Something becoming more and more obvious to me is the effective 'dumbing down' of photography.
In days gone by, there were basically three tiers of equipment. SLR cameras, bigger SLR cameras, and everything else. As a student, using an SLR camera was essential - you were taught about the nature of light and what happens inside that light-tight box you were using - how you could see and focus and frame the image in order to capture it. You learned about the relationships between time and aperture - absolutely crucial. You learned about the dynamics of using different lenses, and which lens to use, and when. Photography courses specified the requirement of a 'manual 35mm film SLR' as a pre-requisite. It seems today that some of the above elements are perhaps being taught from Powerpoint presentations to a class full of students toting anything from point and shoots upwards. Standardisation lacking. Worse, do the teachers even know what's going on inside the multitude of light- tight boxes full of electronics and vagueness? By all means move towards the electronic age - film was great for its time as a recording medium, but there are arguably better ways to do it now. But the nature of light never changes - and lessons of yesteryear can and should be transferred through to modern methods - but with the availability of a basic functioning DSLR thats name never changes. There are so many naming methods and they just don't sit still long enough for anyone to get a hold of what they are. Take a low-spec model, rip all the frills out of it, basic manual functions, simple menu system, manual focussing aids, threaded shutter release, K mount would be ideal (lots of manual focus lenses about) and call it the 'Pentax Student'. Price it below entry level and gear up to make as many as you can. Schools the world over would buy them by the ton. .02 -- Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ---------- http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
