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| The New River in Virginia. The image file as it came out of my camera. (click to enlarge) |
It seems to me that cameras, lenses and editing software are so good today that two of the most important skills a photographer might need to have are a) thoroughly understanding and being able to properly set up the camera and b), being very proficient with editing software and their associated plug-ins.
The thought occurred to me that with all of the sophisticated features as well as mind bending autofocus in today’s latest digital cameras, the camera, if properly set (which has become a very complex process), can almost guarantee if you are in the right place at the right time, point the camera in the right direction and press the shutter button when appropriate that you will get good images. Most cameras are capable of taking care of most of the settings we had to think through and manually set in the past.
What’s happening with cameras reminds me of what we are experiencing with new automobiles—adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance, automatic braking, pedestrian and bicyclist recognition, front and rear collision avoidance, self-parking and now almost total self-driving.
Also, once in front of your computer, you can take that technically excellent image file and turn it into just about any look you want. Raw image files out of the camera look pretty 'blah.' If you know your editing software, you can take that 'blah' photograph and turn it into 'wow!' Not only that, if per chance, the camera's AF slightly missed pin sharp focus, you can cure that woe with one of the new AI based plug-ins. There isn't much you can't do to your image files with today's software. Amazing!
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| Same image as above but I've added some (too much, in fact) 'Wow' to the photo. The only difference between the two is editing. (click to enlarge) |
Now, the question becomes ‘do the features and capabilities of today’s best digital cameras add to or take away from the photographic experience.’
One thing to remember. If you think they take away from the pleasure you derive from photography, you can always turn off or not use all of those whiz-bang features, autofocus, etc., and shoot exactly as we did when using manual film cameras decades ago.
Just food for thought.
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Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
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Dennis, when presented with a rare but fleeting moment, and you can't remember where to find that unique feature or capability, then it takes away from the experience. LOL
ReplyDeleteOtherwise I like what's being added to cameras. I don't have to carry as many filters for example, with some of the newer capabilities that Olympus has added. - Jim
Jim, thanks for your comment. I have experienced exactly the same thing trying to change a setting or enable a feature in an hurry and it just won’t allow me to do so because something else must be disabled first. Frustrating. Overall, like you, I’m loving the sophisticated cameras we have today. ~Dennis
DeleteI use "presets" on the camera dial C1-C4 OM or U1-U3 Nikon as a way to program my camera for the likely type of subject. That saves me from moments of frustration while delving into the menu system when I should be concentrating on the subject. My greater dilemma is changing lenses in the field. After trying about everything else, I decided that lenses pre-mounted on multiple camera bodies was the best solution for this fumble fingered photographer. The photo editing software from Adobe, Topaz, and others are the greatest bargains in the world of photography. A good friend told me in 2003 that the future of photography was in software. Who could have imagined it would ever become this advanced while still being affordable?
ReplyDeleteI’m a big believer in using those banks of saved settings also. I find them very handy and an efficient way to change a large number of camera settings quickly. As for carrying multiple cameras, in the film days when using only prime lenses, I always carried two cameras for the reasons you state. Today, not so much with the excellent zoom lenses available, except for a small number of circumstances, I find I almost always can get by with just one. Thank you for commenting. ~Dennis
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