On Fri, Apr 25, 2014, at 0:01, Tim Bray wrote: > Color me old-fashioned, but I think people paying more for less is a > news story. When one observes anomalous behavior, it’s reasonable to > bring attention to it, because things that don’t fit into one’s > understanding of the world are educational opportunities.
i'm catching up after a trip and Tim's statement above is a good header for the thoughts forming for me as i read this thread as a Veblen good, Leica is not unique, but since in functionality, cost and ostentation it is such an outlier, it's useful as an example against which to test our ideas; in aa duty-free store at the Frankfurt airport a few days ago i saw my first extensive Leica display, and my instant reaction was "how could i carry that around", by which i mean the ergonomics, though the "look at me" factor would also apply; on the other hand, my dad spent the 60s doing a very gritty type of street photography, using only a Leica and a single lens, so i see how at least the film Leicas could be fantastic and humble tools i also agree with Tim that new functional possibilities, combining the best of software and ergonomics, are making the greatest strides in the camera biz; while this currently yields cameras festooned with inscrutible options, i foresee some settling as the UX designers realize how cameras differ from websites; to this end i do not necessarily discount touch screens, i just don't think we've seen what they can do (on cameras) yet -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
