Board:   [DoveNet] Hobby Corner
Subject: Re: Photography
From:    ant
Date:    Wed Aug 26, 2026 15:48

@VIA: BEERS20
 pF> Too often, photographers (myself included) become obsessed with gear,
 pF> megapixels, lens sharpness, auto-exposure modes, raw modes and more.

Indeed.  I too get my priorities confused all the time.  The more dials to
play with, the easier to shoot, the stronger the temptation to forget what
you are actually doing.  With a digital camera, here are several such
game-changesr, show-stopper, and (for many) joy-killers:

1. The ability to view the results immediately.  So convenient, yet so
   boring, depriving the photographer of the pleasure of anticipation,
   of suspense even, attendant upon having a film exposed yet undeveloped.

2. The practically unlimited storage capacity coupled with the low cost of a    shot, encourages machine-gun shooting, or making lots of similar shots
   with tiny modifications.  This is clear deskilling in at shooting time
   and nervous strain at post-processing time, where the photographer has
   to sift through the increased volume of raw materials and pick winner     among many close competitors.

3. The power of digital post-processing, especially using AI, discourages
   the making of creative decisions on location, hunting for the right light    and composition.  Why bother if one can hundreds of "creative" filters
   are available at a key press?

 pF> Getting back to the fundamentals with a basic camera helps solidify
 pF> those fundamentals.

It is often hard to get back, for both subjective (mental effort) and
objective reasons (film price).

 pF> I used to feel the same way shooting with a Smena 35 - a plastic $20
 pF> camera with no meter, no autofocus, and a sharp 35mm triplet lens.

Soviet cameras seem popular all over the world.  But they were quite natural
to me, as a Russian.  I have FED Micron (18x24mm) Zenit-E, Zenit-TTL,
Zenit-APK, and a heavily upgraded Kiev-88 branded Arax.

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