Tom, I use this kind of "logic" to justify shooting nothing newer than a SuperProgram, but yesterday I fooled around with my wife's ZX-L and experienced a tad of envy. Some of the touches on the newer cameras, even one as basic as the -L, are really nice.
I believe they can help capture the instinctive "grab" shots that tend to pass me by.
T Rittenhouse wrote:
Well, first off, Bill, most of the cameras us "old farts" like are almost as old as the kids who are complaining about us using them. If the new auto everything wonder cameras they insist is the only thing that works actually took better quality photographs, there might me something to their argument, but in fact they do not, and in many cases they do not do as well as the older cameras mostly due to the need to make things light enough not to overload the focusing motors.
The fact that most of the whippersnappers can not believe that you can make photos of action, or do flash without TTL, much less using guide numbers, shows that their cameras are better photographers than they are. As you well know, all you need are aperture, shutter speed, and focus controls and a little knowledge. However, on many current cameras you are not a photographer you are a camera programmer. Yes on the better cameras you can override everything but since it is designed not for human interface but for computer interface, that is never as satisfactory as a camera designed for human interface.
Simply put, most of the improvements in each new generation of cameras is better interface with, and more capability for, the built in autopilot. If you prefer to drive it yourself the new cameras really offer no improvement. Unlike the automobiles you mention which tend to be faster, safer, and more comfortable than 20 year old ones. In fact, cameras are in some ways more like airplanes than cars as there are still a lot of 20, 30, or 50 year old ones still in service.
Anyway, it is hard for a 22 year old computer programmer to figure why anyone would use a camera that is older than he is other than cheapness.
