By JAWAD RIACHI
I have been lately disturbed by the recent trend of camera manufacturers. So many cameras in so many different forms are being introduced to the market, all at different prices, yet I cannot find one which I can connect with. I want a small form cameras with high image quality and preferably with full-frame sensor.
I find myself more at ease with much older cameras than the new ones! I shoot both film and digital and my arsenal ranges from most technological to the modest cameras. I am not an anti-technology person, I am a software architect with passion for photography and technology is my life.
It is unfortunate that the industry is opting to marketing stunts rather than serving the photographer. Things like the “smallest,” the “fastest,” the “most focus points,” the “highest (unusable) ISO”… and so on, forgetting what is truly important to a photographer.
As a result, the new photographers are being lost and cannot find themselves in this ocean of options. They end up in an endless search for the right camera thinking that the one they have is not up to date. They fall into an endless loop, out of money with very few good photos to show.
The photographers of these days are the product of the industry. They use their cameras like machine guns. They shoot over 1,000 images in one session. Out of the 1,000, there might be 10 keepers. Basically they rely on chance and statistics.
Most new photographers of these days cannot operate an old manual camera which is the base of these modern cameras. However, these foundations have been layered by artificial intelligence and decision support mechanism that are shielding the photographer from the basics.
Photography is about visual expression. The end result is a photo which should emit certain emotions to the viewers. If the photographer is busy thinking which focus point (s)he should select, or where is that button when I need it, there will be no emotions left on his end, hence the image is gone.
A quick answer would be the auto mode setting on the camera at 14 fps. Yes it will make your life easy, but you are not sculpting your photo. If all falls into place, the automatic mode creates a photo that is technicaly perfect but not necessarily artistic.
I have a dream camera in mind, but I cannot find it anywhere.
I want a camera that is small enough to be non threatening yet ergonomic. Easy to hold with large controls. A rangefinder style but not necessary a rangefinder. Somewhere between the Leica M, The Fujifilm X series and the Sony RX1.
Full-frame support is a must to produce high quality artistic images. This camera should be simpler than my old basic camera, yet it should be digital. I do not want to look for tiny buttons randomly distributed at the back of the camera.
It should be well organized and natural to operate. I want to be the decision maker for every photo I take. The focus should be manual to slow me down so I can observe and feel the changes of the focal plane.
I want a clear large EVF with no bias to colors and saturation, along with high-end lens it should produce an almost 3D look; a viewfinder that will make me feel the scene and connect with my subject. Most importantly what I want is a camera that keeps my emotions intact when I manualy operate it.
My dream is still on papers, with your support we can make it happen. I have created a full design / specification of this camera.
More information on my dream concept camera can be found here.
(+++ BTW Jawad, a digital Zeiss Ikon is what so many would be waiting for… Daniel)