Is anyone not using a digital camera?

Image and video hosting by TinyPic Remember back in the day when you not only had to buy lots of film for your camera, you also needed to buy flash bulbs or later flash cubes or later flash bars? Then eventually someone figured out how to make a permanent (rechargeable) flash bulb built into all cameras. Remember how you wouldn't know whether you captured a great picture or not until you had your film developed somewhere which used to take several days or more, until they set up those 1 hour photo process centers? Unless of course you owned a Polaroid camera that spit out a small picture after each press of the shutter button. I remember some people would very carefully hold the new picture with just a few fingers and wave it in the air like it needed to dry and/or would perhaps develop faster. Also, without a "negative" you couldn't make extra copies. We would all learn years later that those insta-prints would fade or discolor. But thanks to our ever advancing technology, we now have those beloved digital cameras. No flash bulbs to buy, no film to buy, no developing to pay for, and you can see if your picture is correct right away. If not, just take another one as the memory cards generally will hold hundreds of photos. The only significant problem with these new cameras is the "shutter lag". Yes, I can't tell you how many times I've captured the back or side of someones head or missed the swing of the bat because of this very slight delay when depressing the shutter button. A minor problem with these new cameras is that they are so small. My wife and I don't particularly care for the super small and thin models that are now being sold. You can purchase ones that look and feel more like a classic 35mm camera but they cost much more. A nice little plus for having one of these cameras is your kids can "play" with them. When my kids were little they couldn't touch my camera because they would waste precious film. Now the only thing you would have to replace occasionally are the batteries or some cameras are rechargeable, so these new cameras can be an amusing pastime for kids. These days you can get a halfway decent one for around one hundred dollars, so even if it breaks, it's not a great loss. I often question the importance of some of our recent technological advances but not in the realm of photography. It's all good. Except for maybe how anyone can now "photoshop" pictures. But that's another story......... Image and video hosting by TinyPic

2 Your comments?

Mike Waller said...

I remember making movie films with an old Brownie standard 8 mm. wind up movie camera, riding my bike all the way up to Hempstead Tpke. in all kinds of weather, to the Camera Corner to have it developed. Then, 3 days later I'd have to ride my bike back up to pick it up. Oh the glory though when I got home and watched it.

July 27, 2009 at 3:18 PM
Unknown said...

Thanks for the comment Mike. I'm glad my brief article brought back a memory for you but I'm still thankful that kids and adults today no longer have to do that.........

July 27, 2009 at 4:41 PM