’m a run and gun photographer hooked on Panasonic Micro 4/3 cameras and Leica lenses. Compact and lightweight for the real on the go photography that I really enjoy! It took a while but numerous pros have finally decided that compact and lightweight micro 4/3 cameras can do a fantastic job and have switched over. They have found they really enjoy not hauling all the heavy cameras and lenses around.

My “go to camera” that is always with me is my Panasonic GX85 that’s been with me around the world. Very lightweight and compact that little camera has bailed me out so many times! My other camera is a Panasonic G9 that many pros now use. I’ve used this camera on many professional shoots and do a lot of wildlife photography with the Leica 100-400 lens which is equivalent to a 200-800 DSLR .

I’ve told many beginners or experienced photographers looking for something new to try the inexpensive Panasonic GX 85 and a couple inexpensive LUMIX lenses. You can always add the more expensive Leica lenses and the Olympus lenses work as well. I have an Olympus 17 mm lens combined with my old GX 85 that has done just magic on a couple model shoots and on the street! Talk about compact...you can fit the GX 85 and a couple lenses in a small leather carry bag. Remember run & gun! Oh I almost forgot the Panasonic is known for their awesome black & white photos.

Hope this helps....
Todd

 

Hey @Ryan , thanks for this particular thread, its appreciated and informative, and very enlightening !

Man I know what you have been through, because I have had a similar history with photography and film cameras in general, over the last few decades. My first film camera was an old 35 MM, Argus C-3 range finder, that was passed down to me from my mother. I used it when I was in the military and it got me by OK, but it never really was what I wanted.

My first SLR was an ancient Pentax " Spotmatic ", with screw mount 50 MM lens, it was purely an impulse buy because of price, as it was a used camera. Again, it got me by, but it was sadly lacking when it came to the quality of glass and speed of the lens.

In the 70's, I bought my first Nikon, a Nikkormat FT3, fully mechanical SLR and a variety of Nikon lenses, and I got to really appreciate the wonder of the 24 MM 2.4 wide angle lens and the 105 MM portraiture lens, super crisp and sharp, I shot thousands of slides with that camera.

As the digital age came into being a number of years ago, I decided to just wait and see how it would all go, and indeed it has been an interesting industry to watch. My first one was a cool little "Canon Powershot " camera, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, sadly, by me trying to do the right thing by purchasing it through my local camera shop ( $600.00 ) for this little jewel, it brought about the end of my shooting slide film, and it helped to contribute to the closing of my local camera shop. This photograph of the Canon, was shot just seconds ago by my current I-Phone 11. I still take this little Canon with me as a back up, but as you can see, its limited in its capacity, and it doesn't take long to fill up the chip it has, but its still a good little camera to have as a back up.



When HDR photography came into being a number of years ago, I realized, that to be competitive, at some point I was going to have to bite the bullet and step up to the plate and get a high end Digital camera and a new lens as well. I was appalled at the prices of the new equipment, but then again, everything these days regardless, of what it is, the price to participate, is ridiculous !

I saved up my money and bought a brand new Nikon D-600 and the Nikkor AF-S 28 MM to 300 MM zoom lens.


If you would have told me that, this camera body and lens combination, would wind up costing me, $3700.00, I would have told you that you are insane ! But I digress, because as you know yourself, that the prices are just out of hand when it comes to high end electronics and good glass, in the realm of lenses these days. Just take a look at the large format digital "Hassleblad" cameras, talk about super over priced, but such is the nature of the beast and the industry itself ! Those cameras are hand built, one at a time, and the production of them is limited, so they have a bit of control over the industry by limited production, per model, per year !

Now when going to aviation events or car shows, or anything that is worth attending, I take the Nikon, which is a heavy beast and walking around with it all day will wear your neck out, but the quality of the shots, when downloaded to the computer, are stunning. But that is just my opinion !




I never did have the time nor the patience to do the full on classic darkroom and developing. It's a lost art these days, it still has its place, but you get my point, in today's world, its still a bitch to find "NOS" projector bulbs for my Kodak carousel projector, which I still use to do artwork with, but not as much as I used to !

So fast forward to now, as others have stated, as much as I hate to even admit this, the ease of use of the new smart phones, if you need shots right now and need to send them to a friend or a client, is pretty dam hard to beat as a medium, that is lightning fast and accurate ! Is it art, some will say yes, a lot will say no, and many will just shrug their shoulders and say, jeez what are you talking about ?

So I get it, I used to do the shots the way I was taught, using a heavy, sturdy, Star D, Leitz tilt all, tripod, cable release, Fuji Velvia 100 ASA slide film, a polarizer filter and a UV filter to protect the bare element, of the lens, bracketing, stopping down to the lowest F-stop, to get the best depth of field, etc, etc, etc, been there and did it for years ! Going through all of that, and having the slides developed at the camera store, and hoping like hell that I got the shot I was after ! I still have thousands of slides and boxes full of prints and to a certain extent, a lot of CD's that have the shots from the slide film that was shot. Even that element, is considered ancient now by today's standards or shall I say today's practices of just using the smart phone to get the shots, with out trying to look like the cover of National Geographic.

Hell even the element of " drone photography " has pissed off a hell of a lot of helicopter pilots, because lets face it, its a tool that has its place, and if it crashes, it doesn't wreck a multi-million dollar unit and it doesn't kill a human, or humans as well !

You may want to take a look at the Ed Harris film titled " Kodachrome " I think you will get a kick out of the way " film photography " is referred to in that movie.

Thanks for posting from Dennis.

 

I'm glad serendipity smiled on you and you ended up with the Leica! The first shot (above) with the Summicron looks terrific - very promising. Pairing the best glass with a great modern digital - I suspect you are going to be very happy in the long run.

I've just stepped into a new rabbit hole myself...


Keep us posted!

 

if only the Gear Journal had a message board to talk about such topics? miss it

 

I am not a photographer by any means and I'm glad of it. I would be like an want to be artist with only one brush. Just for an experiment, I used my cell phone to take pictures of one of the Hummingbird feeders. I just kept shooting until I had over 100 pics of that feeder with Hummingbirds in various poses. I wasn't sure I had the picture I was looking for until I found this picture of a Hummingbird shot through the glass feeder. If I had attempted it with a film camera, I wouldn't have been able to afford the cost of developing all those shots. I'm glad for those of you who do take the effort to capture these cars we love. I could take a picture of a car but, you guys capture that same car and give me the feeling that I am seeing it myself. Thanks!!

 

I generally shoot with the fancy cardboard cameras. They are about equivalent to my ability, so it’s a win win.