I will just say it. I do not get what my deal is when it comes to newer cameras. No matter how good they are, I consider them as appliances. All of them. This post came to mind after the recent so… post I wrote about the new A7C twins. Great cameras, but not what I am looking for.
I still prefer film cameras and very old, by camera market standards, digital cameras.
What about the retro dealies that are released now and then?
Fakes.
The last one I was amped about was the Nikon Zfc. I was a huge fan of the fantastic little Nikon FG…
…and FE…
…and F3…
…but I no longer have any of them because of the great “Gotta catch ’em all… How many of these things do I have?!?! This has gotten way out of hand.” multi-brand SLR purge of 2021 or so. So I consider myself the target audience for this retro digital Zfc dealie.
Until I rushed to the camera shop and held it in hand.
Personal preference ahead. It felt light and plasticky in hand. That will not do. Immediately lost interest. Could be solved with a metal bottom plate and maybe loading the internals with some lead shot I suppose. But as is it was a no go for me. I have been here before. A walk down faux retro lane.
Fuji heads, I promise I am not looking for a fight. I counted myself a Fuji aficionado also. Bought into the brand multiple times. Even created a dedicated gallery for the brand. Something I have not done for any other camera brand. But in the end, I had to admit something to myself. Again… Personal preference… I come in peace. For me personally, I enjoyed looking at them, holding them in hand, and being seen with them more than I enjoyed shooting with them. As hard as I found this to believe I had to admit it to myself when I saw that the keeper count as a brand fell well below near any other brand I used. Took me a while but I think I know what the problem was. I was trying to make the one camera into two things.
- Vintage, tactile experience like my film cameras… but I preferred actual film cameras when I wanted to go the old timey route.
- Modern cameras for standard use out in the field… but I preferred other mirrorless brands that nailed the AF thing earlier and had a deeper lens selection.
Your mileage may vary and that is great. Exactly why there are a variety of options on the market.
As for the why see the X-Pro1 ramble above pretty much. Plus, it looks the part but they did not commit. I would have preferred that they kept the film camera’s (Yes. I owned that also once.) ISO dial at the front…
…rather than making it a vestigial photo filter dial. Once again a modern camera in a vintage costume rather than an actual film camera with a digital sensor vibe I was looking for.
So I decided to stop trying to make one camera all things. Sony for when I just want the pic. Vintage digital and film when the experience takes precedence.
Anyhoo. Back to the A7C.
Every time I use this camera I wonder why I mess with film and older gear. Here are some pics I took with it recently after that new A7C models post. I chose to carry it around rather than my usual film cameras or digital oddballs.
Perfectly acceptable results…
Boring.
Have since gone back to both a vintage digital option and ran through a roll of film just yesterday. I am not 100% convinced I have solved it yet but I think I am nearing a conclusion.
Has to do with struggle. I missed it. What struggle?
- Iffy AF if available at all.
- I think having to spend more time on focusing also causes me to be more intentional when framing… I think? I just know I tend to like the images better.
- I could adapt… but it is just not the same for some reason. Could make it work… but I do not want to. I want the whole experience.
- A preference for an older image capturing medium.
- Film rocks. Given an option I will almost always prefer a film aesthetic over a newer digital camera regardless of brand.
- Vintage digital rocks. I love the way these older sensors render. And do not even get me started on Foveon sensors.
- Development.
- I really like developing film. That is it. I developed a roll of 120 film last night and every step was a bit of a dopamine hit. I will own the fact that it makes little sense functionally. If I did not develop my own film I am not sure that I would still be using film.
- Ergonomics/handling.
- There is a wonderful simplicity to using older cameras. New cameras are so rich with tech and options that I occasionally find them distracting.
It is quite a stretch but I equate it to cars at times. Many a modern sedan full of conveniences could hang with, if not potentially blow the doors off of a V8 and five speed having Fox body Mustang or old school manual Supra from a stop light. Stock anyway. But given a choice I would choose the Mustang or Supra every single time… Unless I had to do something practical like accommodate other human beings. Then I would begrudgingly pile into the sedan.
It all goes back to not trying to make one camera do all things. I will continue on using my goofy film and older digital cameras to amuse myself on the daily and using my big boy modern gear when I just need the shot. And with that I will try to stop making sense of what is a quite silly while at the same time wonderful endeavor.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 
One Reply to “RNF: So… My Bias Against Newer Cameras… What Is My Deal?”
Comments are closed.