My Ultimate Camera

January 20, 2008

For an important part of my life I worked as a professional photographer - I studied the masters and theory at college and I have worked, as a freelance commercial photgrapher, for some of the largest agencies - I have sold “artistic” prints and won many competitions etc etc (toodle toodle toot - the sound of me blowing my own trumpet). I know I am a good (very good) photgrapher.

I have worked for squillions of hours in darkrooms and have built several laboratories for myself and others, I have taught Zone System photography to hundreds of students - but a few years ago digital photography became the standard and chemical stuff was relegated to the scrap heap of history.

I like digital cameras - I can take snaps and I can put them on the Internet in a few minutes for no cost of materials or any delay - but - this is about all it is good for - basically digital photography as it is used today is, rubbish - it is as relevant to photography as Red Bull or Coca Cola is to fine wine.

I must quickly say there is nothing wrong with red Bull, Coca Cola or digital cameras - they are all great stuff and do what people want them to do - but I love good photographs and it is a fact that all (well nearly all) digital cameras are very very limited.

A digital camera cannot take a photograph of something as simple as a leaf of grass - the reason is that it is selective about the way it interprets the colours and the variation of colour/tone density.

An old fashioned “film” camera is a simple device that lets light into a box and turns silver salts on a piece of plastic into other chemicals - it does not use any reasoning and all the image is interpeted as lumps of silver on a bit of plastic “film” - all of the image.

A digital camera has to use a preset algorithm to “interpret” the scene into a few million “pixels” and then use these to “represent” the image as electronic data.

A lot is lost in the interpretation, and who would trust the artistic integrity of a geek to show the picture you cherish.

Enough of this - I strongly recommend that any American readers buy this camera

I can’t get one in the UK or France so if you are planning a trip to France buy me one and I will pay you in wine - it is a heck of a lot cheaper than any digital camera and I guarantee a lot more fun and infinitely better quality.